Defeating Giants of Pride

  • June 5, 2023
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  • Park Forum

Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 9.1-6
1 Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. 2 The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?” 3 But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the Lord has promised you.

4 After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. 5 It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 6 Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

Reflection: Defeating Giants of Pride
By Carolyn Soto Jackson

God frequently warned Israel against taking on pride and claiming righteousness that was not their own. In Deuteronomy 9, God promised to go before them and annihilate the Anakites. These descendants of Anak, who are noted as tall and strong, did not intimidate God. He told Israel not to fear these “giants.” God made it clear he would destroy them with one quick blow and the land they possessed would be given over to the Israelites. 

Pride frequently tempted the Israelites. They might think they had reason for pride after defeating the Anakites but they were certainly not capable of defeating them without God.

Pride is often described as, “haughty eyes” as in Proverbs 6:16-17. In Hebrew, sinful pride means being “set on high” or “lifting oneself on high.” In English, we have similar idioms such as “high and mighty” and “holier than thou.”

Why do we take on pride? For what reasons do we try to lift ourselves above others? It can be easy to succumb to haughty eyes by looking down on others or viewing ourselves above others. For centuries, followers of God have taken on pride for no other reason than their own glory, all the while, robbing glory from God who deserves it.

Let us not forget, God detests the sin of pride. When God’s people boast about themselves, fill their chests in arrogance, and exult in their own righteousness, God cringes. 

God destroyed the wicked nation of the Anakites because of their evil ways, graciously handing over the land to the Israelites after they crossed the Jordan.

God did not give Israel possession of the land because of their humility or righteousness. It was because of God’s disgust at the pride and wickedness of the Anakites. This revealed to Israel God’s grace, omnipotence, and desire to teach his children to give glory where it was due.

There will be times in our lives when we believe we figured it out, and we succumb to pride. But God is the one who goes before us. God is the one who gives us wisdom. God paves the way. Knocks down every giant. Empowers every success. When we are tempted to take on pride in any accomplishment, let us be reminded, “Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory.” (Psalm 115.1)

Let God defeat our giants of pride.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord. — Psalm 31.24– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Deuteronomy 9 (Listen 5:06)
2 Corinthians 3 (Listen 2:25)

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God commanded his people to repent and show their sorrow. Instead, the people are filled with pride.

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A Prayer Against Spiritual Amnesia

  • June 2, 2023
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  • Park Forum

Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 6.12
12 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Reflection: A Prayer Against Spiritual Amnesia
By Dennis Nicholson

Sprinkled throughout the pages of the Pentateuch is one recurring word: remember. 

Sometimes the authors use it to describe God acting in covenant faithfulness to his people. In the wake of a cataclysmic flood, God remembered Noah and his family and commanded the waters to subside (Genesis 8.1). When the people of Israel cried out under the aching burden of slavery, God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and executed swift justice (Exodus 2.24).

Many times the authors use “remember!” as a command. They exhort their readers to re-envision their circumstances, priorities, and responsibilities through the lens of God’s actions, character, and commandments. Throughout his life and writing, Moses pleaded with the Israelites to remember God’s mighty power, his steadfast love, and his just laws, so that they would obey him and enter the flourishing, prosperous land he had set apart for them (Numbers 15.37-40, Deuteronomy 6.13, 25). 

When we remember God’s past faithfulness, we find strength for present obedience and hope for the future.

Sadly, like the ancient Israelites, we are afflicted with spiritual amnesia (Numbers 11.5). Just as Israel turned away from following the Lord and forgot his gracious care, we are distracted by a thousand other voices and forget to heed the voice of Jesus. May this prayer recenter our hearts and minds on the God whose love we are prone to forget.

God, we remember that you are the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: faithful to the thousandth generation of those who love you (Exodus 34.6).

We confess that…
We have failed to remember your covenant faithfulness. 
We have let anxiety cloud out your provision. 
We have let guilt foot the bill for sins your blood redeemed in full.

We are nearsighted; our spiritual eyes have grown dim.
We suffer from memory loss; we continually forget to seek your face.

Open our eyes, so that we can see the full brightness of your steadfast love.
Renew our minds, so that we always remember your forgiveness and embrace.
Remind us of your sovereign care with each passing sparrow we encounter today.
Strengthen us to obey your commands, that we may grow in our love of you.

Father, impress your salvation on your children’s hearts.
May we talk about Jesus when we lie down and when we get up.
Inscribe your laws on our hearts by your Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6.6-9).

In all things, may we remember. In remembering, may we obey. In obeying, may we live.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Bless our God, you peoples; make the voice of his praise to be heard;
Who holds our souls in life, and will not allow our feet to slip. — Psalm 66.7-8

  – From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.


Today’s Readings
Deuteronomy 6 (Listen 3:13)
1 Corinthians 16 (Listen 2:54)

This Weekend’s Readings
Deuteronomy 7 (Listen 4:13), 2 Corinthians 1 (Listen 3:52)
Deuteronomy 8 (Listen 2:58), 2 Corinthians 2 (Listen 2:13)

Read more about Forward-Looking Remembering
Remembering is not “living in the past” or “longing for the good ole days,”…it informs our hope for a future that God has for us.

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Read more about Meaning in Remembrance
Remembering is not just the recall of facts. Remembering is powerful. God often commanded the people to “remember.”

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The Heart of Christ in Deuteronomy

  • June 1, 2023
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  • Park Forum

Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 5.28-29
28 The Lord heard you when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, “I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good. 29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever! 

Reflection: The Heart of Christ in Deuteronomy
By L E Mulford

We see the Ten Commandments illustrated clearly in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Christ expounded on the Ten Commandments, showing his desire for his people just as God the Father showed his desire for his people here in Deuteronomy 5.

This desire is deeper than a cursory obedience to the Ten Commandments. Christ referenced the sixth commandment in Matthew 5.21, but more than to “not murder” he wants us to find the root cause of why we murder. Hanging the Ten Commandments in a building just for show requires no more faith than a nail in a wall. Writing the Law of Love in our hearts puts nails through all our sins (Jeremiah 31.33). Christ takes each commandment and goes to the heart of each sin. 

Christ’s message shows that the Ten Commandments were intended to be a gateway to loving God. The people heard God’s voice and were afraid (Deuteronomy 5.29). But just as God had graciously shared his heart with them, he wanted their hearts in return as demonstrated by the first commandment: you shall have no other gods before me. Christ repeated this idea by stating that the greatest of all the commandments is to love the Lord (Matthew 22.37).

But do any of these laws apply to us today? “In the land the Lord your God is giving you,” in verse 16, seems only to apply to ancient Israelites. And yet, in verses 3 and 4, Moses says that when God spoke to the Israelite ancestors, he was speaking to every Israelite. God is still speaking to us today. He wants more than mere obedience or lip service. He wants to write this law on our hearts.An overemphasis of the 10 Commandments in our lives makes us lose focus on Christ’s desire for our entire hearts: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Luke 10.27) By following Christ in his selfless pursuit of love, we will more than surpass the legal requirements of the Ten Commandments. God gave us a glimpse of his heart with the Ten Commandments and gave us his entire heart in the gift of his son. How is the Spirit calling you to give more of your heart to him?

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Send out your light and your truth, that they may lead me, and bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling;
That I may go to the altar of God, to the God of my joy and gladness; and on the harp, I will give thanks to you, O God my God. — Psalm 43.3-4

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Deuteronomy 5 (Listen 4:25)
1 Corinthians 15 (Listen 8:06)

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Jesus says the sabbath is for humans, not for God. Our rest, observed rightly, is an act of faith…

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Wisdom Versus Obedience

  • May 31, 2023
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  • Erin Newton

Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 4.6-8
6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

Reflection: Wisdom Versus Obedience
By Erin Newton

Israel stood at the edge of the Promised Land with these final instructions. It was a reminder of who they were—reflections of the past and a vision of their future. With the exhortation to enjoy the blessings of an obedient life, God also provided them with guidance for their inevitable failure. God was and is eager to restore the broken and the lost.

In our contemporary culture, many religions are known by their rules. You can distinguish someone by the way they dress or if they cut their hair. Other religions can be distinguished by what they eat or what they refuse to drink. Religious obedience is not a new concept nor is it unique among Christians. All religions have rules. Obeying those rules is expected, for the most part.

Exodus through Deuteronomy contains all the instructions for the Israelites about how to live. The laws and decrees function as the skeletal system of faith. How those work together in the movement of life is wisdom.

Observing laws and decrees is the basis for applying wisdom. Like rails on the side of a bridge, commandments keep you from plunging over the edge. Wisdom determines if you are driving carefully or swerving left and right at some fiendish pace. But it is not easily obtained. Wisdom is mined from a deep relationship with God. It is refined in the crucible of life.

To fear God is the beginning of wisdom and wisdom is more than obeying commands. Wisdom understands the heart behind the laws. It knows that anger is just as bad as murder and lust just as bad as adultery.  Jesus was able to summarize all the laws with two: love God and love your neighbor. That is wisdom.

What would it mean to be known, to be set apart, because of our wisdom? Would it look different than religious obedience? How can being wise extol the greatness of God in a better way than legalism?

We ought to be known by our wisdom, not our legalism. To obey God is right and good but there is an important distinction between the two ideas. Wisdom captures the complexity of life; it weighs truth against a myriad of options. Obedience is responding to a command of “do” or “do not.” Wisdom reveals the freedom to navigate life under the truth of who God is and who we are called to be.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Gracious and upright is the Lord; therefore he teaches sinners in his way. — Psalm 25.7

  – From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.


Today’s Readings
Deuteronomy 4 (Listen 7:22)
1 Corinthians 14 (Listen 5:40)

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Love Great or Terrible

  • May 30, 2023
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  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: 1 Corinthians 13.1-3
1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing

“Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws.” — Tim Keller

Reflection: Love Great or Terrible
By John Tillman

People get poetic talking about love. In “love songs,” love is either great or terrible.

All you need is love.
What’s love got to do with it?
Love makes the world go ‘round.
Love me tender.
You’re gonna love me.
Sometimes love don’t feel like it should.
At last, my love has come along.
Can anybody find me somebody to love?
I just want to use your love tonight.
I don’t know where to put my love.
I want to know what love is.
Love hurts.
Love bites.
Love stinks.

Paul’s poem on love comes after discussing the gifts of the Spirit. The Corinthians used gifts in powerful, chaotic, and competitive ways that harmed the church. Paul determined to show them a better way—the way of love. (1 Corinthians 12.31)

Jesus named love (of God and neighbor) as the greatest commandment. Paul names love the greatest gift of the Spirit.

A saying around the church I attend is that we follow the words of Jesus and the way of Jesus. It’s one way of saying we speak truth in love. (Ephesians 4.15) The Corinthian church had the “gifts” of Jesus but they weren’t following the “way” of Jesus.

Truth, without love, does harm.
Love, without truth, does harm.

It doesn’t matter how true your words are if they wound people. Some have been wounded so badly by “truth-tellers,” they can’t distinguish the truth from the wound. If you use truth to put people in this condition, what use is your “truth?”

It doesn’t matter how much you love if you never speak truth. Some people mistake unconditional love for unconditional endorsement. Without the truth, people will continue in lies that destroy their bodies, minds, and souls. If you allow this to happen, what use is your “love?”

In the songs quoted above, the difference in love being great or terrible is usually the character of the lover. Let us love in a way that shows the character of Jesus. Don’t let the truth you speak be a resounding gong of nothingness that drives people from salvation, rather than calling them to it.

Love and truth, together, lift others. They don’t push them down.
Love and truth, together, enlighten others. They don’t blind them.
Love and truth, together, save others. They don’t terrorize them.
Love and truth, together, show the character of Jesus, the true lover of our souls.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and glorify your Name forevermore. — Psalm 86.12

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Deuteronomy 3 (Listen 4:33)
1 Corinthians 13 (Listen 2:23)

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