March 27

Deuteronomy 7:1-8:20, Luke 7:36-8:3, Psalm 69:1-18, Proverbs 12:1 

Pray: Do you want some encouragement? Is being challenged or corrected what is needed most in your life right now? Pray to the Lord. As you read His Word, ask Him to meet the deepest needs of your heart and life right now. It may be from the Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms or Proverbs. Rest assured, God has a message for you from today’s readings. Pray and ask for revelation.

Read: In Deuteronomy 7, we read of the reason God chose Israel. It was because of His great love for them and the promise He made to their ancestors. We have a tendency in our culture to be extreme. We choose left/right (nobody likes the middle!). We are all-in or all-out. We operate in this same mentality when it comes to self-assessment. We either think we are pretty good people or we can’t possibly understand how anybody could put up with us. Extremism is all around us and even in us. The truth is, extremism is rarely productive, and often it is counterproductive. However you view yourself, and whatever is going on in your life today, remember this: “The Lord did not set His heart on you and choose you because you were more” (holy, perfect, attractive, successful, etc.) “…Rather, it is simply that the Lord loves you…” and He keeps His promises.

Edify: Look around you right now. Take notice of your surroundings: the furnishings, the decor, the people (perhaps), the area outside the window (if there are windows). Compared to much of our world, we are blessed with much more than we need in the United States. Sometimes, we feel a bit guilty about this. I don’t think it’s biblical to feel guilt about God’s blessings. I do, however, think we must be guarded when we realize just how much we have been blessed. Deuteronomy 8 gives us some instructions about this very thing: Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey His commands, regulations, and decrees. …For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in…be careful! Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God…He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful…” All that you have is a gift from the Lord: your family, your friends, your home, your car(s), your checking account, your clothing, and even the very breath of life which allows you to enjoy all of the Lord’s gifts. It’s all from Him. God wants to bless us, but He also warns us to be careful not to forget the source of our blessings and to be obedient to His commands.

Practice: If we’re open to the Holy Spirit’s leading, we’ll often find a connection, a common thread, between the daily readings. Today, the connection is made between Deuteronomy 8 and Luke 7 fairly easily. The Old Testament lesson reminds us to enjoy God’s blessings, but to keep God’s commands. In Luke 7, we find these verses: “When a certain immoral woman from that city heard [Jesus] was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.” The woman with the alabaster jar of expensive perfume…how did she choose to use what God had brought into her life? She could have dabbed on the perfume and walked around town with everyone taking notice that she must be wealthy or important because of this expensive perfume. She could have placed it in her home for all her visitors to see this expensive item she owned. Instead, this “immoral woman” knelt at the feet of the Savior, washing His feet with her tears and hair. The perfume? It too, went to the feet of Jesus along with her kisses. What are you holding onto that you need to lay at the feet of the Master? Is it pride, greed, lust, anger, bitterness, resentment? Is it the resources and blessings that God has given you? Is it your very life that you need to commit/recommit to Him? The “immoral woman” left hearing these words from Jesus: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” He wishes to speak those very words to you today. Will you come and kneel at His feet?