Living the Christian Life Is Not That Complicated
(S) Scripture
Deuteronomy 30:11-14 (NIV)
11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.
12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?"
13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?"
14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
(O) Observation
Moses is giving his final instructions to the people. Moses will not be leading the people into the promised land but God has given him these final instructions to pass on to the people. In doing so he encourages them with these words, "Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach." It is not beyond your ability to understand or to obey. The word is near you and it is in you. You can do what God requires and it is not too complicated for you to understand.
(A) Application
I cannot recount the number of times people have excused their lack of faithful living by saying, "I don't understand, it's too complicated for me." The more I mature as a follower of Jesus the less complicated that life becomes. Early on I remember getting into those "deep" and complicated discussions that always ended up with a very legalistic answer. My life was filled with asking, "Can I do this and still be a Christian?" That was and is the wrong question. I should be asking, "Will doing this glorify Christ? Will others see Christ in me?" Jesus said it this way, "
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'
The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:30-31 (NIV) That is not to difficult to understand. It is not complicated. Love God with all you've got and love others like you love yourself. It is difficult but not complicated. It is also very freeing because when I am living that way I am not bound by the legalism that others want to place on me. Is my hair too long or too short, do I wear jeans to church, do I use a modern version of the Bible or do I have to use the King James Version? Those things all simply fade away when I am loving God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength and my neighbor as myself.
Moses reminds me that it is not too difficult. It is not so far away that someone else has to get it and explain it to me. No, it is near me and in my heart so that I can obey. Today I will again focus on loving God with all I am and loving others like I love myself.
(P) Prayer
Lord, forgive me when I make excuses or claim that I do not understand. Let me live in a way that first looks to glorify you. Let me simply live to love you first and then the people around me. That I understand, help me to live it out. Amen
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