Scripture:

Deuteronomy 21:22-23

22 “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God

When we read the Bible, we begin to see and even understand the parallels between the Old and New Testaments.  This morning in our God shot, we are going to catch something deep.    

Romans 6:23 tells us that all of us in our fallen nature deserve death: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

And today, we find our parallel in Galatians 3:13

13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), ~Galatians 3:13

Our takeaway:

• God sent His Son to die for us
• To take our punishment, the curse for our sins on himself
• We were deserving of death, but He gave us life

To remember the sacrifice that Christ made for us, to live in the freedom that Christ died for.   To not squander its power, to live for Him.

Lord, we thank you for your immeasurable love for us, that you gave it all that we might have it all, that you set us free from sin and death by taking our curse, by giving your life, Lord let our lives be given over to you, let us live in the freedom you died for, in Jesus' name,  Amen!

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 20:1-4

“When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. 2 So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people. 3 And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; 4 for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’

"Big God Big Victories"

The Big picture of Exodus to Deuteronomy and throughout the Bible is that if you "Go with God," you will taste victory, you will overcome the difficult bits of life, and you will be blessed and highly favored.   When the enemy seems big and even more numerous than you, "don't be afraid of them."  This is a reminder that nothing we face with the LORD is too big.  If you ever wanted a reason to be God-reliant, here it is.   "For the LORD your God is He who goes with you, to fight against your enemies, to save you."

The application here is to remember my victory is in being with God, to not step into life, into circumstances on my own, to invite God into all the areas of my life, the ups, the downs, the battles, the victories, and in all the little bits of life.  Because with Him nothing is impossible, with Him I have everything I need, with Him I am better.

Lord, thank you that your presence in my life is the "victory."   That as I intentionally walk with you, I can walk in boldness because you are with me, you fight my battles, you bring my victories, you make our lives better, it is your presence that changes everything, we praise you in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:
Deuteronomy 15:5-6
only if you carefully obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today. For the LORD your GOd will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.

Observation:
"The Blessing of Obedience"
I think many of us miss that our willingness to follow the LORD brings blessing into our lives, that if we would follow His leading, if we would keep His commands, His direction, we would be blessed. He says: "You shall lend to many nations." This means that we are meant to be a blessing to those around us, people are blessed when we follow the Lord, it is because God makes us a wellspring, a place of constant blessing. Not only are we blessed when we follow Him, but we gain authority, notice He says "You shall reign over many nations." This means your serving, seeking the Lord produces "Influence," power, position and this can be used to reach people, to overcome the enemy. You are BLESSED when you seek the LORD with your whole life.

Application:
Obey His Voice
Keep His Commands
The application here is to seek the LORD with all of you have, to keep His commands, to get His word into your life, to rest in the blessing that is as a result of this pursuit.

You will be blessed in your coming and your going.
You will be blessed in your rising and your lying down.

Seek Him!
Prayer:
Lord let our hearts be fully committed to you and your leading, let us walk in your ways, in your precepts, let us seek to be your people, let our hearts be fully committed, let us have a different spirit in us like Caleb, bless us in all that we do Lord, let us not stray to the left or the right, but be fully devoted to you and your Kingdom, in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:
Deuteronomy 11:18-21
“Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.

"Mezuzah" a practice that Jews have passed down from generation to generation, to this day the Jewish people still put the Torah in a scroll on their doorposts. The piece they wear on their heads is called "Tefillah shel rosh," which usually contains the "Shema," which is the greatest commandment. As you can see, the people of God took this seriously.

We have this obligation to get the word of God into us, one that it may change, transform us, that would give the life it is intended to produce, then we are to pass it on, to our children, our families, the people of our city, of our influence.

Something you should catch is the closing of verse 21, that your obedience to get the word in you to share it, to allow it to produce fruit in your life, will literally add life to you, extend your life, that is the promise.

To have real life, we must get the word of God into us; in His word we find life, and that life is to be shared with all that we know. The promise, in turn, is that we would have life and it more abundantly

Lord, I thank you for your word that as it gets into us, it has the power to change us. Help us to get it into our hearts, that out of the overflow our mouths would speak, that we would be obedient to its leading, and that life would go well as a result, in Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:

Deuteronomy 8:2

2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.

"To Know What Was In Your Heart"

As parents, we observe a lot, we watch our children, we observe the things we like and the things we don't.  We allow our children to make mistakes, and we use some of these opportunities to redirect them, to test them.   You can see that God is a Good Father. In this portion today, He says that He led them through the wilderness to humble and test them and to know what was in their hearts.   See, He knows what is best for us, knows the way that is best for us. If they had stepped into the promised land too early, they would have abandoned Him; they would have strayed away. He was shaping them, molding them, showing them that they could rely on Him for everything. He was a covering by day, a light by night. He was their supply; their shoes/clothes lasted for forty years.  Nothing they needed did they lack.

He wants to know what is in our hearts, will we trust Him through the good, the bad, and the ugly, will He always be our supply, our Father, our trust, will we always rely on Him, can He take us in? Will we be loyal, will we seek Him?   The application here is to make Him Lord of your Life.

Lord, I thank you that you care not just about my wants but what I need, you direct my life, you lead us into paths of righteousness, into the good places, you do whatever it takes to get us there and sometimes that takes some directing, thank you for that, thank you that you love me enough to push me into places I would not have reached without you, in Jesus' name, Amen!