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Deuteronomy 13:1-16:17<\/strong><\/span> Wow.\u00a0 Deuteronomy chapter 13 starts off with a strong warning today \u2013 \u201c\u201dSuppose there are prophets among you, or those who have dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, and the predicted signs or miracles take place. If the prophets then say, `Come, let us worship the gods of foreign nations,\u2019 do not listen to them. The LORD your God is testing you to see if you love him with all your heart and soul.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 Do you believe there are false prophets in our world today?\u00a0 Are there people in our world that tempt us to worship false gods?\u00a0 It is possible one of the false gods we can be tempted to worship today is even our own self?\u00a0 Will we reject worshiping false gods and love and worship the one true God with all of our soul and heart?\u00a0 <\/span> Verse 22 is powerful for us to meditate upon \u2013 \u201c\u201dYou must set aside a tithe of your crops\u2013one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year. Bring this tithe to the place the LORD your God chooses for his name to be honored.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 What might \u201ccrops we harvest\u201d be in our modern world today?\u00a0 Is there a place we can bring a tithe to God today?\u00a0 Do you believe that tithing honors God?\u00a0 On a side note, I generally try to practice giving 10% and saving 10%, and live on the remaining 80%.\u00a0 My 10% giving is spread among the local church, local and international ministries, and nonprofits.<\/span> Deuteronomy chapter 15 verses 4 and 10 & 11 stood out to me today \u2013 \u201cThere should be no poor among you, for the LORD your God will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you as a special possession\u2026. Give freely without begrudging it, and the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do. There will always be some among you who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share your resources freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need.\u201d <\/em>How do these verses speak to you?\u00a0 I find it interesting that these verses say both \u2013 there should be no poor and that there will always be some poor among you.\u00a0 I wonder why this is?\u00a0 It seems kind of like a kingdom of heaven ultimate reality and our fallen world temporary reality perhaps\u2026\u00a0 Do you think the command to share our resources freely with the poor and others in need is still valid today?\u00a0 How are you doing in giving freely to the poor?<\/span> In verses 16 & 17 we read \u2013 \u201cBut suppose your servant says, `I will not leave you,\u2019 because he loves you and your family, and he is well off with you. In that case, take an awl and push it through his earlobe into the door. After that, he will be your servant for life.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 <\/span> Worship God:<\/strong> Today\u2019s readings in Deuteronomy 15 reminded me of Matthew West\u2019s song \u201cMy Own Little World:\u201d<\/span>
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