Deuteronomy 5-8

This is probably one of the most powerful couple of chapters in the old testament. Deuteronomy 6:4 Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart." This is such a powerful piece of scripture, it describes just how God wants us to live our lives. With all of your Heart, have you checked the motives of your heart lately? Do they portray the character of who God is? With all of your soul, What purpose, and value are you giving your life? Does it reflect the truth of how much God cares for you? With all your strength, Are you fighting the good fight? are you so willing to have the strength to make the hard decisions of showing God's love towards others, are you brave enough to choose God even when you don't feel like it? this is how i think it looks like to actually live out the call Moses gives to the people ready to step into a new chapter of their life.

Deuteronomy 1-4

The book of Deuteronomy is the last book of Moses, or in Jewish culture it is known as last book of the Torah. Moses begins to remind the people of Israel of all that has happen over the course of forty years in the wilderness. He begins to direct a new generation to what God requires of them, as they are about to head over to the land God has promised them. Many of the things that are written occurs in the previous books of numbers, Leviticus, and Exodus. One thing i have noticed while reading over the first couple of chapters of Deuteronomy is, reflecting on what God has done in the past really helps with what you want to do in the future. Moses shares with the people the glory of who God is, and the promises He makes. I too began doing the same thing, taking a look back and highlighting what God has done for me and my family and friends. It truly is a blessing to even know God in such a way. I now look forward to the days ahead knowing that they will someday be days i will reflect on and give praise to God for showing me once again how amazing He truly is. And if you are reading this and are thinking, "well God hasn't really done much for me" i would like to challenge you to look again knowing that the very breath you are taking is a gift from God. Ask God to reveal himself in moments you might have missed him for whatever reason, and ask to be more sensitive to his presence for the remaining days ahead.

prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, so glorious and wonderful you are. Thank you for allowing me to look back on those times in which you did hold me close, those times in which you spoke encouraging words into my heart when not even a whisper came from the lips of those around me. Thank you for quenching my thirst for truth, and feeding my hunger for love, and purpose. Lord let me give praise to you for being so faithful even during the days i completely lost faith. Thank you Lord truly, abiding in you till i meet you face to face in your holy and precious name Jesus i pray, Amen.

Numbers 25-36

Throughout my reading of Numbers, I would read God's very clear and strict instruction about not worshiping other god's or making and idol for yourself to worship. In Chpater 25, there is a moment when some of the people of Israel begin to worship a local god, that was a result from having certain types of relationships with the woman of Moab. The people of Israel began bowing down and worshiping this fake man made idol, and God began to burn against them with His anger unleashing a plague among the people. You will read a whole lot about idolaitry in the Bible, it is very clear God Hates it. As i look around my house I make a quick scan and make sure i dont have anything that can resemble any type of idolatry. Then I truly realized that even though i might not have anything i can physical touch and see to put in God's place, i do at times create one in my own heart and mind. There are times when we are caught wanting something so much, or even placing expectations on something to the point were it dictates our lives, that it becomes idolatry. Plain and simple, anything that you put in front of a proity of pleasing God becomes idolatry. And it took the people of Israel 40 years to truly understand that message, even though they still run into the same issue down the line just like the rest of us. I used to have this idea of God in my mind, and live my life according to how I envisioned god, that too was idolatry, because I was not living for the one true and living God, the God of the Bible. Make sure you are not living for a god you have crearted in your heart, and mind for the sake of not having to deal with certains truths. Maybe you justify your lifestyle because you heard somewhere that god says its O.K. But when you take a look at who God really is through His word you come to understand maybe he really is not O.K with certain things. smash the idols of your heart and know the one true living God.

prayer: Holy and glorious Heavenly Father. I pray that i may keep the truth of who you are in my heart and mind for the rest of my days. So that i may not fall into the trap of forming and shaping a god of my own imagination, but give me the strength and heart to live for you the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. If there is anything of an idol in my heart please show it to me now speak loudly to my heart and give me the courage to remove them from life in order to truly follow you closely, I ask this all in your son Jesus Christ name, Amen.

Numbers 15-24

My schedule has been quite a bit hectic. So i have been slacking with the blogging, but the reading hasn't stopped. I have finished the book of Numbers but will go back to post about the chapters that caught my heart's attention. In Chapters 22-25 we read about a prophet named balaam. He does not belong to the tribe of Israel, but God uses him to blessed the people of Israel. Balak which was an apposing King wanted Balaam to curse the Israelites But every time balaam went to ask to see if God would allow it God pretty much tells him "don't you even think about it!" What got me thinking is that Balaam didn't just take God's word the first time he had to ask a couple more times and always as the first God replied with the same answer, that the nation of Israel was to be blessed. I began to wonder how many times God has spoken his truth into my life and I simply just want to go around what He has said and wishfully think that he might change his mind. Sometimes i have to remind myself that my heart should continue to stay on the course, and seek for Gods truth, that in the long run is ultimately better than anything i could have wished for.

prayer: Lord, O Mighty God. Forgive me for my stubbornness at times. I know i don't fully understand what you are doing in my life, but please grant me the faith and patience to pursue your will for my life. Thank you for the many blessing you have spoken into my life, may i continue to trust in who you are. in Jesus name, Amen.

Numbers 7-14

These chapters in Numbers left a great impact on my heart. Starting from chpater 11 through 14 we read about the poeple of Israel complain about their hardships. They begin complaining about the manna that God has been providing for them, meanwhile reflecting about what they used to have back in Egypt. It amazes me to think that after what God has done for the poeple before their very own eyes they would still request for their old lifestyle back. I myself am guilty of this very same heart. I often forget of the marvelous thing Gods has provided me with, an amazing loving Wife, roof over my head, beautiful family, and most of all important his loving salvation. We tend to think as christans that once we begin a realtionship with God, its like I give 50% and God gives 50%. But we tend to forget that we don't deserve even salvation! That's right we don't but God was gracious enough to gives us that. Just like with the people in the wilderness He gives us what we need, and we begin to remember our old lifestyle just remember it was a lifestyle in slavery in which we have been freed from.

Prayer: Lord, please help me to not forget where you have brought me from. Help me to reflect on the freedom of your salvation. Forgive me when I complain about my circumstances. Help me to have a contempt heart towards every aspect of my life, in your loving sons name Jesus Christ, Amen.

Numbers 1-6

After exploring the first six chapters of Numbers, I can clearly see how very orderly, and well structured our God is. The book of Numbers begins with a census, having Moses take a head count (if you will) of the people of Israel. I have to admit reading the first couples of chapters of Numbers, after finishing Leviticus is a bit to take in. But, I understand the importance of why all this information has been carefully saved and preserved for me to read at this very moment of my life. God is a God of order, and structure and very well planned. He gave certain duties to certain members of the tribes, which i thought was amazing. There are times when i feel like i have to be the GO-TO-GUY! My heart is sometimes bent on wanting to be the guy that does all the jobs well. But in reality that usually isn't the case, and i end up very frustrated in the end. Knowing that God has given me a purpose and passion for specific certain things, I know now to focus on that task and honor the Lord completely with my life by answering the call He has given me.

prayer: Heavenly Father, Lord of creation. I thank you so very much for giving my life purpose. Lord pour out your wisdom into my heart for my life. take my hand Lord and direct my paths to stay focused on the duties you have placed in my heart before i was even brought into this world. Glory be to your name that brings salvation. in Jesus name, Amen.

Leviticus 18-19

I was blown away to read the fingerprints of Jesus throughout these chapters in Leviticus. chapter 19:17 it says You must not hate your brother in your heart. in Matthew 5:21 we read Jesus saying this "You have heard it was said said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be established to judgment. But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment". God was concerned about the heart and spirit of the law, right from the very beginning. Jesus doesn't come to people with a new set of rules but only reminding them of the laws given to them since the covenant. We also read about God's fair and loving commands towards the blind, poor, widow, and the foreign person.

prayer: Lord almighty, Heavenly Father, amazing in all of your glory. I come to you asking to reveal to me the heart of the matter. Keep me away from just keeping the rules, and bring me closer to keeping a relationship with you. Pour out your mercy for I am a sinner, filled with pride, fear, and unable to trust in you. Soften my harden heart with your loving grace, in your glorious name Jesus Christ, Amen.

Leviticus 8-16

Once again the overall theme through the chapters of Leviticus is God showing the people His Holiness. The people of Israel are given specific instructions on what animals they should, and should not eat. They are given laws of purification from diseases caused by mold, skin rashes and contaminated objects. While reading these chapters i cant help but think of how hard it must have been to upkeep all of the laws God has given them to just stay in a right relationship with God. but now I am beginning to understand the overall message is God is a Holy God, and we often lose site of this and fall short of fulfilling the requirements to be holy ourselves. If it wasn't for these chapters in Leviticus i would not truly see my need for a savior to cleanse my heart in order to enter into God's presence without being consumed by his holy fire.

God is Holy + Man cant match up = A merciful and forgiving loving God to come down to wash us clean in order to be holy with him.

prayer: Lord, today I give my all of my short comings, I give you all of myself to be made clean. You Lord, through your son Jesus can only make my heart pure and clean to allow me to walk with you. I pray heavenly Father for your forgiveness and to give me the hunger to strive for holiness in my everyday life.

Leviticus 3-7

In these chapters, God gives the laws for sin and burnt offerings. In my bible i thought the commentary for one of the chapters was very interesting. 5:10 The sin offering preceded the burnt offering because one was obligated to be in good standing before God before he could worship Him. Coming immediately after the sin offering, which atoned for for sin, the burnt offering symbolized the restoration of the offender and represented his first act of worship. Jesus was the needed sin offering once and for all. Through Him we can now have a restored relationship with God and continue to live a life that worships God in a way that pleases Him.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father. I come before your throne through the sacrifice of your son Jesus Christ. Lord fill me with your Holy spirit to lead a life that truly reflects a restored relationship with you God. Search my heart today and help me offer whatever i am struggling with, as a sacrifice to your Holy name. In your loving sons name Jesus, Amen.

Exodus 39-40 /Leviticus 1-2

The closing chapters of Exodus highlights the importance of the priestly attire, and the setting up of the Tabernacle. Leviticus picks up after the tabernacle has been in place and God gives the laws in how to properly worship him. So we have the priest and what he is to do to enter the holy of hollies, which reminded me of Hebrews 9:11
¹¹When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. ¹²He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

It is so amazing to me to see how God was setting up for the coming of his son Jesus Christ as the ultimate high priest, with the laws he gives his people. In the first chapter of Leviticus we read of the unblemished sacrifice that is to be made to God, so they will be accepted by the LORD. In Hebrews 9:13-14
¹³The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. ¹⁴How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

So we have Jesus as our ultimate high Priest, and He is to be the ultimate sacrifice that will allow God's people to be accepted by Him. That sacrifice was an act of worship, and when you look at the life of Jesus Christ, nobody worship better than he did, even to the point of becoming the actual sacrifice. Reading these chapters has really opened my eyes to God's plan for a savior.

prayer: My Loving Father, you are truly amazing! My heart cries out for your Holy spirit to pour into my life your grace today. Thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who is our High Priest, and the Sacrifice in which we can now come before your throne. Help me to worship you the way your son does, help me to be more like my High priest Jesus, and hlp me to make my life a living sacrifice to you. in Jesus name, Amen.

Exodus 34-38

In these chapters we read about God allowing all of his goodness to pass in front of Moses, to show Moses his glory. The Lord tells Moses that no man can see the face of the Lord and live, so he places Moses in the crevice of a rock on the mountain, and the Lord will cover him with his hand. Amazing that through the life and story of Moses that we read in the book of Exodus, we are given the details of a man who probably isn't very different than ourselves. Moses has issues with his identity, was he a Hebrew or an Egyptian, he had speech issues, anger problems, and sometimes he faith tank was on empty. And this was the man God chose to use to lead his people, this is the man whom the Bible says he spoke to God as a friend would speak to a friend. I longed so much to see the glory God showed Moses on that mountain, a glory that would leave my face radiant for everyone to see. I now realize that God has shown anyone who puts his trust in Jesus Christ the same glory. It is a glory that just does not give our faces a certain glow, but illuminates our hearts a new, to give light to a world of darkness.
Exodus 34:6-7
Yahweh-Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers' wrongdoing on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.

prayer: O compassionate Heavenly Father. I am so thankful of who you are. I give you praise and glorify your Holy name. I ask that you open the eyes of my heart to see your goodness pass before me just as you did with Moses today. I know you are working all around me, Lord lead me to walk in the path you have set before me to see your glory revealed. Make my ears sensitive to hear your Holy voice speak truth into my heart today. In your loving sons name i pray Jesus Christ, Amen.

Exodus 31-33

There are so many things that spoke to me in these chapters. But the main highlight was the event of the people of Israel making for themselves a golden calf to worship. They grew impatient with Moses, who was speaking with God on Mount Shani, and decided to make for themselves a god that they can see, touch, and shape with their own hands. God in his righteous anger tells Moses to go down at once for the people are acting corruptly. Moses begins to see why God was so angry the whole camp was turned upside down while he was gone. I tend to think of how easy it is for us to abandon God when we don't hear from him for a while, to something we can shape out of our own thoughts. All the while the people wanted a god they can see, touch, and control, when Moses who waited on the Lord was the only one to see God's goodness pass him by. What an amazing contrast from the people to Moses relationship with God.

prayer: O Loving heavenly Father. I ask that you fill me with your Holy Spirit today to wait patiently for you. Help me to grab a hold of who you are. Ready my heart to see your glory. Forgive me when my heart desires to turn to idols that displease you. I turn from my ways of selfishness and cling on to your holiness. in your gracious son's name I pray Jesus Christ, Amen.

Exodus 28-30

These chapters in Exodus are filled with instructions for Aaron and his sons to serve God as priests. God gives amazing detail once again to how He wants certain things done to make atonement for the people of Israel. One thing that spoke to me reading these chapters, is how God sets certain things apart only to be use when approaching his holiness. Exodus 28:36 shows the words HOLY TO THE LORD engraved on a seal. Sometimes I can easily forget that our Lord is a Holy God and I will give him the left overs of my life, when he truly deserves the best and everything.

prayer: O Holy and mighty LORD. forgive me when my mind drifts away from your holiness. Help me to be holy for you are holy. I give you praise and thanks for your Loving atonement Jesus Christ whom through I can now approach your holy throne. Holy spirit strengthen my heart to seek holiness today. In your precious name Jesus I pray, Amen.

Exodus 24-27

In these chapters of exodus, God commands Moses to approach him on Mount Sinai, to receive the stone tablets with the law and commands the LORD has written for the peoples' instruction. Once again we see the amazing detail of God. Everything from the blueprints of how to make the Ark, to the building of the Tabernacle, our God goes into real specific detail. Even after creating the whole known universe He continues to establish who He is in great detail. In Exodus 25:40 we read God telling Moses to "Be careful to make everything according to the model of them you have been shown on the mountain". God gives us the model of how worship should look like, when He came down to us as the savior Jesus Christ. Jesus modeled it and we now have the task to make sure we follow that model. Without adding any further details to the blueprint of worship God has given us in the person of Jesus Christ, lets model Him for the rest of the world to see.

Prayer: Thank you heavenly Father that you are so detailed in how we live our lives. Thank you God for modeling how we are to live a life of worship to you through your son Jesus Christ. Holy spirit, help us focus on Jesus, and not add anything to the blueprints of grace you given us. To dwell on your details throughout our day. in Jesus name, Amen.

Exodus 20-23

Today I read Exodus chapters 20 through 23. This is when God gives the ten commandments to Moses and the people of Israel. Now growing up I always thought the Ten commandments were the only laws God gave his people, but reading through these chapters has shed some light on a lot more of God's character by the other laws his gives the people at that time. What really spoke to me was the laws God gave about protecting the vulnerable. Exodus 22:22-27 "You must not mistreat the widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, they will no doubt cry to me, and I will certainly hear their cry." This verse really stuck out to me while reading this morning, it highlighted God's compassion for those who have been mistreated. He also cares so much about justice in Exodus 23:1-6, the peoples livelihood Exodus 22:5-6, and even personal property Exodus 22:7-14. I sometimes thought God didn't really care about the small things in my life, and that I should only really have God in my life when the big things come about. But to see how He cares about the everyday life of his people really brings a smile to my heart knowing He is a very personal God, and wants for us to display his ways in everything we do.

Prayer: Oh Lord of the Heavens, Almighty God. Your ways are truly so much higher than our ways. Thank you for your showing you concern about our everyday living. Thank you O Lord for showing us your laws that lead to righteous living. Help me God to truly understand how personal you are, help me to understand that you are very close to those you call your children. and continue to Lead us to live righteously.

Exodus 17-19

Due to me coming up with this idea after already starting my reading plan i figured i will begin blogging right where i am at which is Exodus 17.

Exodus 17-19
Today's reading was about the Israelite community complaining to Moses about not having any water to quench their thirst. You can almost feel the frustration in Moses's response to the Lord, (Exodus 17:4) "What should I do with these people? in a little while they will stone me!" It continues to blow my mind how, maybe a year or so has gone by after the Israelite s crossed through the Red Sea and engaged into a major worship celebration to the Lord, that they are back to complaining about the Salvation the Lord has given them. I begin to point the finger at the people in the wilderness, and shake my head with disappointment in them, all the while sitting in my comfortable home. But I soon realized how alike i am to those very people grumbling at Moses. And how I too haven forgotten where God has taken me from. All the red Seas he has parted in my life, and how I sometimes am so ready to just step aside and say "Where is this promise of yours?!"

Prayer: Lord Almighty, great is your mighty strength. Great and precious are your Holy ways. Forgive me when my heart turns to selfish grumbling. Help me to remember the many Red Seas you have parted in my life. And help me to hold strong to the promise that you will provide my every need, Holy spirit let that truth just sink in, quench that thirst in me. in Jesus name, Amen.

Scripture to apply: James 4:1 But Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing.

Reading/Blog plan

Hello everyone,
well as you may realized the blogging has slowed down a lot. And i have tried to push myself to start it back up again, but i keep procrastinating. One goal i have for myself is to read the entire Old Testament this year. It has been going really well and even though i have read most of it i am always blown away by how rejuvenating God's word can be. I have decided to blog about my reading plan. I will read a couple of chapters, and then write about it here on this blog. Its my way of disciplining myself to keep this blog going, and it will help me retain what it is i have read. I would suggest anyone who wishes to follow along feel free to do so, i know it will truly be a blessing.