Life in the Kingdom of God is meant to be different from what our lives were before we came to know the Lord. And to get the most out of our new calling, we’ll need to look to the Lord and His Word. Today’s excerpt from The Kingdom Turn is found on pages 47 and 48:
“In order to discover what is most important in being a follower of Jesus Christ, we should go back as far as we can – turn to the beginning of the manual, so to speak.
“The book of Deuteronomy is a good place start, for it was written shortly after the Lord redeemed His people from Egypt and before they began the work of laying hold on His precious and very great promises in the land of Canaan.
“And here, sure enough, early in the book of Deuteronomy, we find the Lord Himself, through the mouth of Moses, putting before Israel what sounds very much like the one thing He expects of them as His people.
‘And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you…’? That’s what we want to know. What is that ‘one thing’ that will define Israel as the people of God, that ‘one thing’ that should command all their passion and devotion? For surely in this one thing we should hope to find some clue as to what the Lord requires of us.
“God answers His own question: ‘…what does the LORD require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes…?’
“Oh. Is that all?”
For reflection or discussion
1. Fear, walk, love, serve, keep: The order of words in what God requires of us matters. Why?
2. How does this “one thing” relate to life in the Kingdom of God?
We will be more effective and consistent at living in God’s Kingdom if we pay careful attention to His Word and what He desires for us. And fearing the Lord is at the top of his list of things for us to do. Share today’s podcast with a friend, then get together to discuss it. A free copy of The Kingdom Turn awaits you in The Ailbe Bookstore. Order your copy today.
T. M. Moore
