Devotion April 8 - Florida Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Monday, April 8 – Deuteronomy Chapters 2 and 3 – Additional reading, Patriarchs and Prophets, chapters 38, “The Journey Around Edom,” 39, “The Conquest of Bashan,” 42, “The Law Repeated,” 43, “The Death of Moses”

Study Questions:

1. According to Deuteronomy 3:22, what powerful reason do we have not to fear despite challenges that seem insurmountable?

2. According to Deuteronomy 2:5, 9, 19, God indicated not to touch some kingdoms, while in Deuteronomy 2:24; 3:2, He ordered to fight against others. How important is it to let God not only choose our battles but also allow Him to fight for us?

3. According to Deuteronomy 3:25, 26, God did not allow Moses to enter the promised land. What do the following texts indicate about the better plans God had for Moses? Jude 1:9. Matthew 17:1-4

4. What lesson can we apply from this story to when God does not grant our requests? Isaiah 55:8, 9.

Commentary and Reflection:

After sin entered this world, fear is part of every human being’s experience. Each person experiences their own or shared fears. Fear of illness, aging, death, separation, wars, enemies, unemployment, etc. Life is full of insecurities. However, according to bookshop.org, the Bible contains around 365 promises about not to fear. Heaven is deeply interested in teaching us to have peace and confidence in God. However great our challenges may be, we can face them with the assurance of having a Father full of love and power who always accompanies us in every circumstance of life.

There are challenges that are achievable with dedication, some are more difficult, others impossible for our strengths, while certain challenges we should not face because they mean a waste of time that could be dedicated to better use. We must allow God to choose and fight our battles. In His infinite wisdom, He did not create us to fight against each other or to see in our fellow human beings as originators of evil. The apostle Paul reminds us, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places,” Ephesians 6:12. In any case, if we must fight any battle, it should be the “good fight of faith.” 1 Timothy 6:12. That is to say, the battle in prayer, study, and service, in communion with the Invincible One who fights for us and always wants the best for us.

Moses relied on the Lord to lead Israel from slavery in Egypt to the promised land. Despite the hard years, facing opposition, challenges, and frustrations, the desert with all its struggles, the Lord sustained him victorious. At the end of his days, when he aspired to enter with his people into the land flowing with milk and honey, God did not allow it. Moses humbly accepted the Divine denial. With pain in his heart, he acknowledged the sins that made him unworthy of that privilege. However, God’s love and kindness are always above any of our expectations. The Lord did not allow him to enter earthly Canaan because He had arranged to take him immediately to Heavenly Canaan. Our Father saves His best plans for each of His children, and His thoughts exceed the dearest desires of every heart.

Ellen G. White writes: “In reviewing our past history, having traveled over every step of advance to our present standing, I can say, Praise God! As I see what God has wrought, I am filled with astonishment, and with confidence in Christ as leader. We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history. ” Biographical Notes of Ellen G. White, 216 (1902). EUD, 641.

My prayer today: May God help us to live in peace and without fear, with the confidence that He chooses and fights our battles and that His plans always surpass all our desires and expectations. Amen.

Pastor Ivan Cruz

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Monday, April 8 – Deuteronomy Chapters 2 and 3 – Additional reading, Patriarchs and Prophets, chapters 38, “The Journey Around Edom,” 39, “The Conquest of Bashan,” 42, “The Law Repeated,” 43, “The Death of Moses”

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Monday, April 8 – Deuteronomy Chapters 2 and 3 – Additional reading, Patriarchs and Prophets, chapters 38, “The Journey Around Edom,” 39, “The Conquest of Bashan,” 42, “The Law Repeated,” 43, “The Death of Moses”

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