Here are the links for today’s readings:
Read: Deuteronomy 10 Listen: (3:12) Read: 2 Corinthians 4 Listen: (3:02)
Links for today’s readings:
Read: Deuteronomy 11 Listen: (4:38) Read: 2 Corinthians 5 Listen: (3:14)
Read: Deuteronomy 12 Listen: (5:11) Read: 2 Corinthians 6 Listen: (2:31)
Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 10.12-22
12 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, 13 and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good? 14 To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. 15 Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today. 16 Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. 19 And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt. 20 Fear the Lord your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. 21 He is the one you praise; he is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes. 22 Your ancestors who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.
Reflection: Green Flag Fear
By John Tillman
The people are told to “fear God.” The result of this fear will be walking with God in obedience, service, and love.
Normally, fearing someone is a bad thing. It’s a red flag.
If you feared a bully in school, you’d go out of your way to avoid them. If you feared your boss, you’d try to leave the company or get transferred to another department. If you feared your spouse or parent, you’d seek help to be protected from them.
Fearing God, however, is a green flag. There’s two reasons for this.
One reason is that fearing God means knowing he is holy. Fearing God is closer in meaning to respect and reverence. When you fear a person, you recognize they are evil and may harm you. When you fear God, you recognize God is holy and will punish evil, so instead of wanting to avoid him, you want to be close to him. The safest place to be is near him. We only fear God and hide from him when we have done evil. But even then, when we return in repentance, we have no reason to fear.
A second reason is that fearing God makes us more like him. Fearing humans damages us. It makes us skittish and anxious. We are stressed and likely to snap at others. We are demanding and selfish. When we fear God, it heals us. Proper fear of God leads to actions that represent God’s nature. We are bolder because, once we fear God, who can make us afraid? We are more at peace, because being at peace with God, who can provoke us to fear? We are more generous because, fearing the one who owns the heavens, who can make us feel impoverished?
Moses said that fearing God leads to obedience, love, service, and a commitment and devotion that goes to the core of our being. (Deuteronomy 10.12) Let this kind of fear of the Lord guide us to show no partiality and tolerate no bribery. May we defend the weak, love the foreigner, clothe the poor, and feed the hungry. (Deuteronomy 10.17-18) This demonstrates fear of the Lord.
The Lord has chosen us to represent him, stiff-necked as we are. Proper fear of him will loosen our necks to obey, fill our hearts with love, and inspire our hands and feet to actions of service.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
The Lord has pleasure in those who fear him, in those hwo await his gracious favor. — Psalm 147,12
– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summer
by Phyllis Tickle
Read more: Wrongly Placed Fear
Fear has made American Christians a paranoid and unpredictable group.
Read more: Fear and Power, Power and Fear
Like Laban…Let us hear the warning of God who protects those pursued by the powerful, and have mercy on the fearful.