Deuteronomy 13.1-3

S If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

O Moses is making sure that in every way the people of Israel know that they are to serve God and God alone. Not to follow the leading of powerful, charismatic men, but to follow the LORD. It’s a powerful verse. It seems these men have supernatural powers. Powers that would presumably be from the LORD Himself, but Moses warns them not to follow them. They’re hearts must be God’s and God’s alone.

A This is a powerful verse in an era of mega churches and amazing leaders. I don’t believe that anything is wrong with some the great leaders we have within the Church, but this verse is a reminder that we are to serve and follow God, not our pastor or Spiritual leader. I’m reminded of the verse in Revelations that reminds us to always go back to our “First love”, Jesus. We follow God because He is our first love. Our only perfect leader. People will fail us, whether intentionally or unintentionally. This is Moses’ reminder—always return to the LORD.

P Jesus, restore my first love in You. I want to follow you with all my heart, and all my life. Help me to always be committed to You and You alone. In Your Name I pray. Amen.

1. This entry was posted on Monday, March 10th, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under Journal Entry, Ryan Saari. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.