MORNING MUSINGS!

Beginning the week with BIG truth in few words!

FOR THE GLORY OF GOD AND THE GOOD OF OTHERS

ABIDE IN JESUS.

BE CHANGED BY JESUS.

EMBODY THE WAYS OF JESUS.

ENOUGH SAID!

TTT---SO IMPORTANT!

TTT........Trust the Truth!

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when your rise. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

AMEN!

"When our children are ignorant of the past, they will have no hope for the future. (Warren Wiersbe, p.391)

DUSTING OT DEUTERONOMY TO FIND NT QUOTES!

As Mark describes Jesus' teaching about the greatest commandment, He includes Deuteronomy 6:5 which Matthew's account omitted---possibly because Matthew's readers would have understood this but Mark's Gentile readers probably would not. (Thomas Constable Mark notes, soniclight.com Mark's words indicate loving God completely.....in every way, with all aspects of one's being....beginning with heart as the control center and with strength including all the one's bodily powers. (Grassmick, p.164)

"Dust off" Deuterononomy 6:5 and find the source of Mark's words. 

I did.              

DUSTERONOMY

A recent sermon by ABC elder Mark Andrews, in Texas on the fruit of the Spirit....focused on the aspect of faithfulness. 

The opposite of faithfulness is forgetfulness. Pithy with a punch! 

I'm still musing on it. One cannot remain faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ, if they forget who He is! God's son. Our sovereign Savior!

Emphasizing how the faithful love the Lord and serve others, he used reminders from Deuteronomy of the same truths.

He encouraged listeners to explore one of the most quoted and alluded to OT books in the NT. (Allusions are important but can be difficult to measure) 

Narrowing it down to the top 3, I became interested in Deuteronomy as earlier, Mr. Andrews had used the term, Dusteronomy. Being more familiar with Psalms and Isaiah, I decided to "dust off" the verses of Deuteronomy and ask the LORD for contextual clarity as I begin to study this 5th and final book of the Pentateuch! 

Emphasis loving God and serving others.

When asked the greatest commandment, Jesus, in Mark 12:30 cited Deuteronomy 6:5, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." 

Seems like a good place to start my dusting!

HERE'S THE SCOOP!

Here's the scoop! Truths of scripture necessary to live a life of abundance.

Simple. Pure. Unique.  Created with loving, clean hands. 

Fresh daily. Served with love.

A 1 scoop            

                           I am God and there is no other. (Isaiah 46:9)

A 2 scooper       

                           I, the Lord do not change. (Malachi 3:6)  

                            I am God and there is no other. (Isaiah 46:9-20)  

A 3 scooper         

                           Love the LORD your God with all your heart, 

with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

                           I, the Lord do not change. (Malachi 3:6)  

                            I am God and there is no other. (Isaiah 46:9-20)  

A 4 scooper                 

                           Love your neighbor as yourself. (Leviticus 19:18)

                           Love the LORD your God with all your heart, 

with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

                           I, the Lord do not change. (Malachi 3:6)  

                            I am God and there is no other. (Isaiah 46:9-20)  

A 5 scooper          Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. (John 14:6)          

                           Love your neighbor as yourself. (Leviticus 19:18)

                           Love the LORD your God with all your heart, 

with all your soul and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

                           I, the Lord do not change. (Malachi 3:6)  

                            I am God and there is no other. (Isaiah 46:9-20)  

How many scoops for you today?

TEA-uneful Music, Regardless of Style

Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
(Psalm 96:1-3, NIV)

Music styles can often be divisive. Differing of opinions over the "sacred" aspect of worship can ring loud in hallways of churches. Congregants can wrestle over musical worship choices. Many have a strong preference. Traditional. Hymns only. Contemporary. Praise songs included. 

These days, most churches offer both styles, just at separate services or sometimes a blend of the two.

Last night at First Evangelical Church, "Indelible Grace," led by Matthew S. Smith, held a concert that offered old hymn texts set to new music. I attended as I enjoy a variety of worship styles and I loved the group's name. 

 Indelible---not able to be forgotten or removed.  A perfect descriptor for God's grace.

Indelible, an adjective I would hope could describe my spiritual legacy to my grands. 

I want my life to make such a spiritual mark on their memory that it will be impossible to forget----that their grandmother loved the Lord with all her heart, soul, mind. and might. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

I've sipped from several different TEA-uneful cuppas on Sunday mornings but last night it was "Oh Precious is the flow," that was singing in my heart as I left the sanctuary.*

*This blog is the result of "hearing" from Ginny H. that Nancy E. expected me to blog on that event. The Lord definitely works in mysterious ways to inspire my blogging.

MEDITATION “MUSTS”

9/17/12 “Life is at its richest when we are living in close communion with God and loving our neighbors at the same time.” (Loritts, p. 10) A-men!

In his book, a CROSS-SHAPED Gospel, Bryan Loritts states so well the “musings” of my own heart. The vertical relationship with the Lord is all about loving and serving Him---with prayer, Bible study and intimate times in His presence. Yet, the horizontal relationship with others occurs as love for the Lord overflows into love and service for others---neighbors here, in Ukraine or wherever God gives a sphere of influence. Focusing on one aspect to the exclusion of the other is an "off kilter" message of good news. It takes both to have that complete God-centered relationship.

So…..today’s meditation will be on 2 verses to allow for the complete truth to “sink in.”

And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5)

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)

2 “Musts” for meditation that MUST not be overlooked or missed.

Attitude of Gratitude

6/16/09 Attitude of Gratitude vs. Entitlement
Life is a gift and what we do with it is our gift back to God. Our experiences in this game of life can have meaning, can impact others for good, or can be self-serving in an “all about me” kind of way. Folks who are rich toward God might not necessarily be rich in the world’s way, with all the right toys, but they are usually generous to a fault. I have been the recipient of the generous hearts of God’s people and those are the folks I want to emulate.

I think those generous ones have hearts full to overflowing with gratitude. I also think it is that gratitude that keeps envy, dissatisfaction, whining and complaining at bay. A thankful heart keeps us from taking what we have for granted and stops us from always wanting just a little (yea, right) bit more! That’s an illusion---thinking gratitude will come as soon as the stuff desired is a part of life.

Our society teaches us that we are “entitled” to a big home, a vacation with the family and even good health or at least adequate insurance. So what happens if some of those “things” are missing. Misery? Bitterness? Self-pity? Certainly self-preoccupation can imprison us with those chains of anger and resentment, that entangle us when our expectations are not met. What if the life your living right now is as good as it’s gonna get this side of heaven? What if it gets worse? Can you find blessing and gratitude in the struggle? You can if your life “counts” for other people.

As I’ve mentioned before, one of our family pastimes is playing all kinds of games together, including board games. We have boxes of those and look forward to new ones each year while cherishing old favorites. But regardless of the game, when it’s over it all goes back in the box. I remembered that from J. Ortberg’s book, When the Game is Over.

As I searched this book out, I was taken with the synopsis on the book jacket---a very sobering reminder—a time will come when the game of life comes to an end. Then what?

• No more game cubes or cards.

• No more tokens.

• No more promotions, financial planning, vacation homes or big toys.

• Game over.

If your life has been filled with the love of the Lord and has overflowed with gratitude and thanksgiving to Him and others, you will have been “rich” and your eternal reward will be great. People matter. A relationship with the Lord matters. As Ortberg says, fill every square on the game board of life with what matters most and be thankful. What ever we do for God and others does not go back in the box---it lasts throughout eternity.

'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength (Deuteronomy 6:5) and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' (Luke 10:27)