“… Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe — all the words of this law. For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life …” (Deuteronomy 32:46, 47, NKJV)
Being a diabetic it is absolutely necessary for me to have an ophthalmologist perform a series of eye exams once a year to determine if there have been any changes in my vision.
I don’t enjoy having my eyes dilated, but it’s just a part of what is necessary for the doctor to make the correct diagnosis. It is through this process that better vision is obtained.
Throughout the history of man, our loving and mindful Heavenly Father has always offered hope in the face of persecution, despair … and in the consequences of sin committed by individuals and even nations.
It is not different in our time! One of the great enemies of hope … eternal hope that comes only from Him who offers it …is forgetting God’s promises!
Moses, God’s prophet who led Israel out of Egyptian bondage, through the wilderness and to the very border of the Promised Land … was a man who clearly revered and respected the Word of God!
Moses continually instructed the people in the ways of God! As an old man that was about to pass from this world to the next, by God’s instruction, he gathered the nation of Israel together for what would be his farewell address to them! A portion of that address is found in our opening text.
Moses wanted the people to view their lives through the correct lens … the lens of God’s Book!
- They needed to understand and remember that nothing … absolutely nothing … was more important than knowing, accepting, and living daily their lives according to God’s will!
- They needed to understand and remember there was an assurance to be found and gained by their obedience. Blessing upon blessing would be theirs from God’s good hand!
- What was so true centuries ago … is still just as true today!
- The Book of God … the revealed will of God … is never to be considered out-of-date or irrelevant to life, living and eternity.
- The Book of God … the Bible … is not a book of empty words … nor are they words of little significance and meaning! They are God’s words for those who want to be God’s people!
Just as Moses was admonishing, pleading, urging, and reminding God’s people of long ago … the admonitions, the pleadings, the urging, and the reminding are just as relevant and needed today.
As the people of God living in the 21st century with all of its present and potential challenges in the coming days we are facing and must face … we, too, need to be reminded to look at this world and all that takes place through the correct lens!
The apostle Paul would urge Timothy and those he would share his letter with to remember: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17, NKJV)
God’s revealed will is far more useful than we give it credit for! Not only does it teach us what is true, it helps us to see our imperfections, weaknesses, and shortcomings … and then what to do about them! Simply stated … God is teaching us what is right!
Now, unlike the words of men that can turn on a dime, change in a heartbeat … God’s Book never changes (See 1 Peter 1:22-25; Matthew 24:35)!
Our God has never contradicted Himself in any way! “He is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8, NKJV).
Truth has become irrelevant in our time, my friends, and our young people are being educated to believe that truth is to be defined by what they want truth to be! It has never been this way through the lens of God’s Book … and it never will be!
Perhaps, we all need to have a vision exam … not by the optician or ophthalmologist’ … but by looking into God’s mirror for our soul (See James 1:22-25) … and making the necessary adjustments in order to see this world as God views it!
“Your word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11, NKJV)
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
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