Do as your told and you will be rewarded (Deuteronomy 7)

Have your ever been told to do as your told and you will be rewarded. The following passage is an example of this, a request from God to his people to trust him and he will reward them. He gave them specific instruction on how to overtake the land they had been promised.




Deuteronomy 7:1-5 (http://www.biblegateway.com)

New International Version (NIV)
Driving Out the Nations

7 When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations ² and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally.^[a] Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. ³ Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, ⁴ for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. ⁵ This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles^[b] and burn their idols in the fire.
 ⁹ Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. ¹⁰ But

those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction;
    he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.

¹¹ Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.

¹² If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, ........¹⁴ You will be blessed more than any other people; ¹⁵ The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you. ¹⁶ You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
¹⁷ You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?” ¹⁸ But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.
 ²² The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. ²³ But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed. ²⁴ He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them. ²⁵ The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the Lord your God. ²⁶ Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.


Perhaps we cannot identify with overtaking a land, but we all can identify with thinking we know better and just sneaking a little bit of what we know is not right. We can all identify with what happens when we do this, that sin can easily multiple and before we know it we are in a rut.


The lesson here is to closely follow God and to trust him, how are we doing?

I told you so (Deuteronomy 5&6)

In the first several chapters of Deuteronomy the Israelites are given last minute instructions as they are about to enter the promised land in the same way we have received or given instruction.


How many times have we been the receiver of such a message and thought we knew better only to learn latter that the message giver was right.


In this case God could have told the Israelites I told you so. In upcoming chapters and books we will see how poorly they followed God's direction and how dearly they paid for thinking that they knew better. But before we think oh my what stupid people, how often do we do the same thing?


The following passages are from Deuteronomy (http://www.biblegateway.com) New International Version (NIV).


In Deuteronomy 5:1-3, 32 the Israelites are given last minute instructions before they enter the promised land.

The Ten Commandments

Moses summoned all Israel and said:

Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. ² The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. ³ It was not with our ancestors^[a] that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today.

³² So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left.


Sounds pretty simple right, follow the detailed plan!!


Like many of us have done as parents we repeat the plan, maybe provide a few more points to make sure our kids get it. A few more pointers are given in;


Deuteronomy 6

Love the Lord Your God

6 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, ² so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. ³ Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

⁴ Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^{[a] 5} Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
¹⁰ When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, ¹¹ houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, ¹² be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
¹³ Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. ¹⁴ Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; ¹⁵ for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. ¹⁶ Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. ¹⁷ Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. ¹⁸ Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, ¹⁹ thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.
²⁰ In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” ²¹ tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. ²² Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. ²³ But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. ²⁴ The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. ²⁵ And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.”


How closely do I listen to Gods direction, given in his word, in prayer, by the Holy Spirit or through his messengers??

 

Ya gotta love sombody

What would you do with their personality and circumstances?


We people can be crude and downright mean. As I reflect on my own experiences and how I have responded to those around me, I wonder; What would I do with their personality and circumstances? Would I handle it better or worse? Here's the thing, how can we possibly know?




Our personalities are very complex and unique to each of us as are our circumstances. When we mix these 2 ingratiates together we get a unique blend that one cannot possibly completely identify with.


How many times do we still think we know best about someone else's situation? Not only can we not identify with the concoction that is ones personality and circumstance, another ingredient is how God has chosen to work in that person life. He may be allowing circumstances into their life to shape them that they would desperately like to avoid and maybe they would choose differently under normal circumstances, but if God wants to expose us to a lesson, he will.


I am not suggesting that our poor choices don't sometimes create our lesson learning experiences, but there are lots of examples of people who God schooled and not because they were disobedient. Moses and Joseph are just 2 biblical examples.


More and more as I get older I am seeing why the greatest commandment is love and that really everything else ties into it.


Matthew 22:37-40 (http://www.biblegateway.com)

New International Version (NIV)

³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{[a] 38} This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^{[b] 40} All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”


If I truly love will I not give more of myself? There are so many opportunities to do so much and yet so many times I only do enough to complete my checklist. I may have a hurting friend and ask them how they are, check, I completed that. Or I may offer that same person a verse or a book. All this is good but is it enough or just enough to release my conscious? How often do I really try to empathise with that  person, be a listening ear and truly give of myself in love?


If I had love would I be so quick to judge someone else's personality, circumstance, etc.?


Love Knows No End - Hillsong
"Don't Have Love" - Holly Starr

Suffering in silence

As we approach Jan 28/14, which is Bell's let's talk "Mental Health Awareness day", I wonder how many people suffer in silence, too afraid to speak up because of feared consequences. Perhaps they think they will be misunderstood, avoided like a plague, loose their job, etc. There are many, many reasons one can think of to keep a secret all to ones self. It's called self protection, but just what is the long term affect of stuffing ones feelings for the purpose of self protection? Eventually the lid will blow, perhaps it will come out in anger, a person being withdrawn, a person becoming addicted to what might feel good to ease the pain, etc.




How many of us are willing to look within and peal back the onion and really be who we are and experience Emotionally Healthy Spirituality?




While we often look at what we consider as more seriously depressed or anxious people as the only ones who may need help, we all have an emotional and mental makeup that can be improved upon. Just like an athlete may hone their physical muscles, we would do well to hone our mental and emotional self as well. The person who is not depressed or bi polar, but is frequently angry, is also in need of taking an inner look. Why are they responding this way? What caused this anger? One can Band-Aid fix the issue and temporarily control it, but to really fix a problem you have to get to the root of the problem. You may call it root cause analysis.




In my own experience, I am just now understanding who I am emotionally and how to feel in a more healthy way. I can look back and see how I allowed circumstances to shape my naturally more serious and sensitive personality, in ways that were not always healthy. I would say that I always coped and in fact I feel that based on my resume of experiences, by the grace of God I coped reasonably well. Too often though I did not take the time to feel the freedom to express my feelings and unknowingly they slowly built over time to a volcanic affect point.




I felt lost and didn't know why. I felt angry, anxious and easily irritated, but wasn't sure how to fix it. Being "more spiritual" didn't have a long lasting positive impact. I needed to feel the freedom to express my feelings, to mourn what had been lost, to feel frustrated and even angry and then move on and make positive choices. I had the moving on part reasonably well perfected, but I am naturally a stuffer and didn't realize how much I had stuffed. Little irritants piled up like boxes stacked to the ceiling. I am one who always wants to be the nice guy so it is very hard for me to tell someone how I really feel. It is easier for me to down play the situation. My personality traits combined with my experiences have left me with a lot of growth opportunities that I have just begun to explore over the last few years.




I have spent time seeking professional help and have done lots of reading. I had hit a wall and my methods were no longer working. figuratively speaking the ladder I was using was too short to climb the wall or the hammer I had was to small to even put a dent in it.




I had suffered in silence and needed to change. Don't get me wrong, I didn't sit around and mope, I coped as I knew how, by stubbornly moving on and bulldozing the walls down that presented themselves. It left me tired and exhausted though because I spent little time on my own mental health. I always thought I would get by, but such is life that you never know what is around the corner. Like a boxer woozy and with wobbly knees, the knockout punch for me was being diagnosed with cancer.




While you may not be seriously depressed or anxious, we all fall short and that means we all have areas where we can improve in our understanding of ourselves and our quest to be more emotionally healthy.




There is a myth out there that as Christians we should not be too emotional, that we should be stoic and always strong. That is in stark contrast to King David's writings in the Psalms or some of the prayers of Jesus (Mark 14:32-42). One can show emotion and still be obedient to our saviour as opposed to how some Christians may think. Some believe that showing emotion is a sign of weakness or not trusting God enough. I would suggest it is a healthy part of the process and journey to becoming more obedient and God reliant. It is a critical step. Jesus expressed his feelings in Mark 14:32-42, but was still obedient to the point of death.




A few good reads are;




Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero
Hitting the Wall by David S Payne
Run The Amazing Race by David S Payne
Mud and the MasterPeice by John Burke
Your Were Made for More by Jim Cymbala
Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley
Finding Peace by Charles Stanley
Inside Out by Larry Crabb
Disappointment with God by Phillip Yancey
Soul Detox by Craig Groeschel

How is your mental and emotional health?

Jan 28/14, is Bell Let's Talk Mental health day in Canada

What is mental health? According to the blurb on this link, Canadian Mental Health Association, 

Mental health means striking a balance in all aspects of your life: social, physical, spiritual, economic and mental. Reaching a balance is a learning process. At times, you may tip the balance too much in one direction and have to find your footing again. Your personal balance will be unique, and your challenge will be to stay mentally healthy by keeping that balance.

This would suggest it is an issue to some degree for all humans, after all we all struggle emotionally to some degree. Before you dismiss it and think you can't possibly have any form of a mental health struggle, I would really encourage you to check out this informative link. It may help you understand why you feel the way you do and direct you to a path that could lead to improved health.

Mental health awareness is getting more and more air time all the time and so it should. In our day increasing numbers of people struggle with some form of mental health challenges. Why, well here are a few possibilities, chemical imbalances, all the chemicals in our foods (who knows there impact), the high speed lives many of us live and the accompanying stress, the breakdown of the family and it's many related impacts such as abuse, health issues, etc. and on and on the list could go.

Mental and emotional health for far too long has been something that has not been given its due respect. In general, but also in particular in Christian circles, many still cling to the get over it, get a grip and be happy type mentality.

It strikes me as odd that it is widely understood that repeated physical ailments whether it be ankle sprains or chronic back issue, etc., are ok to seek medical attention for, but one should just be stoic and get over emotional and mental health challenges. While it is acceptable for a Christian to seek medical attention for physical conditions, in some circles it has been frowned on if a Christian seeks professional medical attention for emotional conditions. WHY? Is it because physical conditions are easier to see and diagnose. That for sure is true, but still some Christians openly communicate their expectation is that a person should just get on with it, after all the bible says cast all your anxiety's on God, do not worry, fear not, etc. If we as Christians were expected to live emotionless lives and not to struggle then why were we given so many examples in the bible of people who showed their emotions, including King David and Jesus. I would suggest that while God wants us to lean on him and cast our anxiety's on him, he also expects us to be real and to show our emotions as Jesus did. It can be a process and a journey to experience and dwell in the provisions of God as opposed to a quick fix. We are human after all.

Just as one may be born with physical ailments such as a deformed back, is it not possible that one may also be born with a Chemical Imbalance resulting in bi polar, depression, anxiety, etc? It would certainly seem reasonable.

In my earlier years I too would have held to the just get over it motto. However as I have lived life and experienced the impacts that repeated challenging events have had on my mental and emotional health, I have a new found respect for mental health challenges. Whether you experience them from doing life or from a chemical imbalance, I would encourage you to be real and to seek out the professional help that is available to provide you with the assistance that you need.

If you are out there and you have repeatedly hurt your back, ankle, etc., be it by sport or otherwise, it is in a weakened state and needs help. Similarly if you have experienced tough situations, be it health, relational, job loss, etc., your emotional and mental health may be in a weakened state and you should feel the freedom to express your hurt and seek help.

There are far too many people who have kept silent for too long and in some cases it has resulted in life ending decisions. As Christians, we have not always shown the respect we should to mental health or the love to those who struggle in this area. I believe we can play a much more proactive role in this increasingly common challenge that people face. God expects us to carry each others burdens.

When have we dismissed someone, simply because we didn't think they acted as we thought they should. Perhaps they easily angered, were too sensitive, too emotional, too withdrawn, etc., BUT, did we show them love. Did we take the time to try and understand their story and show empathy? What would Jesus do?

The below is a link to;

Canadian Mental Health Association

Do you believe in angels (Numbers 22:21-35)

Do you believe in angels? The below text certainly suggests that angels exists. Actually there are many references to them in the bible.

I have often wondered what all happens in the background that we are unaware of. How does God use angels?

Numbers 22:21-35 (http://www.biblegateway.com)

New International Version (NIV)

 

Balaam’s Donkey

²¹ Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. ²² But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. ²³ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road.
²⁴ Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. ²⁵ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.
²⁶ Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff. ²⁸ Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”
²⁹ Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”
³⁰ The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”
“No,” he said.
³¹ Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.
³² The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.^{[a] 33} The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.”
³⁴ Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.”
³⁵ The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.

How many times have I pulled a Balaam?

Hymn: Ten Thousand Angels (Acapella)
In The Arms Of an Angel - Sarah McLaughlin

 

consequence of choice (Numbers 14:20-35)

We have a God who gives us choice, choice to choose him or not too. I do believe though that when we choose him, when we pledge ourselves to him, when we vow our lives to him, that he holds us accountable to that choice. Why wouldn't he, he gave his life for us.

In the below passage the Israelites are grumbling yet again and God is sick and tired of it. He had enough and punishes them severely to the point that almost all of them would not see the promised land.

Numbers 14:20-35

New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. ²¹ Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, ²² not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— ²³ not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. ²⁴ But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. ²⁵ Since the Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.^[a]”
²⁶ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: ²⁷ “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. ²⁸ So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: ²⁹ In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. ³⁰ Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. ³¹ As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. ³² But as for you, your bodies will fall in this wilderness. ³³ Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. ³⁴ For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.’ ³⁵ I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this wilderness; here they will die.”

I wonder sometimes about my own life. When God is asking me to trust him and follow him and I am unwilling, does his grace period last forever?

Currently I believe;
- that if we continue to ignore God, he may allow circumstances into our lives to get our attention. When we choose poorly, whether it is to watch something we shouldn't, speak unkindly to someone, drink too much, have an affair and just to blatantly sin, there are consequences to these choices just as there were to the continued grumbling of the Israelites. King David and his offspring paid severely for his poor choices. King Solomon paid for his poor choices. Peter's decision to deny Christ, I am sure had its consequences. Ananias and Sapphira paid a steep price for lying and yes that was in the New testament. Check out the link to their story;

Ananias and Sapphira lied

These stories support my current thinking, that yes while we are shown God's grace, it doesn't mean that we should foolishly abuse it.

God wants us to obey him. He offers us his help, but when we choose to continually disobey him, we should not expect an easy ride, should we??

I would be interested in knowing your thoughts on the above, please feel free to comment.

Clifton Jansky ~ I choose Jesus

Moriah Peters - "I Choose Jesus"