Deuteronomy 8:11 "Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, English Standard Version (ESV)
Yesterday we considered the "lukewarm" church in Laodicea and compared it to today's society, a society in which most have everything they need (notice I said need and not want). We have so much that many don't feel the need or give much thought to the God who has provided all that we have. I read today's verse in my Old Testament Bible reading today and Moses here gives instructions on how we can avoid becoming lukewarm. We need to remember, take care to remember what Christ has done for us.
The Israelites had miraculously been delivered from Pharaoh but when food was provided for them they soon forgot about His deliverance. This weekend we will be celebrating Easter where we will remember how Christ arose. Before that we will celebrate Good Friday when we remember how Jesus suffered and died for us on the cross. Billy Graham writes:
"In the Cross, Christ not only bridged the gap between God and us, but there we find the answers to life's deepest questions. There we discover our true identity: forgiven sinners who now belong to God.
There we discover our true destiny: a glorious eternity with God in Heaven. There we discover our true purpose: to love God and serve Him with all our might. …Never underestimate what Christ did for us through the Cross. By it our salvation was won, and by it our lives—and our world-can be transformed. What difference does the Cross make in your life?
There we discover our true destiny: a glorious eternity with God in Heaven. There we discover our true purpose: to love God and serve Him with all our might. …Never underestimate what Christ did for us through the Cross. By it our salvation was won, and by it our lives—and our world-can be transformed. What difference does the Cross make in your life?
The last question that Billy Graham asks above should cause us to pause, to remember, to truly think about what Christ has done and what difference in makes in our life. If it doesn't make much of a difference something is wrong, perhaps we've become lukewarm or worse. The passage from The Message (below) reminds us "make sure you don't become so full of yourself and your things that you forget God, your God."
John MacArthur in commenting on today's verse writes, "Forgetting God means no longer having Him in the daily thoughts of one's life. This forgetfulness would lead to a disobedience of His commandments. Whereas, in the wilderness, Israel had to depend on God for the necessities of life, in the rich land there would be a tempting sense of self-sufficiency."
As we go through the remainder of this week, may we remember and not forget what God has done for us, may we lose any inkling of self-sufficiency and satisfaction in ourselves. If we do so our Easter celebration will be that much greater.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born,he appeared also to me. English Standard Version (ESV)
Blessings,
Mike
Deuteronomy 8:11-16The Message (MSG)
11-16 Make sure you don't forget God, your God, by not keeping his commandments, his rules and regulations that I command you today. Make sure that when you eat and are satisfied, build pleasant houses and settle in, see your herds and flocks flourish and more and more money come in, watch your standard of living going up and up—make sure you don't become so full of yourself and your things that you forgetGod, your God,
the God who delivered you from Egyptian slavery;
the God who led you through that huge and fearsome wilderness,
those desolate, arid badlands crawling with fiery snakes and scorpions;
the God who gave you water gushing from hard rock;
the God who gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never heard of, in order to give you a taste of the hard life, to test you so that you would be prepared to live well in the days ahead of you.
the God who led you through that huge and fearsome wilderness,
those desolate, arid badlands crawling with fiery snakes and scorpions;
the God who gave you water gushing from hard rock;
the God who gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never heard of, in order to give you a taste of the hard life, to test you so that you would be prepared to live well in the days ahead of you.
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