"That's just wrong.
Love means you'd better say you are sorry." As soon as the lights in the movie theatre
came on, I growled to my boyfriend. I didn't like the "point" of the
movie and I wanted to make sure he got my point.
I'll admit that I often miss the "point" in movies
and books. I want to be entertained so I
overlook the political and philosophical meanings. Maybe I'm too literal. Occasionally people use the literal to build
a lifestyle and miss the "point."
I often look back at the Israelites as being too literal and
accuse them of missing God's point. The
verses in Deuteronomy 12:15-19, on first read, appear to be a how-to list of
rules for daily living. It's ok to
slaughter animals in town. Don't eat the
blood. Don't eat your tithe. Don't neglect the Levites.
They are good rules to live life. Yet, my margin notes make me think that I can
miss the point if I just use them as rules to judge good and bad, right and
wrong.
These verses remind me that God was teaching the Israelites
about relationship, specifically about their personal relationship with Him. Here are my three points for today:
1. Have the right
attitude. Treat your daily provisions as
the blessings they are, God-given blessings.
(verse 15) Rejoice in everything you do because God made it possible.
(verse 18).
2. Be honest with God.
Don't try to bend the rules. He
will know. He even knows before we try
to stretch the truth and wriggle out of the right way. This must be why He is so plain in His use of the "don'ts" in these
and other verses. My margin notes for
verse 18 included "Don't rob God."
I will enjoy the time spent with God when I present my gifts and
myself. Why do I try to think of a
better way?
3. Share it. These verses mention the clean and the
unclean, children, servants and Levites.
Our worship of God is a community experience. We can't exclude nor can we keep it too personal.
There is a television commercial airing now that has a
catchy theme song. I caught myself humming it one morning. The words, "It's all about you" rewound through my brain. At first I thought, "what a commentary
on today's society--selfish." Then
I listened to the commercial and
realized they were selling their customer service. That was their point. Yet the tune is very similar to a song we
sang in church years ago, "It's all about You". The point of that song was my life should be
about God.
I got the point of the commercial and it led me to a better
point: Today it's about my relationship
with God.
Thank you for this devotional today. I amthinking on how God has led me andtrying to proclaim How great He is and I want the world to know Him te Oneand only True God and his son Jesus Christ.
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