Deuteronomy 14
SCRIPTURE:
Deuteronomy 14:12
"For you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord has chosen you to be His possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth."
OBSERVATION:
For most of this chapter, Moses talked about the forbidden practices of food; what and what not they were suppose to eat. He also talked about the importance of tithing; giving a tenth of all the produce that was grown in their fields.
But...at the very beginning of the chapter, before Moses got into the subject of food and tithing, he reminded God's people who they were; holy people belonging to the Lord, chosen by God to be His possession. Out of all the people on the face of the earth, God chose them! And, because of the way they shared their faith, the message of God's love has continued to be passed down throughout the generations, on to us!
UNDERSTANDING:
We don't have a lot of the same laws and regulations to follow today that the Israelites had back then, but what we DO and DON'T DO as Christ followers has everything to do with what we believe about God AND ourselves.
LIFE APPLICATON:
As Moses reminded the people who they were, we also need to remind ourselves Who God is, and who we are in Christ. We have been chosen by God, and He calls us holy and righteous, only because of what Jesus did on the cross for us.
"Holiness is to be carried into all parts of life. We can't restrict holiness only to the spiritual side; we must be holy in the everyday practical part of life as well. Health practices, finances, use of leisure, - all provide opportunities to put holiness into daily living." (Footnotes: NIV Life Application Bible).
We are God's treasured possession! Not because of anything we did, but because of His great love for us. "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments." (Deuteronomy 7:9).
Thank You God for choosing me. I have been saved, forgiven, called, and separated by You Lord. I pray I will never forget Who You are, and will always remember all the wonderful things You've done for me because of Your great love. I may not always feel holy, but that is how You see me because of my new identity in Christ. I pray that I will rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to help me live according to my new identity in Christ, and to live up to my name as Your treasured possession!
-Robin Orefice