Wed.’s Devo - Remember God’s Promises

Read: Deuteronomy 11:1-12:32; Luke 8:22-39; Psalm 70:1-5; Proverbs 12:4
Moses was still talking to the people and he is calling them to remember all the signs and wonders God did and they saw with their own eyes even though they were children. They were to teach these things to their children who wouldn’t have witnessed them.
The land God had for them would not be like Egypt where they had to carry water to their crops from the Nile. This land would be watered from heaven and the land would grow produce year round. This was a land that God cares for continually from the beginning of the year to its end.
God warned them of following the gods of the land. If they did, he would shut the heavens and not let it rain. Rain is a symbol of God’s favor and blessing. They were to bind the word of God around their hearts, their hands and their foreheads. The Pharisees would take this literal and make phylacteries that they strategically bound around their arm and head… but most of them forgot about their heart. God was really saying that their hearts, deeds and mind (body, soul and spirit) were to be totally given to Him and following his Word. They were also to write the words of God on their doorposts of their house and on their gates. They do these with these little boxes that have scripture in them called mezuzah’s. Doors and gates represent openings into our lives. Everything that enters into our lives needs to be filtered through the Word of God.
God set before them the curse and the blessing. The curse was read from Mt. Ebal which means “bald” and the blessings were read from Mt. Gerizim which means “rocky”. Rocks stand for promises.
In Genesis, Adam was told to eat leafy green plants. After the flood, Noah was told he could add to his diet clean meat. Now, God is telling them they can eat any meat, clean or unclean as long as they drained the blood from it. Man was maturing in his walk on the earth. Crossing over the Jordan was to cross into the spirit where God had “meat” which they would need for spiritual warfare against the giants in the land.
Jesus told his disciples across the lake to the place where they would fight the demons in a man. The demons stirred up the lake to keep them from arriving. Jesus calmed the storm and called the demons out of the man. This man’s demons were the principalities over that whole region. The man was so changed that it scared the people and they told Jesus to leave. The man wanted to go with Jesus but Jesus sent him back to the town to tell the people all about what had happened to him.
Lord, help us to remember the things you have done for us and stand upon the promises and not the curses. May we eat your Word and bear its fruit.