From David Jeremiah's book - " Could it be that if we finally placed all that we have, all that we aspire, all that we are before God on the altar of worship, that He would return it to us filled with His light and transformed by His glory?"

Deuteronomy 14

Because Israel was set apart as a "holy people to the Lord" their God, their lives were to exhibit holiness - everything they did and everything they ate- was meant to bring glory to God and reveal His Presence.

So they were told not to follow the customs of other nations.  They were given specific instructions on what was clean and unclean for them.  And, they were given many opportunities to show that they feared God, worshiped God, and were thankful to God.

It was in the act of worship, of bringing their tithes before the Lord, that they would find joy!
Verse 23 " And you shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the first -born of your herd and your flock, in order that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always."

 Reverent fear of the Lord is learned in the giving of tithes....
Knowing that it is the Lord Who has blessed you.. ( v24)
That it is in the obedient giving of the tithe where real joy is found.  - " .. there you shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household." ( v26)
There is a direct connection between fear of the Lord, obedient giving of our tithes, and joy!

Israel was to live this way- in holiness and obedience - and when they did, they would be blessed. Their families would be blessed and even more.. their communities would be blessed.  Verses 28-29  give instructions for the people to leave their tithes in their hometowns ( instead of taking it to Jerusalem) every third year - to provide for the Levites, the alien, the widow, and the orphan in their own backyard.

Father in heaven,  teach us Your truths, that we might live holy, obedient, and blessed lives.  Lives that reflect Your glory and bring You praise.  May we worship You with all of our hearts, souls, bodies, and minds.  Truly worship and rejoice in Your Presence. That we may be transformed and renewed and live a life worthy of You.  Help us today.  Fill us Holy Spirit, keep us filled with Yourself, we ask in the worthy Name of Jesus. Amen.

David Jeremiah writes in his book on true worship - " Joy, it's been said, is the flag you fly from the castle of your heart when the King is in residence there. We need to raise those flags higher ."
Worship is a celebration of the good news - All our sins have been washed away! The Spirit of God has come to dwell in us and will never leave us!  He is transforming us from the inside out to resemble Jesus Christ, our perfect and beautiful Savior! We have the privilege of coming into "the presence and the embrace of God Himself "!  What joy!

Deuteronomy 13

There are 3 "ifs" that are important here;
"If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams..... "(v1-2)
" If your brother, your mother's son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you......" (v6)
"If you hear in one of your cities.... worthless men have.. seduced the inhabitants..." (v12-13)

If any of these try to entice or seduce you to worship any other god besides the Lord - kill them, destroy them, and do not yield to them!

It does not matter how powerful or wise or exciting the man or woman is,   it doesn't matter how close or dear, or precious a person is,  it does not matter how great the community is - they are not worth following if they are leading us away from the Lord!

Jesus said it this way , " If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. " ( Luke 14:26).    Christ must be the first and only priority.   Deuteronomy puts it this way, " .. for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him."

As a friend and former pastor of mine used to say,  God cannot be just a priority, He must be THE priority in our lives.

Father  in heaven,  You are worthy of all our worship and obedience.  You are worthy of all of our attention and love and sacrifice .  You must be in first place always!  Help us to live in accordance with Your will, loving You with all of our hearts and souls and strength and being.  Let no man, woman, or thing come between us and You.  You alone are our God. Amen.

Deuteronomy 12  When Israel brought their offerings and sacrifices to the place that the Lord would choose in the promised land, it was supposed to be a time to rejoice.  God would bless them with crops and herds and they would bring the first fruits etc. and rejoice before the Lord.   They were to set aside these offerings as "holy" to the Lord and bring them to the place He would choose to offer them there .

Israel was to destroy any idols or places where idolatry was practiced.  They were to be careful not to allow anything to come between them and the Lord.  But, must importantly, they were to "rejoice before the Lord your God in all your undertakings."  ( v18)

The Lord wants us to bring our tithes and offerings with cheerful hearts too!   When we recognize the fact that all we have comes from Him and belongs to Him; that He has blessed us in all of our undertakings - we will be doing right to bring our offerings and rejoice before Him.

Father, teach us this truth once again.  Thank you for giving us all that we have needed.  Thank you for food to eat and clothes to wear; for the roof over our heads, and for so much more than that.  Thank You for our children and grandchildren.  We are blessed by Your Hand and You are worthy of all our praise. Bless the Lord!

Deuteronomy 11  " You shall therefore love the Lord your God, and always keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments." 

This meaning of love is one of affection and close friendship.
Israel was to remember the Lord's greatness, His mighty hand, and His outstretched arm.. that delivered them from the Egyptians. ( His deliverance )
They were to remember what happened with the rebellious men in the wilderness, when the earth opened up and swallowed them whole. ( His discipline)
They were to trust in the Lord Who would care for the land that He was giving them... blessing them with rain in every season. ( His provision).

They were to be careful to obey, to know the Word, and to teach the Word to their children.
If they did this, everything they needed would be provided and they would be satisfied.

But, if they were not careful to keep abiding in the Word and in the Lord; if they were " deceived and turn away and serve other gods and worship them" ; all would be lost.  Three times in this chapter alone, Moses reminds Israel to "love the Lord your God and serve Him " with all their heart and soul.

To love and serve the Lord with your heart is to serve Him from the inward part of you. 
To love and serve with your  soul is to serve Him with your person, your body.. the outward part of you. 
The Pharisees of Jesus' day served with the outward body, but their hearts were far from God.  We must be careful to cultivate that affection and love for the Lord in our hearts and then live it out in our bodies.  " Therefore, I urge you brethren , to present your bodies, a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God...... and do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..."  ( Romans 12:1-2)   The same principle is given to us.  God wants our inner man and our outer man.  He wants all of us - to love and serve Him, because He loves us so.

Father, You are our God and we love You.  We want to please You and walk in Your ways.  Take our lives and let them be... holy and pleasing to You.  Through the name of Jesus Christ the Lord we come.
amen

Deuteronomy 9-10   Moses reminds the people of Israel of the fact that they were not righteous people.  They were not going to receive the promised land because they were good enough, but because of God's goodness.  God was removing the nations from the land because of their wickedness... and He would remove Israel too, if they did not obey.   In fact, they had brought the wrath of God upon themselves already when they made the golden calf; and only because of the intercession by Moses were they not destroyed.

Moses wants Israel to know and worship God and be the people of God.  He prays for them and encourages them.  Deut. 10:12-21 is a sermon, an exhortation, and a plea for the people to serve God.

" And now, Israel, what doe 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 statures which I am commanding you today for your good?"  (verses12-13)   Here is the core of life in right relationship with God - to fear Him; follow His paths; love Him and serve Him.  

Because:
 " Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, and the earth and all that is in it. " (v. 14)
"For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe; He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing."
" He is your praise and He is your God who has done these great and awesome things for you...." (v21)

This is the God who chose us to also belong to Him.  To fear Him, love Him, serve Him and walk in His ways.  He possesses everything in heaven and earth;  He is perfect in all His ways; and He chooses to do great and awesome things for us!  He sent His only son to pay for our transgressions.
He makes us holy and perfect through the blood of Jesus Christ.  This is amazing grace.

Thank You Father!  Great, mighty, awesome, and holy are You.  We praise and worship You alone.
Draw us nearer to Yourself every day. We ask in the Name of Jesus, amen.

Deuteronomy 7-8  The blessings of obedience to the Lord's commands are more than worth any sacrifice.  Israel was charged with obeying and not allowing anything to turn their hearts from God.
That included keeping their families from the corruption of the nations around them.
" For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth." 
Chosen out of love and out of a promise. " Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and his lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments."

But to turn from Him and His commands - means judgement,  not to the generations ahead but "to their faces".   It is the person who willfully turns away from God that will be destroyed.

The blessings of God -
" He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you." 
He will remove all sickness.
He will remove all dread.
He will provide everything.. as long as there is obedience to His words.  " Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. "
" But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. "  ( 8:18)

Everything that happened from the day they left Egypt until the day they entered the Promised land was for the purpose of preparing Israel to be the nation of the Lord.  They were to remember their humility and dependance on Him. They were to bless Him and obey His commandments.  They would become the greatest of all nations... if they would be faithful.

God our Father, Yahweh, the Lord is Your Name.  You are the same now as You were before the creation of the world and on the day of Your promises to Israel.  You give blessings to those who obey Your Word, to those who love You and do what You desire.  Thank You for being a God who blesses those Who obey, and who helps us even have the desire to obey.  Thank You for being patient and kind; and for redeeming us from the slavery to sin and self. Thank You for choosing to make us a holy people, set apart for Yourself.  Bless us today even as You have promised through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Deuteronomy 6  Moses reminds the people that they need to learn the commandments, teach the commandments, and do the commandments.

They were to listen and be careful ( v3); bind them on their hands and forehead ( v8);  watch themselves ( v12);  and fear ( v13) the Lord and Him only.   If they did this the results would be amazing:
They would be well - sound, beautiful, happy successful, right, glad, kind, skillful.
They would multiply greatly.
They would possess the land.
It would bring good for them and be righteousness to them.

The people were to be diligent to teach the commands to their children and grandchildren.  " and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." (v7)   They were to write the commands on their doorposts and on their gates.
Coming and going - the Word of God would be everywhere, producing an atmosphere steeped in the Presence and Goodness of God.

Imagine a country where every citizen knew the 10 commandments and obeyed them!  Where everyone loved and served God with all their heart and soul and might.  Where every individual feared God and worshiped Him alone.  Where all were careful to "do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord."(v18).   This is God's will!  This was what He would have done for Israel if she would have obeyed.   It is what He would do for us.. if we would keep His commandments.

Father in heaven,  You are worthy of our worship and reverence .  We love Your Word and want to be faithful to do it.  Fill our hearts with Your commandments and righteousness so that we might walk in Your ways and  love You with all our beings.   May we be careful to know Your Word and to do them and to teach them to our children and grandchildren, surrounding them and ourselves with Truth and righteousness.  Come and fill us now, Holy Spirit, that we may be strengthened by Your glorious might.  Produce in us the fruit of righteousness and love.  In the mighty and precious Name of Jesus we ask these things.  Amen.