Day: January 31, 2021

The Faithful God El Emunah

Moses’ second sermon begins in
chapter 5 and extends thru chap 26.
He opens with a reputation of the
Ten Commandments (hence the
name Deuteronomy – second law)
and exhorts the people to obey
the Lord from a heart of love,
to teach their children obedience
and to be careful not to forget the
Lord in times of prosperity. Victory
over the pagan occupants of Canaan
is assured as long as the people
faithfully obey God’s commands.
They will prevail, not because of
their strength, but because of
their Faithful all-conquering God.

All Praise be to El Emunah:
The Lord your God has chosen
you to be a people for Himself…
The Lord did not… choose you
because you were more in number
than any other people, for you
were the least of all peoples…
It was because the Lord loved you
and kept the oath He swore to
your forefathers that He brought
you out with a mighty hand and
redeemed you from the land of
slavery, from the power of Pharaoh
king of Egypt. Know therefore
that the Lord your God is God;
He is the faithful God El Emunah
who keeps covenant (Deut 7:6-9)

El Emunah, we adore You for the
faithfulness You show to us even
when we are unfaithful to You.
We praise You for Your covenant
of loving kindness and faithfulness.
We thank You Lord for recording
Your Word for us so that through endurance, the encouragement
of scriptures and of Your Spirit,
we might have hope. In Jesus’ name.

El Emunah, Your faithfulness
reminds me that I’m not always
faithful to You. Although I have
a heart to be faithful to You,
situations arise that evoke fears
and doubt, tempting me to make
choices of self-preservation
and selfishness. And so I confess
that I’m not fully faithful to You
Lord and to those around me.

El Emunah, remind us again and
again of Your faithfulness so that
we will grow to be more like You.
Strengthen the resolve in our
spirit to believe You are indeed
El Emunah for You’re faithful;
for You can’t make promises
You can’t keep for You can’t lie.
So we wait patiently upon Your
word for delay is not denial. And
Your promises shall come to pass at
the appointed time. In Jesus’ name.

Restoring our Worship of God

Backgrounder: Years after the
restoration from exile, the spiritual
conditn of God’s pple deteriorated
Again they lapsed into the same
sins that brought about captivity.
They tithe sporadically, ignore
the Sabbath and intermarry with
unbelievers. Their hearts have
grown hard and their love for God
has grown cold, yet Malachi comes
to remind the people of God’s love
for them. Malachi’ final warning
about the purifying Day of the Lord
marks the close of the OT period.

The Jews had not learned the lesson
of the exile nor had they listened
to the prophets. God deserves
our very best honour, respect
and faithfulness. But sin hardens
our hearts to our true condition.
Pride is unwarranted self-esteem;
it’s setting your own judgment above
God’s and looking down on others.
Lord, we’ll Offer Living Sacrifice;
Lord, we’ll Choose to Be Holy; and
Lord, we’ll Purpose to Fear You.
In Jesus’ precious name we pray.

Lord, we’ll offer Living Sacrifice:
You have despised My name by
offering defiled sacrifices on my
altar. Isn’t it wrong to offer animals
that are crippled and diseased?
Try giving gifts like that to your
governor and see how pleased
he is…How I wish one of you would
shut the temple doors so that
these worthless sacrifices could
not be offered! I am not pleased
with you, says the Lord (Mal 1:6-10)
Lord Jesus, we are grateful for
Your sacrificial death on the
cross to atone for all our sins.
In deep appreciation, we will not
give You God our leftover time,
energy and resource. But instead
we will give ourselves to You
God as Living Sacrifices as our
offerings of love & gratitude. Amen.

Lord, we will choose to Be Holy:
Who can endure the day of His
coming? And who can stand
when He appears? For He is like
a Refiner’s Fire… He will sit as
a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
and purge them as gold (Mal 3:2-3)
Lord, Purify my heart
Cleanse me from within
And make me holy
Purify my heart, Cleanse me
from my sin Deep within
Refiner’s fire My heart’s
one desire Is to be holy
Set apart for You Lord
I choose to be holy
Set apart for You My Master
Ready to do Your will. Amen.

Lord, we Purpose to Fear You:
For you who fear My name,
the Sun of Righteousness (Christ)
will rise with healing in his wings.
And you will go free, leaping with
joy like calves let out to pasture.
Then you will trample down the
wicked; they will be ashes under
the soles of your feet on the day
when I do these things, says the
Lord Almighty (Malachi 4:2-3).
Sun of Righteousness, help me remember that fear of the Lord
is the foundation of true knowledge
And regardless of how life looks now,
we know that You God controls the future and You will make things right.
Let this truth sink into our inner being
so that we’ll leap with joy. Amen.