November 16 | Deuteronomy 17:14-20

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DAILY READING

Deuteronomy 17:14-20

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REFLECTION

Keeping God's Word in Your Heart

by Ken Dillman

A cursory reading of the Bible reveals the premium God has always placed on the Scriptures. God told Joshua to meditate on the Book of the Law, day and night, and in doing so, he would be prosperous and successful. In Deuteronomy, Moses instructed the Hebrew people to keep the Lord’s statutes and commandments, and to teach them morning, noon, and night to their children, so that they would have long lives, and that life would go well for them. The Psalmist wrote that maintaining purity happens when we store up God’s word in our heart. And Jesus taught his disciples to make disciples and teach them to obey everything Jesus had taught and commanded.

In today’s text, God speaks through Moses regarding Israel’s future king(s), saying, “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes and doing them.”

The Bible isn’t just a history book that provides the believer with information, it is also a manual on how to live life with God and people. Israel’s future king(s) would need to be anchored in the Scriptures in order to lead the people and live holy lives.

Earlier this year, I started a small group Bible study with four generations of my family: My 97-year-old father-in-law, myself, my 38-year-old stepson, and my 12-year-old grandson. We approached our study with the goal of becoming deeper disciples of Jesus and to learn how to live out all that Jesus taught in the gospels. It’s been encouraging to watch my father-in-law engage the Scriptures as he’s never done before in his life; each week he asks questions about the Bible, of things he had heard many decades earlier in life. At times, he’s tearful when the love of Jesus found in the Scriptures come crashing down on him, as he reviews life.

Israel’s future king(s) were to draw deeply from the scriptures. God understood that as a country’s leaders go, so goes the country; that can be true of our families too, as the leaders of the families go, so goes the family

PRAYER

Lord God, help us to understand the importance of keeping your Word in our hearts. We need to read it every day and we need to pass on the importance of being in Your Word. You are the great I AM and we can become closer to you by abiding in your Word. Amen.

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November 15 | 1 Kings 11:1-8

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DAILY READING

1 Kings 11:1-8

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REFLECTION

A Little Sin

by Dave Thompson 

This passage is about Solomon. He was the one who God made David wait for Solomon to get old enough to build His temple. Solomon believed in having multiple wives and in his old age he had amassed 700 wives and 300 concubines. Although there wasn't a lot written about having multiple wives in the Old Testament, there was an admonition from God to not marry outside of the Jewish religion and, to go further, those wives were suppose to be from Israel.

So, where did Solomon go wrong? The text tells us that he collected wives through his life from the Egyptians, the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the Sidonians and from the Hittites. In Deuteronomy 17:14-20, the Lord was even more specific and named many of the above groups those to stay away from (see also 1 Samuel 8:11-18). So, perhaps it was a small sin in Solomon's mind when he was young and still pleasing God in so many ways. However, as he grew older the admonitions in Deuteronomy and 1 Samuel were showing that this was becoming a more serious sin.

Solomon's wives began influencing him to neglect the Lord and to honor the gods of the Sidonians, Amorites, Moabites, and Molek (see Leviticus 20:2-5). The very thing the Lord warned about and commanded that no Jewish person do, Solomon was doing. He was even building high places for some of the false gods. Something relatively small sins, at first, were now totally out of proportion.

As a young man, even though my parents forbade it, I took up smoking. Although there is no biblical reference to smoking, my parents grew up in very fundamental churches that forbade everything fun just about. How was it a sin if it is not in the bible? Honor your mother and your father comes to mind. I didn't do that and, although I was a church kid (not a Christian), I knew it was against my parents beliefs, so small as it was, it was a sin. It wasn't long before alcohol became a part of my teenage years (again, my parent's beliefs forbade alcohol). There were other things, but I think you get the point.

If something is wrong in your heart, no matter whether you can put a chapter and verse on it, it is a sin. Perhaps a small one (if there are gradients of sin), but a sin all the same. This could be not respecting the speed limit, taking that second glance at a beautiful women or a handsome man, or not declaring some part of your income on the income tax form. From my experience, our sins do not separate God from us, but us from God. And, one or two "little" sins can make us callous toward doing more things we know are wrong.

Do you have undeclared sin in your lives. Declare it them God and ask for forgiveness. Remember God's Word where in 1 John 1:9 it states, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." After you do this, your two-way closeness to God is restored. And, if you were to say to God, "Remember that time I sped?" God would say, "No, I don't" Thanks be to God!

PRAYER

God, thank you for our covenant with you that we can be made right of all our sins by simply confessing them to you. You are an amazing God! Amen.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DAVE THOMPSON

I am the administrator of the Daily Worship Blog. My wife, Carla, and I have been attending UALC for seven years at the 9 o'clock service at Mill Run. We have two children, Catherine and Aaron. I have been a Christian for 53 years and am thankful that my Savior has given me two spiritual gifts that have carried me both spiritually and vocationally all my life: they are teaching and administration. I look forward to spending many years here at UALC to serve my Lord and Savior.

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November 14 | 1 Kings 8:22-24, 27-30, 54-61

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DAILY READING

1 Kings 8:22-24, 27-30, 54-61

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REFLECTION

Promises, Promises

by Judy Webb

Divine Faithfulness Researching these texts was dizzying, as I opened my Thompson Chain Reference to continue the process, so many doors seemed to open to differing topics and explanations. But, after praying about it and asking for God to reveal what we might need most to hear right now is in verses 23 and 24 of 1Kings 8…

“Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. You have kept your promises to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.”

The troubling times like those we live in today, require a God who is faithful and who keeps His promises. In this text, Solomon is dedicating the temple to just such a God.

Divine Hearing Verses 27-30 Solomon continues to pray, asking God to hear the prayers of his people. The false idols do not hear prayers and have no power to respond. Only the Devine Hearing of God, the one true God of Israel, can do this. The sad truth today is we can often make politics the idol we turn to when troubled, believing a person or a party and make it all better...when only God can.

“Hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant is praying in Your presence this day.” (v.28)

Divine Care Verses 54-61 speak to the love and care He gives to His people. Hopefully we are starting to understand that we will never find real pleasure and peace until we find a relationship with God. “May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us. (v. 58) We stand in daily need of the assistance of God. “Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” (Psalm 121:4)

These verses illustrate the balance between God’s work in the human heart and life on the one hand, and man's responsibility on the other. He is faithful, He hears us when we pray, and He cares for us. We must therefore trust and obey.

PRAYER

Dear Devine Heavenly Father, who keeps all His promises to His people, help us to recognize your hand in our lives. As you share Your Word with us, give us divine hearing which means the ability and desire to listen for Your Word and guidance. Come Holy Spirit! Amen.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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JUDY WEBB

I have been a member of UALC for 26 years and have been writing devotions for this site for about 17 of them. Writing is my passion. As retired staff I still love everything about UALC and its members including my small group.