DEUTERONOMY 10:12-14

AUGUST 28, 2008

“HOW SOON WE FORGET!”

12 “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good? 14 Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the LORD your God, also the earth with all that is in it. Deuteronomy 10:12-14 (NKJV)

When meditating on Words from Scripture, it is always helpful to have read the verses and sometimes chapters that have come before. To have read the previous chapters for this Devotion is almost a necessity in understanding what Moses is saying and why.

When I was planning this Devotion in my mind, I began with the title, IF WE BELIEVE IT, WHY DON’T WE LIVE IT? As my thinking progressed, I changed to the present title, HOW SOON WE FORGET! It is possible that one of the reasons we don’t live our faith is that we soon forget how much God has blessed us in the past.

The previous verses and chapters of Deuteronomy are a recap of the events following the Exodus of the Children of Israel from their captivity under Pharaoh in Egypt. One of the most famous of these is the parting of the Red Sea.

As you recall, after Pharaoh let God’s People go, he changed his mind and sent his armies to bring them back into captivity. When the Children of Israel arrived at the Red Sea, they did not know what to do. How were they going to cross that body of water? Pharaoh's army was getting nearer and nearer to them. There is no doubt that many wished they were still back in Egypt, even if they were in captivity. Why would God give them this freedom only to be captured, returned to slavery, or even possibly be killed?

God told Moses what to do. Moses did it. The people crossed and were safe. Then as the Egyptians started to follow, the sea came back together. The army was destroyed. The people were safe. The people gave thanks and praised God.

In these verses for this Devotion, Moses could well be saying, How Soon We Forget. For all of the wonderful things that God has done for us, why do we forget that He also requires something of us. The requirements were:

To fear and love God and serve Him with all of your heart and soul.

To keep His commandments and statutes which were given for our own good.

To remember that the heavens and the earth and all that are in it belong to God.

I believe that these words of Moses to the Children of Israel are words that are also spoken to us today. It s important to remember that there are two Red Seas.

As the Children of Israel were in captivity to Pharaoh, we find ourselves in the captivity of sin.

As the children of Israel arrived at the Red Sea, they could see no escape, no hope. As we wander deeper and deeper into sin, we can see no hope to be free from this horrible captivity in which we find ourselves.

In both cases there seemed to be nothing but doom because all too soon the Goodness of God has been forgotten, and we forget that God is more powerful than any force we might face.

For the children of Israel, the Red Sea opened and they were saved.

For us today, Jesus died on the Cross that the Red Sea of His flowing Blood could wash over us and cleanse us from our sins.

If the children of Israel believed that God freed them from their captivity, then they needed to live their life in that belief. If we believe that Jesus died and shed His Body and Blood for us that we might be free, then we need to live that belief.

HOW SOON WE FORGET!  If we seek to live a life that says, “THANK YOU, LORD” by fearing, loving and serving Him, you can’t imagine what a wonderful life you and I can live.

WE PRAY:  HEAVENLY FATHER, so often I want to live my life my way. Yes, I believe in you, but it is so hard for me to understand that the joys of the world pale in comparison to the joys that can be found in living Your way. Help me to remember that You did shed Your Body and Blood for me, and now, Lord, give me the strength to put aside the lures of the world so that I can live what I believe, that You are the Way, the Truth and the Light. AMEN.

A SUGGESTION FOR LIVING THE DEVOTION

Often we make Living For Jesus to be such a hard task that we give up before we get started. If we try to do one small thing for God and keep it up, it will soon become a natural way of life. Each day we can add something else. Here are some easy examples and I am sure you can find many of your own:

Language:

Eliminate the phrase “O My God.”

Include the phrase “May God Bless you.”

Develop a time of Bible Reading, meditating and prayer.

Caring:

Make a weekly or monthly visit to person in a Nursing Home or to a shut in who is not a family member.

Send at least one get well or thinking of you card each week. Always try to include a hand written note.

If you like to bake, each time you bake a pie or a cake, take one or two pieces to someone who no longer bakes. Those of you who don’t bake because it is too much for you to eat: by sharing, you can have your cake an eat it too.

Inviting:

It is easy to invite someone to worship with you. The worse they can do is give you an excuse and say no, but what a joy if they would say yes.

Living for God is not hard, it just takes you to make the decision to begin.