Prelude

 I'll admit that I've looked ahead a bit in Deuteronomy.  The Ten Commandments are coming.  I'm already concerned about what the next chapter will say to me.

Yet this morning it occurred to me that verses 32-40 in chapter 4 are part of the introduction, the prelude, to The Commandments.  I noticed a new set of ABCs.

A - Ask.  God tells the Israelites to ask if they had ever seen or heard of a god who did the great things they and their forefathers had seen.  Had another god taken for itself another nation out of a nation by testings, miraculous signs and wonders, wars, an outstretched arm or great and awesome deeds?  They saw these things so they would know there is no other God.

B- Because He loved.  God loved the forefathers and carried His Love and promise on to their descendants.  By His Presence they were delivered from Egypt and given the Promised Land.  He reminded them to take this love to heart and acknowledge there is no other God.

C- Commands that are lived will bring a good, long life for them and their children.

Following the upcoming commands are based on the belief that there is NO other God.  There is no OTHER God.  There is no other GOD!

There is no other God who gives His love to those who are so undeserving.  I've  read the rest of The Book and I know the Israelites will stray.  Yet God continued to love them.  There is no other God who would love them still.

I have lived enough life to know that I have strayed yet God still loves me.  There is no other God that would still love me.

Today, again, I

Acknowledge that there is no other God for me;

Because He loves me in spite of my failings; and I

Choose to follow His commands so I will have the life He promised.

Room

"Now you will always have a room here.  Don't use it to run home every  time you have a fight but you will always have a room to visit."  I remember this as one of my mom's pre-wedding talks.  We were good friends and I know she wanted to continue with that relationship.  She also wanted to be sure that future grandchildren frequented her house!

My mom also wanted to remind me that no matter where life would take me, she would always love me and be my mother.  There would always be a room for me.

In Deuteronomy 4:21-31, God reminds the Israelites again not to worship idols.  He doesn't come right and say, "You are going to stray" but it certainly sounds like He knows they will stray.  I've read ahead and they do stray.  God knows and still loves them!

God gives them a preview of the consequences of their misplaced worship of idols who cannot see, hear, eat or smell.  They will be destroyed and scattered among the nations.  Only a few will survive. 

God also gives them hope.  God gives the promise that when they are in the mess of their own creation, if they will seek Him with all their heart and soul, they will find Him.  God promises to be merciful, to not abandon them and not to forget the covenant He made with their forefathers.

Even when God knows His people will follow cheap imitations, He promises love, mercy and restoration.  If God promises the Israelites that there will always "be a room" for them, even when they have offended Him by worshipping another, then God must be able to have room for me too.

God loves me.

God will always love me, even when I wander.

How do I know?  God has promised that if I seek Him will all my heart and soul, I will find Him.

Out of the Furnace

God really does know our hearts and minds.  In Deuteronomy 4:15-20, He is very specific about what not to make into an idol.  We really are children.  He knows we will "split hairs" on the rules.  God tells the Israelites not to become corrupt by making an idol of a man, woman, animal, bird, creature, fish, sky, sun, moon or stars.  He reminds them not to be enticed to worship what He has given but to worship the One who gave them. 

In today's world we could find things to worship that are not included in the Deuteronomy list.  I have had enough health challenges in my life to choose certain forms of treatment, disciplines or plans.  Yet nothing, in the human made world, works 100% of the time on 100% of the people.  It's still practice.  There are many conditions that medicine can offer very high percentages of success but I've not had an absolute guarantee from medicine.

The only absolute guarantee I have had is the one God gives.  It will be OK because He is in control and He Loves me.  Thus, it will be OK.  Someday there will be a book about OK!

Through my life's challenges I have learned to follow the same steps that God outlines for the Israelites. It is quite a challenge in this tangible world to not choose the logical plans of the world, even while you may be following that plan.

In my health challenges, I almost always chose to follow the treatment options my doctor recommended.  I follow them because the doctors have experience and knowledge.  Yet I don't worship them or the treatments.  They make my quality of life better but I don't credit them with the gift of Life.

My husband and I have adopted a system for handling the challenges of life.  I'm not sure we've ever penned our plan.  Somehow we came up with it and it has worked in the past.  We have an unspoken agreement to be the accountability partner for whoever is in the "furnace" to reinforce the steps.  I saw our plan for dealing with life's furnaces in the verses of Deuteronomy this morning.

 Step One:  Remember when you believed without seeing. First, remember a time when you were sure of God and that He spoke and delivered.  The Israelites knew God spoke at Horeb out of the fire even though they couldn't see a form.

Step Two:  Don't choose to worship earthly answers, choose God.  We make the choice on worship.  We decide to follow idols, disciplines, plans and lifestyles.  They may be beneficial and helpful but are they the real answer to our problem?

 Step Three:  The furnace is temporary.  God reminded the Israelites that it was He that brought them out of the "iron-smelting furnace".  God describes Egypt as a furnace.  Apparently an iron furnace was really big and really hot.  Their time in Egypt was harsh and oppressive. 

God delivered them from the really awful Egypt and He will do it again.  God had a plan for the Israelites.  They had an inheritance to claim, the Promised Land.

I have had times living in a "furnace" but God is greater than the biggest "furnace" I will or have experienced.  God has a plan for me.  God has an inheritance for me, Eternity with Him.

So, the next time life lights a "furnace", I will:

Go back and remember the times I was sure of God;

Decide again to trust Him in, through and out of the furnace; and

Focus on the eternal, not  the temporary furnace.  God has Eternity in my future.

New World, New Rules

Molly, the puppy, hates rules. She makes me  correct her three times before she prances away pretending to get my message.  She just waits until my attention is elsewhere and tries again.

She is smart, perceptive and quick.  She caught me when I thought it was a good idea to break my own rule.  I always have the puppies on tie-outs because I know there are spaces in our fence big enough for puppies to escape.  The puppies are black, invisible at night, and they only come to me when they want.

But yesterday was a beautiful fall day and they'd been in the crates a bit longer so I called a "Zoom."  A zoom is when the puppies are off leash and chase each other around and around the yard.  It's something like watching NASCAR.  I stand out and watch for their protection and my enjoyment.

I blinked and then saw Molly in the neighbor's yard!  She had found the whole created years ago by our famous escape artist, Jessie, who believed her yard extended to Nebraska and fences were a mere suggestion.  She was 150 pounds of lovable Lab that could shape-shift herself under the chain link.

Molly found Jessie's favorite "door".  The neighbors had put up boards on their side.  We had a rock to block our side but  time had eroded their effectiveness and that little puppy slipped through in a nanosecond!

The happy ending to the story is that even at my age I can still climb over a chain link fence and not get stuck or hurt!  At first I wanted help from a neighbor but at the top of the fence I hoped no one was watching from their window and laughing.  I also found a good use for my old license plate.  The neighbors probably are curious as to why it is now lashed to my fence.

I entitled the three verses, twelve through fourteen, in Deuteronomy chapter four, "A New World means New Rules."  Moses reminds the Israelites of the time when the Ten Commandments were delivered.  Only God's voice came from the fire with the Commandments.  Then they were written on two stone tablets and Moses gave the laws and decrees the Israelites were to live by in the Promised Land.

"What did you do on your first  day of kindergarten?" I asked Adam years ago.  He explained, matter-of-factly, "First the teacher explained the rules.  Then we went to the gym and the principal explained the rules to the whole school.  Then we had recess and the playground supervisor explained the rules."  He didn't seem worried that the common word in all of those experiences was "rules."  In my mind's journal, I gave the word for the first day of kindergarten: "rules."

Yet Adam  accepted it as the standard.  As a child, a new boundary, a new world meant new rules.  He probably took comfort, the first day, to know the rules and boundaries for the new experience.

God was preparing His group of people, that could have numbered in the millions, to live in a new world.  They were going to live in cities and towns on a permanent basis after wandering for years.  There would be strange people who didn't follow God living on their borders with the potential of harm, both physical and spiritual. Those commandments, decrees and laws were for order, protection and better quality of life.

I need to remember that living within God's rules will give my life order, safety and a better life.  I hope soon Molly believes the same!

 

Be a storyteller

Many years ago, in the beginning of our relationship, Dick asked me when I knew I loved him.  I was a bit shy about telling him.  Not because I didn't love him but it seemed such an unromantic moment.  I was in the college dorm and getting ready to take a shower.  I was in the first stall. It was the one farthest from the window, so the light was dim.  Just as I stepped into the shower, it hit me!  I was in love and I knew with whom I wanted to spend the rest of my life! I know this is highly unusual but most of my life revelations have come brushing my teeth and driving in the car.  Those must be the times I am listening to my heart.  In my mind, the moment is clear and vivid yet.

Deuteronomy 4:9-11 reminded me that we are all called to be story tellers.  Moses tells the Israelites to be careful and watch themselves closely so that they don't forget what God has done before them.  They are not to let these memories slip from their hearts and they are to share them with their children and grandchildren.

I should have been a journal-er.  I had good intentions.  I have several adorable, covered notebooks with one or two pages written and many blank pages.  I had good intentions.  I really did want to record the details of life's memories.  We live in a world ruled by dates and time.  Those details seem to be most valued.

Yet, this morning, I am convinced that the condition of the heart at a particular moment is what should be remembered.  Neither Dick nor I remember the date that I decided to give my heart to Jesus.  Yet we both remember the emotion and the state of our hearts.

I vividly remember getting the phone that announced Adam's arrival.  I was in the vet's office with a sick dog.  Somehow the church secretary found me. I remember the vet's assistant coming in and telling me to phone Mary.  I knew this was the moment we had waited for and at last, it had come!  I remember stopping at the first phone booth I could find - yes, it was so long ago, there were phone booths! I treasure the moment in my heart, not the dog, the vet or the phone booth. I treasure the joy, the hope and the excitement.

When I look back and remember, I don't go back to the college dorm or the phone booth to renew that loving feeling.  I have treasured these moments in my heart, just as Moses told the Israelites. We don't have to go back to the physical spot.  We should go back to the spiritual spot when God spoke.  Those vivid details help us remember but the important part is the heart.

So, at least as far as my relationship with God and His intervention in my life,  I am called to tell the stories to my family.  I am to share the joy, the comfort, the relief, the love with those closest to me. The repetition of telling children, because they will ask you to tell them again and again, will dig the memory deeper into my heart and theirs.

I have a life mission to have dozens of scrapbooks chronicling our life's trips, events and momentous occasions. It's a life's work to manage the time and details of life and try to remember them.  Yet my real mission is to save all those heart moments, to treasure them in my heart and to tell them to my children and grandchildren.  By sharing my heart moments with my family, I will teach others about God and how to revere God.

Here's the mission

"Obedience Commanded."  This is the heading in my NIV translation that begins Chapter 4 in Deuteronomy.  Those two words disturb my independent spirit.  I am a rebel and too often demand to know why I need to obey.  I want to know the purpose of my submission.

Years ago in my adult Sunday School class, I must have made a similar comment.  My retired military friend enlightened me on following orders.  He explained that obedience comes after you are convinced of the mission.  Obedience is not blind.  It has purpose and when you know the purpose, the mission, obedience makes sense.

I'll admit to being old enough to have grown up watching the original television show "Mission Impossible".  The opening always included, "Your mission, should you choose to accept it................"

So I'm going to think of the first eight verses of chapter four as "Here's the mission".  These verses begin with a "listen up, this is important feel." Remember in school, when the teacher said, "You might want to write this down, it might be on the test"?

Then Moses tells the benefit of following the commands--it will show them how to live in the new land.  Years ago we went to interview at a church in California.  It was a very different place from where we grew up.  I must have had that "deer in headlights" look or looked very gullible.  One of the first pieces of advice I received when I got off the plane was, "Don't let anyone give you an olive right off the tree.  They taste really bad before they are cured."  I have learned that when I enter new territory it's good to get advice on how to  live in that territory.

Moses also gives the warning to follow the commands and decrees exactly.  Don't add and subtract.  He must know me.  I always have a better idea.  I love to change procedures, rules and patterns.  Sometimes, I like change, just for change sake. Yet, I don't always have a better idea. 

Moses reminds them that disobeying has very serious consequences.  God destroyed all of those who followed Baal of Peor.  He reminded them that they were alive today because they followed the commands.  Obedience saved your life in the past and it will save your life in the future.

Then Moses tells them their mission, their purpose, the benefit of following the commands exactly.  They will be known as wise and understanding people.  OK, I'm in.  I aspire to be known as wise and understanding.  It's not in my selfish nature but if I follow God's commands, I will be known as wise and understanding.

And, I will bring honor and glory to God.  Moses tells the Israelites that  other nations will marvel that God is near to them, unlike any other god and its people.  Others will know that when the Israelites pray God is near.

OK, now I'm really in.  Not only do I get to be wise and understanding, I get to be known as belonging to the God who is near when I pray.  I'm convinced.  Let's move to the Promised Land!

Stay

We live in a world that refuses to accept the answer of "No."    I've already used the word dozens of times this morning with the puppies with moderate success.  They want their way and insist upon having it.  I just have to stay the course and insist more often than they.  Right now, they are sleeping.  So apparently for the moment I have kept the balance of power!

As children, our parents will reason with us and explain the answer.  "The stove is hot and will burn you so no touch!"  "The car might not see you and hit you so no running in the street."

Too many of us, never grow up and continue to demand our way.  Too often when we hear the answer of no, we change, quit or walk away.  We become bitter when we don't receive or understand the explanation for the answer of no.

Sometimes, the answer of no is for our protection or the  greater good. Occasionally we get the explanation of the answer but many times , we are not privy to the reasons for "no."

In Deuteronomy 3:21-29, Moses gives encouragement to Joshua to remember what God had done to the two kings on this side of the Jordan.  God would do the same on the other side.  Then Moses asks God to let him go over and see the Promised Land.  God, emphatically, says "that's enough" and tells Moses to go to the top of Pisgah and look with his own eyes at the land but Moses was not going over to the Promised Land.

In today's world, a drama would have ensued and Moses would storm off into the desert.  He could have quit.  His replacement was trained and ready. In our modern minds, that would even be logical.

Yet these verses conclude with "So we stayed..."  Moses made a very important choice that day.  He choose God.  He chose to remain.   He chose to obey.

Moses had a longstanding relationship with God and trusted His plan.  He asked but accepted God's answer, even when it was not the answer that he hoped.

What will it take in my life to choose God over my selfish demands? It's a matter of trust in the one who issues the answer of no.

Trust in His greatness and sovereignty and obey regardless.

So when the going gets tough, I need to stay with God, without explanation or demand, just stay with God.

(God cares)

In a seminar on  grammar once, I was given the hint that using a comma was like taking a breath and using a parenthesis was like whispering.   Yet the last two days reading Deuteronomy, the parenthetical thoughts have hollered at me.

In chapter 3, verses 18-20, Moses gave the tribes who have possession of the land on this side of the Jordan River orders.  They were to send all able-bodied men, ready for battle, across the Jordan with the rest of the Israelites to assist them in conquering the remainder of the Promised Land.  God told them, "You are not done until we are all done." (That would be from the Jan Sipe translation.)

God knows we have earthly attachments and responsibilities that would distract us from following His commands.  He has plans to care for those attachments.  We cannot use them as an excuse to disobey His commands.

When Moses explains that the able-bodied men are to go, he adds women, children and livestock are to stay in the towns He had given.  God had already provided ready-made towns and homes for the families of the fighting men.  And to emphasize His care and provision, He included the parenthetical thought, "I know you have much livestock."  In my translation, "Don't be using the size of your herd as an excuse."

God had provided towns, land and an environment with no enemies- they had completely destroyed the previous occupants.  The families were safe and provided.

I had to think, "What accomplishments have I missed because I let earthly entanglements prevent me from following God?"

Just a couple of weeks ago, I had a moment of decision.  My first visit to my husband's new ministry was scheduled.  The puppies needed someone to care for them.  A friend has a pet sitting business.  I made the arrangements with her.  On the day of the departure as I delivered them, I found myself feeling like the new mother leaving her newborn for the very first time.  I decided to leave quickly before I teared up.

I should have felt relief for a break.  They are a handful, actually two handfuls.  Yet they are a joy to see first thing in the morning. (It's later when the naughty puppies show up.) They are cuddly and affectionate and make me accountable to do my daily time.  I think they call it, "chair time."  This morning I had to tell them enough kissing!

The puppies had a great time  at their adventure and so did I.  I needed to see, hear and experience the new location of ministry.  I'm so glad I did not miss the adventure.

 Today's verses reminded me that God will take care of my attachments.  God cares about what I care about and God is able to care for what I care for.

He knows

I just said to Molly, the puppy, "No, I know what you are thinking."  She was leaning toward the corner of the computer ready to chew.  We've had a hard time getting settled into our normal routine this morning since we all had a road trip over the weekend.  I'm a little tired and so to  get started I've done a bit of shuffling of papers.  That led to the puppies trying to chew the papers up.  The puppies have chosen today to switch sides to sit in the chair with me this morning.  I'm not sure what that means.  I'm a mother so I want them to think I know what they are thinking.

My mother taught me well.  I remember the moment I realized she had super human powers. I was upstairs in my room, apparently doing something I wasn't supposed to be doing.  She hollered up and told me to stop ....  She knew exactly what I was doing.  I don't remember what I was doing that day but  I do remember thinking: How did she know?  She was downstairs.  I went and checked.  I even asked her that day.  Her reply, "I'm a mother I always know." 

I also believe she had eyes in the back of her head.  The child-side in my brain still believes she will always find out.  I can never hide from Mom!

To this day, I do not know how she knew what I was doing that day.  Did she hear me from the furnace vent?  Was my brother a spy? Did she have supernatural hearing?  I was pretty sure we did not have hidden surveillance cameras.

I used the same tactic on my son.  I always reminded him that I would eventually find out! 

My belief in my mother's all-knowing ability was a building block to develop my character and behavior.  It  also gave me a pattern to follow in my relationship with God.  He knows. He has always known.  He will always know.

Moses continues the geography lesson in Deuteronomy 3:15-17 in describing the boundaries of the land given to the Reubenites and Gadites.  One of the boundaries was the Arnon Gorge.  He adds that the middle of the gorge will be the border.

I work in an industry that relies on the exact location of boundaries.  There are disputes unless the boundary description is very accurate.  So that little parenthetical addition did not go unnoticed.

God knew that some day in the future there would be two groups who would lay claim to the entire gorge unless there were very specific instructions as to the exact location of the boundary.  He knows us too well!

I have been reminded that mothers know, from prior experience, that puppies and children will misbehave in similar patterns and that God knows us very well.  He  not only knows us from previous experience, He knows the future.  God does know it all.  God knows and yet still loves me, and you.

 

His dog

I have always said that if she were human I should be jealous.  Makena is Dick's dog.  Even though for years, I have been the one who trained her, fed her and got up with her at 5 am!  Yet her worship belongs to him!

She knows Dick choose her.  I remember the dark night we drove  to Ottumwa to pick out a puppy.  We both were excited and I remember asking,  "What color puppy do you want?"  When we arrived, he was surprised to find ten little black puppies.  Somehow out of ten almost identical puppies, he choose Makena.  She was shy and reticent but bonded to him, Mr. Excitement.  The next two days she sat on his shoulder like a kitten.  She has "had eyes for him" ever since.

I call her Dick's dog.  She is his really good and loyal friend.

I thought of her this morning when Moses was beginning the distribution of land in Deuteronomy 3:12-14.  In verse 14, he mentioned Jair, a descendant of Manasseh and the boundaries of his land.  Jair took possession of the land God gave and as Moses tells the Israelites "to this day" it is called Havvoth Jair.

Jair made an impression on the land, on Moses and on others such that the land still carried his name.

God has chosen me.  By grace, because I certainly have not earned or deserved it, God saw something in me and choose me.

If I allow God to possess my heart,

I will be known as God's child.  Shouldn't that be the goal of my life?    My life should reflect God's influence such that others will know I am His.

Thanks, Dad

The first thing on my to-do list today is "Mail Birthday Card!"  I'm running late. My dad's birthday is Tuesday and it's Saturday.  The front of the card  has a cute overloaded station wagon and says, "Dad, remember those family trips?"

I choose it because my Dad planned many great and memorable vacations.  He has an adventurous spirit and can be spontaneous. So we would deviate from the main roads to visit Crater of the Moons or a an obscure historical marker or a surf board graveyard!  We camped.  We learned. We rode a lot in the car!

The inside of the birthday card says, "You sure packed my life with happy memories, Dad. Thanks."

It is no coincidence that today I read Deuteronomy 3:1-11. This is another story of a victory given to the Israelites by God.  They defeated King Og and all his army.  They completely destroyed them and carried off livestock and plunder.

In my notes I started a list: 

+Do not be afraid.  God sent the Israelites up against a people with over 60 cities, many of them with walls and gates with iron bars. God can do anything;

+Do the same. Just as they had defeated King Sihon and his army, God promised them victory  if they did  the same.  Doing the same means to be obedient;

+Look back at what God gave. 

Moses recounts a collection of facts . Some of which seemed mundane to me. There was a geography lesson.  A reference to Og being the last of the Raphaites, whoever they were.    

Then the description of Og's bed  made an impression on me. Og's bed was really big, 9 cubits by 4 cubits which is about 14 feet by 6 feet, and decorated with iron.  What an ego he must have had to need  a bed that big?  Apparently it was very sturdy as Moses told the Israelites it was still on display in Rabbah.

The Israelites had the good memory of defeating King Og.  God had given a victory over a guy with a big ego, a big army and a big bed!

The bed may have been constructed as a lasting memory of Og's power.  In the end, that big bed is a lasting memory of what God did!

What lasting accomplishments has God given me?

Today, as I mail the birthday card, I thank my earthly Dad for great memories.  Deuteronomy reminds me to thank my Heavenly Dad for the many memories of His accomplishments in my life!

 

"Thanks, God,  You sure packed my life with happy memories!"

Live thoroughly

 

I changed my routine this morning and started a pot of soup to take to work.  The puppies reminded me that my activities were out of our routine.  When they got impatient waiting for me in our study chair, they got themselves in trouble.

How do puppies know about the importance of remote controls?  Countless times, they find the remote before I can remember where I've hidden it from them!  They change the volume and the channels while racing around the table proudly displaying their prize.  I've already pried the "1" button back into position.  Come to think of it, my little "control queen" is the one who most often seeks out the remote.  She is too smart for her own good.  She is sending a message to me that it's about control.  She is cute and adorable but stubborn.  Her brother is so obedient except when she distracts and gets him excited.

Someday soon, I pray, Molly will live in accordance with my rules.  I need to be thorough in my instruction and enforcement of the rules.  There is hope.  Three times this morning, before she found the remote, I checked on them, because it was quiet. She was patiently waiting for me in the study chair.   I presume she was telling me the soup can wait, it's time..........

This morning I read Deuteronomy 2:32-37.  At first I thought, "today it will be hard."  Moses is retelling the story of the Israelites completely destroying King Sihon, his family, his army and everything in his towns except the livestock.

A few words came to my mind:  "thorough" and "in accordance."  I was reminded that God is Thorough and He expects us to be thorough in following His commands.  To be thorough we need to be in accordance with His commands.  A dictionary defines accordance as agreeing or conformity.  I like the conformity definition because it includes action.  I may agree but I can choose to not act accordingly.  Conformity means my actions will reflect my agreement.

Thank you God that you are Thorough. You have loved me thoroughly.  You have provided and will provide for me thoroughly.  You are thoroughly in control.

Show me how to live in accordance.  Show me how to conform so my actions will reflect You.  Take control of my life, thoroughly.

Trust the author

"Ooops!  Guess my project just got shorter."  My friend came over to help me.  I was making a table runner out of lots of triangles.  I'm not good with triangles. I'm not sure I like triangles. I'd sewn some the wrong direction.  I also am not good at ripping and it is the part of sewing I dislike most.  My solution:  throw the wrong way triangles away and my table runner is a bit shorter than the pattern.  My friend even volunteered to rip. I'd rather throw them away.

My problem was I had not read the instructions all the way through and then followed the instructions step by step.  I got carried away by my "assembly line" sewing. My current project even includes the warning:  "Read through the entire set of instructions several times before you begin."  Yikes, she must know me.  I did need four times through that pattern before I could begin step one.  I am still unclear how all the pieces and instructions will accomplish the final product.  I've learned the hard way to follow the steps, in order.  I am going to trust the author--even when I think I have a better idea.

I was reminded of the importance of following the steps in order when I read Deuteronomy 2:25-31.  Two times in the NIV translation God gave the Israelites the instruction to begin to conquer or to possess the land.  Once He told them He had begun to put terror in the hearts of their opponents.

God's plans usually are a  process.  God often tells us the big picture, the final result.  Then He will give us step one.  Our job is to focus on the final goal but not to skip a step.  Our job is to follow His plan.

Too often we are impatient and challenge the steps to get to the end faster. We often justify it by saying we are doing it for God but are we?  Is it our pride that leads us to get to the end faster?

Too many times have I heard young believers (not young in age but in following the Lord) hear their call from God, get excited and rush to fulfill the call on their own terms.  I've  heard: why do I need a college degree?  why do I need to go to Bible school?  Why can't I go now?  How long do I have to do_____?  I know a better way.

In too many circumstances, we forget that God controls all the details.  Along our journey, when we are following the steps, in order:   We may meet important and influential  people. We may learn important life lessons that will make us better servants. We will learn to deal with different and difficult people. There may be obstacles to be overcome and if we give God the time He will conquer obstacles so we won't encounter them.

When we skip steps, thinking we are serving God, we often fail or become disillusioned and abandon the call.

In Deuteronomy God told the Israelites He had begun to put terror in the hearts of their opponents.  I'm basically a coward so I'd be waiting for God to be finished with the "terror-putting" before I engaged an opponent.

The authors of my quilt patterns have written the steps to help me.  They have probably made the same mistakes as I and they  have included steps to prevent my mistake.  I just need to follow the steps, in order.  I need to trust the author.

I know God does dramatically intervene in our lives and immediately equip us.  God can do and has done that to accomplish His Will.  Yet as a general rule, it's a process. He is a gentle leader and gives us time for training and preparation.  The training and preparation is for our benefit.

Today I am reminded following God is a process and I need to follow His steps, in order.  I need to trust The Author.

The To Do List

 

I was traveling when I read Deuteronomy 2:24. I was using my electronic version of the Bible in my phone.  The verse began, "On your feet now, get started, cross the Arnon Brook..."   Wow, look at those verbs.  Can you see the to do list?

Then I realized I was in the Message translation when I usually read in the New International.  That day  the verbs gave me a list to follow just as God gave the Israelites a list. 

In The Message                                                                In the NIV

On your feet                                                      Set out

get started                                                         

cross                                                                      cross

Look                                                                      see

take it                                                                   take possession

go to war.                                                            engage.

I especially liked the "On your feet NOW.  Get started..."  It felt like a spiritual to do list.

In the morning, I say:  "on your feet NOW.  Get started.  Cross the following off your list:

Get moving

take care of dogs

start coffee

study time

walk dogs

....

I have several other housekeeping chores on my to do list for today.  Phone calls to make and  license plates to install. 

What would God put on my to do list:

get to know Me

serve Me

praise Me

...

This verse reminds me that God has given me this day.  It is His gift.  Use it wisely.  Just as the Israelites were overwhelmed by the long range goals of conquering the Promised Land, I can be overwhelmed by the task of living my whole life.  Yet God breaks it down into smaller tasks. Live today.  Live one day at a time.  

He told the Israelites to cross the Arnon Brook.  I have given you King Sihon and his country.  Begin to take possession. God reminds them that the mission of conquering the Promised Land is a process and step one is to begin the possession of the Amorite land.  God reminds me that becoming the woman that God intends for me is a process and step one is to know him today, to know and follow God just for today. 

The NIV uses the words "Begin to take" and that reminds me it's a process.  I need to begin it and continue in it.  I am not required to be finished by the end of the day.   As "well-seasoned in years" as I am, God is not finished with me yet. 

The puppies remind me I'm not finished with them yet.  I've only been training them for six weeks.  We were separated while I was traveling.  Last night they expressed their willful little spirits but today is a new day.  After Molly came in from outside, she found her place in the chair ready for study time.  She remembered the routine of the day.  It's a process to become my dog but each day we are a step closer.

God also tells the Israelites "I have given...".  So God assures me I will become the woman He intends I just need to begin and continue.  Molly reminded me that that dog I expect is in her just give her another day of training.

I'm going to review the "to do" list that I made last night for today.  Is it God's to do list?  God has given me this day.  Use it wisely.

Please repeat

"Papa, tell us the bear story.”  The bear story is a family legend.  In the event, I want to use it for an illustration in the future, suffice it to say, a bear ate our picnic lunch in Yellowstone when I was very young.

The grandchildren asked Papa to tell the story often.  I wonder if they thought Papa would scare the bear off and save our lunch the next time he told it.  Wouldn’t it end the same as the dozens of times he had told it before?  Papa never denied them the story. It also ended the same way.  The bear drinking our milk out of paper cups.

Children draw comfort from the same story over and over.  Most children have a handful of bedtime stories rather than a different one each night.  I think the adult reader is the one that encourages the child to expand their horizons and hear a new story.

Children love repetition so they will learn it well.  They will memorize the movie plot, the scenes and the dialogue.  I remember thinking, "OK we've seen that  movie too many times  " when Adam was doing both sides of the dialogue. (Now that I think of it, maybe this explains leaping from one piece of furniture to another during the Western shootout scenes!) My brief internet search reminded me that children are celebrating their accomplishment (of memorizing) by participating in the dialogue and the songs.

A child's world is full of unpredictability.  They do not have control over their life.  They relish the feeling of predictability when they hear the same story and they feel more control over their own life.

As I read Deuteronomy 2:18-23 the other morning, I even thought, “Gee, I’ve already read this, in the last chapter just a few days ago.”  I already knew He had given land to Lot’s descendants and to Esau’s descendants.

But then these words jumped from the page: “The Lord had done the same...”

Now that is comfort.  The Lord had done the same for others.  He will do the same for you.  There are times when only someone else who has experienced the same situation can truly bring comfort.  Years ago, shortly after my mother died, an acquaintance in another state, lost her mother.  In my sympathy card I jotted that, “I believe I know how you feel.”  Later when we saw each other, she told me that my card gave her extra comfort because she knew I had experienced a very similar loss.

The history lessons of the Old Testament should bring us comfort.  God will do the same for us. In today’s world, that brings us surprises, not all of them welcomed, on a daily basis, we need the repetitive message “The Lord had done the same”.

This tells me the Lord knows how to do it as He’s done it before,
The Lord will do it and
it will be the best. 

I think the Israelites knew they rated a bit above Lot’s descendants and Esau’s descendants.  I always think of myself first so if God did it for someone else, when He does it for me it will be even better.

So I do need to be more like a child and relish the repetition of the old Bible stories.  They will help me remember that God is in control of my life and thus is predictable. God will do the same for me.

Memorize this one

 

"How can this be? said Nicodemus." "How CAN this be? said Nicodemus."  "How can this BE? said Nicodemus." John 3:9

It was Wednesday night dinner at church.  The littlest diner at the table was discouraged.  There was a Bible verse memory contest and she didn't think she could memorize enough verses to win. She was about five years old, had short blond hair, big eyes and  tagged along with her older brother and his friends. So the competitive adults searched out every single short verse and coached her.  She was so serious that we even taught  her emphasis and inflection.  We thought the dramatic interpretation of the verse would gain her extra points.  She was so cute when she said, "How can this be? said Nicodemus."

The amazing thing that after all these years, probably more than 20, that verse comes to my mind when I wonder, "how can this be?"  What a testimony for memorizing verses, enough the littlest ones.

Deuteronomy 2:17 will be the next little verse I memorize.  "the Lord said to me"   That's it. It's not punctuated as its own sentence.  It's in the middle of one really long sentence. I know the verse markings and the punctuation were added by humans years later. 

There probably is not anything divinely inspired in this verse marking or punctuation but it did speak to me today. I got excited. 

THE Lord said to me.  The Lord SAID to me.  The Lord said TO ME.

In those five words:

I remember who is Lord.

I remember God does speak. 

I remember that God does speak to me, even me.

It's amazing. How can this be?

 

 

 

Here's a photo of my accountability partners! Mickey on the left and Molly on the right.

I'm not going there

"I"m not going there."  My girlfriends and I use this phrase occasionally.  For some of us, we don't use it often enough.  We are a "crafty" group.  We each have many hobbies and interests that overlap.  When one finds a new project, she tries to recruit the others to join.  The phrase, "I'm not going there" means I am already overwhelmed with the bags of unfinished projects and I'm not going to add one more. 

This morning I read Deuteronomy 2: 13-16 in the New International Version.  I was struck by the words "completely eliminated."  Moses is at the point in his history lesson when it has been 38 years of journey and now all of the fighting men who had disobeyed the Lord were all gone.  They  had all died, been completely eliminated.

The fighting men who had eliminated so many during their careers had now been eliminated, totally and completely.  I checked an online Bible dictionary.  In this particular verse the Hebrew word means to be finished  or perfect.  So these men had not been perfect in their obedience to the Lord and now were completely gone.  They would not see the reward of their careers and they would not have influence over the people.

They had allowed their feeling of being overwhelmed to rule their actions rather than excitement and trust.  Sometimes we are like that.  We allow the details, problems and projects to influence our devotion to God.  We have bags and bags of things to do. God has one thing for us to do-follow Him.

This morning the puppies were determined to distract me.  I'll admit I almost put aside finishing my study time to complete my puppy raising duties.  I have a bag of a craft project I really wanted to finish today.  It's early in the morning to mind wrestle "completely eliminated" and consider what is the spiritual meaning for me.

Fortunately, I did use the phrase, "I'm not going there."  Those fighting men basically said that to God in response to His most important, "Go".  I need to remember that I get to say "I'm not going there" to the world, but not to God.

I managed the puppies enough so they are asleep on either side of me.  There is always tonight for my project- the deadline is only mine.

God spoke to me. Next time I am tempted to be overwhelmed by problems, details and projects, I'm not going there.  I really only have one thing to do- follow Him.

Those other people

I listened for quite a while as she detailed how her husband failed as a person.   She had an extensive list and after a while I was beginning to believe her, that fellow was scum. Then I heard the Lord say to me, "You know I love him, too."

I realized it was not all about me.  God does not love only me.  He loves those people that I am not fond!   He loves different people, strange people, other people.

I had been asked, as the pastor's wife, for some advise, some counsel, some prayer. I don't think she appreciated the advise that I gave, especially when I told her, "you know, God loves him too."  I think it kind of made her mad.

We are like that too.  We have the childish view that we are the only ones God should love.  I was reminded of this when I read Deuteronomy 2:9-12 this morning.  (Yes, the puppies were waiting in the chair.)

Moses gives a geography lesson.  He first makes it clear that there will be no provoking of the Moabites.  He gave the land called to Lot's descendants.  He explains the Emites used to live there.  They were strong, numerous and tall like the Anakites.  The Horites used to live in Seir but Esau's descendants drove them out.  They drove out the Horites and took possession of the land just as the Israelites did in the land God gave as their possession.

My initial thought was this was some boring information Moses is passing along. However,He was explaining to whom He had given land.

 From these verses I learned:

God knows

God cares

God is in control

With the description Moses gave of the peoples and history of the land, it is obvious that God knows what is going on.  I should be reassured by this in those times when I wonder if God knows my situation.  If He knew about the peoples and land the Israelites passed by, He knows my situation.

God cared about those people.  He had made commitments to Lot and Esau.  He explained this to the Israelites and expected them to honor His commitments.  He didn't explain the reason. Or maybe He did.  He made a commitment.  He is faithful.  Therefore, the promise is kept.  This shows me God cares.  He faithfully cared for those people. (And those people were different and strange to the Israelites.) He will and does care for me.

God is in control.  He managed to allot the people of that day, in all their differences, into their own lands.  If I allow God to manage my life, "my land", I will have security.  God will protect me.  I will not need to defend my "land".   God has given me my "land."  I need to possess my "land" and not try to take others.

Rather than judge why God loves those other people, I should marvel that He does love those other people.  Someone today will think I'm one of those other strange people.  Good News, God loves them and He loves me too!

I may be "chosen" by God's loving grace, like the Israelites were chosen but I'm not the only one loved by God. 

Details

I had a baking project that I was too tired for last night. This morning  I got it ready and in the oven before I sat down for my study time. While I was in the kitchen, the puppies were terrorizing the dishwasher, the trash and each other.  I had the baking in the oven and realized the puppies were quiet. 

I thought, Oh no, now what are they up to?  I came to the big chair where every  morning we sit and do my study, usually first thing.  They were both expectantly looking at me!  It's time.  Thanks, my little accountability partners. 

Actually they just wanted to chew on my coat, the ribbon in my Bible and my pen. Yet the message was clear to me after I read one verse.  Familiarity is in the details.

I started on Deuteronomy 2:8.  Moses is continuing the travel log of the Israelite journey.  I noticed how descriptive he was.  He mentioned details that were meaningless to me yet were important to the listeners in front of Moses.  Often when I'm rewriting the scripture in my journal I skip some of the details if they seem insignificant to me.

He reminded them that the descendants of Esau were brothers, the Arabah road went from Elath to Ezion Geber and they traveled the desert road.  He included such details for his listeners so they could relate to the journey.  Some of them were not old enough to remember, some needed the detail to refresh their memory.

This made me think about details.  Sometimes details, though insignificant to some, give me comfort.  The detail will remind me of where I've been and that I've made it this far.

Some details give me a connection, a reminder that I've had a similar experience.

Some details give me courage, a sense of accomplishment, victory, we've made it!

Familiarity is in the details.  God gave lots of detail in the Bible soI can relate.  Some give me comfort,  some will help  me connect and others will give me courage.

Today I'm going to pay attention to more details.