SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 28 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. [Matthew 24:12-13] At the ‘middle’ of Deuteronomy 28, between the lengthy list of blessings and the even longer list of curses, is this appeal to not turn aside, to the…
Author: Norm
spitting in the wind
SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 27 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. [Matthew 23:27] God has Moses set up white-washed (or plastered) stones with His Law written clearly on it….
first and best for the FIRST and BEST
SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 26 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” [Luke 19:8]. Jesus does something radical, He agrees to eat with a ‘sinner’….
treat people like Jesus did
SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 25 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of…
the heart of the Law
SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 24 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices–mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. [Matthew 23:23] The Jews often forgot the intent…
a clean heart
SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 23 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But give what is inside the dish to the poor, and everything will be clean for…
watch “A Brief History of Video Games”
I seem to recognize the first games and sounds, but not the later one. Pong, Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Space Invaders, Asteroids… the classics! What was your favourite?
specific stuff and heart issues
SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 22 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” [John 1:17] I am still wrestling with the specific laws that came through Moses, and trying to find Jesus in them. Moses includes specific, detailed regulations for maintaining ‘law and order’ (we may dispute the laws, but it was…
i don’t like this chapter
SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 21 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” [John 1:17] I am having a tough time connecting this passage to Jesus. The part about marrying the foreign woman, then putting her away if you were no longer happy with her? Then the parents having their son put…
clinging to God through hard passages
SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 20 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: “But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” [Matthew 10:19-20] OK, for today’s reading I am choosing to…