Seize the Moment – Day 633

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10
Dec '21

Seize the Moment – Day 633

Posted on Dec 10, 2021 by Jerry Ingalls in Devotions, General |

10
Dec '21

Life of Devotion!

Deuteronomy 13

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, December 10.

 

As an athlete, I know what it is to live a life of devotion! As an All-American collegiate athlete, and when I was training for the 2000 Olympics, I was devoted to my sport! The danger with such a hyper-focus on sport, or anything, is that it shapes you. God designed us, on purpose, to be formed by that which we give our devotion, which was meant to be Him alone! Therefore, I echo John, known for his passionate exposition of God’s love, with these words from 1 John 5:21, “Little children, guard yourselves from idols.”

 

The emphasis of Deuteronomy 13 is to protect the next generation from the dangers of idol worship! Three times, God commanded His people to put to death any person that tried to “seduce” their hearts away from Him:

 

1) A prophet or a dreamer of dreams (1-5).

2) A close family member, such as parent, child, or spouse (6-11).

3) The inhabitants of one of their cities (12-18).

 

God’s solution to idolatry is a life of devotion to Him! That which seeks to seduce you from God needs to be removed, whether or a person or a thing. God takes idolatry, and the false worship that arises from it, seriously because we are all susceptible to it. John Calvin explained, “The human mind is, so to speak, a perpetual forge of idols.”[1]

 

The good news is that God gave us the solution to idolatry in Deuteronomy 13:3-4:
 
“For the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.”

 

Seize the moment and love God by being faithful to Him! It is your life of devotion to God that protects you from being seduced by lesser things!

God bless you!

 
 
 
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YOUTUBE:

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Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
 
 
 

FOOTNOTES:

 

[1] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 1997), I.11.8.

 

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