OT DAY 250 - Little by Little You Change (Please click here for English podcast)

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http://www.breakbuild.blogspot.ca/

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Silence

1.   Put on your “brakes” and stop for a moment of silence

2.   Wait for God. Breathe deep for God's peace. Exhale your worries.

Praise and Thanksgiving

1.   Think through your day, all the times that made you smile

2.   Thank God for all those moments, and for all those people

3.   Open your heart to praise the Lord

       
           Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
                                 let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2          Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
                                 let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

                                  Psalm 95:1-2

        
 Confession and Repentance

1.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in you:

     “Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”

2.  Through the Holy Spirit, examine yourself for a short silence and then pray:

     "Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sin to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gifts to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."

The Word (Deuteronomy 7:7-26)

English(ESV): https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy 7&version=ESV

21 You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. 22 The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. 23 But the Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed. 

                   Deuteronomy 7:21-23

Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmax47l2hLU

My Listening
        Yesterday's passage God talks about how the Israelites should destroy those things against God and how we should destroy and breakdown those lifestyle against God. Today, God talks about the breakdown is "little by little". Is there any contradiction? 

Let's see how Professor John Goldingay tells us: 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Goldingay) :

    

     In an agonized e-mail I received from a friend, she described herself as constantly frustrated by the fact that she is not as mature as she thinks she should be. "Why do I go back to fighting the same old battles in my spiritual life instead of newer ones? Why, after dying a million deaths to something, am I still not dead and done with it?" She had imagined that as a growing Christian, she would be done with a certain thing, such as anger or pride, and would face other, different types of things to fight and overcome ..

     There has been all that talk about God's expelling the Canaanites from the country and giving it to Israel, but in reality the Canaanites were alive and well for centuries after Moses' day. How were the Israelites to make sense of it? The close of chapter 7 offers one answer, picking up a declaration God already made at Sinai(Exodus 23:29-30). Making the Canaanites disappear only gradually is a strange kind of mercy. 

John Goldingay. Numbers & Deuteronomy for Everyone. Louisville,KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010, p.125-126.

     Just like how the Israelites destroy and breakdown all those against God, we have to admit that our destroying and breaking down all those bad habits, lifestyles, characters would mostly be "little by little". Don't be discouraged if you think it is too little, too slow to change. But, don't cheat yourself that what you can do is "little by little' and that is what you learn from Deuteronomy 7.

     Yes, little by little you are more and more closer to Jesus. Then, little by little you change. Changing, renewal of lifestyle and character is a lifelong journey. But, have you start that "little" step already? Or, are you stuck or even going backward? 

Dear Lord Jesus, 
Help us to be more and more closer to you so that we can start this "little by little" spiritual journey to be more like you. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Reflect on these questions:
1. Do you agree that changing of lifestyle and character is not easy? Can you figure out why it is so difficult?  

2. Have you start the "little" step to change because you are willing to destroy and breakdown some of your bad lifestyle, habit and character? 

Praise and Thanksgiving

Let's give thanks for God with us. Let us praise Him:

10,000 Reasons

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDGE_lRI0E

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Daily Devotion on Fire: http://bishopsilas.blogspot.ca/

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