“and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you.”

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭30‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It’s never the end.

We can look at the mess of our lives and all it’s cost us, but even taking the long way home still brings us home.

For God, restoring lost fortunes and positions is the incidental afterthought. His greatest desire is that we return in both heart and soul in obedience to his word.

Jeremiah 29:11–For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

It’s never the end until we abandon the process altogether. He never gives up on us, we give up on him.

And when he restores us, he redeems us for a hope and a future with unmistakable compassion.

It’s never the end with God. He never gives up on us.

When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,” they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭29‬:‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

No sooner does God make an oath for his people to follow, they don’t.

“I will be safe even though I persist in going my own way.”

It sounds a lot like the response of an adventurous toddler despite a parent’s instructions and prohibitions for his safety.

Disaster ensues.

Lead us not into temptation, for we can find it all by ourselves.

The Holy Spirit was given to us to guide us in paths of righteousness, always speaking in a language we fully understand but too often disregard to “persist in going our own way.”

Pride in ourselves resists obedience to God.

If this doesn’t strike a chord for you, I suggest you brace for disaster.

Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭24‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Not just at Christmastime but at all times.

The poor and less fortunate among us will always be.

The holidays seem to provide an extra measure of charity toward those in hardships—but without support of a seasonal spiritual citation.

Charity is an all day, every day, every season command.

Deuteronomy 24 instructs about leaving some unharvested crops in your fields for charitable gleaning year ‘round.

Not just at Christmas.

Christmastime charity should—if anything—be over and above a regular practice of giving the other eleven months a year.

A nation blessed with such abundance is also blessed with a capacity of generosity even at the least celebrated days.

To give of ourselves at all times good and bad is an exercise of our faith in God as provider both for us as well as for those who cannot yet adequately provide for themselves.

Charity is all-year.

This time of year is particularly special to me.

The first time I heard of him, I was just 3 or 4 years old.

But by the time I was five, I understood about the gifts he brings and boy, was I excited.

I believed in him for years until some kids my same age said it wasn’t true.

He didn’t exist and he doesn’t give us gifts.

So, of course, I asked my parents.

They weren’t very good at corroborating the story, life moved on, I got older, and I didn’t think much of him for a very long time.

I hit some hard times in my life when I desperately longed for the simple truths of childhood.

What could it hurt?

Since then, I’ve embraced the true meaning of this time of year.

And like when I was a little kid,

I once again have a faith and belief in him, Christ Jesus, and the gifts he gives.

One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed.

A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time.

The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you.

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭19‬:‭15‬-‭19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Advanced AI technology will soon demonstrate the immense power and proliferation of false accusations. Deep fake videos and voices created by bad actors will suffice to persecute the innocent and arouse the ignorant to prosecute and condemn.

That is the truth of our future despite the best efforts of those who may discover otherwise.

Injustices like this are already trending.

The proper procedure provided by God will be cruelly violated without regard.

While this 60 second Bible study may be an unconventional one to post, it’s a grave concern for God’s people to be aware of in these times.

Persecution of good, innocent people has met its technological accomplice.

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭11‬:‭18‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Pervasive. Engrossing. Enveloping.

God expects the exercise of our faith to reach into every facet of our lives.

Not only to demonstrate whose we are but protective against the forces of evil that insidiously rally against us to lead us into the ways of the dark side and the evil one.

For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭14‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Just as he chose the nation of Israel he chooses us also who proclaim the salvation of Jesus.

Fixing, tying, binding, writing, teaching, and talking about the word of God daily is the key to life in him.

So easily distracted and misled like sheep, we live only when we are immersed in the voice of our shepherd.

Wherever you go I shall follow, willingly fixed, tied, and bound.

You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 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.”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭8‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Give credit where credit is due.

Entitlements are just us grasping for personal meaning and value.

They are the first step at denying God his rightful place in our lives.

Like asking God to take our selfie, pride in our own accomplishments misses the point altogether.

Either all good things originate with God or none of them do.

Cherry picking for our own egos denies the one who allowed the tree to flourish in the first place.

God IS the first place in everything and is the sole source of our prosperity.

Give credit where credit is due. 

What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him?”
‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Prayer connects.
It completes the circuit between man and God that illuminates our world.

All we think, feel, need, and desire is conveyed to God with prayer opening a channel through which, in turn, God speaks to our spirits.

Silent, aloud, written, or in spirit, God is our multilingual resource linking us to powers, answers, and directions we cannot possess alone.

No other people are granted such unconditional access to the God of creation as we are.

No rituals or preparations, no conditions or entry fees, nothing stands in the way God has made for us to speak and to hear divine conversation.

Praying without ceasing is the will of God who longs to hear from you today and everyday.

The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.

‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭2‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Reflecting upon how we arrived where we are now, most of us are hindsight critics.

If only I’d taken that different job, made that different decision, or chosen that other pathway.

In doing so we completely miss the sovereignty of God.

The heart of man plans his way,

but the Lord establishes his steps—Proverbs 16:9

Life lived in reflective regret changes nothing.

You are where you are entirely by providence. And God is pleased.

Accept your position even though it wasn’t part of your plan. I am convinced he will reveal to you how each step served a divine purpose.

Big picture, folks.

Big picture.

But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.

‭‭Numbers‬ ‭32‬:‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

You are not invincible.

Call it karma, paying the piper, or conscience itself, sin always bubbles up and finds you out, revealing itself at the least opportune moment.

Run, lie, cover and hide, but nothing escapes the notice of God.

There will always be that one fatal flaw that ends your flight and exposes your story.

God relentlessly pursues our truth because his love for us is driven by his desire for our purity and clarity.

Coming clean is an ugly but necessary step toward redemption we all must face at some point.

Everyone has a secret they have spent too much on keeping.

And how human it is to still believe we’re winning.

God knows and cares and wants desperately to relieve the suffering we endure.