March 28- The Good Coach

March 28, 2011

Scripture Readings:
Deuteronomy 9:1-10:22; Luke 8:4-21
Psalm 69: 19-36; Proverbs 12:2-3

Deuteronomy 9:1-10:22

One thing that a good coach does for his team is give them perspective.  Once a group of players understands the bigger picture they can focus on the details of their individual tasks in order to help the group succeed.  The words of a good coach in the huddle can change the outcome of the game from loss to victory. Today Moses is like a good coach.  He is giving the Israelites perspective on their position in God's overall story.  Here are some of the things Moses points out:

• It is really God who is going to defeat the Canaanites in the Promised Land. -Vs. 2-3
• God is not doing this because Israel is such a righteous group of people. -Vs. 4
• God is driving out the Canaanites because of their wickedness and because He swore an oath to Abraham to give him this land. -Vs. 5
• Israel is a stubborn people. -Vs. 6
• Moses was on Mt. Sinai for forty days and forty nights without food and water. -Vs. 9
• God then gave Moses the covenant of the Law -vs. 10
• Israel had fallen into idol worship while Moses was on the mountain. -Vs. 11-12
• Moses convinced God to refrain from killing the people, even though they were rebellious. -Vs. 13-16
• Moses destroyed the tablets of the Law in anger and had to repeat the process on the mountain. -Vs. 17-29 and Deut. 10:1-11
• God chose the Israelites to be the object of His love above every other nation. 10:15
• He did this not because the Israelites were righteous, but because He was going to be glorified through His work in them.  He was going to bless the world through them. Therefore, the Israelites needed to cleanse their sinful hearts and stop being stubborn.  10:15-16

Moses then admonished the Israelites to imitate God in His goodness.  Do you have perspective in your life?  Do you realize that God chooses you to save in order to show His glory throughout the universe?  We, too, are a stubborn and rebellious people.  Thank God for His mercy and grace to us!

Luke 8:4-21

Jesus gives us perspective today, just as Moses gave perspective to the Israelites.  Jesus is our good coach who helps us to understand that not everyone is going to accept the gospel message of Christ.  This is how the world works.  In his parable about the good soil, Jesus explains that God's message is spread to people throughout the world like seeds falling to the ground.  Some seed falls on hard ground.  Jesus says that this is when the devil snatches the seed away and the person does not become saved.  The seed in the rocky soil is people who appear to believe for a while, but they don't have deep roots and when trials come, they wither.  Next, is the thorny ground.  These people they accept the message quickly, but the cares of this world like money and possessions and immoral lifestyles crowd out their faith.  They never grow to maturity.  When the message of God falls on good soil, the honest people who hear it cling to it, nurture the truth in their lives, and produce good fruit with a large harvest.

Jesus reveals that those who are open to his teaching will receive more understanding.  People who do not want to listen, what little understanding they have will be taken away.  Do you think this is harsh?  Are you willing to listen to Jesus tell you the way things work? 

Psalm 69:19-36

Have you ever been humiliated by a situation?  Read this psalm as a means of crying out to God.

Proverbs 12:2-3

"Wickedness never brings stability; only the godly have deep roots."  Do you have deep roots like Jesus was discussing today?

What did you see?

Blessings,

Jubilee Gal
Kathy Fullerton
© 2011