The Bible is the MOST amazing book ever written…and EVERY time I read it, well, it rocks my world. Back in January I went and bought a new Bible…and made sure it was a translation I was not familiar with. I felt like the Lord wanted me to start in Genesis and read it through…
AND IT HAS BEEN AWESOME!
I am just about through the book of Deuteronomy right now…and here are a few things that He has been teaching me…
In the first chapter of Genesis God makes it clear that this world—everything—is ALL ABOUT HIM! The phrase, “And God said” appears 32 times in chapter one…and there are 31 verses…so there is an average of one per verse…and He threw an extra one in to prove His point! MY LIFE IS NOT MY LIFE…I am HIS!
Also in Genesis chapter one God commands His creation to be fruitful and multiply twice…and there is a third remark made about creation being fruitful as well…looks like God from the very beginning wants anything He creates to GROW & MULTIPLY & not stay the same…uh, didn’t He create the church? :-)
God is sovereign!
When you think your life is bad—read the story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50! What a man!!! Talk about faithfulness to God DESPITE circumstances. It’s EASY to follow God when things are going well—but when things are bad I wonder would I react like Joseph reacted.
God desires to set His people free!
God gave His Law to the Israelites AFTER He had set them free—not before. In other words He didn’t say, “Do this list of rules and you will be free.” He set them free and then gave them commands because He loved them and wanted to protect them…and He does the same today.
If God can put an interstate highway through the Red Sea then I think that pretty much qualifies Him to handle anything I will be facing today.
If we forget God’s faithfulness in our past then we will always doubt Him with our future. The Israelites saw Him destroy the largest army in the world—and in less than a week were doubting whether or not He could feed them!
When God wants to do something—NOTHING can get in His way…look @ the story of Moses!
I laughed when I read Leviticus 15:19-27 because it reminded me of an entire message I preached on that text last year—when I read it in our auditorium you could have heard a pin drop!
The high priest had a VERY BUSY JOB…in fact, He probably never got to sit down—that is why it is so cool that when Jesus, our High Priest, got back to heaven He sat down—meaning the work is finished, sin is paid for!
One of the most common phrases in Exodus through Deuteronomy is, “And the Lord said to Moses…” Moses was a great leader—BUT ONLY because he did exactly what God told him to do—leadership is as easy as listening to God.
The command to keep the Sabbath is the longest command—God’s serious about us getting rest.
Tithing is a Biblical concept that is established BEFORE the Law; in fact, it happens twice in the book of Genesis…and the Law isn’t even given until the book of Exodus. And God set it up NOT because He wants our money—but so that we can tangibly say, “I love you.” Giving is worship.
When a sacrifice was made to God—He demanded the very best a person has to offer. The words most commonly used to describe the lambs that were to be sacrificed are “unblemished” and “without defect.” God despises our leftovers in any area of our lives.
Life is so much better when we do what is right in God’s eyes!
Some denominations are fighting as to whether or not God is a man or a woman…after reading Deuteronomy 25:11-12 there is no doubt in my mind—God is a man!!!
I am going to preach a message on Deuteronomy 23:12-14! Seriously…it will be soon…at NewSpring we preach the WHOLE BIBLE!!!
Those are just a few of the things I have been learning. Oh yeah…I know some will ask…I am studying through the ESV…and I normally preach out of the NIV. (I also love the NLT.)