Deuteronomy 31:7-9 - Then Moses called for Joshua, and as all
Israel watched he said to him, "Be strong and courageous! For you will
lead these people into the land that the LORD swore to give their ancestors.
You are the one who will deliver it to them as their inheritance. Do not be afraid or
discouraged, for the LORD is the one who goes before you. He will be with you;
he will neither fail you nor forsake you." So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to
the priests, who carried the Ark of the LORD's covenant, and to the leaders of
Israel.
Moses handed down the reins of leadership
to the one God had chosen. He commissioned him…in front of the whole
congregation of people. He told him to
be strong and courageous… for Moses knew the days ahead would be difficult…for
the people would fail once again to keep their eyes fully on God. Moses knew
that they would forget about God once again and turn to their old selfish ways.
Moses also knew that he had told them many
times…about the special laws God wanted them to follow…but he wanted to make
sure it was written down…and preserved by the priests and leaders of Israel. They
were to take it out and read it every 7 years….no matter what…to remind themselves
of the laws that would give them a prosperous life.
I can’t imagine having to wait 7 years to
hear the Bible read to me. We have a
great advantage over these people…being able to own a Bible of our own. Most of us have more than one…plus an ap on
our phones...and a connection through the internet to any commentary we want …to
help us understand what we have read. But
how many of us take advantage of the many ways God allows us to drink in his
wisdom these days.
I can testify that the decision to begin
reading my Bible every day was the second most important decision I ever made…the
first was to ask God to save me. All the
excuse I used to give faded away as I read first random passages from an index
in my MOPS Bible just after Mitchell died…then began the journey to read just
one chapter a night…from Genesis to Revelation…really studying and trying to
understand…till I made it all the way through the Bible. It took me just a little more than 3 years…one
chapter a night….and even if you count the writing time for the devotional he
leads me to write each morning…I only spend around 90 minutes total a day…not
even the 2 hour and 40 minutes that would be a complete tithe of the 24 hours
God grants me each day.
Father…thank you for the reminder that I
need to spend even more time with you…studying the great words you gave to
Moses…and the others that you selected to put together your Bible. Help me to
find more time to study it …and really know what it says…so that I can always
know what your word says about the things that tempt me each day. Forgive me for thinking that 90 minutes is
enough time to spend with you each day…forgive me for feeling like my short
visits in your word would give me enough strength and courage to make it
through even the easiest day. Amen.
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