Daily Scripture: Deuteronomy 30:11-20
11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Read additional translations at Biblegateway.com or youversion.com
Reflection Questions:
In wonder, August asks Wizard, “So only some of us can hear [the music]?” Wizard’s answer is penetrating: “Only some of us are listening.” Similarly, Deuteronomy assured Israel that God’s Word wasn’t far away, stashed out of reach. “Love the Lord, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him,” was the call to them—and to us.
- In Ecclesiastes 3:11, we read that God has set eternity in the human heart. In today’s passage we’re assured that the Word is very near us. Can you recall moments when you had a profound inner response to God? What are some of the forces in your life that tend to distance you from God’s presence?
- There is urgency in this passage. Hearing God, and following what we hear, is a matter of life and death. (In the film, August’s music was the driving force in his life.) What is the central driving force in your life right now? If it’s following God, how can you feed and nurture that? If it’s not, how can you move God to the center?
Read Pastor Molly Simpson’s insights on today’s scripture at gpsinsights.wordpress.com
Weekly Prayer:
Dear God, we’ve learned so much about the physical properties of this world and this universe. Sometimes I struggle to remember that, with all we’ve learned, there is more in this world than just what my five senses can detect. Give me eyes to see, and ears to hear, your presence in my life. Amen.
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, TODAY’S NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission of International Bible Society®. All rights reserved worldwide.
