Tell Your Face About It

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word

 

1Sa 14:27 But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath; (He had called for a fast) therefore he stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his countenance brightened. Mmmmmmmmmmmm honey!

 

I can’t help but grin as I read this passage. It reminds me of a standing joke in our family. My wife never has to wonder if I liked a dish she has prepared, All she has to do is read my countenance (my face) mmmmmmm Mayonaise Potato salad!

 

 

It’s just like that Olivia Newton John song, “Every Face Tells A Story”

 

Recently I have retired from the airwaves of The Family radio station, but I used to end my show with this little challenge: “Jesus loves you…tell your face about it.” It just seems that there are too many “dour” faces on the followers of Christ.

 

A couple of weeks ago I was in the waiting room at the VA clinic in Green Bay, a woman walked by and looked at me and said  “smile.”  What? Since when do I need a reminder from a complete stranger to fix my countenance?  

 

Something is not right about that!  I must be leaking joy or peace! Maybe some mourning going on as I realize my broadcasting days are over at The Family. Maybe I am not handling my Parkinson’s diagnosis as well as I think I am.

 

Whatever it is, I don’t like it   I don’t like having  to think about my countenance! I don’t want to paint a fake smile on my face! That is bordering on hypocrisy!

 

I wanna be like Moses who was beaming so much, he had to put a veil on after spending some time with God! The best way I know how to do that is to ever be mindful of what Jesus did on the cross for me, for you, for the world. Jesus loves me and I am forgiven, Gotta practice what I preach and tell my face about it.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s today’s Living Word.

Humble Pliability

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word

 

I have a Christmas present for those viewing or reading this devo for today.  This is what I am praying for you today!

 

I am praying for you today.

 

Ps 20:4 May He grant you according to your heart's desire, And fulfill all your purpose. 5 We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.

 

Add Psalm 37:4 to this prayer: ?Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.”

 

The word “delight” here means to be pliable like clay. As the clay obeys the potter so we too seek to obey our Lord.  Be pliable (obedient to His hands) and He will shape us into the vessel He created us to be. You don’t have to figure it all out yourself, just be pliable in His hands and He will get you to the God-given desires of your heart, He will “fulfill the purpose that He created for you1

 

Saved by grace through faith we are ready to tackle what He will bring our way.

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

 

Humble pliability will get you to where God wants you to be fulfilling that purpose for which you were created. What a great gift the Father has for you and I.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s today’s Living Word.

A Fistful of Wind

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word

 

 2Sa 5:22-25, “Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim.  23 Therefore David inquired of the LORD, and He said, "You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees.  24 "And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the LORD will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines."  25 And David did so, as the LORD commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer. (2 Sam 5:22-25)

 

The Philistines regroup and amass their troops for a second attempt to defeat Israel, and once again David wisely seeks the Lord as to whether or not he should engage the enemy.  But God gives David an unusual answer. He says, “Don't meet them head on, I want you to circle up behind them and attack them from the mulberry trees.”

 

Further God tells David to hold off the attack until He gives him the signal, and that signal would be the “sound of marching in the mulberry trees.”  Obviously, this would be a very noticeable rustling of the leaves caused by the winds, which (in case you didn’t know it) are enclosed in the fist of God!

 

Pr 30:4 Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is  His name, and what is His Son's name, If you know?

 

By the grace of God we know His name, it is Jehovah. And we know His Son’s name…it is Jesus. He can gather the wind into His fist and He can release it at His will.

 

Go ahead, you try that. Try to gather  just a wisp of a breeze in your hand. How’d you do? You didn’t do!

 

 

The point is, God is God even of the wind and He wants David to rely on Him so David will understand that the battle belongs to the Lord!  Zec 4:6b says, “'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,'”

 

This battle is a great picture of that first Day of Pentecost when Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received power from on high and then....”suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” It was their signal to leave the house and join with God in confronting the enemy with the gospel!

 

So where is the wind of the Spirit today? Where is God moving?

 

I can't answer that for you. All I can tell you to do is hop in the boat and hoist your sails and wait for the wind to come to you. God is just looking for some willing sailors.

 

You might be dead in the water now,  don't panic! Wait for the Lord! Spend this time by prayerfully reading His Word. That way, you'll be ready, willing, and able when the wind blows and the Spirit will take you where He wants you to be.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s today’s Living Word.

Dealing With the Yeahbuts

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word

 

Ps 141:4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice wicked works With men who work iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies.

 5 Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.

 

David is asking the Lord   to help him steer clear of anything that displeases God, And he asks that God would turn him away from the habitual sinful and  yet alluring practices of the world! 

 

As I read this prayer of David’s, I can’t help but wonder if it was answered on the day that God sent the prophet Nathan to David and he called out David’s sin with Bathsheba.

 

Verse 5 is a plea to send a righteous person (Nathan) to strike David with the Law of God. It would be a kindness to point  out Davids sin, and a rebuke from a righteous man would be like an anointing of fresh oil from head to foot.

And when the rebuke comes,  David asks that he not dodge it, but meekly receive it and confess it for what it is….a sin against God! And funny thing that’s just what happened when the prophet Nathan confronted David over his sins with Bathsheba!

 

Nathan summed it up when he told David, “You are the man!” And David received the rebuke when he replied to Nathan, “”I have sinned against the Lord.”

 

A terrible thing you  did with Bathsheba David, but 1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

This was true for David and it’s true  for  you and I as well!

 

Pray this prayer of David in Ps 141:4,5, Pray that you too would be open to rebuke and correction. And stay away from the “yeahbuts.”

 

 

You know the yeahbuts, Yeah but what about this and yeah what about that, as you seek to justify your sin? You find yourself pouring over the concordance in your Bible, looking for loopholes, to justify your divorce, or your abortion, or your gossiping, , or  your sexuality or any other sin that you have swept under the carpet.

 

Instead of looking for loopholes, look at the nail holes, the sins that put Jesus on the cross. Confess them, receive His forgiveness, then go and sin no more

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s today’s Living Word.

Avoid Getting Sucked In

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word

 

Ps 40:2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.

 

I’m old enough to remember the days of door to door salesmen. We had one such visitor when we were living in Newport Rhode Island. I was home alone when he knocked and convinced me to buy a set of encyclopedias,

 

These books served us well for pressing leaves, and cleaning up carpet spills where some weight placed on paper toweling would   help lift the stain out. Perhaps our greatest use for these books was the time  a bat was loose in our house. My daughter was home alone and she managed to trap the bat under an ice cream bucket. She put a couple of encyclopedias on top of the bucket so the bat couldn’t escape and left them there for dad (me) when I got home.

 

What was I thinking when I purchased these books? I don’t even remember the salesman’s pitch, but it’s clear I got “sucked in,” some of you may have been sucked in by a door to door vacuum cleaner salesman! Maybe that’s where the phrase “sucked in” came from!

 

The door to door peddlers of lies are with us today in the Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses. Their doctrines of salvation by works and their refusal to acknowledge Jesus as God is a pile of quicksand just waiting to “suck in” the uninformed.

 

These diabolical missionaries have been well trained to use just enough truth to lure you in. The average Christian typically is not in position to debate doctrinal differences with these well-trained wolves in sheep’s clothing.

 

But God has given us His Word and a very simple tactic to use.  It’s found in 2Jo 1:10  If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him;

 

Put that verse into your cell phone where you can call it up quickly. Read it out loud to them and tell them that according to God’s Word, they have to leave!

.

 

What would happen if all of us would employ that God-ordained tactic? Maybe after a while they would get the hint and rethink their doctrine!

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s today’s Living Word.

The Two Sides of Fear

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word

 

Ac 10:1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Regiment, 2 a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously to the people, and prayed to God always.

 

Cornelius… a godly man who was a Gentile  who believed in the existence of a higher power. This “higher power” was to be feared. The word in the Greek is phobeo, from which we get the English word “Phobia.”

 

His idea of God was not a reverence for God but an alarming sense of fear!  When he thought of God, he was fearful of what God could  do to him and so he sought to please Him with good moral conduct that included generous almsgiving. Certainly  that would appease this phobia producing God!

 

God noted the misguided faith of Cornelius and determined that Cornelius had to be straightened out. He needed to see the “grace” side of God But there was more straightening out to do with the misguided notions of Peter concerning the Gentiles.

 

So, as the old saying goes,  God kills two birds with one stone as He sends Peter to Cornelius (the Gentile) to share the gospel and overcome Cornelius’s one sided fear filled view of God and Peter’s one-sided misguided view of the Gentiles!

 

When all was said and done, Cornelius and all the others gathered in his house are baptized by Peter, Their sins washed away in the waters of baptism, their phobia regarding God as a shaking in your boots kind of God, now come alongside the tempering grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness  of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

 

The Psalmist tells us of this “right” fear of God in Ps 130:4 But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared. (revered, worshiped)

 

The holiness of God is never to be discarded, but because of Jesus we (Gentile and Jew alike) are allowed to approach God without terror through the blood of Jesus.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

Keenly Interested In You

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word

 

1Pe 5:7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

 

Last time, we looked at the word “casting” in this verse. It means “to throw” and in order for anything to be a throw, it must be released from your grip.

 

But what are these “cares” that we are to release to Jesus? Again I went to the Strong’s Concordance to find out what these “cares” are. The word “cares” here means “distractions.”

 

That’s an eye opener. Cares are those distractions that live rent free in your thought life. They will often interrupt your daily routine, and set you off on a bunny trail of worry. This verse from 1 Peter goes a long way in helping to deal with these distractions.

When they pop up, remember to throw them at Jesus and remember He is eager to take them from you.

 

Why?

 

Because He “cares” for you.

 

And the word “cares” here means that He is “interested” in you! Imagine that! The Creator of the universe is “interested” in you. So when “distractions” show up today, know and believe that Jesus is interested in whatever is distracting you!

 

Pray the Holy Spirit will be quick to remind you of this verse. Restate it this way: “Throwing all my distractions of Jesus because He is keenly interested” in me.”

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

 

Throwing Vs Casting

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word

 

1Pe 5:7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

We have a small group of people who gather every Tuesday night for an hour of prayer at my home church. The immediate goal is to learn some things that God’s Word teaches us about prayer and of course to implement what we have been taught in our daily lives.

 

This week, we will be learning about God’s gracious invitation to cast our burdens onto Him as we learn from this verse in 1 Peter.

 

First of all, we need to know about casting, I think that the word casting  needs to be clarified. Fishermen cast their line into the water, but they don’t leave it there. They retrieve it, over and over again.

 

In that sense, “casting” is the perfect word  for many. We cast our burdens onto the Lord then reel them back in, time after time after time.

 

According to my “Strong’s Concordance though, the word used for casting means “throwing.” Do you see the difference? Put a football or baseball in your hand and throw it. It’s not a throw until you release it from your hand.

 

Think of your cares, your burdens as a ball. Throw them at Jesus confident that He will catch them and bear them with you. He said, in Mt 11:29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

 30 "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

 

Let Him help you ease the burden and give your concerns a rest.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

The Prayer of the Beef Jerky Heart

 Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word

 

Ps 119:83 For I have become like a wineskin in smoke, Yet I do not forget Your statutes.

 What a lament! I have been struggling of late to hear from God in my morning devotions. It’s been like a spiritual famine. My heart has become like a dried up piece of beef jerky, (a wineskin in smoke) but I am in good company as the Psalmist here was going through his own spiritual famine.

 

I think spiritual famines come upon all of us at one time or another. We read, we pray and it’s like the heavens turn to brass. It is the spiritual equivalent of a natural famine spoken of in De 28:23 "And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron.

 

What to do? God is still there! His Word has not lost any of its power. The psalmist here admits that he is in a dryspell, but he resolutely tells God that he will wait it out and while waiting, he will continue to follow God’s guidance (statutes)

 

Those guidelines found in God’s Word are there for a purpose. They help to keep us on the right path no matter the season.

 

They are that “lamp unto our feet” mentioned in Ps 119:105 NUN. Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. 106 I have sworn and confirmed That I will keep Your righteous judgments.

 107 I am afflicted very much; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your word. 108 Accept, I pray, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD This is the prayer of the beef jerky heart.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

Post election results

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word

 

Da 2:21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.

 

On this morning after the presidential election in America, it appears Donald Trump was the winner and will return to the office that he held from 2016-2020.

 

Some of you will gloat, (please don’t) others will grumble, (please don’t) rather, based on this scripture from Daniel,  and  Ro 13:1 we ought to be thankful, and we ought to view all election results through the lens of the Word of God!

 

Rom 13:1 Says, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

 

And incredibly,  not one ruler or king is immune to the will of God! God is able to turn the heart any which way He chooses. Pr 21:1 assures us, “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”

 

In the meantime let us pray for the winners! Pray that the Lord would grant wisdom and knowledge to all elected officials! Pray as we are encouraged to do in 1Ti 2:1-4 “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

 

The Lord concerns Himself with the leaders of the land and their policies. Be thankful for them.  Pray for an atmosphere conducive to a quiet and peaceful life in the land. which are marks of the followers of Christ, and above all pray and work for revival in America for it is God’s ultimate desire that all men, Republicans, Democrats  and all others to come to the knowledge of truth.

 

The knowledge of God’s truth is simply this: We are all sinners in need of a Savior and God sent His only Son into the world for that purpose, Joh 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

 

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

Stones Have Ears

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word

 

How many of you remember the “Pet Rock” craze of 1975? The rocks sold for 4 dollars apiece and came with a custom cardboard box complete with ventilation  holes and straw bedding imitating a pet carrier. The fad lasted six months and an  advertising executive (Gary Dahl) sold more than a million of them, becoming a millionaire overnight.

 

I want to spend a little time today on stones. Did you know stones have ears?

 

In Jos 24:27 – Joshua used a stone as a witness to a covenant that the Lord had made with the Israelites. He set the stone up by an oak tree and said, "Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God."

 

That stone heard what God had promised and what the people had promised and if God chooses, this stone could be called upon on the Last Day to testify!

We shouldn’t be surprised that God is able to call upon stones as witnesses! Jesus said in Lu 19:40 "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."

 

Not only do rocks have ears, they can speak as well!

 

Makes me wonder about those stones the men were planning to toss at the woman caught in the act of adultery. They must’ve said something like “drop me.” Or “put me down!” Because none of them were without sin!

 

We pick up the story in  Joh 8:10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?"  11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

 

Those stones on  the ground testify that He did not condemn the woman and they also heard His charge to the woman to not commit adultery again. Go and sin no more.

 

As Ro 8:1 says, “ There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

 

The Path of Love

 Ps 119:33  Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, And I shall keep it to the end.

As I read this portion of Scripture I found myself wondering why are statutes plural and “way” singular? Why didn’t the Psalmist say I shall keep “them” (the statutes) to the end instead of I shall keep it? Same thing in verse 35 concerning the commandments!

 

The answer is fairly simple. The “way” or “path” of the Lord is love! The statutes and commandments are guidelines to keep us on the path of love!

 

In Mt 22:37 Jesus said to him," 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'

 38 "This is the first and great commandment. 39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

 

Jesus narrowed the ten commandments from 10 to 2, and the two can be summed up in one word….love!

1Co 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

 

Obedience without love is ice cold pharisaical legalism and it profits nothing. No wonder the Psalmist  asks the Lord to keep him on the path of love!

 

Similarly, love without commandments is no holds barred hedonism.

 

Do you want to know how you are doing concerning the way of love? Look in the mirror of God’s Word. Jesus said  “if you love Me keep My commands.”(Jn 14:15)

 

The commandments are a measuring stick of your love of God and love of man. They show us how to demonstrate love to both.;

Choices

 

I’m Duane Matz and welcome to Today’s Living Word.

Ps 119:30 – The psalmist says, “I have chosen the way of truth” Joshua said  Jos 24:15 "And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

 

To have a choice is to have an option, the Psalmist choice was

(A)           The path of truth (The Word of God)

(B)           The path of lies in the ways of the world.

 

Joshua choice was one of service.

(A)           Serve the Lord

(B)           Serve the pawns of the devil.

(C)           

These choices come at us every single day, Circumstances that demand a decision. Options to believe and options to serve, and this is where the Holy Spirit comes in. Your flesh will opt for (B) in both cases but the Holy Spirit will always lead you to (A) trust and obedience.

 

Call on Him whenever and wherever the choices come your way, remembering 1Jo 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

The Original Daylight Savings Time

 

I’m Duane Matz and welcome to Today’s Living Word.

 

Jos 10:12 Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel: "Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon." 13 So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.

 

Ever have one of those days when you have much to do, but not enough time to get it done? Joshua was having one of those days. He was in the midst of a God-ordained command to conquer cities in the promised land and on this particular day he was running out of daylight to get the job done.

 

So he prayed for the initial institution of daylight Savings Time! (Blame Joshua)

 

Only instead of turning the clock ahead an hour he asked God to turn it back, and God didn’t stop at a mere hour! He turned it back “for about a whole day!”

 

 He provided the time Joshua needed to get the job done in daylight.

 

Finding yourself pressed for time these days? Have you brought your concerns to God? You don’t need to run around like a headless chicken. If God can stop the sun in its tracks, he can step into your time management problem and provide the time and help you need to get what matters done Ps 31:15 reminds us: ”My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, And from those who persecute me.”

 

Look to God to be delivered from the “tyranny of the urgent. He will put His “honey do” list for you in proper order, multiplying your time supernaturally.

Believe it! Trust it! And see those items on God’s “honey do” list get checked off without all the stress.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

AI and Discernment

 

I’m Duane Matz and welcome to Today’s Living Word.

 

Jos 8:34 And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law.

 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, with the women, the little ones, and the strangers who were living among them.

 

Say the word A-I today and most everyone knows you are talking about Artificial Intelligence. If you would’ve said that word to Joshua, his thoughts would’ve turned to a city by that same name, that handed his army their first defeat.

 

Long story short, they underestimated the army of AI and more importantly they underestimated God’s displeasure with disobedience in the camp.

 

After taking care of the disobedience in accordance with the Word of God, Joshua and his army crushed the army of AI in a rematch.

After the victory Joshua read God’s Word… all of it….to all of the people.

 

Here’s the connection I want to make. Modern day AI is capable of imitating anyone’s voice and can put words in their mouth. (You people viewing this vlog may be listening to an imposter, but if you are familiar with my past vlogs and their content you should be able to tell the difference.) Even so it’s not my voice that I want you to recognize, it’s the voice of the Good Shepherd.

 

With AI technology moving ahead at blinding speed, it’s going to be more vital than ever for you and I to recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd, which is accomplished by doing what Joshua did…reading all of God’s Word (the Bible)

 

Read the Word of God yourself! Pass it along to your children and connect to a Bible believing church who does the same. Jesus said in

Joh 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

 28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone (including AI) snatch them out of My hand.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

The Burial of Moses

 

I’m Duane Matz and welcome to Today’s Living Word.

 

De 34:5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.

 6 And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day.

 7 Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished.

 

Moses dies in the land of Moab, short of the Promised Land, just as the Lord had said, and isn’t it interesting that God dug his grave?

 

There was a little confrontation over the burial as we read in Jude 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"

 

Nonetheless, Moses was buried in a place that only God knows and his body is not to be tampered with.

Moses (who represents the Law, the Word of God, is not to be tampered with and further, he goes to his grave with full vigor and perfect sight.

 

I think we can learn two lessons here. First of all, the Word of God is not to be tampered with. De 4:2 "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

 

Secondly the Word of God does not lose it’s strength and insight. It is as Jesus said eternal! Mt 24:35 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

 

 

You want spiritual insight and vigor? Read the Bible. Trust it’s promises, and seek to obey it’s commands.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

Sit and Listen

 

I’m Duane Matz and welcome to Today’s Living Word.

 

De 33:3 Yes, He loves the people; All His saints are in Your hand; They sit down at Your feet; Everyone receives Your words.

 

First of all understand that saints are not some kind of super departed Christians. Saints are simply all those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ for their salvation!

 

God loves His saints…if you are a believer….that’s you!  They (you) are in His hand, and Jesus said in Joh 10:28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

 

What comforting words!

 

And note a couple of earmarks of saints here. They sit  down at the feet of Jesus and receive His words! Does that remind you of anyone else in Scripture?

 

Mary and her sister Martha come to mind don’t they.

 

Martha who was preoccupied with busyness didn’t have the time to sit at the feet of Jesus….Mary made time to sit and receive and what did Jesus say about that?

Lu 10:41 "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.

 42 "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."

 

Beloved, busyness will always be with us, let us learn to prioritize and don’t neglect our time at the feet of Jesus…it is that good part that will not be wasted.

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word