Deuteronomy 4:9-10 NLT
[9] But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren. [10] Never forget the day when you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai, where he told me, ‘Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them. Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.
Obeying laws does not come naturally—or easily! Sometimes we feel that the laws are bad laws or that they are unfair, or we don’t like the government that passed them! So we find ways around them rather than submitting to them. But what about God’s laws? Why would we have a problem with them? Perhaps it’s because we don’t recognize that they are for our benefit.
When Moses reminded the children of Israel of the importance of obeying God’s laws, he said, “
Deuteronomy 4:1 NLT
[1] “And now, Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you.
The pathway for God’s people to enjoy all that the Lord had provided for them was, and is, to obey God’s laws.
Take God’s laws for the physical universe. If we “obey” the laws of thermodynamics, we stay warm. If we “disobey” them, we get burned or frozen. If we “submit” to the law of gravity, we stay stable and secure, but if we attempt to defy this law, we may put ourselves or others in danger.
It is the same with the moral and social laws that God has created for human well-being. Try to imagine a neighborhood in which neighbors actually treat each other with love and respect! Think of the difference it would make if nobody stole or killed or lied! Our relationships would be transformed. Yet this is what would happen if people obeyed God’s laws!
Left to themselves, people fall into ignorance of God’s laws and reap the awful results of living out of step with the Creator. Constant referral to God’s laws is necessary. Even a casual glance at the Old Testament shows that God repeatedly sent his servants to help his people remember the value of his laws.
If an entire generation raises its children without God’s laws, a society will live in ignorance of the truth, leading to societal collapse and individual disaster. This is exactly what we see today. So the call to teach our children to obey God needs to be heard very urgently. Teaching God’s laws to children may not be fashionable, but it is smart.
Moses himself said those who teach their children God’s laws display “wisdom and intelligence.” How’s that for powerful motivation?
Moses wanted to make sure that the people did not forget all they had seen God do, so he urged parents to teach their children about God’s great miracles. This helped parents remember God’s faithfulness and provided the means for passing on from one generation to the next the stories recounting God’s great acts. It is easy to forget the wonderful ways God has worked in the lives of his people. But you can remember God’s great acts of faithfulness by telling your children, friends, or associates what you have seen him do.
Sadly, today our world is drifting farther and farther away from taking the Bible seriously. It is said to be the most bought book ever, but the least read.
2 Timothy 3:2-5 NIV
[2] People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, [3] without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, [4] treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— [5] having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
As I examine the above verses in second Timothy, I realize that everyone of these sinful descriptions are very prevalent in our society today. People may be getting more educated, but morally they continue to decline.
Galatians 5:19-21 NIV
[19] The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; [20] idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions [21] and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Those who live like this, who continue living in what God calls sinful behavior, will not go to Heaven. Which means they will put themselves in Hell. Hell is the complete absence of God’s presence. Which means Hell is the complete absence of Love.
1 John 4:8 NIV
[8] Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
People who are living for Eternal life will be growing in the characteristics in the below verses:
Galatians 5:22-25
[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. [24] Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [25] Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
The most important commandments to strive to want to learn and grow in are:
Mark 12:30-31 NIV
[30] Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ [31] The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
It doesn’t take faith to know you are going to die. It does take faith to live the “way of Life” Jesus has called us to follow to go to Heaven.
John 14:6 NLT
[6] Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
Speak the truth in Love!
From an Unworthy servant,
Chris Chloupek
Lead Evangelist