Post by Mark on Aug 23, 2008 4:44:12 GMT -8
What kind of life do we want for ourselves, for our family and for the community around us? It doesn’t take much thinking. We want the best life we can possibly have. We want to be successful. We want to be loved. We want things to go smoothly.
I used to be a Campus Crusader. I still have the Four Spiritual Laws booklet virtually memorized. While I disagree with so much that organization, the basic selling point contains a powerful truth: God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.
In the Parashah this week, such an idea is reiterated over and over by Moses as he appeals to the nation to walk in the ways of Adonai. Here’s the basic idea: if you want to have a wonderful, successful and vital life on this earth, follow the directions Adonai has laid out for you. If you want to get stomped, ignore those instructions.
I have a Disneyworld analogy written some place that I might post one of these days; but for now I would just like to borrow some of the imagery. Say, life is like Disneyworld and you likely only get one shot at it in a lifetime, so you really want to make the best of it. At the door, you can buy a map and program guide for all that Disneyworld has to offer, the rules of the park, and the schedule of events. If you sincerely want to get as much as you can out of your visit, this guide is a valuable tool. The pages that you ignore or skip over will seriously limit what you allow yourself to be exposed to. Those things that you focus on, limit your understanding of the bigger picture.
Our Messiah quoted from this Parashah in Matthew 4:4, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, "Man shall not live by bread alone but according to every word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God."
Many of us have been taught that the Law is divided into moral, civil and ceremonial laws. You can find no distinction in Scripture. In fact, James says that if you fail in one point of obedience, you are guilty as a transgressor of the entire Law. This same "one Law" principle is described by Moses in Deuteronomy 8 and 9.
We make it so difficult, breaking down into mandates and prohibitions: 613 specific commands with a whole encyclopedia of applications. Adonai makes it simple. "Keep the commandments of the Lord, to walk in His ways and to fear Him." He reminds us through the prophet Micah, "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."
We think that we can find our way through without Adonai’s guide book… and we can. The entry and exit points are clearly marked. You can enter into an eternal relationship with Adonai having never once cracked the pages of the Bible. But so much of life and beauty and power will be missing from that life; and when you get home to the Father, there’ll be so little to talk about.
I used to be a Campus Crusader. I still have the Four Spiritual Laws booklet virtually memorized. While I disagree with so much that organization, the basic selling point contains a powerful truth: God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.
In the Parashah this week, such an idea is reiterated over and over by Moses as he appeals to the nation to walk in the ways of Adonai. Here’s the basic idea: if you want to have a wonderful, successful and vital life on this earth, follow the directions Adonai has laid out for you. If you want to get stomped, ignore those instructions.
I have a Disneyworld analogy written some place that I might post one of these days; but for now I would just like to borrow some of the imagery. Say, life is like Disneyworld and you likely only get one shot at it in a lifetime, so you really want to make the best of it. At the door, you can buy a map and program guide for all that Disneyworld has to offer, the rules of the park, and the schedule of events. If you sincerely want to get as much as you can out of your visit, this guide is a valuable tool. The pages that you ignore or skip over will seriously limit what you allow yourself to be exposed to. Those things that you focus on, limit your understanding of the bigger picture.
Our Messiah quoted from this Parashah in Matthew 4:4, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, "Man shall not live by bread alone but according to every word that proceeds forth from the mouth of God."
Many of us have been taught that the Law is divided into moral, civil and ceremonial laws. You can find no distinction in Scripture. In fact, James says that if you fail in one point of obedience, you are guilty as a transgressor of the entire Law. This same "one Law" principle is described by Moses in Deuteronomy 8 and 9.
We make it so difficult, breaking down into mandates and prohibitions: 613 specific commands with a whole encyclopedia of applications. Adonai makes it simple. "Keep the commandments of the Lord, to walk in His ways and to fear Him." He reminds us through the prophet Micah, "He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."
We think that we can find our way through without Adonai’s guide book… and we can. The entry and exit points are clearly marked. You can enter into an eternal relationship with Adonai having never once cracked the pages of the Bible. But so much of life and beauty and power will be missing from that life; and when you get home to the Father, there’ll be so little to talk about.