4:23-24 - Be very careful about what it is you worship. Our God is a jealous God. He is jealous for our love...He is jealous for our attention. And this is not sinful covetous jealousy...He is jealous for what He deserves - what He has committed to. My wife and I have a marriage covenant together...we told each other that no matter what happened in life and no matter what came our way, we would always love one another and commit ourselves to one another. If she absolutely ignored me for the attentions of another man, I would be rightfully jealous...I would burn with jealousy. Our covenant demands that we stay committed to each other...that is not wrong. When we enter into a relationship with God, we have entered into a covenant. He made us, loves us, paid the price for our screw ups and all He is asking in return is our commitment. He has every right to be jealous. The real question is not, "Why is God jealous?", but, "Why do I keep breaking the covenant?" What are your idols?
6:4 - This is the greatest commandment that Jesus refers to in the NT - love the Lord with all your heart, soul and might. Jesus also adds, and love your neighbor as yourself. But the understanding is that if you commit yourself fully to loving God, you will love your neighbor and you will keep the rest of God's commands...righteous living is a bi-product of loving God with everything you have. So get to loving!
6:7 - In every area of life, at all times, we should be living out our love for God. There are no breaks...there are no times when we can just do whatever we want and ignore God. Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, we should be reflecting the power of God's love and truth into the world. Ever moment is an opportunity to proclaim the awesomeness of God through our actions and words. We are always in a teachable moment, when we are always focused on God.
6:21 - I really like this passage. The author is telling us to always be ready to share our story...our testimony. You may not know absolutely everything about the bible or theological doctrine, but you know what God has done in your life. You know the power of the love of God...you know the resurrection that brings. Be ready to tell people your story...be ready to tell them, "I once was blind, but now I see." Who can argue with that. Christians should come into debates with a notion of winning...they should approach a discussion like by telling there story.
2 comments:
These were really good chapters.
My thoughts: I thought that it was totally awesome to see the redemption aspect of God before Jesus came on the scene in the N.T. (4:25-31). not that Jesus wasn't there all along, because he was... I mean to say that the original audience of Deuteronomy didn't have a Jesus to read about in their bibles, and it is cool to know That God has been in the business of redemption since the beginning. Even in the Garden of Eden; when God calls to Adam and says where are you? he is giving Adam a chance to confess and return to God in a redemptive way... (like God would need to ask Adam the question: where are you... he Knew where Adam was the whole time physically and spiritually, he was only giving Adam an opportunity to confess).
I liked what brandon had to say about the shema in 6:4-ff (two thumbs up).
The last thing that STRIKES me to the core in this passage is 6:10-15. How many times has God given us blessings beyond our imagination and then we turn around and "ACT" like he isn't even there... ignoring his commands and doing our own thing. In Israel's case God gave them land, houses, food, already dug wells etc; so Moses tells them to not forget where they came from (Egypt/slavery) and who (God) brought them out of there. But I find it encouraging to read this and be reminded of my own Israel-like journey... also knowing that Jesus came and successfully satisfied the wrath of God for me.
Its like this: I don't strive to do good so that i may be saved; I strive to do good because I am saved.
Nice work Jonny - thanks.
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