Live the Word Bible Studies

Purpose Study Bible 168: No Room For Pride

When you read Deuteronomy 7, you learn of God's great love for His people because of the covenant He made with their forefathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You also see God's passion to bless the people and give them the land to care for and enjoy, but only if they would obey His commands and live up to their end of their covenant with Him. In the midst of Moses' discourse, we read

^"The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples" (Deuteronomy 7:7).

This verse resembles what Paul wrote the Corinthians: 

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:26-30).

If we apply this truth today, we can surmise that God didn't assign us our purpose or distribute our gifts based on any latent goodness or superiority in us. If anything, He chose and uses us as an expression of His grace, so we should not be proud thinking we earned or deserved who we are, what we do, or what we have. We cannot boast in anything but Christ.

Are your talents or gifts a source of pride? Do you sometimes feel if others would work like you, they would enjoy the success you have? Do you see how foolish that is, for you had nothing to do with your gifts in the first place—they are bestowed by God as He sees fit? Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 10:8, "Freely you have received; freely give" and then apply that strategy as you express your purpose and creativity for the benefit of others and not just your own.

Purpose Study Bible 167: Bit by Bit

An overnight success seldom is and those that are can seldom maintain their success because they were not prepared mentally, spiritually, or even practically. That's the reason the Lord was going to deal with their enemies who were already in the land into which they were going as follows:

"Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed" (Deuteronomy 7:21-23).

That's probably how the Lord will work with you, no matter how talented you are or how urgent the work is that you're doing. He will give you gradual success, developing you along the way otherwise your success may actually lead to your demise. That's why you must not fall into the trap of thinking, "I should be further along than I am" or "I am getting old and my best years are behind me." Either thought could cause you to act with undue urgency or passivity, ignoring the fact that you are still developing and growing. At the same time, your ongoing development will not prevent you from having a measure of success and bearing fruit along the way.

Are you growing and developing in preparation for your success? Is your ability to handle more increasing and improving? What are you doing to ensure that you can handle more? Are you living up to the true size of your gift and calling? God has a promised land for you and He will teach how to occupy it bit by bit. Don't try to move too fast but at the same time, don't lag behind the timetable God has for you as you occupy the land He has assigned you.

Purpose Study Bible 166: All In

Moses exhorted the people to obey the Lord's commands that it may be well with them. He mentioned one benefit from doing so (long life) and one result (increase greatly):

"These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:1-5, emphasis added).

God wants you to enjoy life but also expects that you will bring increase where He places you and in what He gives you to do. That can only happen when you heed the call in verse 5: to live Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Your purpose and creativity can't be part-time pursuits at your convenience or leisure. You must be all-in on serving the Lord and His kingdom with everything you have.

Are you enjoying an abundant life as Jesus promised, or just getting by? Are you bringing increase to your area of work, ministry, or creativity? How do you know? How can you measure it to be sure? And are you an all-in servant or part-time helper? We are later told in 2 Chronicles 16:9, "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." Are you fully committed? If so, then you are sure to savor the joys of serving the Lord and seeing the results in the land of the living.

Purpose Study Bible 165: Creativity Gone Awry

Deuteronomy in its entirety is one big review session, with Moses going over with the people their history and God's commands leading up to their entrance into the Promised Land. This week, we look at God's prohibition against idolatry:

^"You saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below" (Deuteronomy 4:15-18).

God gave the people their ability to carve, sculpt, paint, and mold. If the people's hearts weren't right toward the Lord, they would begin to worship other gods and use their imagination and creativity not only to create those gods, but also to make and fashion images of those false gods so they and others could worship them. In a sense, God was warning them if they weren't totally committed to Him, the creativity He had given them would go awry and be used to draw themselves and others after non-gods.

How are you using your creativity? Are you using it to glorify God and to portray His love, grace, and majesty to those who come in contact with your creativity? Or has your creativity gone awry, used for other means, even just to earn your living with no spiritual expression in service to others? In a broader sense, are you taking your creativity seriously and using it as a means to true worship (yours and others) or idolatry?

Purpose Study Bible 164: Again and Again

As Moses reviewed the people's journey before they entered the Promised Land, he repeated a phrase we have seen throughout this study and will continue to see until we're finished. Moses told the people,

"At that time I commanded Joshua: 'You have seen with your own eyes all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going. Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you'" (Deuteronomy 3:21-22).

The command or directive to focus on is "do not be afraid of them," or to paraphrase it, "fear not." We will encounter this saying throughout this study and there's good reason for this. It's because you, like your parents Adam and Eve, are terrified. Oh, you may know how to mask it and even learn to live with it, labeling it as something else—but the fear is there. It's fear to create lest others reject or ignore what you have done; fear to be yourself for fear that others will mock or think badly of you; fear to step out because you may be getting ahead of the Lord. Fear, fear, fear, and the sooner you face its reality, the sooner you can get over it and move on.

Given this truth, it's a helpful practice to assume that fear is lurking someplace in the recesses of your mind and, based on that assumption, to then go on a seek-and-destroy mission. That means you are determined to find it, expose it, confess it, and then act despite its screams that you cease and desist right now, putting off to tomorrow what you could do today.

Where is fear holding you back from being a person of purpose? Where is it stifling your creativity? Where is fear keeping you from engaging others in the fullness of who you are rather than who you think you should be or you think others want you to be? You would do well today to take Moses' advice to heart and learn not to be afraid as you face your enemies, remembering that God has fought and will continue to fight on your behalf.

Purpose Study Bible 163: Stubborn

As Moses continued his review of their Wilderness journey to open Deuteronomy, he gave this account:

"Then I said to you, 'Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.' In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go" (Deuteronomy 1:29-33).

Moses advised and cautioned the people not to be afraid and on top of that, they saw the Lord work on their behalf. Yet "in spite of this," they chose not to trust the Lord. Perhaps you have done the same thing.

Due to our fallen nature, it can be difficult to accept the perspective of another where our gifts and purpose are concerned. We want to reserve the right to evaluate and categorize our talent and impact on others. Someone may say, "Your painting is so good," but you say, "No, it's not. The blue isn't the right blue and the resemblance to what I was drawing isn't there." Someone may say, "This meal you made was wonderful," but you say, "Thanks, but the meat was overdone and the potatoes weren't right." You are acting just like the people in the Wilderness who stubbornly refused to trust anyone's perspective but their own—not even God's.

Where have you dismissed your own significance even though others have been pointing it out to you? Is it difficult for you to receive a compliment with which you don't agree, especially where your talents and gifts are concerned? Where are you stubbornly resisting your own effectiveness and perhaps even greatness where your creativity and purpose are concerned?

Purpose Study Bible 162: Misdirected Creativity

In the early chapters of Deuteronomy, Moses reviewed the people's history since they had left Egypt. Part of that history was when they sent spies into the Land only to have the spies bring back a discouraging report:

But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You grumbled in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there'" (Deuteronomy 1:26-28).

Notice what the people did. They received the negative report from the spies, processed it, and then came up with excuses and reasons why they couldn't enter the Land. What's more, even though they had not seen the Land (only the spies had), they accepted the report that the walls of the cities they were told to conquer reached "up to the sky." They concocted exaggerated scenarios that convinced them of their helplessness.

The people used their creativity to make up excuses and exaggerations of why they could not do God's will. Do you do the same? Do you say you have "no time"? That's an exaggeration, for you have all the time in the world—24 hours a day—and you probably use some of it on vain or empty activities that have no eternal value. Do you imagine the worst case scenario if you were to step out and pursue a faith goal, things like poverty, shame, and perhaps even death? You are using your power of imagination to create a negative possibility that will keep you mired in the status quo because at least it's safer than the imagined alternative. Do you even go so far as to complain that the Lord is against you, that it's His fault you are not more productive and fruitful? (Note their extreme exaggeration that the Lord hated them.)

If you any yes to answer of those possibilities, then there's only one option and that is to repent and change your thinking, deciding once and for all to use your God-given creativity not to oppose God's purpose in your life but to help fulfill it. Only then will you move on from your dead stop to a place of fruitfulness and fulfillment that only come from obedience.

Purpose Study Bible 161: Time To Go In

With this study, we begin our journey through Deuteronomy to see what it can teach us about the Goldmine Principles of purpose, creativity, goals, time management, and faith. In the opening chapter, we read

The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites . . . See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them" (Deuteronomy 1:6-8).

The people had been wandering in the Wilderness for 40 years when the Lord said, "You have stayed here long enough." The Promised Land was before them, but they had to "go in and take possession" of their promised abode and inheritance. How about you?

Is it about time that you left the camp of complacency where you're always "getting ready" to enter the promise God has for you? What is that promise? A relationship? A business? A college degree? A ministry? Some creative expression? And if you're ready to break camp, are you also prepared to move out and take possession of what is yours? That means you will have to take action and not just talk and procrastinate.

Keep in mind that the goal isn't to move around to feel or pretend like you're making progress. It's to grow and make actual progress. What steps can you take today to go in and take possession of your land? Visit someone who can fund your dream? Write a letter? Apply for admission? Incorporate your company? Whatever it is, it's time to move out and go in!

Purpose Study Bible 160: Boundaries

As we close this series on Numbers, let's look at God's directions for how the land was to be divided when the people got there:

The Lord said to Moses, “Command the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter Canaan, the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance is to have these boundaries" (Numbers 34:1-2).

God then laid out a plan that situated the tribes within specific borders. God is still doing the same thing today but instead of land, He is apportioning gifts and responsibilities according to each person's capacity and faith:

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).

You don't know your boundaries—how much you can do and where you can do it—until you step out and try. Also your boundaries may not be local, but may extend or be exclusively among people or in a nation not close to your background or heritage.

What are your gifts and talents? Do you know what your borders are? Where are you most effective in your work or ministry? What are you doing when you are "in the groove" and flowing with the Lord? Are you open to God expanding your borders? What changes will have to take place in you for that to happen?

Purpose Study Bible 159: Stages

As we get ready to close out our study of Numbers, we read the following verses at the beginning of Numbers 33:

Here are the stages in the journey of the Israelites when they came out of Egypt by divisions under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. At the Lord’s command Moses recorded the stages in their journey. This is their journey by stages (Numbers 33:1-2, emphasis added).

Did you notice that the word stages was used three times in those two short verses? It seems the Lord wanted them to be mindful of how He brought them into the Land. It wasn't an orderly journey, but included many stops and starts, with the people remaining where they were for varying amounts of time before they moved on again. Why do you think God had Moses record the stages of Israel's journey as He did? 

Like Israel, you're on a journey in the Lord, which is why believers have often been referred to as pilgrims. A pilgrim is defined as "a person who journeys to a sacred place for religious reasons." As Israel was heading to the Promised Land, believers in Christ know where they are now is not their home. They are just passing through on their way to their own Promised Land.

Yet, this passing-through journey has eternal implications for God uses it to prepare you for who you will be and what you will do forever. Therefore, it would be good today for you to sit down and map out your journey just like Moses did. Put down on paper or a white board all the significant events and turning points in your life, good or not so good—births, deaths, graduations, job changes, moves, times of great gain or loss. Nothing is irrelevant if you think of it. Just put it down.

Now look at your own life that is laid out before you. As you look at it all, ask God to open your eyes and speak to you. Can you see any patterns? Have changes come with a regular, almost predictable pattern? Ask God to speak to you out of the timeline that reveal the stages of your own life. When you are done, thank God for His faithfulness over the years, but then keep on looking for hidden clues that may help you in your search for purpose.