Tag Archive | commandments

Have You Tasted?

Apr24

O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! — Psalm 34:8

Have you tasted? Imagine an extraordinary gourmet food that excites the palate of whoever eats of it. It leaves every taster wanting more. To the sweet tooth it satisfies, the meat lover is pleased, the connoisseur is enthused and so on.

O taste and see that God is good. He meets us where we are, giving us what we need. All of us carry different types of baggage but the Lord still satisfies. We are each different and unique but He is good to all who come and take refuge in Him.

Come and taste for the Lord is good. His law, testimony, precepts and commandment (Word of God) along with His judgments are more desirable than gold. They are sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.

The only thing stopping you from tasting is you. Won’t you come taste and see that the Lord is good? Come and taste.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. — Psalm 19:10

Abide in Him

Apr18

Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. — 1 John 2:28

Little children in the New Testament Greek “is a term of affection by a teacher to his disciples under circumstances requiring a tender appeal”* This appeal is to us, disciples of Christ.

Abide in Him. We abide in Him and His love when we keep His commandments, abiding in His teachings. We have the confidence (assurance) that we are abiding because of the Holy Spirit that was given to us. When we have the Holy Spirit abiding in us we will bear much fruit (bring glory and honor to God by our productivity in Him).

Seek and practice His commandments and teachings until Jesus returns so we will not shrink away in shame but stand or humbly bow in His presence.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

*blueletterbible.org Lexicon Strongs G5040
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. — John 15:10
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. — John 15:4
By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. — 1 John 4:13
Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. — 2 John 1:9

Humble, Pray, Seek

Mar22

“But it shall come about, if you do not obey the Lord your God, to observe to do all His commandments and His statutes with which I charge you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: — Deuteronomy 28:15

“Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. . . Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. . . The Lord shall cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you will go out one way against them, but you will flee seven ways before them, and you will be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. . . A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors, and you will never be anything but oppressed and crushed continually. . . You shall bring out much seed to the field but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it.  You shall plant and cultivate vineyards, but you will neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes, for the worm will devour them.  You shall have olive trees throughout your territory but you will not anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off. . . — Deuteronomy 28:16, 19, 25, 33, 38-40

So all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. . . Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things;  therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you. The Lord will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you shall not understand, a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young.  Moreover, it shall eat the offspring of your herd and the produce of your ground until you are destroyed, who also leaves you no grain, new wine, or oil, nor the increase of your herd or the young of your flock until they have caused you to perish. It shall besiege you in all your towns until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout your land, and it shall besiege you in all your towns throughout your land which the Lord your God has given you. . . — Deuteronomy 28:45, 47-52

“If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses. . . Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you will be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, ‘Would that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Would that it were morning!’ because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you will see. — Deuteronomy 28:58-59, 65-67

Sound familiar? Do we have the curses of God upon us? What is the answer?

 If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people,  and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. — 2 Chronicles 7:13-15

The Blessing of a Holy People

Mar21

All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God: — Deuteronomy 28:2                       The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways. — Deuteronomy 28:9.                                                                                                     and do not turn aside from any of the words which I command you today, to the right or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them. — Deuteronomy 28:14

Obedience comes with discipline. Make it a discipline to be VERY firm in obeying the Word of God. Keep His commandments, not turning aside from His words. Then, and only then you will walk in His ways, not turning to your left or right but focused on the straight and narrow. That will keep our feet from evil.

Focusing on Jesus and the things of God, He will establish us as a holy people unto Himself. That is the blessing.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, — Joshua 23:6

Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil. — Proverbs 4:27

Blessing in the Battle

Mar20

All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God: — Deuteronomy 28:2           “The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways. — Deuteronomy 28:7                       So all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will be afraid of you. — Deuteronomy 28:10.            The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you only will be above, and you will not be underneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I charge you today, to observe them carefully, — Deuteronomy 28:13

There are many battles mentioned in the Bible but one is very well known. The battle between David and Goliath. The battle belongs to the Lord and in that battle David showed great trust in the Lord. He ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. David had no anxiety. He had confidence in the Lord and knew He was with him.

The Lord God can be trusted when we face battles, no matter the magnitude of the battle, because the battle is not ours but His. We need not fear nor be dismayed because the Lord will help us, gird us with strength, for the Lord is with us, stand and see the salvation on our behalf. What love.

The Lord our God is with us to help and to fight our battles. He will subdue under us those who rose up against us. He answers our cry in the midst of battle because we trust in Him. The battle is won because we obey His commandments, His ways and we trust the Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and He will give you into our hands.” Then it happened when the Philistine rose and came and drew near to meet David, that David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. — 1 Samuel 27:47-48

“For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me. — 2 Samuel 22:40; Psalm 18:39

They were helped against them, and the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hand; for they cried out to God in the battle, and He answered their prayers because they trusted in Him. — 1 Chronicles 5:20 

Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.” — 2 Chronicles 14:11

and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s. — 2 Chronicles 20:15

You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.” — 2 Chronicles 20:17

With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people relied on the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. — 2 Chronicles 32:8

Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle. — Psalm 24:8

The Blessing of Work

Mar17

All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God: — Deuteronomy 28:2.                                                                                                                                                                          “Blessed shall be . . . the produce of your ground and the offspring of your beasts, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock. — Deuteronomy 28:4.                                                                                                 The Lord will command the blessing upon you in your barns and in all that you put your hand to, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. — Deuteronomy 28:8.                                   The Lord will make you abound in prosperity, . . . in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. — Deuteronomy 28:11-12

Here I go traipsing back to the Garden of Eden. God created work: Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. (Genesis 2:15) God’s plan from the beginning was for man to work. Work is a blessing itself as it provides for our needs, enables us to help/bless others, gives us purpose and allows us to glorify God.

God designed work and will bless us in that work when we obey Him. It is by His power and blessing that we prosper, are successful, and enjoy contentment in our work. It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it. (Proverbs 10:22)

With these thoughts in mind, hopefully our attitude about work will be a positive attitude giving glory, praise and honor to God. Enjoy your work of obedience and let it overflow to your daily work, livelihood.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

You Choose

Mar14

“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today; — Deuteronomy 11:26-27

Adam and Eve had freewill in the Garden of Eden. That freewill has not changed. They had a choice set before them:  “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17). Today we have the freewill to accept the blessing of God or the curse.

God set Adam and Eve in the garden amongst every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; that the Lord God caused to grow out of the ground. The trees supplied food for sustenance but God even blessed them by making it pleasing in their sight. God’s blessing was good but they still had a choice to make. Stay away from one, just one tree out of all that were there. (Genesis 2)

Today we have many beautiful blessings that God sets before us that we will receive IF we listen to the commandments of the Lord our God. Sounds simple but it seems we are often tripped up and distracted. Where is our focus? Is it on obedience and love for our Lord or is it on me, me, me? Do we have a humble attitude or are we full of pride?

God offers blessing or cursing. The choice is yours.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Teach Them

Mar3

You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. — Deuteronomy 6:7

Yesterday’s devotional was a plea to keep the commandments of God on your heart. Diligently keep watch over your soul so that your heart does not depart from what you have learned from God all the days of your life. Remind yourself by telling of the goodness of God to your children and/or grandchildren.

The closer my walk has become with the Lord Jesus, the more I see analogies in my life. Often life events, everyday ones as well, will have me sharing the Lord’s words or biblical events that spring into my mind. On one such occasion the church start my husband and I attended had a booth at a community event. When it came time to pack up, we had 4 of us folding up a canopy. Each of us grabbed a leg and met in the middle. As we were coming together I just said, “This is like the Holy Spirit drawing us together as one.” My sweet friend came back with, “Sharon, does everything have to be about God?” She of course was teasing me.

When we walk closely with the Lord He opens our eyes to opportunities to share Him. In everyday life we can see things that can be correlated with Scripture. Make every moment a teachable one by staying connected with Jesus and His Word. He makes opportunities for us to speak of His glory. So share those moments with your children and grandchildren and everyone you have a chance to whether you are sitting in your house or walking by the way, when you rise up and when you lay down. Sun up to sun down.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons. — Deuteronomy 4:9

The Words of My Heart

Mar2

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. — Deuteronomy 6:5-6

I know I have done a devotional on the first and foremost commandment before but I believe it is worthy of repeating again and again just as it is in the Bible. The focus this time will be more on verse 6.

Moses was serious about His relationship with God and fulfilling His purpose. He wanted the Israelites to be serious about it too. Is your relationship with the Lord and His purpose for you a serious matter in your life? Is it important enough to share with others? Do you impress the Word of God on your heart and soul?

This is really not an option. It is a commandment. So if you love the Lord your God, you will read His Word, pray for understanding, and practice what you read. Be a walking testimony of God’s Word. Maybe that would be like binding them as a sign on your hand or as frontals on your forehead. Be so transparent that Jesus is seen written all over you and when you speak you proclaim the words of God. Be a blessing.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. — Deuteronomy 11:18

In The Love Of God

Feb22

keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. — Jude 21

Keep ourselves in the love of God. Hmmmm, how is that done?

First we must come to believe the love that God has for us. We must believe that His unearned love is simply who God is, He is love. We know Him when we abide in love. Abiding in love is abiding in God. When we abide in Him, He abides in us. Jesus said, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.”

Jesus is our example. He tells us that He kept the Father’s commandments and abided in His love. Jesus informs us that if we keep His commandments we will abide in His love. So keeping His commandments means loving one another. God’s Word says that if we love one another God abides in us and His love is perfected in us. We need to seek Him, love, keep His commandments, love one another to abide in Him.

When we do abide in our Lord, we bear much fruit. Apart from the vine the branch cannot bear fruit. So let us keep ourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, being fruitful to eternal life.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. — 1 John 4:16

Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. — John 15:9

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. — John 15:4

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. — John 15:10

No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. — 1 John 4:12