Category: 1 Year Bible Reading Plan

In Deuteronomy 30, God anticipates a day when the Israelites will turn from Him. He tells them even then if they will return to Him, if they will choose life and good over death and evil, He will restore them. Consistently through the pages of the Pentateuch, we find God giving choices to individuals and to the nation of Israel as a whole. The choices are always simple–not always easy, but always simple:  choose life and good over death and evil. The reason the choices are not easy, even though life and good, are simple choices over death and evil, is death and evil often come wrapped up as if they were life and good, or at least as fun and enjoyment. I’ve always said if sin felt like a root canal, no one would sin. But sin often feels good in the moment. The Israelite nation and individual Israelites found this to be true throughout their history, as do we as we attempt to follow Jesus in the 21st century. The lesson we learn in Deuteronomy 30 is God is gracious and forgiving, so when we discover our bad choices and repent from them, God is there to take us back!

In Deuteronomy 31, Moses tells the people he is about to die, and God is replacing him with Joshua. This is made known to all the people, and Moses tells Joshua to be strong and courageous. (We will read these words again at the beginning of the Book of Joshua. The qualifications Joshua needed as Israel’s new leader were strength and courage.) In the remainder of the chapter, we read of God telling Moses the people will turn against Him and go “whoring” after other nations. God uses the image of sexual immorality and unfaithfulness for Israel’s breaking of faithfulness with Him. That tells us how intimately God thinks of His relationship with us. God tells Moses the words He was writing in this account would be a testimony against them. Once again, we are reminded how often words from the Old Testament hold truth for us. As we read these words, and all the words of the Bible, we are reminded how often we have been unfaithful to God. Indeed, we’re reminded throughout the Bible there is no one righteous not even one. Thankfully, the Bible also proclaims God’s grace and forgiveness from cover to cover. Without that truth, we all stand condemned and separated from God, but we have that truth and thus can always move forward in hope.

Deuteronomy 32 is known as “The Song of Moses.” It is a poignant combination of recalling God’s faithfulness to the people of Israel, and their unfaithfulness to Him in the past as well as their coming unfaithfulness in the future. When the song is complete, God gives Moses the opportunity to climb a mountain and see the Promised Land, but that is as close as Moses gets. His time to die has come, and he is reminded one more time, his unfaithfulness at Mariah was the reason he didn’t get to step foot into the Promised Land.  After all Moses endured with the people of Israel, after all the times he interceded for them before God, it can seem a bit unfair that he didn’t get to go into the Promised Land. That’s because we would be comparing Moses’ faithfulness to the people of Israel. By that comparison Moses was “holy.” But God compared Moses’ faithfulness to Himself, and by that standard, no one is righteous. God is always just in whatever judgment He pronounces against us. Thankfully, His judgment is so often tempered with mercy.

As we return to John 3 for a second look, we see the extent of God’s mercy: He sent Jesus to die in our places. Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sin, so great is God’s love for us. All He calls us to do is “believe” in Jesus. This believing is no mere assent to the truth that Jesus is our Savior. It is an all in, commitment to trust Jesus in every area of our lives, to surrender to Him as Lord. As the Israelites were unfaithful, even in the midst of God’s miraculous intervention, so we can be unfaithful even with God’s great demonstration of love through Jesus. The key is to repent when we sin, and to pray for God to deliver us from temptation so we might not sin. As the Apostle Paul will remind us in Romans, “How can we who died to sin continue to live in it?” Choosing life and good is always best for us. It is always simple, but not always easy. That’s why God’s grace and mercy abound. It’s also how we can live in victory in the midst of so many temptations to death and evil. God’s grace and mercy in Jesus provide us the power of His Spirit to overcome.

Deuteronomy 27-29 offers us a long sequence of curses and blessings that would come to the Israelites depending on whether they obeyed God or disobeyed Him. Moses summarizes the covenant between God and the people of Israel again, and calls them to obey it. We cannot miss the significance of the connection God made between our actions and the consequences. Obedience would bring blessing, and disobedience curses. As we have stated in summarizing previous times when such content was the basis of previous chapters, we know we don’t always receive blessings for obeying God. Much of the New Testament tells us we will suffer for obeying God. Jesus is the greatest example of one who was absolutely obedient to God, yet was crucified as a result. The principle remains true: Obeying God leads to blessing. The difference between the Old Testament understanding of that principle and the New Testament understanding is in the Old Testament God told the people they would receive a “one-for-one” correspondence between obedience and blessing. Obedience would bring blessing every time. In the New Testament we see obedience to God might bring pain in this life, but will always bring blessing or reward in the next life.  We don’t always, or often have to wait for the blessings of obedience, because the greatest reward of our obedience to God is a closer relationship with Him.  Every time we obey Him regardless of the immediate consequence physically or materially, we will become closer to Him relationally. That relationship will be made perfect only after this life, when we meet Him face to face, but every step of obedience here-and-now, draws us closer in relationship with Him right now.

As we reread John 2, let’s focus on His cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem. John records this event happening at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, while the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) record the event as taking place after Jesus’ Triumphant entry, which means it took place in the last week of Jesus’ life. Does that mean John is wrong, or that the other three are wrong? What if Jesus cleansed the Temple twice? There’s no reason to think He wouldn’t have done it twice. After all, one of Jesus’ purposes in coming was to show the lack of power religion has to save us. The Jewish religious leaders saw their rituals and traditions as the means of pleasing God. They also twisted those rituals and traditions for their own benefit. Jesus told them they had made the Temple “a house of trade.” God’s places and God’s purposes must never be reduced to an opportunity to earn a buck. We are not to “use” God. We belong to Him. We are stewards of all He has given us, and therefore, He gets to use us however He pleases. The good news is God will never “use” us in the sense of taking advantage of us. He will always use us in ways that bring Him glory, but also bring us good. That’s why we must seek Him and His Kingdom first in our lives. As we see from Jesus’ interaction in the Temple, when we misuse God’s places and purposes, Jesus will always stand against that. He will do it at the start of His ministry and at the end. So must we!

Deuteronomy 23-25 offer us a long list of miscellaneous commands. They cover the range of who was permitted to worship in the Tabernacle and who wasn’t, how runaway slaves where to be treated (they were to be given refuge!), that children weren’t to be punished for the sins of their parents, or parents for the sins of their children, and many others commands. As one who doesn’t like rules in general, these precise rules concerning so many matters make my head spin. We must keep reminding ourselves their purpose was to empower the Israelites to serve a holy God, and to become a holy people in the process. God’s holiness is always a matter for our imitation. While we have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus, we are still called to be holy as the Lord our God is holy. Our freedom from the Law is not a license to sin, but rather a source of strength for living according to God’s will and purposes.

Deuteronomy 26 offers another restatement of how tithes and offerings were to be presented, as well as a call to obey all of God’s commands. By now we are surely getting the point: God expects obedience from His people! Again we live under grace, not law, but Jesus told His disciples, “By this will all know you love Me: you obey My commands!” The Great Commission includes the instruction: “…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” As my friend Dale Milligan always said, “To love God is to trust Him enough to obey Him.”

Today, we start reading through the Gospel of John a second time. As I have reminded us, the goal in our reading, then re-reading each gospel is so we will gain a deeper understanding of who Jesus is and all He has done for us. We read from the Gospels everyday in our New Life’s 1 Year Prayer and Bible Reading Plan, because the entire Bible points to Jesus as the Messiah, and as Lord and Savior of us all. While we want to read through the entire Bible each year, so over time we will have an understanding of who God is and how God has operated from creation, until now, and what will happen ultimately for those who love Him in the future, we must know Jesus as Savior and Lord, and live in the power of His Spirit. Reading from the gospels daily, helps us to gain the information we need to apply Jesus’ salvation in our lives.

As we recall, John 1 starts quite differently from the other three gospels. John’s goal was not to tell us about Jesus’ birth or the preparation John the Baptist made for Jesus’ coming–at least not first. First, John wanted to establish Jesus is God. He was with God in the beginning, and He is the one who gives us the right to become children of God through His grace and truth.  As we read through John 1 again, let’s focus on the different names John gives Jesus, and what they mean in our lives as we apply them to our daily living.

Deuteronomy 19 restates the law concerning the establishment of cities of refuge and how they will be used. The basic concept was to limit the “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” justice that was to be meted out by the family member of one who had been killed, when the death was an accident. There was no mercy for those who committed intentional murder, but accidental death was to be treated with mercy. At the end of the chapter, we also find some admonitions concerning justice with regard to boundary markers, and witnesses and their ability to make accusations. The legal system was intended to provide justice for the nation, and to reflect God’s justice and mercy toward His people.

Deuteronomy 20 established conduct for war against Israel’s enemies. The key point was the Israelites weren’t to be afraid, because God was fighting for them. The priests were to head up the battle, and they were to dismiss any who had recently built a house, planted a vineyard, or been married, so they wouldn’t miss out on enjoying these new experiences in their lives. In addition, any who were afraid were to be dismissed, so their fear wouldn’t incite others to fear. Enemies in distant lands were to be given the option to serve Israel rather than to be destroyed, but the immediate inhabitants of the Promised Land were to be utterly destroyed. We’ve seen this theme over and over again. The reason is the same: God did not want the Israelites to be seduced by the idol worship of the inhabitants, or their immorality. He was establishing a holy nation, and that started with a “clean slate” when it came to their land of habitation. One additional command God gave was for the Israelites not to destroy the trees in any land they went to conquer. His reasoning was the trees had done nothing against the people. This act of conservation demonstrates God’s purpose in having people “subdue the earth and have dominion over it,” as found in Genesis 1, does not include destroying nature for the sake of that dominion.

Deuteronomy 21 restates some random rules we have seen before. They include: how an unsolved murder was to be addressed, so the people would not be held guilty for it; the process for marrying a woman who had been part of a people defeated by Israel; the rights of firstborn sons; dealing with a rebellious son; and the responsibility not to let anyone who had been hung on a tree (as a form of execution) hang there overnight.  These regulations continue into chapter 22, and conclude with a “laundry list” of prohibitions against sexual immorality. As we read through the lists, and see the death penalty for rebellious sons, the treatment of a foreign captive as having no rights, and various other rules that seem to have extreme punishments for the level of the crime, our 21st century sensibilities will undoubtedly be offended once again. Remember, we are dealing with a nation where justice was a new concept, and where holiness was the goal. This won’t make it easier for us to accept the concepts, perhaps, but it will make it easier to understand.

John 21 offers us one of the most poignant scenes in the Bible. Jesus has already shown Himself to the apostles after His resurrection. Nevertheless, Peter decides to go fishing, and takes most of the apostles with him. Perhaps, seeing Jesus alive only reminded Peter of his failure when Jesus was being tried and sentenced to death. In any case, they fished all night and caught nothing. In the morning, Jesus appeared to them on the beach. He asked whether they had caught any fish. Then He told them to cast their nets on the other side. The result was an amazing catch of fish. At that, John told Peter, “It is the Lord.” Peter jumped into the water and swam to shore. When the rest arrived in the boat, Jesus had already cooked breakfast for them.

After the meal, Jesus took Peter aside and asked him three times, “Do you love me?” Jesus’ question contained the Greek word “agape” for love the first two times. Peter responded the first two times with, “Yes, I love (Greek word: philios) you. The two words have significantly different meanings. Agape is the selfless love of God, whereas philios is human friendship. The third time Jesus asked the question, He too, used the word philios.  Jesus recognized at that moment Peter could muster no more than philios, but that was enough. Jesus commanded Peter to care for His “sheep,” each time he responded he loved Jesus. Jesus was reinstating Peter to his work. Jesus was forgiving Peter and telling him to focus forward rather than backward. He even told Peter that one day he would stand up for Jesus at the cost of his own life!

What a powerful lesson for each of us. We have all denied Jesus. We have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, even after trusting Jesus as Savior and Lord. Jesus’ words to Peter remind us He loves us–agapes us–regardless of what we have done. That gives us the hope to look forward no matter what we have done in the past, or what detours we are taking right now. The next time we have failed Jesus in some way, let’s remember John 21 and the powerful love Jesus showed Peter. Then remember that same love is ours, because Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

Deuteronomy 16 restates the need to celebrate the Festivals of Passover, Harvest, and Shelters each year. The conclusion of the chapter and the first part of chapter 17, reminds the people to appoint fair judges to meet the peoples’ needs for settling disputes. It also tells them no one can be convicted on the testimony of a single witness. The chapter concludes with instructions for the time when a king might be chosen for the people. The requirements includes being a native Israelite, and reading and recording the Law daily. Moses wanted to ensure any leader of God’s people would know His ways. Chapter 18 reminds the Israelites of the offerings to be given to the Levites. It then offers another reminder to live holy lives. In specific, the Israelites are reminded never to offer a child in sacrifice to any god. Finally, the people are reminded of how they will know the difference between true and false prophets. Basically, a true prophet serves only God and his or her prophecies always come true.

John 20 records Jesus’ resurrection as well as a statement of the purpose for which John wrote His gospel. In John’s resurrection account, Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene. She went to the tomb and found it empty. She went back and told the disciples about this. Peter and John ran to the tomb to see for themselves. When they entered the tomb, they found only the grave clothes lying there, with the head cloth in a different place than that of the rest. This was enough to convince John that Jesus had risen.

Next, Jesus appeared to Mary, and they had a conversation. Afterwards, Mary returned to the disciples and told them she had seen the Lord. That night Jesus appeared to all the disciples with the exception of Thomas, who wasn’t with the group. Jesus offered peace to them, breathed on them and gave them the Holy Spirit, and told them they had the power to forgive or retain sins!

When Thomas heard about Jesus’ appearance to the other ten disciples, he didn’t believe it. He wanted hard evidence that Jesus was alive. He got it: Jesus appeared to him, too. Without needing to touch Jesus, as he said he would need to do to believe Jesus had risen, Thomas fell down and proclaimed, “My Lord, and my God!” Jesus responded to Thomas that he only believed, because he had seen. Then He said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.” That includes  us!

John concluded the chapter by telling us Jesus did many other signs and wonders not written in his book, but he had written the book so those who read it might believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and believing might have life in His name. What a powerful statement. We have not seen Jesus with our own eyes yet. Even so, as we believe in Him, we have life–eternal life–in His name. No greater gift has ever been given, and at such a great cost: the perfect life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Deuteronomy 13 records the vital importance of not worshiping false gods. Moses tells us even if a prophet or visionary offers miracles or visions as “proof” of the power of other gods, we are not to be tricked by this test. Moses said even if one’s closest loved ones offered the temptation to worship other gods, not to do it. In fact, in such situations, the response was to stone that relative to death. That’s how important it was not to worship false gods! The consequences seem so extreme to us, but once again we see how vital it was for the Israelites to remain faithful to the LORD and to follow only Him. This principle remains true for us. When we turn away from the LORD the consequence is always death–either spiritual or physical death, or both. That’s why it is vital for us to love and serve Him alone.

Deuteronomy 14 starts by reminding the Israelites of which animals were clean and unclean. Moses wanted them to keep their holiness in every area of their lives as of first and foremost importance. The second half of the chapter is devoted to instructions concerning the peoples’ tithes. They were instructed to bring their tithes to the place the LORD directed every third year. As we read the account we find the people were told to celebrate and eat the tithes of grain and animals together, and to “remember” the Levites. Because the Levites were set apart to serve God, and weren’t given their own land, the rest of the tribes were to provide for them. This principle carries over throughout the history of God’s people and into the development of the early church as we read in the New Testament. While the Apostle Paul, tells us he served as a tentmaker, to pay his own way as he shared the gospel in various places, he also tells us that existing churches supported him. He tells us Peter and the other apostles received support for their ministries from those they served. The principle is vital, because even though there is no group of “Levites” in our day, those who invest their lives full-time in serving Jesus, rely on those who don’t for support. This frees up full-time workers to advance the Kingdom of God in ways that would not be possible without that full-time focus.

Deuteronomy 15 restates the laws of canceling debts, releasing slaves, and the sacrifice of firstborn male animals. One of the statements that catches our eye is there ought to be no poor people among the Israelites. Moses tells the people as they obey God they will be blessed abundantly. Then they ought to show kindness to the poor. This principle carried throughout Israel’s history, although it was often abused. For example, Jesus condemned the Pharisees for making a public show of helping the poor. Yet, in Acts 3-4, we find Peter and John healed a lame beggar, giving the man something far better than “alms,” or financial offerings. In James 1, we’re told true religion before the Lord is found in helping widows and orphans in their distress. As Jesus’ followers, we are called to follow in the long line of God’s people who alleviate the poverty of others. We do this both by sharing the good news of Jesus, so people will not be spiritually poor, and by meeting the physical needs of those struggling with poverty. To share Jesus without meeting physical needs makes our “good news” seem shallow. To meet the physical needs of others, without telling them about Jesus is merely social welfare, and while helpful, leaves the people we “help” still condemned to an eternity without Jesus.

John 19 records the crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus. We read again of Pilate’s desire to release Jesus, but the Jews called for His death. They even said they had no king but Caesar. As Jesus endured the cross, John tells us, He made three statements from the cross. In all, the four gospels record seven “last words” of Jesus from the cross. John’s statements include: 1) Jesus telling John that Mary was his mother, and he her son. In this way Jesus ensured His mother would be cared for after He rose from the dead and returned to heaven. 2) Jesus said, “I thirst.” This is a statement any human being in Jesus’ situation would have made. We can scarcely imagine the pain Jesus must have gone through. The blood loss He experienced from being whipped, would have caused severe dehydration and thirst. Hanging on the cross would only have added to that thirst.  3) Jesus said, “It is finished.” The Greek word John used to record the statement does not mean, “It is over,” but rather “It is completed,” or “It is fulfilled.”  Jesus’ death fulfilled or completed the purpose for which He came: to pay the penalty for human sin, and therefore to free us from sin and death! When Jesus rose from the dead on Easter morning, the affirmation of that completed work was accomplished. As Jesus’ followers, we can be sure our sin is forgiven and our hope for our future life with Him is sure, because Jesus completed His work on the cross for us.

Deuteronomy 10 starts with Moses telling of receiving two new stone tablets with the Ten Commandments. These were the same as the first ones God had written. Moses placed them in the Ark of the covenant as God commanded. The remainder of chapter 10 and all of chapter 11 offers Moses’ admonition to the Israelites to love and obey God, because of His great love for them. He tells them of the consequences for obedience and disobedience, and then tells them to choose “life,” which means to choose obedience, rather than choosing “death,” which would be the result of disobedience.  These chapters offer us a strong reminder that in every era we receive consequences for our actions. While we typically think of the word “consequence” as negative, consequences are simply the logical outcomes of previous actions. The logical outcome of loving and obeying the God of the universe is “life.” While we know people, including ourselves, who have loved and obeyed God and still experienced challenge and difficulty, the principle remains: loving and obeying God leads to life. Because of Jesus’ coming, because of His perfect life, sacrificial death and resurrection, we who trust God, and love and obey Him in the power of the Holy Spirit will experience life in all its abundance. We might experience bumps on the road in the short-term, but in eternal terms, our lives will be blessed.

Deuteronomy 11 offers us a crucial truth for God’s people in any era  of history: Do not worship as the pagans worship. Worship only as God decrees. The Israelites were about to enter a land filled with idol worshipers. God told them to destroy every idol and every “high place” where the idols were worshiped. The analogy for us is not to indulge ourselves in pagan worship practices, whether witchcraft or Satanism, eastern religions or any practice that doesn’t originate from our desire to worship the one, true living God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We live in relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The world over, people practice religion–the pursuit of “God” or a deity through actions designed to please or appease the god of that religion. Religion is as old as humanity, but only through the one, true God do we gain a relationship that brings lives of meaning and purpose here and now and forever.

John 18 records the betrayal, arrest, and trial of Jesus. It also records Peter’s denial of Jesus. As we move through the chapter, we might easily miss a couple of amazing responses to Jesus in it. First, when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, and He told them He was Jesus they “fell back.” 400 trained soldiers faced one man, Jesus, and at the mere admission from Jesus that He was the one they were seeking, they fell back. We might think of Jesus as a “nice” man, as a “pleasant” man, and to be sure, Jesus must have been kind and caring as we see through His interactions with so many. But John shows us in the situation when  the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, a military or at least police action, Jesus’ mere presence was enough to frighten 400 soldiers!

During Jesus’ interaction with Pilate, Jesus told Pilate His Kingdom was not of this world. Pilate responded, “So you are a king then?”  Jesus neither confirmed nor denied the position, but told Pilate, He came to reveal the truth.  Pilate asked, “What is truth?” but didn’t wait for Jesus’ response. Pilate had the truth standing in front of him, and could have learned the deep truths of God and reality. Instead, he walked away, returning to the crowd and telling them he found no guilt in Jesus. Despite finding Jesus not guilty, he condemned Jesus, because he was afraid of the crowd. We could say the crowd was more guilty than Pilate, because they called for Jesus’ crucifixion. But Pilate had both the power and authority to free Jesus. Instead, because of his fear of the crowd, and his fear he might lose his position, he succumbed to the crowd. Lest we be too hard on Pilate, think of how often we have been in a position to stand up for Jesus, but let the opportunity go, because we either didn’t want to start an argument, or didn’t want to be seen as a fanatic. We always find it easier to condemn others’ actions, than to hold ourselves accountable for our own.  But as Jesus reminded the Pharisees back in John 8, we can only condemn others if we have no sin ourselves.

Deuteronomy 7 offers us an explanation for why God chose the Israelites and what they needed to do to remain God’s holy people. God chose them simply because He loved them and had promised their ancestors He would form them into a great nation. They were not a great nation in and of themselves. The requisite for their continuing to receive God’s love and blessing as they entered the Promised Land was they would destroy the pagan people of the land, along with their idols. God knew if the Israelites intermingled with the pagans, they would adopt the pagan ways of those people. This happened eventually, because the Israelites failed to put God first, and to obey His instructions. The promises God made included material blessing, physical health, and a close relationship with Him. Who would not want all that? Yet, the Israelites soon traded all that for immediate moments of fun with groups of pagans. We could condemn them if it weren’t for our own propensity to turn away from the amazing promises of God, for our own “15 minute decisions.” Thank God that He is so much more faithful than we are!

In Deuteronomy 8, Moses reminds the Israelites again of the blessings God will offer them as they obey Him. He also tells them they will lose everything if they disobey. This constant challenge to remember the blessing and avoid the curse of God has been before us as God’s people from the beginning. The choice seems so clear and obvious, yet the fallen, sinful natures within us move us away from the clear choice of blessing, and toward the curse. We can never work our way into God’s blessing. We can never be “good enough” to gain God’s blessing. We have God’s blessing, because we are His people, when we trust Jesus as Lord, just as the Israelites had God’s blessing as they entered the Promised Land. The only thing left to do is to step into that blessing, and live it in the power of the Holy Spirit.

In Deuteronomy 9, Moses reminded the Israelites they were about to enter a land where the inhabitants were more numerous and stronger than they. The only path to victory was to accept God’s gracious leadership and let Him provide it! Moses reminded the Israelites of how they had failed to do that in the wilderness by creating and worshiping the golden calf. This was a time to remember their sinful past, learn from it, and rely totally on God.  How much each of us needs that reminder in our lives each day!

John 17 is often known as “The High Priestly Prayer” of Jesus. That’s because in it Jesus prays for God to protect His followers, and not only the disciples who were with Him at the moment, but all who would one day belong to Him, because of their efforts. That includes us! Jesus’ prayer is we will all be one as He and the heavenly Father are one.  That is an amazing prayer, especially if you have ever been part of a group of Jesus’ followers before.  What I mean by that is we have a tendency not to be “one” when we’re together. We find all kinds of reasons to divide and break unity with one another. The reasons can be as substantial as matters of theology, and as insignificant as the color of the worship center carpet. Over the years, as the lead pastor of New Life Christian Ministries, I have said many times in a new members’ class, “One of the most important reasons New Life has continued to grow is we have never divided, and the reason we haven’t divided is because we have unity in our mission.” While the statement might seem a bit simplistic, the truth is most churches never get larger, because the people divide among themselves, and never grow. They’re too busy arguing over insignificant matters. As my good friend, Pastor John Nuzzo puts it, “If people aren’t fighting over something important, they just fight.”  We don’t have uniformity or even unanimity at New Life, but we do have unity on the important matters. We don’t argue over the small stuff, and if someone wants to argue over that, they eventually find it’s a non-starter at New Life. We have had people leave, because we believe the Bible is true and not just metaphorically true, but literally true. That’s okay. Even when we believe the Bible is true, we can disagree over certain matters, but we can’t disagree over whether there is a God, who has a Son named Jesus, who lived a perfect life, died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin, and to redeem us. We can’t disagree that He rose again from the dead, returned to heaven, and sent His Spirit to empower us to live together in unity until He returns. In John 17, Jesus prayed for that kind of unity, and we believe only as the Holy Spirit works among us, and as we live out the written word in the power of the Holy Spirit will that unity continue to be a reality among us. Let’s all pray, as Jesus did, that we will all be one to His glory and praise!

Deuteronomy 4 starts with Moses urging Israel to obey God and all His commands. Moses moves on to urge them not to worship idols. Moses reminds the Israelites God alone is the one, true, living God and therefore, He will not tolerate the worship of idols. Moses even reminds the Israelites he has been excluded from entering the Promised Land for disobedience, so they must be obedient. At the close of the chapter Moses introduces what is coming in the chapters ahead. He tells the people he is going to introduce laws they must obey.

In Deuteronomy 5 Moses restates the Ten Commandments. After doing so he urges the Israelites again to obey those commands and all the commands they will receive through him. As we read through the Ten Commandments a second time, we see again how important God considered the Sabbath, and honoring parents. These are the only commands with additional explanation. As 21st century followers of Jesus, we are not “under the Law,” and yet these commandments apply to us.  Jesus told us He didn’t come to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them.  Many different interpretations of that statement have been offered, but surely it means at least this: Jesus came to show us the depth of meaning of each of God’s commands, and to fulfill them, because we could not. As those living in the Spirit, we are not to devote our time in attempting to be perfect rule followers. That has never worked for God’s people. We are to learn and understand the principles the laws offer, and then live them out in the power of the Holy Spirit. That way God will be glorified and we will grow individually and together into all God has for us.  Honoring the Sabbath is a command Jesus addressed directly. He said the Sabbath was made for us, not us for the Sabbath. In saying that Jesus made it clear we aren’t to worry about whether there’s a lose thread on our t-shirt as we go to worship, (because that would be ‘bearing a burden,’ which is work, and thus breaks the Sabbath, according to the traditions of the Pharisees!) but we are to stop one day each week to rest, to be renewed, and to reflect on God’s glory and power. Corporate worship ought to be part of that weekly Sabbath, but it is only one part of a bigger picture of putting God first in our lives.

Deuteronomy 6 is one of the most beautiful calls for whole-hearted commitment to God offered in the entire Bible. Indeed, it includes the statement Jesus said is the greatest commandment in the Law: we must love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength. The Israelites were called to remember this commitment, and to share it with their children at the start and end of each day, and when they went out and came in. In other words, they were always to put God first in their lives. Moses reminded the Israelites this would be the only way their lives would be blessed and that they would live victoriously in the new land God was about to give them.

In John 16, Jesus tells the disciples of the coming of the Holy Spirit. I have always appreciated Jesus’ telling the disciples when the Holy Spirit comes He will remind them of everything Jesus said. The reason I appreciate this, is because it tells us when we read God’s word and put it in our minds, the Holy Spirit will be able to call it out when we need it. The disciples had seen and heard Jesus perform miracles, teach, and cast out demons. Their memories were of events they had experienced personally. The Holy Spirit would bring these to mind so they could retell them to others, and one day to record them in the gospels. Once we have read these accounts, the Holy Spirit can, in the same way, bring them to our minds, so we will be able to retell them and help those who need God’s truth, encouragement, correction, and support.

Many times over the years, when someone has asked me a question, or when I have been meeting with a hurting or questioning person, the Holy Spirit has brought to my mind a word of Scripture that has been just what was needed in the moment. John 16 acknowledges the disciples didn’t understand a great deal of what Jesus said and did while He was with them. The Holy Spirit would bring a clarity to these events after Jesus left, and He came, that they never knew even as they experienced the events as they happened!

Today, we turn to the fifth and final book of the Pentateuch: Deuteronomy. The name means “second Law” in Greek, and signifies Moses’ second giving of the Law to the people of Israel. As we would expect, much of Deuteronomy repeats information we have already received in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, but we will also read of laws and experiences unique to the record of Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 1 rehearses the forty year history of Israel’s wilderness wanderings in one chapter. At the beginning we’re told it ought to have taken eleven days to make the journey that took forty years. We’re told of Moses appointing leaders for the tribes, and judges to help him. We’re also told of the Israelites’ rebellion against God by failing to enter the Promised Land, because the majority of the scouts who went into spy out the land reported the people were too great for them to defeat. We already know all this from the previous books of the Pentateuch, but repetition is the mother of learning.  Deuteronomy 2 rehearses  more of the wanderings through the wilderness and recounts the victory over Sihon, the King of Hesbon. Deuteronomy 3 retells the accounts of Israel’s victory over Og, and the division of the land east of the Jordan River. It offers us some new information regarding Moses being told he could not enter the Promised Land. Moses tells us he pleaded with God to let him enter, but God’s mind would not be changed. I have always felt bad for Moses, because he endured so much as Israel’s leader, but he didn’t get to be part of entering the Promised Land. Imagine leading a group of people for forty years, when the mission ought to have taken two weeks. Imagine at the end of that lengthy and often discouraging time being told, “You have made it to the doorway of the ‘prize,’ but you can’t pass through.” I understand God’s decision to show the people how important His glory is, by not letting Moses usurp it without consequence. Even so, I feel bad for Moses, who led so long and so well, but in the end came up 50 yards short of the finish line.

In John 15, Jesus offers an analogy of how closely connected we must be to Him. He tells us He is the “vine” and we are the “branches.” In the analogy, the vine is the source of all growth, all health, and all strength. He tells us as long as we abide or remain in Him we will “bear fruit.” I have always loved this analogy, because it reminds us of two vital truths: 1) It’s all about Jesus. He is the one who gets the glory for every good thing we do. We will only do good things as we stay connected to Him; and 2) Jesus expects us to bear fruit. Some have said Jesus only expects us to be “faithful” not “successful.” We are to do our best and that’s all that’s necessary.  Here we find Jesus not only calling us to be faithful, but to be “fruitful.” He does care about our “success.” Success can be defined in many ways by the world, but for Jesus success is defined as staying connected to Him, and by doing so to produce fruit. That fruit will include our own growth as His followers, and seeing others come to know Him through our interaction in their lives.

Jesus continued the image by adding that we are His friends, not His servants. We demonstrate that friendship by loving one another. He tells us greater love has no one than to lay down our life for our friends. In less than twenty-four hours, Jesus would be laying down His life for them, so His words ring true.

Finally, Jesus tells the disciples they will be hated by the world, and they ought to understand that, because the world first hated Him. If they hated Jesus, who was perfect, they would certainly hate us for representing Him, albeit imperfectly. As we follow Jesus and represent Him in the world, we must expect times when we will be rejected. Thankfully, we have the Holy Spirit to strengthen us for such times and in such times!