Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

January 21
Wednesday


POINTING
TO GOD

READ:
Deuteronomy
8:11-18
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Remember now your
Creator...before the
difficult days come.
__Ecclesiastes 12:1
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God bless our homeland, Ghana" is the first line of Ghana's national anthem. Other African anthems include: "O Uganda, may God uphold thee," "Lord, bless our nation" (South Africa), and "O God of creation, direct our noble cause" (Nigeria). Using the anthems as prayers, founding fathers called on God to bless their land and its people. Many national anthems in Africa and others from around the world point to God as Creator and Provider. Other lines of anthems call for reconciliation, transformation, and hope for a people often divided along ethnic, political, and social lines.

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Yet today, many national leaders and citizens tend to forget God and do not live by these statements__especially when life is going well. But why wait until war, disease, storms, terrorist attacks, or election violence occurs before we remember to seek God? Moses warned the ancient Israelites not to forget God and not to stop following His ways when life was good (Deut. 8:11). Ecclesiastes 12:1 urges us to "remember now your Creator...before the difficult days come."

Getting close to God while we are strong and healthy prepares us to lean on Him for support and hope when those "difficult days" in life come. __Lawrence Darmani

``````````````````````````Father, I always need You. Forgive me for````````````````````````
```````````````````````thinking I am sufficient in myself. Help me to```````````````````````
`````````````````````follow You and Your ways whether life is easy`````````````````````````
````````````````````````or difficult. Thank You for caring for me.`````````````````````````
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Remembering our Creator can
be our personal anthem.

***********************************Today's Bible Reading __ Deuteronomy 8:11-18********************************

11 Beware that you do not
forget the LORD your God
by not keeping His
commandments, His
judgments, and His statutes
which I command you
today, 12 lest__when you
have eaten and are full, and
have built beautiful houses
and dwell in them; 13 and
when your herds and your
flocks multiply, and your
silver and your gold are
multiplied, and all that you
have is multiplied; 14 when
your heart is lifted up, and
you forget the LORD your
God who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, from the
house of bondage; 15 who
led you through that great
and terrible wilderness, in
which were fiery serpents
and scorpions and thirsty
land where there was no
water; who brought water
for you out of the flinty
rock; 16 who fed you in the
wilderness with manna,
which your fathers did not
know, that He might humble
you and that He might test
you, to do you good in the
end__ 17 then you say in
your heart, "My power and
the might of my hand have
gained me this wealth."

18 And you shall remember
the LORD your God, for it is
He who gives you power to
get wealth, that He may
establish His covenant
which He swore to your
fathers, as it is this day.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Deuteronomy records a significant moment in Old Testament history.
At the end of Israel's wilderness wanderings, Moses reaffirmed the
laws of God. A generation had died in the wilderness and the new
generation needed these lessons to prepare them for entry into the
land of promise. The challenges that awaited them in Canaan made
it important to remind the people of both God's provisions and
God's instructions.