Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
One writer humorously said, "If you don't know the direction that you're going, any direction will get you there." I'll never forget when I was at the airport, a friend of mine wanted to give me a ride. I came back from a conference, picked me up, threw my bags in his truck, off on the freeway we went. We were talking and I was telling him how the conference was going. It was amazing. They had this speaker and that speaker, and we were so encouraged. We were just gabbing the whole way. Finally, about 60 minutes into our drive, we kind of started checking the signs. My friend who was driving said, "You know what, Rick? I think we're going the wrong way!" We had gone 60 minutes the wrong direction.
I don't know about you, but as you look at your life and I look at my life, sometimes I think- which direction am I going with my life? I think about my family. I think about my job. I think about my life in terms of what I want to accomplish, and sometimes I just really need direction.
I need a mission. I love this Verse of the Day that we have before us. It's Deuteronomy chapter 13 and verse 4, and the Bible says, "Serve only the Lord your God, and fear him alone. Obey his commandments. Listen to him and cling to him." I love this because Moses gives these five principles for you and me that provide a mission for us.
Five Life-Directing Principles
What's interesting about this is Moses wrote the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. He wrote this section of the Bible because the people of Israel were tempted to worship other gods. There were all kinds of polytheists, worship of many gods all around them. Because of this, Moses comes along and gives this mission.
He gives us, again, five principles. Let's quickly look at them. Number one, he says serve - serve the Lord your God, or serve Him only. As you think about that, Jesus actually served His disciples by washing their feet. The Bible says in many places we're to serve one another out of love.
Secondly, he says right there in the text to fear Him. I love what Ecclesiastes says: "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man." Think about this - this is Solomon who said this, the wisest guy at the time. He says, at the end of the matter, "I need you to fear God and keep his commandments."
Then he says, thirdly, to obey Him. There's one command in the Bible for kids. It's to obey your parents. Think about that - one command.
Then he says, listen to Him. When I was in seventh grade, I was popping my gum. As I kept popping my gum, the science teacher said, "Hey, Rick, I need you to take your gum and stick it on your nose the last 20 minutes of the class." I will never forget that because the Bible says to be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger- for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
As we look at this last one, it says cling to Him. As Moses is saying this, you and I, we have this classic tendency to wander. I love that hymn: "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it." How are you doing with these five quick principles? How are you doing with your mission? As you look at your life, think about these 5 things. It's going to really help the trajectory of our life in many, many ways.
Isaiah chapter 43 and verse 7, the Bible says we've been created for His glory. And one of the ways that you can be on mission, that I can be on mission and glorify Christ, is to serve Him, to fear Him, to obey Him, to listen to Him and cling to Him. Let's do that today.
