Wed.’s Devo - The Mercy of God

Read: Deuteronomy 33:1-29; Luke 13:1-21; Psalm 78:65-72; Proverbs 12:25 Moses had a blessing for all the tribes which he gave before he died. He described the Lord as the sun in his majesty whose divine light appeared at Sinai and scattered its beams on all the region directing Israel's march to Canaan. *** He blessed Reuben with long life since they were the largest tribe at the time. Reuben had lost his place as the first born and ended up almost dying out. The second part of verse 6 is believed to be the blessing for Simeon: “though they are few in number.” Simeon began with 59,300 in Numbers 1:23 which were just the fighting men and ended up with 22,200 total people in Numbers 26:14. They were given territory within the land of Judah to preserve them. *** Judah was the first to go out in battle so Moses prayed for strength to defend their cause. *** The Levites were commended for being zealous in obeying God’s word. They chose God even above their own families. *** Benjamin was blessed with the love of the Lord and his constant watch and care for them. *** Joseph which means “double fruit” was blessed with abundance and the best earth had to offer. He would conquer many nations. *** He prayed the same blessing that would fall on Joseph’s sons - Ephraim and Manasseh. *** Zebulun and Issachar were also give the same blessing, they would just be in different locations. Zebulun would travel and be nomadic and Issachar would stay put. *** Gad was blessed with enlarging their territory. They had chosen the best land east of the Jordan and served as a buffer to the other tribes from outside intruders. They were commended for keeping their promise to help the other tribes get their land. *** Dan is describing as leaping like a lion from Bashan. They had received their land in the south but it was too small so they “leapt” to the north and took some territory there also. Bashan means “shame” so it could be that they left from shame to the heights. Sadly, Dan which means to “judge” ended up being judged by God for all their idol worship. *** Naphtali was blessed with favor and growth. *** Asher was blessed with honor from the other tribes. He would be safe and secure. *** Moses reminded them that the Lord was their refuge; he held them in his arms. They would be safe and prosperous and blessed in the Lord. He would protect them with sword and they would defeat their enemies. *** In Luke, Jesus put everyone into one of two baskets: saved or not saved. It is not death that we should fear, but eternal death. Everyone eventually dies. *** Jesus told the story of a tree that year after year didn’t produce figs. The owner of the garden finally told his gardener to cut it down because it was taking up space. But the gardener plead with the master to let him have one more year with the tree. He would give it special attention and then, if it didn’t produce fruit, he would take it out. Jesus was trying to tell them that these people who died these deaths had been given that extra attention before they died. God doesn’t just take a person out of this life without first giving them every opportunity to repent. *** One Sabbath as Jesus was teaching in the synagogue he saw a woman bent over by an evil spirit. He healed her and she could stand upright for the first time in 18 years! The leader of the synagogue told Jesus he had 6 days to heal people, he shouldn’t have done it on the Sabbath. (Such stupidity!) Jesus told him that he even unleashed his ox and led it to water on the Sabbath, isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath. He was relating her to his ox. She had been under a load of Satan and now she got a drink from the living water of healing. Jesus shamed this man with his answer. *** Jesus then gave two examples of the Kingdom of God. It starts small and then grows and grows. The Kingdom started with him and it would grow and grow after his death and resurrection. *** Lord, thank you for your great mercy and kindness. Thank you for defeating our enemies and putting them under our feet. May we boldly proclaim your goodness.

Tues.’s Devo - The Revenge of God

Read: Deuteronomy 32:28-52; Luke 12:35-59; Psalm 78:56-64; Proverbs 12:24 The song of Moses continues today. Israel would forsake her God and just like the curses state: “one person would chase a thousand and two people would put ten thousand of them to flight.” The only way those odds would make sense would be that God had forsaken them and sold them to the enemy. *** Their enemy’s rock was Satan and its roots were in Sodom and Gomorrah. Their wine was the venom of serpents and deadly poison of cobras. Isn’t that exactly what Jesus said about the Pharisees who had usurped the Jews in Matthew 12:34. ”O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” God says that he is storing up his wrath until the right time and then he will take revenge on them. He is doing that right now in our day. *** God will ask them where their gods are who they have relied on to save them. There is no one like the Lord. He is the one to kills and gives life. They will find this out. *** When Moses had finished teaching the people the song the Lord had given him, he went up on Mt. Nebo and was able to look out over the promised land before he died. Both he and Aaron had betrayed the Lord at Meribah. Their fate was to be a warning to the people. In Luke, Jesus told them that it was imperative that they understood the times they were living in. They had to be ready and awake all the time. No one knew when the enemy was coming to destroy. Those who are awake will be able to prevail against him but those who are distracted will be taken by surprise. Jesus would come back also and those who are not looking and waiting for him will be taken by surprise. It may not be a good surprise. *** The answer is to stay close to the Lord doing what he calls us to do every day. Then, there is nothing to be afraid of. The future is wonderful for those obeying the Lord and walking with him. *** Lord, may we stay awake and aware of who you are and what you require of us. May we enjoy your presence and be filled with your Holy Spirit. May we see the revival and salvation of many souls.

Mon.’s Devo - Moses’ Song

Read: Deuteronomy 31:1-32:27; Luke 12:8-34; Psalm 78:32-55; Proverbs 12:21-23 When Moses had finished explaining all God required of them and all he would do for them, he said he would not be the one leading them - Joshua would. God would go before them and destroy the nations living in the land. He would give the people into their hands. He told them to be strong and courageous. He would not fail them or abandon them. *** Moses wrote down everything the Lord had told him and put it in a book for them to read when they met together. They must learn to fear the Lord and obey all his commands. *** God said that when they got to the land and experienced prosperity they would turn away from him and worship other gods. They would break God’s covenant and he would bring all the disasters upon them written in the book. *** Moses taught the people the words of the song and gave it to the Levites to be placed beside the Ark of the Covenant so it would be a witness to the people of what God said. *** God knew the people were rebellious and that they would become utterly corrupt and turn from him, so Moses taught them the song in verses 32:1-43. We only read 27 of the verses today. *** In the song, the people are reminded of how just and holy the Lord is and how rebellious and perverse they are. The song told of how the Lord found them in a desert land and took care of them as their Father. He gave them the best of the land but they became fat and happy and abandoned the Lord. They worshiped foreign gods who had done nothing for them. *** In response, the Lord would bring disasters upon them and whittle down their numbers. Their enemies would declare that they did this to Israel and not the Lord. *** In Luke, God tells us that what we do on earth reflects what will happen in heaven. If we profess the Lord on earth, we will be acknowledged in heaven. If we speak against the Son of Man (Jesus on earth), we can be forgiven. If we blaspheme the Holy Spirit (Jesus’ Spirit given to us after the resurrection), we will not be forgiven. *** When believers are brought to trial because of their faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit will give them what to say. *** A man came to Jesus asking him to make his brother divide their father’s estate with him. Jesus told him he was not a judge over such matters and instead told the man to guard his heart against greed. Life was meant for higher things. Jesus told a story of a rich man who ran out of room to store all his wealth for himself so he planned to build bigger barns to store it. The Lord called this man a fool and he died that night. God asked the man, “now, who will get everything you worked for?” *** The point that God was making is that the wealth we are given is not for ourselves only, but to share with others and better the world around us. Besides, God has stored up in his barn everything we will ever need. The best place for us to store up our treasures is in heaven. No one can steal them there. We do this by giving what we have to the Lord and his Kingdom. *** Giving is a heart matter. Lord, may our hearts be full of gratefulness and generosity. May we be a funnel for your blessings to flow through. May they not get stopped up by greed or fear of lack.

Sun.’s Devo - Choose Life!

Read: Deuteronomy 29:1-30:20; Luke 11:37-12:7; Psalm 78:1-31; Proverbs 12:19-20 While they were still in the land of Moab, Moses called all the people together and told them what the Lord was adding to the covenant he had made with them on Mt. Sinai. He began by saying that the Lord had not given them eyes to see and ears to hear, nor a mind to understand. He had led them for 40 years through the wilderness and yet their shoes nor their clothes had not worn out. Had they even noticed this? God had provided all their food and water. He had given them victory over their enemies and given them their land. *** If they wanted to prosper in the land he was giving them they must obey his commands. The covenant he was presenting to them was full of blessings but also curses for disobeying it. This covenant would also stand to their descendants after them. *** They were not to adopt any of the evil purposes of the nations they had passed through or that they would find in the land or its bitterness would produce a root in them. This root of evil would bring forth poisonous fruit. *** Those who refused to obey God’s laws and chose instead to follow their own hearts would receive the curses written in the book. Their names would be erased from under heaven. They would be separated from the other tribes and destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah with nothing but salt and sulfur remaining. They would become a mockery of other nations. *** They were not being made accountable for what they did not understand about God, but of what he had made very clear to them. After experiencing both the blessings and the curses, if they choose to return to the Lord, the Lord will hear their prayer and restore their fortunes. He will gather them from where they had been scattered and bring them back to their land again and they will live in their land and be fruitful and multiply. It would be the same thing God told Adam and Eve - “Be fruitful and multiply.” *** God made it clear to them that what he was requiring of them was attainable. It was as close as to what they proclaimed with their mouth and what they put in their hearts. It was their choice and it is our choice. If they chose to turn away from God and worship other gods, they would be destroyed. If they chose to follow the Lord, it would be life and blessing for them. *** In Luke, the Pharisees were offended that Jesus didn’t do their hand-washing ritual. Knowing this, Jesus told them that they were so careful to make themselves look good on the outside with all their rituals, but their hearts were full of greed and wickedness. If they would do something self-less like to care for the poor, it would help them to get rid of their greed. *** Jesus explained that giving justice was even more important than giving God gifts. They were going to get a rude awakening when died. They loved the honor of respect on earth, but they would get none of it after they died. *** One of the religious experts told Jesus he was offended by what he said, probably hoping Jesus would tell the he wasn’t talking to them. But, Jesus told them that they were just as wicked. They imposed their laws that were so burdensome, they were just as guilty as the hypocrites. They even killed the prophets and then built monuments to honor them. Talk about hypocrisy! They would be held responsible for the murders of all God’s prophets from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah because all of them spoke of him. Now he was here, and they were going to do the same to him. *** They would not enter into God’s Kingdom and they were doing all they could to keep others from entering also. Jesus warned them that all they did in secret would one day be revealed for all to see. *** Jesus turned to his followers and called them friends. He told them not to be afraid of the religious order. They could only kill their body, but not their soul. He told them to fear God, He would not forget a single one of them from the least to the greatest. He alone has the power to throw them into hell or promote them to heaven. *** Lord, thank you that you are the only wise God and you are our Father. We choose life. We choose Jesus Christ as our Saviour and we choose to follow your Word.

Sat.’s Devo - Choose the Blessings

Read: Deuteronomy 28:1-68; Luke 11:14-36; Psalm 77:1-20; Proverbs 12:18 Today we read the blessings and the curses which are the exact opposite of the blessings. The only requirement of walking in the blessings was to follow the Lord and obey his laws. That sound easy, but it was not for them. I have to remind myself that they were a new nation and didn’t have the Holy Spirit like we do which seals us. *** The blessings were simple: everything about their lives would be blessed. Their nation would be above all the other nations Their finances, family, occupations, and harvests would all be blessed. *** The curses are explicit and excruciating to read. God describes them in detail. Everything about them would be cursed. They would be pursued and taken over by them. These results would serve as a sign and a warning for future generations. *** We as a nation have been living in the curses which is plain to see if we open our eyes and look around. DOGE is pointing out so many ways they have stolen our money and put in their own pockets. We see that we have been slaves to an evil agenda bent on taking our lives, not blessing them. But… God is turning this ship around. We are starting to see the curses lifting and the blessing beginning to flow. It has already started and it will soon become a tsunami. Those who have been faithful are going to see the results of their obedience. *** It gives the Lord great pleasure in blessing and prospering us, may we never find ourselves in this place of chaos again. *** In Luke, Jesus cast a demon out of man who could not speak and he was able to talk. One in the crowd said it was because Jesus was the prince of demons. This man was trying to get Jesus so mad he would prove his power by giving them some great sign from heaven. Jesus didn’t fall for it. He explained that any institution that is divided among itself is destined to fall. If Satan’s kingdom is divided against itself, it will fall. But if he is casting out demons in the power of God then the Kingdom of God has arrived and it will overthrow Satan’s kingdom. *** Jesus explained that demons that are cast out of a person look for another person to enter. If it can’t find an open door, it will come back to the first person to see if they have filled their house with good things and closed their door to them. If they haven’t, then they will reenter and bring more demons with it. Then the person will be in worse shape than before. *** When they kept asking for a sign from heaven, Jesus told them the only sign he would give them would be the sign of Jonah. His resurrection out of the mouth of the fish was a sign to the people of Nineveh that God had sent him. Jesus’ resurrection would be a sign to these people also. Even his disciples didn’t believe until he came back and appeared to him. *** Lord, may our eyes be filled with your light that they can see who you are and what you are doing on the earth. Thank you for all the wonderful things you are doing to save us and our nation. May we pass the test of abundance and be generous and faithful.

Fri.’s Devo - May We Be

Read: Deuteronomy 26:1-27:26; Luke 10:38-11:13; Psalm 76:1-12; Proverbs 12:15-17 Once they got settled in their land and experienced their first harvest, they were to bring a basket of their produce to the place of worship and proclaim that they were wandering Arameans who lived in Egypt as a foreigner. There they grew into a large nation. When they became oppressed by the Egyptians and made to be their slaves, they cried out to the Lord. He heard their cries and brought them out with his power - with signs and wonders. He brought them to this wonderful land and now they are offering a gift of thanksgiving to the Lord. *** Every third year they were to bring a special tithe of their crops for the foreigners, Levites, orphans and widows so they would have food to eat. With this gift they were to proclaim that they had followed all of God’s laws and that their gift was ceremonially clean. They were to ask God to bless them and the land. *** When they crossed over the Jordan they were to set up stones at Mount Ebal and coat them with plaster and write the curses on them. They were to also build an altar there using uncut stone and offer a burnt offering to the Lord. These stones are still in existence in Palestine. *** The tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin were to stand on Mount Gerizim to proclaim a blessing over the people that would be theirs if they obeyed the commandments of God. The tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali were to stand on Mount Ebal and proclaim the curses. These mountains were right across from each other. Mount Gerizim is believed to be Mount Moriah where the Samaritans went to celebrate the feasts. The woman at the well in John 4:20 referred to this mountain as being the Mountain they worshipped on. It was the mountain that they believed God had chosen to place his name. *** Today, we read the curses. Tomorrow we will read the blessings. The curses sound a lot like the Ten Commandments. *** In Luke, we have the story of Mary and Martha which is such a reminder to us of what is really important. We get so distracted by what is going on around us, it is easy to forget that stopping and sitting with Jesus is much more productive that running around doing all the stuff we think is important. The lesson is: we have to first “be” before we “do”. When we are in the presence of the Lord, we get strategy, power, energy, and blessing to then go out and do the things God has called us to do. We know we are being the “Martha” when we feel stressed and out of sorts. Mary is content and at peace. Martha is in a tizzy and judgmental. *** Jesus was asked how they should pray. Jesus gave them a prayer that we have all memorized and heard many sermons about. He started out praising God and proclaiming who he is and praying his Kingdom to come to earth. He prayed for their daily needs then asked for forgiveness for their sins. He prayed strength to stand against temptation. This is how we pray for ourselves. *** Then Jesus told them how to pray for others. The essence is you pray until you see the results. Then he explained that you have to learn how to receive and believe that God gives good gifts to his children. *** Lord, teach us to live in your presence and choose to enjoy your peace. May we seek you first in all we do. It is your will that we desire above all.

Thurs.’s Devo - Our Responsibilities

Read: Deuteronomy 23:1-25:19; Luke 10:13-37; Psalm 75:1-10; Proverbs 12:12-14 If a man is made a eunuch, then he is unable to bear children. Spiritually, this would be a person who is unable to bear the fruit of the Spirit. We would call this person a psychopath today or the seed of Satan. Not every eunuch fell into this category - I’m just pointing out a picture. I wonder if the second verse we read today has to do with trans-gendering a child at birth or manipulating its DNA. The word for “illegitimate” in the Hebrew means “mixed seed.”This is serious business to the Lord. This is what happened in Genesis 6. *** The Ammonites and Moabites heard of all the things the Lord had done to the Egyptians and yet they didn’t fear God enough to help the Israelites with food and water when they left Egypt. They hired Balaam to curse Israel instead. Their descendants would not be able to enter into the assembly of the Lord for ten generations. “Ten” is the number of testing. So they would not be able to participate in worshiping the Lord until God had tested their hearts over a period of time to see if they were repentant. *** The third generation of Edomites and the Egyptians could enter the assembly of the Lord. “Three” is the number meaning “conform”. So it means that the Edomites and Egyptians would have to conform to the laws of God before they could be allowed to worship with them. *** Most of God’s laws are self-explanatory. God is holy and requires us to be holy also. We are to treat others fairly and with compassion. We must never forget that we were once slaves to sin until we met Christ who set us free. We must have the same patience and compassion for others as we needed and still need. *** We are not to take advantage of another person’s hospitality but only honor their possessions. To divorce a woman, a writ of divorcement must be signed and the divorce be made legal, then both are free to remarry. If this is not done, then to remarry would be to commit adultery since the person was not legally divorced. Jesus addressed the Jews about this because they were not legally divorcing their wives. *** The poor man who had to make a loan has the right to choose what he gives as a promise of repayment. The person loaning the money must not come into his house to get it or he might choose something else to take that that man doesn’t want to give. This reminds me of the story that Nathan gave David about the little lamb (talking about Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 12). The bottom line is that God wanted them to honor the poor and be kind to them. Justice must be given to the foreigner, the orphan and the widow; all of them have no protector. They were to remember that they were once in their shoes. *** Two brothers living on the same property are covenanted together so if one of them dies without an heir, it is the responsibility of the living brother to give this sister-in-law a son so that his brother’s name would not die. This is about family inheritance. The man who doesn’t help his brother receive his inheritance is to be shamed. We are going to be held responsible for upholding and praying for our family. We must do our part to preserve our family name because we bear the name of Christ. *** The bottom line of God’s laws were to fear the Lord and remember what he did for us. *** God reminded them that when they got rest from all their fighting and possessing they were to destroy the Amelekites and erase their memory from under heaven. They were never to forget this! *** In Luke, Jesus reminded Karazin and Bethsaida of all the miracles he did in their cities. They would be held responsible for this encounter they received. They received all the miracles and yet didn’t receive the one who did them. *** Jesus saw Satan fall from his throne and told his disciples so they would know he now has no power. He gave us the same authority he had over all the power of the enemy. We can now walk on the devil and not be hurt. We can do this because our names are written in heaven in his book. *** Jesus was filled with joy as he saw how God had skipped over the religious hierarchy and given his treasures to the lowly of the earth. He told his disciples how blessed they were to be able to see and hear spiritually what the prophets had wanted to see and hear. *** Lord, help us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Just like the despised Samaritan had compassion on the stranger on the side of the road, help us to have your compassion for those we see who is in need physically or spiritually. Help us to see beyond our physical eyes and hear beyond our physical ears. Thank you, for all we have comes from you.