Take a Minute -- Monday, 5/10/10/ -- WHAT DOES GOD EXPECT? -- Deuteronomy 10:12-13
J.R. & Bonnie Ricks
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WHAT DOES GOD EXPECT? -- Deuteronomy 10:12-13 NIV
And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
When I first became a Christian, I nearly worked myself to death trying to please God. It was very difficult for me to understand the concept of grace. I had a long list of preconceived rules that I just knew I had to follow in order to please God. The harder I tried to follow the rules, the longer the list became, and the more I realized I was fighting a losing battle. Just when I got one thing "right," I failed in another area. I remember one night falling to my knees and crying, "What do you expect from me? I can't do all this! I can not keep up! I can not be perfect!"
It took me a while to learn that keeping the list of rules I had made up had nothing to do with pleasing God. I was under His grace. Jesus' death on the cross had set me free! All I had to do was keep my heart turned toward Jesus and allow His Holy Spirit to mold me into a person who would be pleasing to God. In other words, I needed to stop trying to do God’s job for Him.
Here, in Deuteronomy, Moses lists the real requirements of God – those things He really expects from us. First, fear the Lord God. This means respect Him, have reverence for Him. God is not a man… He is God, and has been God for all eternity. If you think about His majesty, His power, His awesomeness - the very thought will fill you with awe and respect and reverence. Maintain that attitude toward Him at all times.
Walk in His ways. God gave us His Law so that we would know what sin is. Through studying the Word, we learn what God considers sin and what is not sin. There have been many times since I became a Christian that I learned something I was doing was sinful. The world didn't consider it sinful, but God does! By studying the Word, I learned how to walk in His ways.
Love Him. Wow. So very simple, and yet so very difficult. Love Him means to put Him first. Love Him means to care more about Him than I do about myself, or my husband, or my children, or my grandchildren, or my family, or my friends.
Serve the Lord God with all your heart and with all your soul. This means everyone. Every person who is a born again believer should be serving the Lord in some way, some how, and with their whole hearts and souls. Imagine how your church would be if every member took this tenet to heart. Imagine how the world would be!
Observe the Lord's commandments. If you fear the Lord, if you follow His ways, if you love Him, if you are serving him, you will observe (or obey) what He commands. Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey what I command." (John 14:15 NIV)
Begin today to do what God expects from you: Respect, follow, love, serve, and obey.
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