The Park Forum

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Deuteronomy 8 Listen: (2:58)  Read: 2 Corinthians 2 Listen: (2:13)

Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 8:17-18

17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

Reflection: Count Your Hardships

By Erin Newton

Count your blessings. Typically people are meant to reflect on all the good things that have happened in their life. This usually produces gratitude. It’s not bad advice either. Reframing our experiences enables us to heal from past events.

It may even seem like Deuteronomy is offering the same advice. God calls his people to remember. Remember the manna. Remember the non-achy feet despite years of wandering. Remember the clothes that never needed mending. Lots of blessings to be counted.

He also tells them to remember the reason they left Egypt—their hardships and trials. Remember the venomous snakes and the waterless land. These don’t sound like blessings to be counted. But remembering redirects their hearts to God.

When they only look at their successes, or all the places where “things just worked out,” the temptation is to take credit. Moses could have flexed his muscles and relished in the glory of being the leader. Each family could sit down to another full table of quail and bread, considering themselves awfully proud to be such hard workers deserving of such a feast.

Success and fortune whisper self-congratulatory tales to our itching ears.

Even looking back on history, we conjure the idea that everything then was better. We are tempted to pat ourselves on the back. Look how far we’ve come! And with such ideas, we credit success to our own power and strength. We either whitewash the hardships or delve into pride.

But God asked them to remember the hard times. Remember the times they were hungry or thirsty. Remember the time they all nearly died. Why? It’s not to cultivate a spirit of depression or fear. Balanced with the various ways God provided, the anxiety-inducing “what-if” turns into the hope-filled “even-if.” Even if the land is waterless, God provides. Even if we are attacked by venomous snakes, God provides.

The stories do not end with, “We will pull ourselves up and make ourselves stronger!” There is no pep-talk to motivate the people into working more for their success.

Remembering the good and the hard allows us to see God at the center of our lives. Go ahead and count your blessings. Praise God for the modern manna. But take time to remember the hard times you’ve already endured. Remember these times by saying, “Even when…” and knowing God was working, is working, and always shall be working—for your good.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Be still, then, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth. — Psalm 46.11

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summer

 by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: Count Your Blessings – Hymns for Giving Thanks

Oatman’s famous hymn is a reminder to us all that God has blessed us immeasurably and it is up to us to be attentive to the gifts God has given us.

Consider Supporting Our Work

We need support from donors like you. Even the smallest monthly amount can have a big impact. Please consider becoming a donor.

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Deuteronomy 7 Listen: (4:13) Read: 2 Corinthians 1 Listen: (3:52)

Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 7.17-21; 25-26

17 You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?” 18 But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. 19 You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. 20 Moreover, the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. 21 Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.

25 The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the Lord your God. 26 Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.

Reflection: Demolish the Infrastructure of Idolatry

By John Tillman

The people fear that the seven nations are too many, too strong, and too well-established to be driven out. Moses assured them God would drive out the kings and armies. However, Moses warned of greater difficulty uprooting spiritual powers than political powers. There was an infrastructure of idolatry in the land.

Imagine if our country’s electrical grid was compromised and had to be replaced with a new power source that was incompatible with the old equipment. Every power pole, transmission tower, and power plant had to be torn down. The wiring in every house had to come out, be melted down, and be replaced. Nothing could remain or it would cause shorts, failures, and destruction. This is what God commanded Israel to do with the temples, shrines, tools, and personal idols of Canaan.

Followers of Jesus are not asked to conquer or drive out nations. Jesus commanded us to bring the nations in. The family of Jesus is multi-ethnic and multi-national. Nationalism is pagan, not Christian. However, there are spiritual powers and infrastructures of idolatry that we are called to uproot, tear down, and destroy.

It might be possible for you to live where there are no freeways, rail transport, electricity, or running water. However, wherever you live, you’ll find a robust infrastructure of idols. Within our culture and our hearts there are temples, false gods, and “Asherah poles.”

Idols usually don’t look dangerous. Within a culture, idols look normal, good, valuable, and reasonable. Idols promise plenty, pleasure, and security. Idols tell us our lusts are healthy, our greed is practical, and our dominion over others is natural. This spiritual reality is more insidious and dangerous than any political reality.

We may think these influences (in our country or our hearts) are too many, too powerful, or too ingrained in us to be conquered. But Jesus is greater than any inclination within us or any influence around us.

Bulldoze the roads idols take to your heart. Tear idolatrous wiring out of the walls. Unplug from unhealthy influences. Plug in to Jesus. Jesus provides greater joy than any experience of pleasure, greater assurance than any position of power, and greater worth than any accumulation of wealth.

Lift up Jesus to let people see the power you are plugged into. Live a life of incandescent beauty that draws all to the warmth and welcome of Jesus.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer

Hallelujah! Praise the Name of the Lord; give praise, you servants of the Lord,
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praises to his Name, for it is lovely.
For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. — Psalm 135.1-5

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summer
 by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: The House God Desires

Despite the sinfulness of David’s line of descendants, Christ lowered himself to be born the Son of David.

Read The Bible With Us

It’s never too late to join our Bible reading plan. Immerse in the Bible with us at a sustainable, two-year pace.

https://mailchi.mp/theparkforum/m-f-daily-email-devotional

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Read: Deuteronomy 2 Listen: (5:06) Read: 1 Corinthians 12 Listen: (4:25)

Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 1.1-3

These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—that is, in the Arabah—opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. 2 (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.) 3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them.

Deuteronomy 2.21-22

21 They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. The Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place. 22 The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day.

Reflection: Repeating History

By John Tillman

In his 1905 book, The Life of Reason, Spanish-American philosopher, George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

It is somewhat humorous to me that most of us do not remember Santayana’s version, but remember Winston Churchill’s repetition of the idea in 1948: “Those who do not remember history are doomed to repeat it.” Perhaps that is because Churchill’s version is catchier. However, it’s arguable that Moses expressed this concept much earlier in Deuteronomy.

Moses didn’t want Israel to repeat history, so he reviewed it with them through a series of speeches or “sermons” to the next generation. This repetition is why Deuteronomy’s name comes from a Greek word meaning “second law.” He reminded them of God’s covenant because he wanted them to be faithful and succeed where the previous generation failed.

A specific failure of the previous generation was failing to trust God to defeat the Canaanites. The large and powerful Anakites seemed undefeatable. The spies reported that they felt like grasshoppers compared to the Anakites’ size and strength. (Numbers 13.33) To encourage the new generation, Moses reviewed their recent military history in which God gave them many victories.

Moses also pointed out that nations related to Israel defeated enemies similar to the Anakites with God’s help. Edom descended from Esau and Moab and Ammon from Lot. God was faithful to them, giving them land and helping them defeat Anakite-sized enemies. Moses used these victories from the past to assure the new generation that God had victories in their future if they would be faithful.

Like Israel, we have failures in our past, both individually and as the global Church—slavery, abuse, nationalism, violence, corruption. At times, we have been more like Anakites than God’s people.

If we forget the mistakes of history, we cannot repent of them and we will repeat them. If we remember the victories of history, we can repeat them, with God’s help. The model of our victory from history is the resurrection of Jesus. Our victory will not be the destruction of human enemies, but of sin, Satan, and death.

Our past isn’t perfect and our future won’t be either, but God will be faithful to his promises. Anakite-sized enemies that seem undefeatable will fall. There is no enemy, problem, weakness, or sin that will not be overthrown by the gospel.

Divine Hours Prayer: Greeting

The Lord lives! Blessed in my Rock! Exalted is the God of my salvation! — Psalm 18.46

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime

 by Phyllis Tickle

Read more: Faith of a New Generation

Watching the mistakes made by their parents or grandparents, they refined their faith and purified its practice.

Read The Bible With Us

The best time to join a Bible reading plan is now. Share our subscription link with a friend and have them join you in reading along with us.

https://mailchi.mp/theparkforum/m-f-daily-email-devotional