Tag: thankfulness

Renewed

James HoganLeave a comment

So I’ve been reading through Deuteronomy of late, and while I’ve known for a while how wonderful of a book it is…I think I appreciate it even more as I have read through it this past time! There are many reasons why this latest read has encouraged me, but I think I just appreciate the fact that the laws God gives are a reflection of who God is. And at the end of the day, obeying God is – as according to the words of Deut 12:28 – doing what is good and right in the sight of the Lord Almighty. Do we truly care about what God thinks? We should long to obey and please Him – not because it will benefit us(though it will!), but because to obey God, pleases God. And as a child of my Father God, oh do I wish to please my Lord. A small excerpt from my Psalm reading this morning that echos my heart…

My soul cleaves to the dust;
Revive me according to Your word.
I have told of my ways,
and You answered me;
Teach me Your statutes.
Make me understand the way of Your precepts,
So I will meditate on Your wonders.
My soul weeps because of grief;
Strengthen me according to Your word.
Remove the false way from me,
And graciously grant me Your law.
I have chosen the faithful way;
I have placed Your ordinances before me.
I cling to Your testimonies;
O Lord, do not put me to shame!
I shall run the way of Your commandments,
For You will enlarge my heart.
-Psalm 119:25-32

Over the Rainbow

James HoganLeave a comment

All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live
and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your forefathers. You
shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years,
that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His
commandments or not. He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not
know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread
alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not
wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. Thus you are to know in your heart that
the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. Therefore, you shall keep
the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.

For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and
springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and
pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in
which you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig
copper. When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land
which He has given you.
-Deuteronomy 8:1-10