Thoughts on Deuteronomy 12

While in the previous post I was stuck in a passage for a few weeks, this post is many many months in the making. I don’t know how many revisions I’ve done up to this point. Maybe my heart just wasn’t ready this whole time.

It’s difficult to read through this part of the Israelites’ journey without thinking that maybe – just maybe – I, too, am about to experience a “claiming the promised land” moment in my life.

Is it just me? I get excited and begin to imagine what my “promised land” might be. It’s a great motivator: as I imagine future possibilities I find myself making commitments to “be careful to do all” that is commanded of me. Unfortunately, I am not always able to keep these commitments.

Now, by God’s grace, I have learned that the “promised land” is not a Country, a Company, a Career, or (for some) a Companion. Infinitely better than all those things is Christ. Being in the Center of his grace and purpose in my life is the best place I have been and will ever be.

So for this passage, I am led to meditate not on the land of promise – and all the great things about it – but on the instructions of the God of the promise.

• When you’re given a fresh start – start well. Take the opportunity to change previous wrongs and remove bad habits. Not only is it benefitial to do so, but it is disastrous if it is not done. Be merciless, do not allow yourself be tempted. Do not be fooled to think that you are as strong as you think you are. You might be okay now, after a spiritual high, but eventually there will be plateaus and valleys. It is better to be safe than sorry.
• Listen well to instructions. When God tells us to run away from something, He gives us something to run towards instead. Seek, and listen well. Replace those wrong and bad habits with good ones – right ones. God’s instructions are laid out for us in the Bible, so seek Him there.
• Persevere in doing well. Once you’ve received your instructions, obey to the best of your ability. God says to do “all”, not “some”. Even if you’ve made a fresh and clean start, temptations may still come from outside your area of control. “Take care that you be not ensnared to follow them”, the Bible says. In other words, there will be snares/traps. And traps by definition is something that can catch you off guard. Take care, and Persevere.
• Rejoice! and lead your household to rejoice as well. All these instructions are beneficial to you. These are not to restrict you, but to free you from needlessly unnecessary burdens. And although the blessings should not be the focus, God is always clear to say that blessings are a natural by-product of obedience. Not only for you, but also for “your children after you forever.”

Thoughts on Deuteronomy 11 (part 2.2)

“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.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭11:19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We’ve seen these passages before, in Deuteronomy 6:7-9. What did I write back then?

Real Love remembers – Jan 6, 2016

Wow. It’s taken me a year to get through 5 chapters of Deuteronomy…

Sadly, although I understood then what needed to be done and had some good ideas and good intentions, I never defined actual steps/actions that I would do..

Part of the fear of writing down my thoughts and the actions I will do is that it sets me up for potential disappointment if (when?) I fail. Like how I feel right now. But if I don’t write it down there’s no way to keep myself accountable to anyone. So here it is.

• Sitting: During mealtimes, we can start a family tradition / habit. Something fun and meaningful to add to our prayer before meals. Should be prioritized over TV or other forms of entertainment. I need to get ideas for this.
• Walking: The only time we can have a good conversation while “walking” is when we are inside the car. We noticed early on that Nate enjoys music (like his dad). So, trying to be a cool dad, I would play the Beatles as our soundtrack when we would go on trips. It’s lots of fun, singing along with him. We cannot deny that the Beatles were very creative – musically as well as lyrically. However, what were the lyrics? Good thing Nicole started playing Christian songs at home, and that Nate’s developed a couple of favorites. Now we play Christian songs during our trips. This should suffice for now.
• Lie down: Oh yeah, we got one out of four, woohoo! It’s such a blessing to have started this, I don’t know how it happened. Now it’s part of our nighttime routine to have Bible Story time. We started with the Children’s Bible, and now we’re doing Goodnight Warrior. I look forward to this time with Nate everyday.
• Rise: This may be a challenge since we don’t always wake up at the same time. If I’m still at home when my kids wake up, I can lead a prayer and/or reading of an encouraging verse.

Bottomline: Increase interactions, refocus topics, build an encouraging environment.