I was reading today in the book of Deuteronomy in the Bible. This book title means the second law. It is the second account of how God spoke to Moses and how Moses received the Law of God and the Ten Commandments. It makes an interesting read and it is not as hard going as you might imagine. The reason it had to be rewritten was in effect because before the law had been written down the first time the nation of Israel had already broken it. As Moses came down Mount Sinai he and Joshua thought that they heard the shouts of people at war. In fact they were hearing the noise of a wild party where their people were dancing and worshipping a golden calf.





What did God do then? Before Moses left the presence of God he had been warned what was going on at base camp. God had threatened to destroy the nation and start a new one through Moses. Moses in a characteristic act of humility and bravery reminded God of the shame and criticism that God would bring on His name if he destroyed his own people and in an amazing turnaround God agreed not to judge them. Now I don't really know how all this works but it seems to me on a simple reading of scripture that there have been a few men who had real power of persuasion in the presence of God (Moses, Abraham and Jacob to name a few) and God responded to their prayers - that should give us all hope.


As I close I want to summarise by pointing you to a couple of verses in Deuteronomy:


Deut.4.24 - "The Lord thy God is a consuming fire even a jealous God". This is so true and reflects the power and holiness of God. He is jealous (this is not an evil sense of the word jealous) of His holy character and will not allow it to be violated. So where does that leave flawed and sinful people like you and I - look at the next verse and also bear in mind Moses prayer.


Deut.4.31 - "For the Lord thy God is a merciful God". Is this a contradiction in terms? I personally don't think so. God preserves His character and will not allow it to be defiled but in grace he makes provision for sinful people to be forgiven. In the Old Testament it was sacrifices that had the temporary effect of covering sin. These sacrifices pictured the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross. His ultimate sacrifice makes it possible for us to be forgiven and experience the mercy of God. Scripture says "if we confess our sins, he faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1.John.1.9).

May the Lord bless you in this manner today.


Stephen


PS please watch my latest video on Moses and the Passover

Facing Death

Today was an unusual one. I went to the funeral of a Christian gentleman. He was old and had been married. He lived a simple life, not much money but he had always seemed to be happy and content. We were told by the preacher that he had been an angry man once, it sounded like he had almost verged on abusing his wife. He had found it impossible to control his temper.

One day he met a family who seemed to be different. They were kind and considerate and had a happy lifestyle even though they were not very wealthy. They explained to him that the source of their contentment was not based on what they had nor an extra-ordinary strength of character but because they had been introduced to God and that they knew His presence and power in their lives.

That day my friend decided that he wanted what they had. They explained that God was offering to everyone the same deal. Simply put - admit your guilt and need before God, confess your inability to live to perfection on your own and accept the offer of forgiveness from God and he will keep his promise to 'save' you. They explained that the offer was genuine because God is the creator and we are answerable to Him but more than that God sent His Son, Jesus, to earth 2008 years ago. All the details of His life point a thinking mind to this fact - God appeared on earth and in person (the person of His Son) paid the price for sin by His death. The factual historical record of the resurrection of Jesus confirms the claims that He is the Son of God and dealt with sin and transgression by His death. God raised Him from the dead by the Spirit of holiness.

Our friend responded when he heard about the offer of forgiveness and the power of a saved and changed life. Will you? Please let us know if we can help you.

Stephen