Verse of the Day 2/28

Verse of the Day 2/28

Deuteronomy 8:2-3   And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. ³ And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word^[a] that comes from the mouth of the Lord.    English Standard Version (ESV)

Today is Fat Tuesday and as a tradition, I will be running out to buy some custard filled donuts for our family.  I believe that Fat Tuesday started as a lead up to Lent, it was to eat and enjoy the food knowing that the next day you would begin a fast.  Fasting has fallen out of vogue in today's society and even if people give up something in their diet for Lent, it is often looked upon as some kind of diet, with the thought being "it would be good for me to lose a few pounds".

I read today's verses in our men's Bible study this week, the study is "The Path to the Cross".  The verses a good reminder of what Lent should be about, drawing closer to God, "remembering" what He has done for us, not only going to the cross but also looking to what He has done for us in and through those "desert" times in our lives.  When we hunger it should be to realize that we don't "live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the  mouth of God."  Anything that we give up during this time should be replaced with thoughts of God and His Word, and thanking Him for it.

I posted the following from an unknown source, in my Bible in regards to "remembering" in verse 2:

Remember how He . . .

pitied us,

awakened us,

convinced us of sin, and

drew us to Himself by the cords of love!

Remember how often He has since . . .

healed our backslidings,

pardoned our sins,

borne with our unbelief, ingratitude, and stubborness,

supplied our needs,

listened to our complaints,

alleviated our sorrows, and

revived our drooping spirits when we were ready to faint.

In short, we must remember all the way which He has led us, these many years, through a wilderness of sins, sorrows, trials and temptations!

We may celebrate "Fat Tuesday", but if we do give up something for Lent, may we remember what Jesus has done for us all through this season and every day of our lives.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Deuteronomy 8:2-5The Message (MSG)

8 ^1-5 Keep and live out the entire commandment that I'm commanding you today so that you'll live and prosper and enter and own the land that God promised to your ancestors. Remember every road that God led you on for those forty years in the wilderness, pushing you to your limits, testing you so that he would know what you were made of, whether you would keep his commandments or not. He put you through hard times. He made you go hungry. Then he fed you with manna, something neither you nor your parents knew anything about, so you would learn that men and women don't live by bread only; we live by every word that comes from God's mouth. Your clothes didn't wear out and your feet didn't blister those forty years. You learned deep in your heart that God disciplines you in the same ways a father disciplines his child