Devotion to God (Deu. 16:21-17:7)

5/15/2009 8:46 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Devotion to God

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Deut. 16:21-17:7

 

            Message of the verses:  “21  "You shall not plant for yourself an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the LORD your God, which you shall make for yourself. 22  "You shall not set up for yourself a sacred pillar which the LORD your God hates.

    1 ¶  "You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any defect, for that is a detestable thing to the LORD your God. 2  "If there is found in your midst, in any of your towns, which the LORD your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, by transgressing His covenant, 3  and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly host, which I have not commanded, 4  and if it is told you and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire thoroughly. Behold, if it is true and the thing certain that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5  then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil deed to your gates, that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them to death. 6  "On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. 7  "The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.”

            This section is another indictment against idol worship in the land of Israel.  The land that God was giving to the nation of Israel was full of detestable idol worshipers and that is why the Lord wanted Israel to cleanse this land of these peoples for if they did not do this then they would be in danger of falling into the same type of false worship and be in danger of having the Lord judge them just as He was using Israel to judge these Canaanite people.  The Lord is telling the children of Israel that if there is any idol worship going on among the children of Israel that they are to stone the offenders in order to cleanse the land.

            Another part of worshiping the Lord was to give the best to Him as sacrifices and this would mean not to give an animal that has defects in it for this was not suitable to be a sacrifice to the Lord.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As a believer in Jesus Christ and a born-again Christian I am not to have anything be ahead of my worship of God, for even though there are no idols to worship like the Canaanites worshiped there are things in my life that can take the place of worshiping the Lord.  TV is one thing that can get in the way of worshiping the Lord and other things like this can become idols to me.  I am to give to the Lord the best, and the first and when I am doing my work at the church I am to give it my best whether working with the WEBBS team or doing my job as a janitor.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. Give myself to the Lord for worship and service today.
2. Trust the Lord to guide my path today.
3. Continue to learn contentment.
4. Trust the Lord with the health issues that I have at this time.

 

Memory verses for the week:                                  1 John 2:15-17

 

15.    Do not love the world nor the things in the world.  If anyone love the world the love of the Father is not in him.

16.    For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

17.    The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

 

5/15/2009 9:11 AM