March 29
Deut 11:1-12:32 | PS 70:1-5 | Prov 12:4 | Luke 8:22-39
We must all ask ourselves what or who it is that we truly worship. We must ask ourselves what or who we defer to when we seek the ultimate authority. Though many will state God, perhaps because it sounds good, or for fear of what might happen if they don't profess this, in reality, many or most elevate things other than God. Secular humanism which had its roots in the Renaissance but truly exploded with 18th century Enlightenment and 19th century "freethinking" lifts up ideals of morality and justice based on what is deemed critical intelligence and reason rather than resting on the authority of God's Word. Over the decades and centuries this has been pushed at every level of education and has exploded at the level of college education. Many will go to church on Sundays, to do their "religious" thing, but in reality, they lift up everything other than God. How many so-called Christians lift up and reason over abortion rights when God has clearly weighed in on this topic, as we read in Deuteronomy 12:30-32, "do not fall into the trap of following their customs and worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example.’ You must not worship the Lord your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods. “So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them." They destroyed babies in those days due to promiscuity, convenience, impeding success, etc. in the name of religion, we do the same thing today.
God knows that we are all apt to wander, so we read in Deuteronomy 11:18-20, "So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,". Though many in the Orthodox Jewish faith literally do these things, many do so in a form of religious observance rather than truly seeking God throughout the day. Kissing a mezuzah which is affixed to a doorpost is often done with the same perfunctory nature as doing the sign of the cross. It's not meant to be a ritual but a reminder to keep our focus on the Lord. We read further that God gave them as He gives us all free will to make a choice to follow Him or not, as we read in 11:22, "Be careful to obey all these commands I am giving you. Show love to the Lord your God by walking in his ways and holding tightly to him.", and again in 11:26-28, " “Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God and turn away from him and worship gods you have not known before."
God has given us a blueprint of what faith is in His Word the Bible. He also sent His Son to give us our rest, knowing that we are truly secure on the basis of what He has done for us on the cross. But we read in Deuteronomy 12:8-9, "Your pattern of worship will change. Today all of you are doing as you please, because you have not yet arrived at the place of rest, the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession." People continue to do as they please even though God has provided us with everything, we need to seek Him and understand Him. Mysteries which existed in the Old Testament have been revealed in the New Testament in the Person of Jesus Christ. Many choose to not read the Bible stating there are so many choices, so many interpretations. This is not true. Versions mostly have to do with semantics, not the core of the message (though there are a few choices which are erroneous, such as the New World Translation put out by the Jehovah's Witnesses). Many argue about denominations, but truth be told, many denominations get some things right and some things wrong and one's denomination should not interfere with following the God of the Bible. In fact, if your denomination or congregation or pastor professes things which go against the clear authority of Scripture, please leave or at least question those leaders in that church. If you remain biblically illiterate, then you remain powerless and will find yourself following the whims of leaders, in the church and outside the church, rather than the God of the Universe, the choice is yours.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: