King James Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: Be Free
Date: Wednesday February 22, 2012
Today's Chapters: Deuteronomy 5-8

Hello My Friend,

God is committed to all who believe in and accept His Son, Jesus Christ as their Savior. He knows who are His and knows they are going to mess up sometimes, but He never forgets nor forsakes who are His. Jesus said, “Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me...I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him...And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free...Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” - John 8:15,16,26,32,34-36.

The Jews were about to enter the beautiful land promised to them by God Almighty, there was only one problem, it was already in possession by others, of course, God knew this already, but that was part of the challenge. Moses reminds them of the ten commandments that God had given in order to keep them from falling into the corruption of the ones dwelling there.

“Thou shalt have none other gods before me. Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:..Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee...Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Neither shalt thou commit adultery. Neither shalt thou steal. Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's...Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.” - Deuteronomy 5:7,8,11,12,16-21,33.

We obviously cannot avoid some people in life, but we can choose not to get caught up in the lifestyles they choose by keeping God's commands. No matter how good we are or try to be, if we get around them without God we will become like them or at least pick up some of their corruptible habits. I am proof of that, but praise God that He pulled me out of all that mess before things got really out of hand. While we may suffer some consequences for our actions God never gives up on us and always helps us out of every situation that we want out of when we seek Him. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30.

Moses reminds the Jews of God's promise and how they are to fear Him, “Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey...Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.” - Deuteronomy 6:1-3,13-15..

Fearing God does not mean to be afraid of doing anything for fear that you would get severely punished, religion does that. Fearing God is respecting Him, acknowledging Him, and living by His commands, not because we have to, but because we love Him and want to. God does not force us to do anything, but if we say that we want Him in our lives we better be committed to Him, just like an unfaithful spouse would become jealous and angry so does God when we are unfaithful to Him. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” - Revelation 3:15,16.

We need to think of God's commandments as guides, not something that we are bound to, laws are set for law breakers not those who try to live right. And truthfully, only those who become offended by God's laws are the ones breaking them. God's people are to separate themselves from among the world to keep us from falling into those wicked temptations. Moses warns the Jews if they get around them they will become like them. “When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.” - Deuteronomy 7:1-4.

Living in sin literally destroys a person, God is not actually the one that does the destroying, it is the person. One can blame the person who caused them to sin, but they still allowed it to happen. I fell into sin because I allowed myself to dwell with those living in sin, but I was just as accountable for my own actions as they were for subjecting me to them. However, praise God for His mercy and forgiveness! God knows that we are going to sin, but He never breaks His promise to always be there for us, even when we mess things up. We can expect some chastisement but, we can also expect God's blessings.

“All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years. Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee. Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.” - Deuteronomy 8:1-6.

Just like a parent would punish a child for wrong doing God punishes His child for wrong doing. It does not mean that He does not love us, in fact, it means He loves us very much. When you punish a child you do it out of love and to teach them not to do it again. We are not perfect, God does not expect us to be, what He does expect us to be is faithful and remain that way during our journey through the wilderness. As we walk through the maze of life we become humbled, dependent upon Him, learn to trust Him more, and He blesses us through our faith and obedience to His commands. “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” - James 1:12-14.

Today's Psalm: 118:18 - “The LORD hath chastened me sore: but he hath not given me over unto death.”

Today's Proverb: 3:11 - “My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:”

Today's Prayer: God, in the process of being molded and fashioned into Your likeness we are often unyielding and struggle in the process of becoming more like You. At various times You place people in our lives that stretch and challenge us, which produces faith and obedience to You. Thank You for the challenges and for helping me endure them all. Thank You for loving me and not giving up on me no matter how many times I messed up. Thank You for correcting me and growing me into person You want me to be and thank You for setting me free. I love You, Lord. Amen.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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