Heed the LORD your God

Deuteronomy 10 has a seemingly simple question with a complicated answer. “What does the LORD your God require of you?” A starter list follows (see Holy Lists post on 11/15/13).  The summary of the requirements is in verse 16, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.”

Why it would be good for the Israelites to follow these instructions is listed in verses 14-22:

  • To the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, earth with all that is in it
  • The LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose you as his people
  • The LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords
  • He is the great, the mighty, and the awesome God
  • He is not partial and takes no bribe
  • He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner
  • He is your praise
  • He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.

So fear the LORD, serve him, hold fast to Him, and by his name shall you swear.

Cool Number Dates – 11/9/14-11/15/14

Since there are no identified cool number dates this week, I will take the opportunity to share cool number facts from my very own life. All of these are related to going from age 63 to 64 last week.

  1. Diane and I were married at age 21 and reached our 42nd anniversary last year. So we have been married twice as long as we were single.
  2. Our son Jesse just turned 32 and I just turned 64; I am twice as old as he is.
  3. 64 is equal to 8 squared, 4 cubed, and 2 to the sixth. Granddaughter Molly is six; I am 2 to the sixth.

Funny Food

Dijon vu. When you’ve had this exact mustard before.

I hate tacos, said no Juan ever.

Either you like bacon or you’re wrong

Bakers follow the path of yeast resistance

Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?

The Land and the LORD

I have a green t-shirt with yellow printing, obtained from Spartan Christian Fellowship, that says “Pray Like a Farmer” and pictures a corn cob. I always figure farmers pray because they need good weather so their crops will grow. Deuteronomy 11 provides additional context for the wisdom of that shirt.

Moses is recounting the commandments and retracing the history of the Israelites as they prepare to move across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land. He tells them in verses 10-12:  “For the land which you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, like a garden of vegetables. But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the LORD your God cares for. The Eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. ”

In Egypt, the Nile provided water for planting and irrigation whenever you needed it (except maybe when it turned to blood or was full of frogs or junk).  But the terrain in Canaan requires timely rain from heaven to make the crops flourish.  This fits with the rest of chapter 11, which ties blessings; rain; and abundance with following the LORD but also curses; drought; and famine with following after the gods of the nations they will be displacing.

Most anyone could survive in Canaan, but the people who flourish will be God’s people who meditate on his word and teach it to their children, who obey his commandments, love Him with all their heart, sing praises and offer prayers regularly to Him. They will be blessed; the rain will come in its season, and the harvest of the fields and vineyards will overflow.

God picked this territory for HIS people, because they needed to trust HIM in order to live there.

Miracles in Our Time

It seems like the apostles had an unfair advantage when they told their neighbors about Jesus – they had miracles going on all around them – lame guys walked, their shadow falling on sick people made them well, deceitful pretend-disciples dropped dead.

But they always came back to the same message – Christ crucified. In Acts 3, while walking through the temple grounds, Peter has no money to give a lame beggar, but he gave him the ability to walk, “in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” (vs 6).  The man’s leaping, jumping and just plain walking were amazing to all the people who had gathered for prayer.  So the miracle brought in the audience, and Peter was ready with the explanation:

“Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.  But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead.  To this we are witnesses.  And his name – by faith in his name, – has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

“And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled.  Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus…”

Peter goes on to declare that Jesus is the fulfilment of God’s covenantal promise to Abraham in Genesis 12 – that all nations of the earth would be blessed. Jesus was sent first to the Jews, and then his disciples will be carrying the good news to all the other nations of the world.

It turns out we also have God working miracles for us – it is a major miracle whenever anyone hears the gospel, turns from sin and believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Not always as dramatic as the leaping beggar, but just as powerful.

Leaf Activities

We had several wonderfully warm and sunny fall days last week. Molly and I went outside to rake the leaves one day last week; raking might sound like work, but it is always preferable to homework.

Here is what we have learned: Rakes work better than brooms for moving large quantities, but brooms are easier to handle. There used to be mostly green leaves with a few brown and yellow ones; now there are just yellow leaves remaining, and the squirrel nests are easy to see. Some like the leaves in piles; some want to put them in bags. Wait for the pile-preferrer to leave and you can have your way with the bags.

When the wind started blowing strongly I caught a leaf out of the air and a new game was started. We dropped the tools and started chasing after falling leaves. We listened for the wind in the trees and knew the leaves would be dropping just after.

Some fell quickly straight down, but most darted and swirled as the wind took them away. Many flowed across the yard next to the deck and since the grass was softer than the wood, we did our diving out on the lawn. The wind would drive large groups of leaves from the high branches up and up and the lot of them would tumble down all around. That seemed like the best opportunity for a catch, but last second, quick movements made them very elusive. Finally Molly caught one against her belly, and we had to trumpet our success to those inside the house.

Here is what else we learned. You have a choice. Trying to catch one leaf as it falls is a hard proposition, but you get a lot of exercise. Or you can stand in one place, and let them come to you. The latter works best on the windiest days when there are cascades of leaves coming off the branches. Unfortunately you don’t usually know about those events until the following morning when your whole yard is covered. In either case, when you get tired of the leaves, you can blow bubbles.

Cool Number Dates – 11/2/14-11/8/14

The cool days are sparse in November, but they are generally more “special” than having all even numbered day, month, year. This week, tomorrow is an Addition Day:  11 + 3 = 14.

One thing you can do when you write checks tomorrow is put 11+3=14 in the date line, rather than 11/03/14. The bank doesn’t seem to care!