WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.219
Day 53, or February the 22nd. Listen to God when

00:00:05.219 --> 00:00:08.859
He speaks to you. Our thoughts today are from

00:00:08.859 --> 00:00:13.960
Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 4 and 5. Hear,

00:00:14.160 --> 00:00:17.640
O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

00:00:18.059 --> 00:00:20.980
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and

00:00:20.980 --> 00:00:23.739
with all your soul, and with all your strength.

00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:27.500
First, the big picture surrounding these verses.

00:00:28.359 --> 00:00:31.239
Having looked back at how great God has been,

00:00:31.460 --> 00:00:35.060
Moses now concentrates on what God wants to do

00:00:35.060 --> 00:00:39.259
in and through his people today. All he says

00:00:39.259 --> 00:00:42.000
is rooted in the Ten Commandments, which the

00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:45.200
Israelites have had for some years now. They

00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:47.780
were given to the first generation who left Egypt

00:00:47.780 --> 00:00:51.920
about 40 years earlier. He explains the covenant

00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:55.119
between God and his people, and underlines how

00:00:55.119 --> 00:00:58.159
important it is for them not to lose their identity

00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:02.759
as they settle in an alien land. For 400 years

00:01:02.759 --> 00:01:05.819
in Egypt, they had not intermarried with other

00:01:05.819 --> 00:01:09.519
races, and Moses tells them that it's just as

00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:13.099
vital now that they retain their purity and remain

00:01:13.099 --> 00:01:16.980
God's people. In ancient times, intermarrying

00:01:16.980 --> 00:01:19.859
was the norm, as it is in many countries today

00:01:19.859 --> 00:01:24.019
however god was hard at work preparing a nation

00:01:24.019 --> 00:01:28.359
through whom he would bring the Christ. And now

00:01:28.359 --> 00:01:32.079
our action step have you ever spoken to someone

00:01:32.079 --> 00:01:35.480
and just known they weren't listening yes i'm

00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:38.719
speaking to you When Moses was given the Ten

00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:41.560
Commandments back at Mount Sinai, just after

00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:44.560
the Israelites had escaped from Egypt, there

00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:47.180
were high hopes that life would be better from

00:01:47.180 --> 00:01:50.680
now on. We've all had that experience, I'm sure.

00:01:51.319 --> 00:01:54.420
But it's in the euphoria of the blessing that

00:01:54.420 --> 00:01:58.099
the evil one slips a banana skin under our feet,

00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:02.480
and down we go. We need to be prepared, and the

00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:05.060
best way is to listen to what God is saying.

00:02:05.599 --> 00:02:08.479
We need to train ourselves to really listen.

00:02:08.719 --> 00:02:13.099
Jesus said in Matthew 11 verse 15, anyone with

00:02:13.099 --> 00:02:17.620
ears to hear should listen and understand. Be

00:02:17.620 --> 00:02:20.620
sure to listen for God's voice today rather than

00:02:20.620 --> 00:02:24.199
just being present when he speaks. After all,

00:02:24.300 --> 00:02:27.439
it's for your own good and ultimately the good

00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:30.740
of others. God's always worth hearing.