The Simple Life

Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. And the LORD said to him, "This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, 'I will give it to your offspring.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there." So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. Deuteronomy 34:1-7 ESV Moses completed his earthly mission and was about to enter the joys of his eternal ...

Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun. And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, he said to them, "Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess." Deuteronomy 32:44-47 ESV When I learn something, I need to apply it to myself and think about ways to pass this information on to the next generation. In fact, I need to think about ways to pass this on so that the next generation is excited about passing it on to the generations after them. Truth should travel from parents to children to grandchildren to great-grandchildren and beyond. Moses teaches this in the Old Testament and Paul teaches the same principle in the New Test...

"The LORD saw it and spurned them, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters. And he said, 'I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness. They have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. For a fire is kindled by my anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol, devours the earth and its increase, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.” Deuteronomy 32:19-22 ESV The foolish who ignore God always create a more convenient "god." People were created to know and love God; when He is out of the picture, we create things to know and love to take His place. In the process, we use what was meant to be love, and love what was meant to be used. When that happens, we live confused, angry, lonely lives that yiel...

Then Moses spoke the words of this song until they were finished, in the ears of all the assembly of Israel: "Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb. For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!” Deuteronomy 31:30 - 32:3 ESV Moses, as any good leader, knew that his job was to point people to the greatness of our God. Moses could not cause or stop the Ten Plagues, part the Red Sea, or provide shade, food, and water in the desert. Moses was a servant of God, and therefore qualified to be the leader of a nation. Leaders need to be servants and avoid all things that point to themselves as a reason for anything good. We struggle with this idea today because worship teams often perform rather than encourage participation, speakers become celebrities, and honor for self is sought rat...

“For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the LORD. How much more after my death! Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to witness against them. For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands." Deuteronomy 31:27-29 ESV Today's leaders often wonder and fear what will happen when they are no longer entrusted with leadership. Moses was clear about what he observed and thought the result would be. As the leader, I understand that the next generations will succeed only if they humbly seek and follow God's plan for them and this organization. Those who are stubbornly rebell...

And the LORD commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you." Deuteronomy 31:23 ESV Why would God need to encourage Joshua to be strong and courageous? Why would Joshua need strength and courage if He followed God's direction? That was precisely why he would need those qualities. Those who follow God choose to be on the frontlines of the spiritual war, and they will face all sorts of unforeseen hardships. Our enemy does not hate us, but he hates and fears God and will do whatever he can to lure us away from Him. Whereas God is patient, not wanting any to perish, Satan is patient, wanting all to perish, and works diligently with the tools he is given to accomplish his purposes. Hence, those who follow God will need strength and courage. Satan is a master at making those with sight blind, those who can hear deaf, and spreading hopelessness to those w...

And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, 'Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?' And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods.’” Deuteronomy 31:16-18 ESV This has got to be one of the saddest portions of Scripture. God told Moses what would happen to those who forsake and break His covenant. As sad as this message is, it is consistent with God's message throughout history. We have choices, and if we use our options to ignore G...

“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." Deuteronomy 31:6-8 ESV Moses was in the final days of his earthly life and reminded the people of the essential truths that will guide and sustain them throughout their lives. The people needed to be strong and courageous because they would face unimaginable resistance as they followed God. They needed to remember that the opposition was against God, not themselves, and that God's presence was all they needed to be victorious. I have the same hope today: as I...

"See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. Deuteronomy 30:15-18 ESVST Some believe that we have no real choice. Others think that we have real choices to the extent that God does not even know what we will choose. Both extremes are in error. The Scriptures are clear that we have real choices, and consequences are attached to our choices. One can recover from some bad decisions; others are ...

"If you are not careful to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions, afflictions severe and lasting, and sicknesses grievous and lasting. Deuteronomy 28:58-59 ESVST It would be hard for the reader of Deuteronomy not to see a definitive warning here against ignoring God. This means that we have the capability of ignoring God, or the choice to ignore God. Real choice yields real consequences, and it is abundantly clear in this book the fate of those who ignore Him. Yet, it seems as if we, the people of the United States of America, pride ourselves in ignoring any voice of authority, including God. Instead of seeking Him, we seek pleasure, fame, money, glory, comfort, and more. If that is what we seek, at the end of our lives, we will boldly proclaim, as Solomon did, that all we lived for was vanity, worthless, and empty....

It never turns out well for those who directly disobey God.   https://www.podbean.com/relate365

God's ways, at times, may be difficult to understand, but His commands are simple and straightforward, and we should never blame disobedience to God on our understanding of God.  https://www.podbean.com/relate365

"The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. The Lord will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.” "The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them. And you shall be a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. Deuteronomy 28:20-25 ESVST If we seek God, we will find Him. If we want God...

"And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 28:1-3 ESVST So often, we make things complicated that should remain simple. God made it so that the only thing I need to do in life is to love Him. If I love Him, I will obey Him, and that obedience is the key to a significant and secure life and death. If I love Him, I will love others. I will experience a significant and secure life if I love others. We often do not like the "if/then" clauses in the Bible. We want God's mercy and grace to be about us regardless of the “ifs” of life. We are often so focused on the "thens" that we forget the "ifs" that caused them. There is a cause/effect relationship to our thoughts and actions. If y...

'"Cursed be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image, an abomination to the Lord, a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret.' '"Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother. '"Cursed be anyone who moves his neighbor's landmark. '' '"Cursed be anyone who misleads a blind man on the road.” '"Cursed be anyone who perverts the justice due to the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.” '"Cursed be anyone who lies with his father's wife, because he has uncovered his father's nakedness.” '"Cursed be anyone who lies with any kind of animal.” '"Cursed be anyone who lies with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.” '"Cursed be anyone who lies with his mother- in- law.' And all the people shall say, 'Amen.' “ '"Cursed be anyone who strikes down his neighbor in secret.” '"Cursed be ...

"You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. A full and fair weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 25:13-16 ESVST There is a right and a wrong, which makes things good and bad. Lying (dishonesty) is the native language of Satan, and those who love God should have nothing to do with it. The word "abomination" is clear here as it is in other parts of Scripture: "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion." Leviticus  18:22-23  ESVST Lying and dishonesty have the same evil...

So you shall purge the evil from your midst. Deuteronomy 22:2b1 ESVST  So you shall purge the evil from Israel. Deuteronomy 22:22b ESVST So you shall purge the evil from your midst. Deuteronomy 22:24b ESVST God warns a nation to be serious about purging evil from their midst. He did not suggest they entertain evil or give it a platform to justify itself. He did not say to buy a 60” plasma screen to watch evil in high definition. The only way America could be proud of its behavior would be to redefine the word evil. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink, Isaiah  5:20-22  ESVST It is hard to purge evil from us if we think it is good. We must have a way to evaluate what we believe honestly. https://www.podbean.c...

Partial obedience is disobedience. No matter how we justify our sin, it is still sin and will separate us from all we should love and all good things. There is no such thing as almost obeying or listening.  https://www.podbean.com/relate365

The work of God should not focus on the leader of God because it is about God. Healthy ministries are thankful for their leadership but do not worship them. https://www.podbean.com/relate365

"A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 22:5 ESVST God made man and woman differently. He did not make one better and one worse. He made them differently. Those who try to erase the difference are trying to destroy or pervert something God created to be remarkable. Those who do not believe in the narrative in the book of Genesis as to how things began, or believe it is just a story, allegory, or ancient myth will most likely minimize the gender differences. A child can observe the differences between men and women. Genetics can observe the difference. We become confused when we try to make "different" something better or worse. I am a father, not a mother. Being a father is different than being a mother. It is not better or worse, just different. We all look at someone else and compare our lives to theirs in a "better" or "wors...

"If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, 'This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.' Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear. Deuteronomy  21:18-21  ESVST This is tough. Stubbornness, rebellion, gluttony, and drunkenness will destroy both the individual and the family in which this individual is a part. There is no way that an individual's actions do not affect others' welfare. As a shepherd must be careful not to allow wolves in the flock, a father, pastor, or leader must guard his people a...

"The Levitical priests, all the tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel. They shall eat the Lord's food offerings as their inheritance. They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them. And this shall be the priests' due from the people, from those offering a sacrifice, whether an ox or a sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. The firstfruits of your grain, of your wine and of your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep, you shall give him. For the Lord your God has chosen him out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for all time. Deuteronomy 18:1-5 ESVST There are those in a unique position in life to demonstrate God's faithfulness and give God's people a chance to show God's faithfulness. The priests trust God for food now and provision for the future. The people get to give to God, so the...

"And when he (King) sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel. Deuteronomy  17:18-20  ESVST The most critical task of leadership is to know God's Word and to obey it. This is a principle, not a method, so its connotations are timeless. Leaders are not those who are followed; they follow in a way that compels others to lead. Things that keep us from God keep us from life. Those who choose to gain a position from power will never overtake those who decide to gain power through submissi...

"If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, 'Let us go after other gods,' which you have not known, 'and let us serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. Deuteronomy 13:1-5 ESVST How are we doing at recognizing ev...

You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place. You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way. Deuteronomy 12:2-4 ESVST There is a proper way to worship God, which is not the same way the pagans worship the false deities. Religious practices that focus on self, satisfying self, promoting self, and exalting man are evil. I wonder how much we have mixed the practices of culture with the practices of our churches. Like our culture, have we become politically correct to the degree that we can say nothing of substance? Have we made our places about man instead of about God? Have we slowly become like all others, about us, and use God and His name to give us authority? Iron a...

"See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known.” Deuteronomy 11:26- 29 ESVST Simple, simple, simple. Blessings for those who obey. Curses for those who do not. A nation that does not believe this will be proven wrong. Perhaps there is still time for repentance. Perhaps not.   There is a point of no return for individuals and a nation. The theology of God's never-ending offer of mercy and grace is not indicated in Scripture. There is a hell, and those who have ignored God all of their lives will experience such a place. There are wasted lives, purposelessness, and this will lead to depressed lives.   God is patient, not tolerant. His love empowers, but it does not enable. His kindness can be wasted...

"You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates…” Deuteronomy  11:18-20  ESVST   Those who are in good relationships are not in those relationships by accident. Those who know God, love God, and obey His voice, and this is not by accident.   Those who love usually talk to and about the one they love. It is natural, most likely not rehearsed, and common. Those who love God talk about Him in a natural way, seldom give the impression of a "rehearsed" relationship, and can be expected to bring His name/presence in all situations.   We would be healthier if we would be more common about our love for God ...

"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, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? “ Deuteronomy 10:12-13 ESVST   God makes it simple, not difficult. Satan makes things complex, and the more complex things are, the more likely we are to make "loopholes." Apart from redefining words, it is difficult to make a loophole about the simple idea of obeying God. For example, we are told that we should love the Lord our God. Throughout the Bible, we are told that if we love God, we will obey Him. That gives us a simple way to honestly evaluate whether we love God or not.. Are we obeying Him?   Some might say that they are kind of obeying God, but that would not be obeying Him. The “kind of” people are those who redefine things and eventually make it so complicate...

“Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 8:20 ESVST   Why do some nations live in peace and prosperity, while others seem to flounder and struggle to even meet basic needs of their people? Why are there nations in a perpetual state of fear, anxiety, and turmoil?   What if the people of the world would love the Lord God? That would mean they would obey God. That would mean that they would be thinking about how to make others successful, rather than themselves. The poor and needy would be cared for by the excesses of the rich, women would not be being auctioned off as property (as they are in places of the world today), and children would be cared for and nurtured.   God did not ask us to do something we cannot do. He asked us to obey His voice. The United States does not seem to want to hear God's voice, much less obey it. We seem to want to make up our own stand...

“Beware lest you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.” Deuteronomy  8:17-19  ESVST   We love making things about us. They are not. Satan loved making things about him. Nothing is about him. Those of us who are nothing like to pretend that we are something. It is kind of making something out of nothing. The problem with that is that only God can do that. Really, I am nothing, and only God can make something out of nothing, and He does this with all who call upon His name.   In my "world" I enjoy a certain amount of wealth, power, and comfort. These are truly gifts of God. I must see them and enjoy them in that ...

"Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied,, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery….”, Deuteronomy  8:11-14  ESVST   Take care lest you forget the Lord your God. How easy is it to forget the only One whom we should be remembering?   What is it that gets in our way? What things become more important than God? I will bet we will regret whatever it is or was that got between God and us one day. This verse indicates that we forget God when we neglect to keep his commandments, rules, and statues. Perhaps the attention to the details of His commandments, rules, and statues keep us in close pr...

"For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. You shall, therefore, be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today...

"Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules —that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.” Deuteronomy 6:1-3 ESVST   The most important thing we do in life is to fear God. The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge. We must know that there is a God, that we are not Him, and that He is the ultimate judge of all things, to whom we will answer.   God desires what is good for His children, but His children need to accept what He has to offer in order to enjoy the good He is of...

"And the Lord heard your words when you spoke to me. And the Lord said to me, 'I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. Oh, that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever! Go and say to them, "Return to your tents." But you, stand here by me, and I will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.' You shall be careful, therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.” Deuteronomy 5:28-32 ESVST   Knowledge is wasted on those who do not apply it. It is not good to know and not do. Ignorant behavior can be corrected with knowledge. Knowledge cannot help those who are intentionally disobedient. How correction take...

I do not fear the destruction of life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness but that which leads to the destruction of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I do not fear becoming a murderer, but that which leads one to murder. I do not fear abortion becoming the law of the land, but that which leads to abortion. I do not fear the lack of prayer in schools, but what has led to the lack of prayer in schools. I do not fear giving in to pornography, but what has led to the acceptance of pornography. I do not fear divorce, but that which leads to divorce. I do not fear war, but that which has leads to war I do not fear violent entertainment, but why is it that people are viewing this violence? I do not fear death, but those who live as if death is not going to happen to them I do not fear hell, but what has led someone to choose hell over heaven. I do not fear suffering a heart attack but that I will do nothing to prevent the heart attack and then blame God for my poor health. I do ...