Mon.’s Devo - Renewing the Covenant

Read: Deuteronomy 29:1-30:20; Luke 11:37-12:7; Psalm 78:1-31; Proverbs 12:19-20 God had them make another covenant with him like they did at Mt. Sinai when he gave them the law. These were the children who had seen all the things God did for them in Egypt but were children at the time. Their parents had made a covenant with God and now they needed to make a covenant with him. *** God reminded them of all he did for them in the wilderness and of the evil gods that the Egyptians worshiped. He warned them not to worship the gods of the people whose land they were about to possess, but to keep his laws. If any of their tribes turn from his laws, they will receive the curses and the land and all in it will become sick. *** When they see the consequences of the blessings and the curses they are to return to the Lord with all their heart. Then, he will restore their fortunes to them and have mercy on them. He will then bring them into their land and make them prosperous and multiply them. God will give them and their offspring a circumcised heart to love him. Then the Lord will put the curses on their enemies who persecuted them, but, God will then abundantly prosper and bless his people. *** So, the choice was theirs to make. They can choose to obey the Lord and his commands and live in the blessings and greatly prosper, or they can turn their hearts away from him and worship other gods. If they do, they will not live long in the promised land. The choice was death or life. *** In Luke, Jesus was invited to the home of a Pharisee. He did’t go through the ritual hand-washing that they did, and the man asked Jesus about it. Jesus told him that it was a farce to try to look so clean on the outside when their hearts were full of greed and wickedness. They tithed, but neglected to administer justice and love. They could be found sitting in the seats of honor in the synagogue and marketplaces. They did everything to look important and holy, but were actually instruments of spreading death. *** A lawyer spoke up and said he was insulted by what Jesus said. He should have kept his mouth shut. Jesus nailed his profession also. He told him the lawyers put burdens on the people that were too hard for them to bear. They built tombs of the prophets who their fathers killed. They even agreed with their fathers that they should be killed. Their generation would be charged with these deaths. By their actions they robbed the people of the key of knowledge. *** Thousands were gathering to see and hear Jesus. The Pharisees tried to give Jesus questions that would provoke him and cause him to sin so they could discredit him. Jesus warned his disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees. Their leaven was their hypocrisy - the fact that they did not practice or even believe what they taught. They may have the power to kill a person, by they didn’t have the power to decide how that person would live in eternity. Only God had the power to cast the wicked into hell. *** Jesus gave the example of sparrows who were sold for pennies and yet God took notice of them. His children are worth so much more than sparrows and he cares for every detail of their lives. *** Lord, thank you that you love and care for us. We are so privileged to be your children. May we daily renew our covenant with you to love you with all our heart, soul and mind.