Serve God by Serving Others
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 11:13-25 (NASB)
13 “It shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments which I am commanding you today, to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul, 14 that He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil. 15 He will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. 16 Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them. 17 Or the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit; and you will perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you. 18 “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 19 You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. 20 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens remain above the earth. 22 For if you are careful to keep all this commandment which I am commanding you to do, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and hold fast to Him, 23 then the Lord will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 24 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours; your border will be from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as the western sea. 25 No man will be able to stand before you; the Lord your God will lay the dread of you and the fear of you on all the land on which you set foot, as He has spoken to you.
SUMMARY
Moses tells the Israelites to serve the Lord with all their heart and soul so that in the Promised Land, the Lord will provide all their needs, such as rain for good harvest and grass for their livestocks. If they serve any other gods God will not give them rain, and the land will not yield fruit. Moses tells them to take these words to heart and soul, and to teach them to the children at every opportunity, and display them on the doorframes of their house and their gates. Then the Israelites and their children will live on in the land, and the Lord will drive out all the nations. Every place they set foot on will be theirs, and no man shall stand before them and they will all fear them.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
Moses tells Israelites “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.” (v.18) These words should be deeply ingrained in our hearts that it makes us sensitive to what God wants us to do, and it would affect the longing of our souls to want what God desires. These words shall be as frontals so it determines the kind of decisions we make. What does it mean to serve the Lord with all our hearts? “For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’” (Matthew 25:35-40). I am wondering if I have done any of these or did I miss my opportunity to do good because of my fear? Everything on the list are things I fear. I was invited to volunteer for hospice ministry but I said I was too busy, I see homeless people and I turn my head because I am afraid of them, I am definitely scared of any one in prison, and have never been, and haven’t thought about visiting them.
APPLICATION
The cynic in me says there is no one starving in America, and I refused to help a man begging in front of a store. I turned my head and told myself that he does not look like he is hungry, and will probably use the money for something “recreational”. The rest of that day was pretty awful. I ended up forgetting an important appointment for my daughter, and I ended up being in a bad mood all evening. Then on Sunday prayer meeting, someone shared what she did for a homeless man, and I was reminded of my missed opportunity. Next time I see a homeless person, I will reach out. For now, the best I can do for my neighbor is literally reach out to my neighbor next door, I am planning to pass along a VBS kit for their two girls.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father! You are the Creator of every creature on this earth, and You have compassion for those who are the least of these because they are your own. I want to see them the way You see them. You did not give us the spirit of fear, but of love and of sound mind. I pray that the next time opportunity comes up to serve the least of these, I would want to serve them. Please help me to do Your will by loving them and serving them in some way. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.
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