“Love will work in obedience.”
- Matthew Henry
Scripture: 12 And
now, Israel, what does the Lord your God
ask of you but to fear the Lord your God,
to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty
and awesome … 20 Fear the Lord your God
and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. 21 He is the one you praise; he
is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with
your own eyes.” From Deuteronomy 10
Today’s
reading is from: Deuteronomy 10:12-22; Deuteronomy 11; and Mark 16
“Sin tends to shorten the days of all men, and to shorten the
days of a people's prosperity.” -
Matthew Henry
Observation: Matthew Henry says this, “We are here taught
our duty to God in our principles and our practices. We must fear the Lord our
God. We must love him, and delight in communion with him. We must walk in the
ways in which he has appointed us to walk. We must serve him with all our heart
and soul. What we do in his service we must do cheerfully, and with good will.
We must keep his commandments. There is true honor and pleasure in obedience.
We must give honour to God; and to him we must cleave, as one we love and
delight in, trust in, and from whom we have great expectations.”
Application: To “circumcise my heart and not be
stiff-necked” and “to love the Lord, to walk in obedience to Him and to hold
fast to Him” (Deut. 10:16 and 11:22).
What does it mean to circumcise our hearts. It means to cast off or cast away anything
that hinders us from loving and fearing God fully. Matthew Henry states, “By nature we do not
love God. This is original sin … [we are] not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be …” But God can
reconcile us to Himself! (Praise
Him!) So that we can love, serve and
obey Him and be daily changed into His image, from glory to glory through the
working of His Holy Spirit in our lives.
This is not by our own power, but by His Spirit. In and of ourselves we are weak and sinful,
but Christ in us – well – that is an entirely different thing! Something we want. He rends our hearts and changes us each and
every day by His grace and through His Spirit (HalleluYAH!)
Matthew Henry also suggests these
three Applications:
1. Let our hearts be filled with the word of God.
2. Let our eyes be fixed upon the word of God, as the guide
of our way.
3. Let our tongues be employed about the word of God.
As God would have it though we all
have free will and a choice; He lays it out very plainly with two choices 1)
Blessing or 2) Curse. Which do you
choose today? The choice is not only
reflected in your words, but in your actions.
Prayer: Father in Heaven, let us hear Your voice
while it is still called today! Let us
choose in our words and deeds to follow hard after You. Let us fix our eyes on You and Your
Word. Let us tell others of Your
greatness and goodness. Rend our hearts,
fill us up with Your Holy Spirit and change us more and more into Your likeness
for Your glory and to further Your Kingdom.
Through Christ I pray, Amen & Amen.
“Consider
the greatness and glory of God; and his goodness and grace!” - Matthew Henry
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