Josh1Eight

Scripture: Deuteronomy 13:6-11 6 “Suppose someone secretly entices you—even your brother, your son or daughter, your beloved wife, or your closest friend—and says, ‘Let us go worship other gods’—gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known. 7 They might suggest that you worship the gods of peoples who live nearby or who come from the ends of the earth. 8 But do not give in or listen. Have no pity, and do not spare or protect them. 9 You must put them to death! Strike the first blow yourself, and then all the people must join in. 10 Stone the guilty ones to death because they have tried to draw you away from the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear about it and be afraid, and no one will act so wickedly again." Observations: God didn't play around with the idea of His people ever worshiping any other god but Him. He even went so far as to enact a public law that if anyone even so much as hinted at the ...

Scripture: Luke 11:9-10 9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Observations: Jesus taught about prayer making it seem so simple saying things like "ask and you'll receive". Could it really be that easy? Surely there's a catch? But He makes it pretty plain in this basic teaching on prayer that persistence is the key. His instructions on getting your prayers answered are "keep on...asking...seeking...knocking". In short, don't stop until you receive an answer. He even makes prayer work for "everyone who asks", given that the first instructions have already been followed (vs. 2-4). Application: For some reason we tend to make prayer a complicated process reserved for the spiritually elite. But if that were ...

Scripture: Deuteronomy 12:4-8 4 “Do not worship the Lord your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods. 5 Rather, you must seek the Lord your God at the place of worship he himself will choose...the place where his name will be honored. 6 There you will bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings...there you and your families will feast in the presence of the Lord your God, and you will rejoice in all you have accomplished because the Lord your God has blessed you. 8 “Your pattern of worship will change..." Observations: God was pretty specific about where, when, why, and how He desired His people to worhsip Him. When you take into account that worship to the peoples of the Ancient Near East was culturally an entire way of life, it was as if God was saying "live differently than the world around you". God expected His people to "worship" differently than those who didn't know Him as an indication to the rest ...

Scripture: Romans 2:28-29 "A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God." Observations: Paul drives home the unimporance and irrelevance of human effort to make a person right with God. Jews were circumcised as a sign of their covenant relationship with God. But what they didn't get was that a right relationship with God was not supposed to be about rule-following but rather a right response to who He is. But because Everyone has been corrupted on the "inside" by sin, no amount of "outward" efforts can ever make up for it. No amount of good behavior or even obedience to Gods commands will ever negate the power of sin that has separated us from God. According to Paul, a right relationship with God is not something to be...