WHAT GOD REQUIRES OF US!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY JANUARY 24, 2022. 

SUBJECT : WHAT GOD REQUIRES OF US!

Memory verse: “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 10 vs 12.)

READ: Deuteronomy 10 vs 12 - 17:

10:12: And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all thy heart and with all your soul,

10:13: and to keep the commandments of the LORD, and His statutes, which I command you today for your good?

10:14: Indeed, heaven and the highest of heavens belong to the LORD your God, also the earth with all that is in it.

10:15: The LORD delighted only in your fathers, to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, you above all people, as it is this day.

10:16: Therefore, circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-necked no longer.

10:17: For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.

INTIMATION:

Often one asks, “What does God expect of me? This is the most important question anybody could ask. God created us for His predetermined purposes. The Bible in Psalm 139 vs 15 - 17 says, “My frame was not hidden from you, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed, and in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts for me, O God! How great is the sum of them!”

God created us for His purposes and carefully wove us together as is soothing to His predetermined purposes. He prepared beforehand every day of our lives even before we had even lived one day, and every moment laid out before a single day had passed. He put together His precious thoughts for and about us, and these things are already recorded in His book. He, therefore, requires us to walk in His preordained path to achieve His thoughts for us.

In the passage we read today, the Bible gives a summary of what God expects from us in a simple form and easy to remember. Here are the essentials: (1) Have reverence for God. (2) Walk in His ways. (3) Love Him. (4) Serve Him with all your heart and soul. (5) Keep His commands. However, we usually complicate the expectations of God from us with man-made rules, regulations, and requirements. And regrettably we fall short of those man-made conditions, thereby become frustrated and burned out from trying hard to please God. Concentrate on His real requirements and find peace. Compliance with all that God requires results in our well-being on earth among ourselves. 

God demands that we submit to Him inside, in our hearts, as well as outside, in our bodies. When this is done, we begin to imitate God’s love and justice in our relationships with others. If our hearts are right with God, then our relationships with other people can be made right too. When your heart has been cleansed and you have been reconciled to God, you will begin to see a difference in the way you treat others. 

Jesus said that loving God with all ourselves is the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22 vs 37 - 39). This command, combined with the command to love your neighbor (Leviticus 19 vs 18), encompasses all the other Old Testament laws. We are to love God, think constantly about His commandments, teach His commandments to our children, and live each day by the guidelines in His Word. 

God emphasized the importance of parents’ teaching the Bible to their children. The church and Christian schools cannot be used to escape from this responsibility. The Bible provides many opportunities for object lessons and practical teaching. Consequently, it would be a shame to study it only one day in a week. Eternal truths are most effectively learned in constant study and meditation on God’s Word.

Your life reflects your view of life. How you define life determines what you get out of it. When we understand that all the galaxies of the heavens to the minute particles of existence on earth originated from God, and that He is over all, then our response to Him is obedience to His will. Your perspective of life will influence how you invest your time, spend your money, use your talents, and value your relationships.

Your view of life may, inadvertently, be based on a faulty metaphor. To fulfill the purposes God made you for, you will have to challenge conventional wisdom and replace it with the biblical metaphors of life. This is what the Scripture tells us in Romans 12 vs 2 that states, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."  (Romans 12 vs 2.)

Now that you have known what God requires of you, walk in the light of God’s requirements, and fulfill His purpose of life for you. God walks with you when you are in His predetermined path, and ensures you are on the right track. Walking in God’s predetermined path for you is tantamount to entering into an agreement with Him. Such agreements are irrevocable and eternal. Even though we rarely uphold our end of the agreement, God would always be faithful to His part. 

God’s mercy is unconditional. No matter how many times we turned from God, He is always there to restore us. It is comforting to know that despite our inconsistencies and sins, God loves us unconditionally. Eternal life is achieved not on the merit system but on the mercy system. God loves us no matter who we are or what we have done. 

Prayer: Abba Father, my utmost heart desire is to please You and walk in Your ways. My purpose in life is not in myself to determine. Guide me through life’s journey that I may not miss the path You already determined for me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!