08/05/2021

Mat 26 v 57-75; Deut 9 v 1-12 v 32
Worship the One, true God

“Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them” (Deut 11 v 16)

This passage was written to the people of Israel and yet it is so relevant to us today. God has not changed and surely people have also not changed. We are just as sinful and selfish as in the days of Moses.

When reading about Israel, I see so much of ourselves in them. We too, are not always content with that which the Lord provides, whether spiritual or material, and we are very quick to go elsewhere for some excitement or a spiritual experience.

We are told not to burn strange fire and often we have no problem to erect our own “golden calf”, while (almost) always being able to justify our actions one way or another. How do we expect God, who created us, to be satisfied with idol worship, when it is He, who wrote the law with His own finger?

This law, which is now written on our hearts, should be our compass to do what is right in the sight of the living God.

“Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?” (Deut 10 v 12-13)

The Lord has nothing to gain by instructing us to obey His commandments, but we have everything to lose when we are disobedient. Just look at the price mankind had to pay in the days of Noah, when they mocked him, and the Lord, while refusing to obey God and just look at how that turned out for them…

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov 1 v 7) [NIV]

Just like a parent expects a child to listen to their instruction, the children of God are required to do the same. We cannot argue that there is no God and that is why the world is in chaos or even worse, say that “man is inherently good”. Just look around you and think hard about these statements.

These arguments defy the laws of logic completely and even contradict each other. If there is evil there has to be good and in the same way, if there is darkness, there has to be light. If there is good then there has to be a moral standard and if there is a moral standard, there has to be a law giver…

The world has rejected God because He does not conform to their standards and expectations, in the same way the people of God couldn’t wait for His instructions any longer and as a result formed for themselves an idol to worship.

Are you willing to seek the Lord wholeheartedly and love Him above everyone and everything else? If you love the Lord as a child of God, do you love Him as much as you ought to love Him? Do you have an affection for Jesus in your heart or will you deny Him when confronted by others? The answers to these questions will determine your path ahead and your walk with God.

Blessings in Jesus.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, Life Application Study Bible, unless stated otherwise. Copyright by “The Lockman Foundation“