A Second Chance

 

Being the undisciplined person that I am I have faced the reality that unless I am in some from of in-depth bible study my time spent delving into Gods word is sorely neglected. I may be randomly diligent (being honest here, this middle school getting on the bus at 8:40 am is killing me) in my morning quiet/prayer time. I may read the daily scriptures from my ever faithful and much loved “Streams in the Desert”, but this does not fulfill the instructions that God gives me when he tells me to:

^{DT 11:18} Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ¹⁹ Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ²⁰ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, ²¹ so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.

I have just started a 32 week Disciple Bible Study. In one of my previous post I shared about finding some much love photo’s of my children, however I would not have come upon them if I had not been on a search of one of my favorite highlighters. Proper bible study requires the proper tools! I sadly did not find my favorite highlighter so I borrowed stole my DD’s from her bible.

This study will focus on The Prophets and the Letters of Paul. I have actualy taken this study once before. Being the memory challenged individual that I am I had to go and pull out my previous manual in search of the date of the study, my how time files.

I last took it in 1998, eleven years ago…WOW! is all I can say.

My son was nine and my daughter was three!

Sadly I allowed my human tendencies, my groaning and grumbling to surround me with a cloud of discontent. To say that this study at that time was a negative experience for me was putting in mildly.

I have grown so much since then. I now can approach this new opportunity with fresh perspective and with the renewed energy to really seek what it is that God wants me to finally learn this time.

This week’s readings were Lamentations and Deuteronomy.

I am a bit of an odd duck as I love the Old Testament. It gives me great hope to know that God, the perfect parent, struggled for centuries with his rebellious children and yet he never lost hope or gave up on his beloved people.

It puts things in perspective for me when I do not understand why things happen in the life of my rebellious one.

But I digress… what really spoke to me in this weeks readings was the very clear picture of God’s character.

God is who He says He is and ...God does what He says He is going to do. (I think this is Beth Moore???)

God was very clear in his instruction to the Israelites as they were about to enter into the promise land. He lays it out for them in a very detailed and vivid picture of exactly what would happen.

He gives them the pros and the con of the situation.

If you obey me I will…

If you do not obey me I will…

This mental image of God’s character came into sharp focus the more I read.

As believer in Christ we are no longer hindered by the burden of the Old Testament Laws.

But here’s the thing, what really spoke to me was the underlying concept.

When I choose to live outside of God’s good and pleasing will I am cutting myself off from the blessing of God. On the flip side when I either deliberately or at times even without thinking step out of God’s will and enter into a situation that is contrary to God and the guidelines he has established, well it brings with it a myriad of negative and unpleasant consequences.

Here’s a thought.

What would the economy or our nation look like if all the political officials, banking officials, all the powers that be had been living their lives in right relationship with God?

When I choose to step outside the boundaries that God has put in place then I am walking in the world and the world only has one goal, which is to detour me from walking with God.

God’s words are so very clear…

^{DT 11:26} See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse-- ²⁷ the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; ²⁸ the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.

^{DT 4:39} Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. ⁴⁰ Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.

And this was just week one,

I have to give God a huge praise for orchestrating my time and my directing my path to this study at this moment.

Blessings

Robin

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