King James Daily Bible Study: Through Our Faith
Date: Friday March 04, 2011
Chapters: Deuteronomy 8-10
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://www.imfollowingjesus.com/bible-march-4
Details of Today's Reading: Moses continues advising the Israelites for their entry into the promised land, blessing promised as well as chastisement, reminders of their rebelling, and God's mercy for all.

Hello My Friend/Guest,
The word stiffnecked is defined as stubbornly adhering to one's purpose, difficult to manage, unyielding. We all have to admit that we are stiffnecked about something meaning there is something we believe or do that we do not or have a hard time letting go of. The Bible says, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” - Romans 6:12-14. In other words, it is by grace that we receive the things God gives us, not by our righteousness, but if we want to be truly blessed by God we need to yield ourselves over to God in every area of our lives.

For forty years the Israelites wandered around in the wilderness, you think they did not wonder if they would ever see the promised land? Well, the time had come, Moses recollects the forty years they were blessed as well as the times they rebelled and were chastised because of it. He also assures them of God's promise and what He will give them if they follow His commandments.

“All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years. Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.” - Deuteronomy 8:1-6.

Just like a parent would punish a child for wrong doing God punishes His child for wrong doing. It does not mean that He does not love us, in fact, it means He loves us very much. When you punish a child you do it out of love and to teach them not to do it again. We are not perfect and God does not expect us to be, what He does expect us to be is faithful and remain that way during our journey through the wilderness. As we walk through the maze we become humbled, dependent upon Him, learn to trust Him more, and He blesses us through our faith in Him. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” - James 1:12.

Truthfully, it is not because of our righteousness that God blesses us, oh, He is pleased when we do well and we will receive bigger blessings through it, but God does not give us the things He gives us out of well doing it is because He promised them to us. The Israelites were reminded that it was not because of their righteousness that they were inheriting the land He promised their fathers, it was because they were His people that they were possessing the land.

“Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people. Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD...Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm.” - Deuteronomy 9:5-7,29.

It is not by righteousness that we are saved, or inherit the Kingdom of God, it is only by the grace of God through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that we are saved. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” - Ephesians 2:8,9. God promises all who put their faith in His Son, Jesus Christ that they will inherit a part of the Kingdom of God, become one of His people. Not because of our righteousness, but because He promised to give it to all who put their faith in Him. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” - Romans 10:13.

Moses tells the Israelites whatever it is that they are stiffnecked about it is time to let go of it, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.” - Deuteronomy 10:16-21.

To circumcise means to cleanse, we all have something in out hearts that we are stiffnecked about, while it does not forfeit our inheritance into the Kingdom of God, it does keep us from receiving more of the blessings that we could receive from God here on earth. God wants us to remove, to cleanse these things from our heart so we do not have to go through needless suffering. Let's face it, life is hard enough as it is without adding more suffering, but with God He can get us through anything. To fear God means to respect and acknowledge Him in every area of our lives, when we do that He knows we need Him and that we have faith in Him to get us through every situation we face. Keep serving Him with faith and you will see His blessings unfold. “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” - I Corinthians 3:9-11. It is time to tear down the walls and begin rebuilding on the foundation of Christ, everything else will fall into place and you will be blessed abundantly for it.

Sometimes is seems that no matter how righteousness we try to be or how much we try to live in God's will we can not see God's blessings. It is as if every direction you turn you hit some sort of wall and wonder if you will ever get out of the maze you are in. I do not know how many times I ask God to forgive me for whatever it is that hinders my relationship with Him from receiving His blessings. You know what though? The only sin here is doubt, yes, doubting God is a sin. Moses forfeited his right to enter the earthly promised land because of disbelief or doubt. “And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” - Romans 14:23. If we are trusting in our faith in Jesus Christ to keep us out of hell, we can certainly trust God to get us through the situations we are going through. Right? “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith...And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” - I John 5:4,14,15.

Jesus Christ Revealed: Today Jesus is revealed through the ark (10:1-5). The ark contained the Word of God, whom Christ is the Word made flesh. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” - John 1:14.

Thanks and God Bless You, I am praying for you. Have an awesome weekend!
Christina

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