Verse of the Day 1/12

Verse of the Day 1/12

Deuteronomy 4:1-2

English Standard Version

4 "And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

Lord willing, I will be spending a lot of time in my personal devotions over the next couple of months in the book of Deuteronomy.  A key component of that study will be the word "shema" which revolves around "hearing" and "listening".  As we read God's Word He is speaking to us through it.  Are we listening?  Rabbi Jonathan Sacks writes, "In Judaism faith is a form of listening - to the song creation sings to it's Creator, and to the message history delivers to those who try to understand it.  That is what Moses says time and time again iin Deuteronomy. Stop looking;listen. Stop speaking; listen. Create a silence in the soul. Still the clamour of instinct, desire, fear, anger. Strive to listen to the still, small voice beneath the noise.Then you will know that the universe is the work of the One beyond the furthest star yet closer than you are to yourself l- and then you will love your God with all your heart, soul and might."

In our modern culture people want to see things, see a spectacle.  We desire to hear, hear from God the Creator of the universe.  How great is that, how great is He.  But we must choose to listen.

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
To the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out his hand

[Pre-Chorus]
But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again
"Boy, you'll never win!
You'll never win"

[Chorus]
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says "Do not be afraid!"
And the voice of truth says "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Blessings,

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 4:1-9

English Standard Version

Moses Commands Obedience

4 "And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules[a] that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you. 3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal-peor, for the Lord your God destroyed from among you all the men who followed the Baal of Peor. 4 But you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today. 5 See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

9 "Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children—