Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Deuteronomy+005

 

Deuteronomy 5 (ESV)

1 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. 4 The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, 5 while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said: …

 

28 “And the Lord heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. 29 Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever! 30 Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31 But you, stand here by me, and I will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.’ 32 You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

 

REFLECTION:

“Hear…learn…follow” (v1).  Each of these words is found in Moses’ first words to the assembled Israelites.  The Ten Commandments state fundamental principles which are to be applied in our relationship with God and with others.

It’s important not to confuse loving God and others only with our emotional state.  Love is a choice, a commitment, an act of the will.  The person who loves God will hear God’s Word, study to understand what that Word means, and then carefully apply it in daily life.

Sometimes we act as if the moral standards revealed in the Ten Commandments are arbitrary and restrictive.  We resent the “You shall nots” of Scripture, as if these were intended to spoil mankind’s fun and make human life as miserable as possible.

But God’s laws are actually intended for our benefit, that we might live or live to the fullest of God’s intention and desire for us.  There is a special urgency in Moses’ call to Israel to obey God.  Israel enjoyed a covenant relationship with God.  In this relationship God was committed not only to bless obedience, but also to punish disobedience.

 

PRAYER:

Do I “hear…learn…follow” God’s Word?  Am I persistent in doing the 260?

Oh, that I would always have such a heart to fear God and keep all God’s commandments, so that it might be well with us and with our children forever!  (v29)

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Deuteronomy+004

 

Deuteronomy 4 (ESV)

1 “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. 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?

 

REFLECTION:

The vast bulk of Deuteronomy records God’s will for his people in the form of the law.  Before the law is given, Moses warns Israel not to add or take away from the law.  The latter we do by simply disobeying the law, while the former is a more subtle problem because we can do it with the best intentions.  We don’t want to offend God by having premarital sex, so we prohibit dancing.  We don’t want to transgress by getting drunk, so we ban drinking.  We don’t want to take God’s name in vain, so we never speak God’s name.  Such fencing of the law with legalism is as offensive to God as breaking it.  In Mark 7:9-13, Jesus criticises the Pharisees for adding to the Law in such a way that they could get out of honouring their parents.

When is it hardest for me to give God’s Word its due place in my life?  What needs to happen this week to make sure God’s Word receives the proper emphasis in my life?

Recall a specific time when God’s Word brought clarity and guidance to my life.  What happened?  How did Scripture fill your ache for God?

 

PRAYER:

May I follow Your commands and precepts and be careful to observe them, for this is my wisdom and understanding in the sight of others.  (vv5-6)

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Deuteronomy+003

 

Deuteronomy 3 (ESV)

21 And I commanded Joshua at that time, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. So will the Lord do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing. 22 You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.’

23 “And I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, 24 ‘O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? 25 Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ 26 But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan. 28 But charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see.’ 29 So we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.

 

REFLECTION:

Moses is honest in reporting his own personal failure to trust God, though he does not go into detail here.  The image of Moses pleading with God to be allowed to go over the Jordan and see the Promised Land is touching.  Moses had been a faithful and godly leader.  Yet his one act of disobedience was severely punished.  Why?  Undoubtedly to remind us that no one is immune to divine discipline.  No one can sin safely.

The aged leader, then some 120 years old, begged to “go over and see the good land”.  Instead God led Moses to the top of Mount Pisgah and gave him a glimpse of Canaan.

The sight from this height across the Jordan is impressive.  Rising from the fertile plain is a series of hills that gradually flow into an impressive range of mountains.  The rich colors and shades reflect the complexity of Palestine, with its wide range of climates and soils which make the land capable of growing every kind of crop.  Moses did not “go over” the Jordan.  But he did “see the good land” to which he had successfully led God’s people.

 

PRAYER:

Have I ever, like Moses, been prevented from experiencing a much-anticipated event?  How did I feel?  What did I do?  Have a conversation with God, tell him my honest feelings: disappointment, despair, anger, upset…….  Wait for God’s response.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Deuteronomy+002

 

Deuteronomy 2 (ESV)

1 “Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, as the Lord told me. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir. 2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 ‘You have been traveling around this mountain country long enough. Turn northward 4 and command the people, “You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful. 5 Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. 6 You shall purchase food from them with money, that you may eat, and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink.

 

32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz. 33 And the Lord our God gave him over to us, and we defeated him and his sons and all his people. 34 And we captured all his cities at that time and devoted to destruction[b] every city, men, women, and children. We left no survivors. 35 Only the livestock we took as spoil for ourselves, with the plunder of the cities that we captured. 36 From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from the city that is in the valley, as far as Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. The Lord our God gave all into our hands. 37 Only to the land of the sons of Ammon you did not draw near, that is, to all the banks of the river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, whatever the Lord our God had forbidden us^.

 

REFLECTION:

A surface reading of the Old Testament makes one think that God was for Israel and against all the other nations.  We forgot that God chose Abraham so he could be a blessing to the nations (Gen 12:1-3).  Although Esau and his descendants were not the conduit through which God would effect his work of redemption, Genesis is careful to inform readers that God cared and made provision for Esau (vv4-6, Gen 36), Ishmael (Gen 21:8-20), and their descendants.

However, against those that intended to destroy the Israelites, God gave the Israelites military success (v33).  Victory comes from the Lord, not from the power of the people.

Today, God’s people do not engage in military conquests to advance the cause of the Church.  However, the New Testament teaches us that we are in the midst of a severe conflict, a spiritual battle, and God still is in the business of giving his people the resources to withstand the onslaught (Eph 6:10-20).

 

PRAYER:

Am I aware of the spiritual warfare I am in?  Am I encountering any attack, temptation, confusion?  How could I have victory?  Ask God to help and give me power.  Remember that God does not allow us to be tested beyond what we can bear (1 Cor. 10:13).

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Deuteronomy+001

 

Deuteronomy 1 (ESV)

1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea. 3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them, 4 after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and in Edrei. 5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying, 6 “The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Turn and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’

26 “Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. 27 And you murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the Lord hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”’

 

REFLECTION:

Moses began his plains-of-Moab sermon by going over what the people had been through during their wilderness wanderings.  It wasn’t their enemies, and it wasn’t the forbidding terrain that stretched eleven days of travel into almost forty years of wandering.  It was because they complained against God in their tents (v27).

God had promised the people that he would take care of them and bring them into the Promised Land.  However, faced with visible threats, they immediately lost faith and turned against God.

What about me?  Is my life today also full of obstacles to faith?  Does it often seem as if God isn’t taking good care of me or is in control of my life?  Do I hide myself in tent under dismal conditions, even desperate conditions and grumbled against the Lord?

My Choice:  Do I hide in the tent and find something to gripe about – the way the wilderness generation did?  Or do I find something to be grateful for, giving thanks in all things, the way Paul did (Phil 2:14-15, 1 The 5:18, 21)?

 

PRAYER:

Think about my choice, tell God about the obstacles of my faith.  Ask for strengthened faith in facing the challenges and difficulties in life.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=John+021

 

 

John 21 English Standard Version (ESV)

Jesus and Peter

¹⁵ When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” ¹⁶ He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” ¹⁷ He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” ¹⁹ (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

Jesus and the Beloved Apostle

²⁰ Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” ²¹ When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” ²² Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” ²³ So the saying spread abroad among the brothers that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?”

²⁴ This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true.

²⁵ Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

 

REFLECTION

Read over this passage a few times slowly. If time allows, read the whole chapter.

Read it slowly as if you were Peter and the Lord was asking you three times, “Do you love me?” Follow Peter’s answers and imagine his mood, emotion and thoughts going through his whole person. Repeat it several times paying extra attention to what the Lord is saying to Peter. Is He speaking to you, too?

Continue to be quiet before the Lord, listen, wait, listen, and wait…..

If you have heard what the Lord is telling you, thank Him. If you haven’t, thank Him, too. Continue to wait and listen to the whispering voice of the Holy Spirit after this time with God.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=John+020

 

 

John 20 English Standard Version (ESV)

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

¹⁹ On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ²² And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

Jesus and Thomas

²⁴ Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

²⁶ Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” ²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

 

REFLECTION

Read over this passage a few times slowly. If time allows, read the whole chapter.

Thomas reminds us that skeptic is not rejected by God – that doubts and uncertainty do not disqualify us for a place in God’s kingdom. He also reminds us that Jesus willingly comes to us, to show us His hands and side so that we might believe.

Read the passage once more. Look around Jesus’ disciples, those believing ones; and then Thomas. Judging from where you actually are in your relationship with Jesus right now, which group will you be in? As you hear Jesus speak to you, respond to Him from your heart. Let Him engage you in conversation.

Thank God for the faith He has given you no matter if you were a Thomas or like the other disciples.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=John+019

 

 

John 19 English Standard Version (ESV)

Jesus Delivered to Be Crucified

¹ Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. ² And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. ³ They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. ⁴ Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” ⁵ So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” ⁶ When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.” ⁷ The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.” ⁸ When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. ⁹ He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” ¹¹ Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

¹² From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”¹³ So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. ¹⁴ Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” ¹⁵ They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” ¹⁶ So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.

 

REFLECTION

Read over this passage a few times slowly. If time allows, read the whole chapter. Try to see and hear the story.

Sing or read this hymn. What are your thought and your feeling? Talk to God about it. Wait for His response. Were You There (Negro Spiritual)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Az2HIyyBTk

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=John+018

 

 

John 18 English Standard Version (ESV)

Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus

¹ When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. ² Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. ³ So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. ⁴ Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”⁵ They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. ⁶ When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. ⁷ So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” ⁹ This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” ¹⁰ Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) ¹¹ So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

Peter Denies Jesus

¹⁵ Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, ¹⁶ but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. ¹⁷ The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” ¹⁸ Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.

Peter Denies Jesus Again

²⁵ Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” ²⁶ One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” ²⁷ Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.

 

REFLECTION

Read over this passage a few times slowly. If time allows, read the whole chapter.

Peter seemed brave to take up a sword and attack the mob that approached Jesus. He was rebuked by Jesus.  Then later, when Peter was threatened, he realized his vulnerability and, in fear, disowned his Lord. Have you also attempted at times to “help God out” in your own strength and wisdom?

How does the story of Peter both humble and encourage you? When have you felt competent and righteous, but later became weak and fallen like Peter?

Talk to God about this. Allow the Holy Spirit to work to heal and to mold you slowly and surely.

 

Read chapter in full: www.biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=John+017

 

 

John 17 English Standard Version (ESV)

⁶ “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. ⁸ For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹ I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰ All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. ¹¹ And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one even as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

²⁰ “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹ that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

 

REFLECTION

Read over this passage a few times slowly. If time allows, read the whole chapter.

Read the passage slowly, knowing that this is Jesus praying for you. Read it again, substitute your name when it comes to them or they. Read it one more time.

Example: “I have manifested your name to [insert your name] whom you gave me out of the world. Yours [insert your name] is, and you gave [insert your name] to me, and [insert your name] has kept your word.

What are you most excited about Jesus praying for you or saying about you? Why?

Thank Jesus for praying for you. Talk to Him about the prayer phrases you found most meaningful. Pray also Jesus’ prayer for His followers in the world.

Walk around today with the sense that Jesus is in you and that this was always His plan – to be in you.