One Clear and Constant Instruction

Scriptures: And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? Deuteronomy 10:12-13

Observation: Here are the things the Lord requires of those who would be his people ...

-- Respect the Lord, the creator of all heaven and earth.
-- Live a life in daily reverence and obedience to him.
-- Love the Lord.
-- Serve the Lord both outwardly and inwardly.
-- Obey the commandments.

Moses has boiled every instruction of God - every element of faith - into five items, and truly those five things can be summarized as two verbs ... love and obey. If we treat the Lord as our father, then we will love him, and flowing out from that love will be respect for what has told us to do. Over and over again, this same lesson is repeated. It is the same as the 'Shema'; it is the same as Micah's summary; it is the same as Isaac's corrections; it is the same as David's example; it is the same as Joshua's final words; it is the same as Jesus' teaching; it is the same as Paul's writings; it is the same as James' lesson.

Believers in the Lord are to love him, and thus obey his most basic commands ... respect the Lord, treat all his creation - including others - with that same love and respect, and make all of that both your outward behavior and your inner attitude.

Application: I fully embrace all of this, but struggle with ... actual application. My outward behavior can be angry and even mean. My inner attitude can be prideful and condescending. I continue to pray into this. I need to continue the work the Lord has begun within me in this regard, so I may someday be presented to him.

Prayer: Lord, you have begun this work within me, and you have set me on a path of correction in order to protect me from future destruction. You have done what is best for me, even when it hasn't felt that way. May I continue to improve in this area, especially involving inner thoughts. I seek a new heart, soft and caring about the world and your created people, and I seek a new mind that thinks of others better than myself. I can only do this by your Spirit, so please renew your Spirit within me this day, and every day. I ask forgiveness of my sins, in word, thought, and deed, so I may be your servant this day. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.