This morning’s Bible reading was from Deuteronomy 4. In that chapter, God is pleading, even begging, His people to keep his commandments and remember how he took them out of Egypt with mighty miracles. He asks them a few questions:
- Is there any other nation that God is so close to? No!
- Is there any other nation that has such righteous statutes and judgments as have been given to this nation? No!
His questions got me thinking. Is there any other nation that God absolutely went in and dragged them out (even if kicking and screaming) with such incredible miracles? Not to my knowledge. He even reminds His people that the mountain burned with smoke and was covered with thick darkness as they heard His booming voice giving them the Ten Commandments.
He implores them not to make a graven image of anything that He created. This one has been a trial for mankind since the dawn of time. Our Father’s creation is so beautiful that men/women fall in love with the creation rather than with the one who created it. He continues on by explaining what will happen to them if they do such things.
However, even though it sounds grim, He doesn’t leave them hopeless. He reminds them that if they end up in tribulation, even in “the latter days,” if they turn back to Him, He will remember them and rescue them. Are we in those “latter days” at this time? The love of many is growing so cold. It is becoming hard to hang onto our faith, hard to maintain a constant connection and prayer life with our Father. In a fulfillment of the story of the frog who jumped into a pot which slowly heated up until he died, much of Christian belief is being slowly turned into “hate speech.” It’s no longer politically correct to speak your mind and no one will even listen to a differing opinion, especially if it’s a Christian point of view. In their eyes you are a “hater.” How can God’s love for humankind, His best hopes and love for them have turned into something that people call hatred?
We must be in those latter days. And yet, even so, God is reaching out. If we turn to Him, humble our hearts, and ask His forgiveness, He will always rescue us from the pit that we have dug for ourselves. Is there any pit so deep, or perhaps dark, that He can’t find us and drag us out of it? NO! We all find ourselves in all sorts of pits from time to time. The pit of depression, of despair, of self pity or of pride, insecurity or anger. No matter what it is, all we need to do is turn back to Him.
As I was driving along later this morning, God, the best DJ in the universe, inspired someone to play this song on the radio. I hope you enjoy it. (Sorry, I could only paste the link here. It’s a Lauren Daigle video.)
Apples of Gold 