Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,447
“All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your forefathers. You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. Thus you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.” (Deuteronomy 8:1-5 NASB’95)
This was Moses speaking to the people of Israel under the Old Covenant, but there is a lesson here that can be learned today by us who live under the New Covenant God has with his people Israel (Jew and Gentile by faith in Jesus Christ). For under the New Covenant we are not without God’s commands that we must obey. Although he did away with all the liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, and dietary laws and restrictions, and the requirement of the circumcision of all males, we did not become lawless.
We still have to obey all of God’s moral laws and any laws that he gave for us to follow under the New Covenant. And they are listed for us all throughout the New Testament writings. Fundamentally, by God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, we must die with Christ to sin and now walk in obedience to his commands in holy living. Sin must no longer be what we practice, but now righteousness and obedience to our Lord must be what we practice, what we live by day in and day out, seven days a week.
And “the land” that we are going in to possess is not a physical place on this earth, but it is the kingdom of heaven, of God. And our obedience to God is required of God for our entry into his heaven, yes, even under the New Covenant. And part of what we must obey is that we must no longer walk in sin. We must not be those who deliberately and habitually commit the same sins and for whom biblical repentance is not a reality. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God.
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
During our time on this earth, therefore, the Lord puts us to the test. He allows us to go through times of difficulty where we have little, and where we face many trials and tribulations, that he might humble us. And I suspect we are heading into one of those times here in America very soon. It is certainly looking that way. And I believe it is for the same reasons which are expressed here in Deuteronomy 8. It is not only to humble us, but it is to test what is in our hearts, whether or not we will keep his commandments.
So, he will let us be hungry, and he will feed us with little, that he might make us understand that “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.” Jesus quoted this verse in response to the devil when the devil was permitted to test Jesus in the wilderness after he had fasted forty days and forty nights (Matthew 4:4). And it is a lesson to us to remember when we are being tempted by the devil to take matters into our own hands, that God has a purpose for it all.
For our Lord allows us to go through hard times, and to face many difficulties, to teach us to rely on him and not on our own strength and wisdom, and not on other humans or possessions or wealth, etc. This is where “the rubber meets the road,” so to speak, i.e. it is “the point at which a theory or idea is put to a practical test” (O.L. Dictionary). In our case, it is a time of testing to see whether or not our professions of faith in Jesus Christ are genuine, if they will stand the test and pass the test.
For biblical faith in Jesus Christ is not just making a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and now we are good to go to heaven when we die. Faith, which comes from God, which is persuaded of God, and is gifted to us by God, and is not of our own doing, not of the will nor of the flesh of humans, results in us dying with Christ to sin, not just once, but in practice, and us walking in obedience to our Lord’s New Covenant commands, in practice, by the Spirit. So if sin, and not obedience to God, is our practice, our faith is not genuine.
So, when the trials come, and the difficulties of life are now upon us, and we are wanting in the things of this world which we once possessed in quite frequency, we should remember to put our trust in the Lord and not in human beings, and not in the things of this world which are passing away. We should remember that God disciplines those he loves for our good, that we may share in his holiness. And “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11).
[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 17:14; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
That We Might Be Humbled
An Original Work / March 11, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
This was Moses speaking to the people of Israel under the Old Covenant, but there is a lesson here that can be learned today by us who live under the New Covenant God has with his people Israel (Jew and Gentile by faith in Jesus Christ). For under the New Covenant we are not without God’s commands that we must obey. Although he did away with all the liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, and dietary laws and restrictions, and the requirement of the circumcision of all males, we did not become lawless.
We still have to obey all of God’s moral laws and any laws that he gave for us to follow under the New Covenant. And they are listed for us all throughout the New Testament writings. Fundamentally, by God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, we must die with Christ to sin and now walk in obedience to his commands in holy living. Sin must no longer be what we practice, but now righteousness and obedience to our Lord must be what we practice, what we live by day in and day out, seven days a week.
And “the land” that we are going in to possess is not a physical place on this earth, but it is the kingdom of heaven, of God. And our obedience to God is required of God for our entry into his heaven, yes, even under the New Covenant. And part of what we must obey is that we must no longer walk in sin. We must not be those who deliberately and habitually commit the same sins and for whom biblical repentance is not a reality. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God.
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
During our time on this earth, therefore, the Lord puts us to the test. He allows us to go through times of difficulty where we have little, and where we face many trials and tribulations, that he might humble us. And I suspect we are heading into one of those times here in America very soon. It is certainly looking that way. And I believe it is for the same reasons which are expressed here in Deuteronomy 8. It is not only to humble us, but it is to test what is in our hearts, whether or not we will keep his commandments.
So, he will let us be hungry, and he will feed us with little, that he might make us understand that “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.” Jesus quoted this verse in response to the devil when the devil was permitted to test Jesus in the wilderness after he had fasted forty days and forty nights (Matthew 4:4). And it is a lesson to us to remember when we are being tempted by the devil to take matters into our own hands, that God has a purpose for it all.
For our Lord allows us to go through hard times, and to face many difficulties, to teach us to rely on him and not on our own strength and wisdom, and not on other humans or possessions or wealth, etc. This is where “the rubber meets the road,” so to speak, i.e. it is “the point at which a theory or idea is put to a practical test” (O.L. Dictionary). In our case, it is a time of testing to see whether or not our professions of faith in Jesus Christ are genuine, if they will stand the test and pass the test.
For biblical faith in Jesus Christ is not just making a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and now we are good to go to heaven when we die. Faith, which comes from God, which is persuaded of God, and is gifted to us by God, and is not of our own doing, not of the will nor of the flesh of humans, results in us dying with Christ to sin, not just once, but in practice, and us walking in obedience to our Lord’s New Covenant commands, in practice, by the Spirit. So if sin, and not obedience to God, is our practice, our faith is not genuine.
So, when the trials come, and the difficulties of life are now upon us, and we are wanting in the things of this world which we once possessed in quite frequency, we should remember to put our trust in the Lord and not in human beings, and not in the things of this world which are passing away. We should remember that God disciplines those he loves for our good, that we may share in his holiness. And “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11).
[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 17:14; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
That We Might Be Humbled
An Original Work / March 11, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
