John 1: 1-10

John 1 "In the beginning..."  John begins his story.. his testimony of the time he spent walking with Jesus. The Amplified Bible adds this..  "before all time".   It takes us back to the words in Genesis 1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."   Jesus was there when time was created.  We are so dependent on the concept of "time" that we cannot fathom a time when there was no time... 

 John calls Jesus "the Word"... the logos.. a word uttered by a living voice..  "the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. " 

John tells us that Jesus was there.. at the beginning.. and that all creation "was made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being." (v3) Jesus was the channel of the act of creation.  Hebrews 1:2 says it this way.. "But in the last days He has spoken to us in the Son.. Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of all things, also by and through Whom He created the worlds..." All things were not only created by Him and through Him, Hebrews tells us but they were created "for Him." ( Hebrews 2:10).

V 4 "In Him was Life and the Life was the Light of men."  Life - was and is created by the Breath of God. Without Him there would be no life at all.  And without His Life.. there would be no Light  at all.  Genesis 1:3 "And God said, Let there be light; and there was light."  Light is important to God.. He took pleasure in the light He created. He called it "good".   John 1:5 says, "And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it ( put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it." 

Light takes hold of darkness, but darkness cannot overtake light.  Light reveals.. it shines.. it exposes.  

John talks about a man who "came to witness, that he might testify of the Light, that all men might believe in it.. through him." (v7) He testified that Jesus is the true Light.. the perfect Light.. and He came into the world to display that Light for all mankind. 

But.. "He came into the world, and though the world was made through Him , the world did not recognize Him." (v10) 

Father in heaven, Giver of life and of light.. You have revealed the greatness of Your glory in the Light of the world.. Jesus Christ. We want to walk in that Light.. We want to recognize Your Light. We want to rejoice in the fact that You have taken us out of the darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of Light through Jesus. Thank You Father. Thank You Jesus!  All praise to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

 Deuteronomy 31-34  The ministry of Moses was finished.. He commissioned Joshua to lead Israel into the  Promised land.  He spoke blessings over the tribes. And he taught them a new song.  A sad song.. for the Lord revealed to Moses that the people of Israel would turn away from serving Him and would receive the curses that He had warned them of ...instead of the blessings they could have had. 

Moses' song proclaimed the greatness of God.. " Ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock! His work is perfect.  For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He." (3-4)  He wanted them to learn this song and teach it to every generation so that they would remember Who God is. "Is not He your Father who has bought you? He has made you and established you."(v6) .  The Lord considered Israel His "portion" .. His possession.. His inheritance.  God Himself took a portion of the whole earth and of all the people and proclaimed them as His own. " He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye." ( v10) He carried them out of Egypt.. He fed them and gave them water to drink. They had every reason to trust Him and to obey His word.  

. But.. He also knew what would happen when they became prideful, they would forsake Him. Knowing that .. Moses went up to Mount Nebo, at the Lord's command.. He looked over the land that God was giving the people of Israel. And there, he died. "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 Bethpeor; but no man knows his burial place to this day." 

"There is none like the God of Jeshurun, 

Who rides the heavens to your help, 

And through the skies in His majesty.

The eternal God is a dwelling place,

And underneath are the everlasting arms; " (33:26-27a) 

These final words of Moses are words we can cling to.. God is our eternal dwelling place. He is our help and our salvation. With the song of Moses we also sing praises to the Father that bought us.. for we are not our own, but purchased with the precious blood of Jesus Christ our Savior. 

You are great O Lord our God. You are perfect and just.  You are faithful and righteous. You are our God and we proclaim Your greatness to all the earth.  May the Name of the Lord be exalted we pray,Amen. 

 Deuteronomy 29-30  This new covenant, made with the people of Israel as they prepared to enter the promised land, spelled out all the blessings of being God's people.. loving Him and obeying His commands with all their hearts and souls.  It also spells out what happens when they turn away to false gods.  Even then.. the Lord offered a second chance.. restoration.. redemption.. and a great promise.. "Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live." (30:6)

The Lord wanted His people to  "choose life".. "See, I have set before you today life and prosperity and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgements, that you may live and multiply and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it." ( v15-16)  And verse 19b-20a  "So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days... " 

This is the message of the gospel, "choose life"!  Choose to follow Jesus, to live according to His Word and to trust in Him to "circumcise" our own hearts that we might love Him with all our hearts and souls. What good news!  Jesus came to restore us, to redeem us, and to bring us back to the Father. 

It's not too hard.. "For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, not is it out of reach." (v11)  It is not too far away.. " But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart that you may observe it." (v14)  

Jesus calls us to follow Him.. to choose Life, abundant life, the life He came to give to us.. He gives us ears to hear and hearts to receive His Words.  May we choose life in Him today and every day without end. 

Father in heaven, thank You for the Word of Life. We choose to live according to Your Word.. by the power of Your Spirit.. in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord and King who has brought us near. Accomplish Your work in our hearts, fill us with love and faith and obedience.  Your will be done! Amen. 

 Deuteronomy 27-28  These two chapters lay out the greatness of God's blessings for His people when they walk in obedience and worship.  These blessings are all inclusive.. families, possessions, crops, etc.  Everything that they do would be blessed.. if they did not turn aside from the Lord and His commandments. 

But.. it also lays out the magnitude of the curse that would overtake them, personally or as a nation, if they failed to obey God's word.  And.. these curses were also all inclusive.. the things that would happen would be out of their control.  "And you shall be driven mad by the sight of what you see." ( v34) 

We know that Israel failed.. over and over.. to obey and worship God. They went into exile.. they became slaves.. they lost their homeland and their treasured temple.  But.. when I read the consequences of disobedience listed in chapter 28- another picture comes to my mind.. a more recent time that we call the Holocaust.. "The Lord will send upon you curses, confusion, and rebuke you in all you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly... " (v20)  Verse 33 "A people whom you do not know shall eat up the produce of your ground and all your labors, and you shall never be anything but oppressed and crushed continually."  And verse 37 "and you shall become a horror, a proverb, and a taunt among all the people where the Lord will drive you. " 

Once again the choice is presented.. "joy and a glad heart"  when serving the Lord  or "trembling of heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul" as a result of disobedience and sin. 

Father in heaven, how great are Your blessings for those who surrender to You and live in the Truth of Your Word, filled by Your Spirit and washed by the blood of the Lamb.  How terrible are the consequences of turning away from You and following after false gods and false religions.  Thank You for making clear that we do have a choice.. for we have a Savior who has made a way!  He is the Redeemer who came to rescue us from the curses of sin and to bring us into Your glorious Kingdom.  Open the eyes of those who are blind.. perishing in the darkness of this world. Let the Light of the gospel of Jesus Christ shine brightly today we pray, in His glorious Name. amen. 

 Deuteronomy 25-26  Chapter 25 is an interesting mix of situations and the judgements that should be made for each one.. the point is that every problem, every disagreement, argument, or injustice would be decided by the judges to "justify the righteous and condemn the wicked".  Oh that our justice system would be able to do the same! 

Chapter 26 takes on a different topic... the bringing of the offering of first fruits.. a declaration of allegiance to the Lord .. "to be [their]  God, and that [they] would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice." (v17)

In return the Lord makes them a promise, "And the Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; and that He shall set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God, as He has spoken." ( v18-19) 

On the edge of the Promised Land...God offers something no other nation would have.. a place of honor .. to be a "treasured possession" of the God Who created heaven and earth. They were chosen because He chose Abraham and made him a promise.  Abraham's faith in God was the foundation of this promise and this nation.  If only Israel had kept that kind of faith!  They would still be rejoicing at the goodness of God and shining as a Light to the nations.  But... even in this the Lord has worked for the good of all those who put their trust in Him. Hallelujah! 

Father in heaven, let Your Name be honored and lifted up in every nation and especially in the Land of Israel.  May they turn back to You and receive the gospel of Jesus Christ the Messiah and King.  Father help us to live in righteousness, walking in Your ways.. by the power of Your Spirit.. in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen. 

 Deuteronomy 24  The Lord provided laws and decrees for the people of Israel that reflect His character and virtue.  They seem on the surface to be just a lot of do's and don'ts but there is a consistent thread of compassion and truth in every one. 

In this chapter He addresses divorce and remarriage; taking a pledge; caring for the poor, especially widows, orphans, and aliens.   Everything they do should reflect the same attitude that God had toward them.. "But you  shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and that the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing." ( v18)

Remember God's actions.. how He redeemed you.. from slavery to sin, to self, to the world.  Remember the love that He showed by sending His one and only Son.. to save you. It is in the remembering that we draw near to His heart.. go deeper into His love.. and find compassion and mercy to others in the same way. 

Father in heaven, we bow before You in thanksgiving, remembering that we were once lost.. once enslaved by sin.. and now You have redeemed us by the shed blood of Jesus , Your Beloved Son.  We now live for Christ, filled with the Spirit, and set apart to live a life of compassion and righteousness .  Help us to see those around us with Your eyes.. to show the love of Christ to everyone we meet.. and to keep remembering all that You have done so that You are glorified in us and in all we do and say.  May Your will be done and Your Name lifted up in us today we pray. Amen. 

 Deuteronomy 21-23  There are many laws and judgements given in the book of Deuteronomy...so that it is hard to keep them all straight.  The purpose of all of them is made clear in this simple statement.. " ... so you do not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance." 

Keep from evil. Purge the evil. Be redeemed from all blood guiltiness.  "Since the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you lest He turn away from you." (23:14) 

Every action and every word spoken was seen and heard by the Lord their God.  Every relationship. Every sin. Everything. God desires that His people are holy and helped them to know what that means in practical ways. 

It is here.. .in the middle of all these laws and statutes that we first hear these words.. " And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (.. for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance." (21:22-23)

Philippians 2:8 " And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.."  Jesus, the Lamb of God, emptied Himself and took upon Himself the curse of the cross.. for we have defiled the world with our sin and there is no other way to find the cleansing that we need. 

Father in heaven, may we be holy unto You the Holy One of heaven. May the sacrifice of Jesus cover us and remove all our guilt and sin. O thank You Jesus!  May our lives be made pure before You and may we keep from all evil.. O Lord forgive us our trespasses and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.  This is Your will for us and we surrender all to You so that through Your Spirit we will live in holiness and joy.  We ask that once again you will renew our minds and transform us that we might be like You..  for you have given us new life that "has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." (Eph 4:23-24)  In the name of Jesus our Lord we pray, Amen.