I love the law

Today: Psalm 119: 1-88

"I love the law..."

These words grabbed my attention as I was frantically getting ready on a recent morning while the "Today" show played on a nearby television. Who says that in 2010?!? Most people in our society disdain for words like "law" and "authority" and "obedience."

In this case, Supreme Court Justice nominee Elena Kagan said, "I love the law..." on the "Today" show. I remembered her words when I read today's passage.

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the entire Bible (we're reading it over two days on this reading plan!), but the whole chapter is really an expression of love for God's law--His Word.

While it may sound odd to hear or read, "I love the law," imagine what our world would be like without any civil laws--people would drive cars wherever they pleased (including your front yard!), stealing would be acceptable, kids wouldn't go to school--you name it! There would be total chaos.

Similarly, God's law is designed to govern our lives. It can often help us to avoid chaos, drama and unnecessary suffering. God's Word is truth that isn't just about fancy philosophy or theology--it's truth that's meant to shape our hearts, relationships with people, relationship with God and our everyday lives of service to Him.

In this portion of the passage, the author expresses his love for God's Word--and how it saved him from chaos:

Be good to your servant, God;

be as good as your Word.

Train me in good common sense;

I'm thoroughly committed to living your way.

Before I learned to answer you, I wandered all over the place,

but now I'm in step with your Word.

You are good, and the source of good;

train me in your goodness.

Though I am extremely thankful for the laws my country was founded upon, I believe that God's law is even more deserving of my love. God's law is goodness, love and truth. It's wisdom, direction and purpose for my life--and what's not to love about that?

Tomorrow: Psalm 119: 89-176

Blessings and curses

Today: Deuteronomy 28-29

Have you ever been cursed? Have you ever been blessed? What's the difference?

I know that these may be kind of strange questions, but in today's passage, Moses outlined blessings and curses for the Israelites tied to their obedience (or disobedience) to God. Here's an interesting part of the passage about curses:

God will send The Curse, The Confusion, The Contrariness

down on everything you try to do

until you've been destroyed and there's nothing left of you—

all because of your evil pursuits that led you to abandon me.
God will infect you with The Disease,

wiping you right off the land that you're going in to possess.
God will set consumption and fever and rash

and seizures and dehydration and blight and jaundice on you.

They'll hunt you down until they kill you.

Okay, I know this sounds pretty morbid (at least I didn't copy the text about cannibalism!), but a few things tied to this curse stood out to me--confusion and consumption. I think those two things really define the existence of may people in our world who don't have God--or even Christians who have forgotten what it means to really know and follow Him. If people don't grasp who God is and the fact that He has a purpose for their lives, it makes almost every part of life confusing. If they don't find contentment and hope in Him, they look for it in things or ideas--they become consumed with consuming so much that it becomes an unfillable void.

On the flip side, I love what this passage says about the blessings for those who live in obedience to God:

If you listen obediently to the Voice of God, your God,

and heartily obey all his commandments that I command you today,

God, your God, will place you on high,

high above all the nations of the world.

All these blessings will come down on you

and spread out beyond you because you have responded

to the Voice of God, your God:

God's blessing inside the city,

God's blessing in the country;

God's blessing on your children,

the crops of your land,

the young of your livestock,

the calves of your herds,

the lambs of your flocks.

God's blessing on your basket and bread bowl;

God's blessing in your coming in,

God's blessing in your going out...

Tomorrow: Deuteronomy 30-31

Remember the road

Today: Deuteronomy 8-10

I've never been a fan of cheesy inspirational posters. You know, the kind with a picture of a country road and big type at the bottom that says something like "Vision." Typically, I also avoid cliche inspirational comparisons like, "Life is a journey." However, perhaps some things are cliche because they communicate ideas in way most people can tangibly relate to.

If I were to describe life as a journey, I would say that sometimes the road has serious potholes--the kind you can drive over in a small car (like my faithful-since-college Ford Focus) and wonder, "How did I not lose my tire in that?" The road of your life may have some fatal collisions, traffic, dead possums and dog poo (did I really just type that?!?). However, it might also have kind drivers who help you change your flat tire on the side of the road in the rain. It may have police officers who help you navigate some rough spots. Sometimes you might be in the carpool lane with some pretty amazing people. And at times, it may feel like you're driving in the sun on a freshly paved expressway with nothing holding you back.

Do you ever take time to remember the road--and reflect on how you got to where you're at today?

In today's passage, Moses repeatedly encouraged the Israelites to "remember the road." More specifically, he instructed them to remember God's intervention, provision and miracles along their journey through the desert. Let's refresh by taking a peek at these verses:

Remember every road that God led you on

for those forty years in the wilderness,

pushing you to your limits, testing you so that he would know what you were made of,

whether you would keep his commandments or not.

He put you through hard times. He made you go hungry.

Then he fed you with manna, something neither you nor your parents knew anything about,

so you would learn that men and women don't live by bread only;

we live by every word that comes from God's mouth.

Your clothes didn't wear out and your feet didn't blister those forty years.

You learned deep in your heart

that God disciplines you in the same ways a father disciplines his child.

So it's paramount that you keep the commandments of God, your God,

walk down the roads he shows you and reverently respect him...

And here's a different part of the passage:

...So now Israel, what do you think God expects from you?

Just this: Live in his presence in holy reverence,

follow the road he sets out for you,

love him, serve God, your God, with everything you have in you,

obey the commandments and regulations of God

that I'm commanding you today—

live a good life.

Sound familiar? This passage ties closely to some of the other themes in recent passages (see my blog site for the last few if you're interested). In these chapters, God (via Moses' message) isn't just encouraging the people to remember the roads they've been on--He encouraged them to remember His miraculous faithfulness, guidance and correction. I believe this instruction isn't about focusing on the past, but learning from it--it's about turning away from mistakes, living in obedience and most importantly, trusting in God all along the way. And you don't even need a cheesy poster to do that. :)

Tomorrow: Deuteronomy 11-13

The good life

Today: Deuteronomy 5-7

When you picture "the good life," what you see?

At the beginning of each new year, many people start dreaming about what that good life means to them. They believe life will be good when they finally lose weight, find a new job, meet Mr. or Ms. Right, raise amazing kids, and/or win the lottery.

I wonder how many people aiming for the good life start by saying, "I'd like to be more obedient"?

Most people don't aspire to be more obedient, but according to today's passage, obedience can sometimes be a precursor to a good life. Take a look at Moses' message to the Israelites:

Listen obediently, Israel.

Do what you're told so that you'll have a good life,

a life of abundance and bounty, just as God promised,

in a land abounding in milk and honey.
Attention, Israel!

God, our God! God the one and only!
Love God, your God, with your whole heart:

love him with all that's in you, love him with all you've got!
Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts.

Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children.

Talk about them wherever you are,

sitting at home or walking in the street;

talk about them from the time you get up in the morning

to when you fall into bed at night.

Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder;

inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.

Love, love, love this passage!

I should be clear and say that I don't think "the good life" discussed here always includes Scrooge McDuck-style piles of money (I'm showing my generation. If you've never heard of Ducktales or Scrooge McDuck, I don't know if we can be friends...just kidding of course!), love, beauty, health, etc. A life of obedience to God could lead to some of those things, but more importantly, I think it leads to a healthier heart. A life of obedience leads to things like peace, joy, compassion, integrity, character, honesty--the qualities really worth aspiring toward.

Best of all, a life of obedience to God strengthens your relationship with Him. It's an approach not based on "What can I get from God?", but rather "The God who loves me so much deserves my everything--I want to give Him all I've got. I'll start by trusting Him enough to obey His instruction."

When we dream of the good life, let's consider what it really means--and how obedience to God can help us live it.

Tomorrow: Deuteronomy 8-10

Life--just a little (or a lot!) different

Today: Leviticus 16-18

In the Pacific Northwest (where I live), there's an insurance company (PEMCO) that markets itself specifically to people who live there--people like "Sandals with Socks Guy," "Relentless Recycler," or the "Super-Long Coffee Orderer." The tagline is, "We're a lot like you--just a little different."

I think God would love for all His people to live by that description--to be just a little (or a lot!) different because He's in our lives. Take a look at this passage:

Speak to the People of Israel.

Tell them, I am God, your God.

Don't live like the people of Egypt

where you used to live,

and don't live like the people of Canaan

where I'm bringing you.

Don't do what they do.

Obey my laws and live by my decrees.

I am your God.

Keep my decrees and laws:

The person who obeys them lives by them.

I am God.

In this passage, God was instructing His people not just to live like those around them...to get sucked into sin. He wanted the people to obey His instructions--to live by them.

If you live your life just like everyone around you, you won't stand out. A life that's a little (or a lot!) different is a life that makes a difference. But it starts with obedience.

Tomorrow: Leviticus 19-21

Obedience through problems

Today: Acts 21-23

Obedience is not really a popular topic in our culture today...even in church. I don't remember the last time I heard a Christian speaker even use the word "obedience."

For most people, it's not a comfortable topic in the workplace. We do our work and our assignments--but does anyone really call that "obeying" the boss' instructions? Not really. It becomes "managing a project" or just simply "doing work." We take obedience out of the equation...because the very word implies that we're not in charge.

Most people aren't into the idea of obedience...but God is. I don't know if I've ever thought about obedience as a cool illustration of God's work in our lives. But it is--especially when we're obedient through our problems.

Paul definitely knew this point well. In this passage, some prophets warned him not to go to Jerusalem. They foresaw challenges for him there (and they were right!). But when Paul heard their advice, he said:

"You're looking at this backward.

The issue in Jerusalem is not what they do to me,

whether arrest or murder,

but what the Master Jesus does through my obedience.

Can't you see that?"

Wow. Paul was willing to go through an arrest because he knew God could use his obedience to reach somebody. Paul was right. When he was arrested, he was given the opportunity to share his story and to talk about how Jesus changed his heart and his life.

The chapters today didn't say that crowds of people were saved. On the contrary, they were pretty angry at Paul. But in a crowd of people, someone had to be listening, someone had to wonder, "What if he's right? What if Jesus really is the Son of God?" Maybe no one believed that day. But they heard--and they saw--Paul's story in action. That's obedience at work.

Here's a few questions for all of us to consider: How is obedience at work in my life today? Am I allowing God to lead me? How does my obedience (or lack thereof) impact my life and the lives of others--particularly through problems?

Tomorrow: Acts 24-26