Deuteronomy Chapter 5: Verses 2-6 (NIV-UK)
The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. It was not with our ancestors that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. The Lord spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. (At that time I stood between the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:
‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.’
Romans Chapter 8:Verse 15 (NLT)
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”
2 Corinthians Chapter 5: Verses 18-19 (NLT)
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
Moses reminded the Israelites in his final sermon that God had made a covenant with the people that He brought out of Egypt to be their God, to have that personal relationship with them and speak to them face to face. They were not to look back on how He related to their ancestors. He wanted an ongoing relationship with them, not one that was distant.
Jesus came in order to bring us to a reconciled relationship with His Father God. We too need to focus on growing that personal relationship, focussing on now, and not looking back at either the failures or successes of our past. And not only that, God intends that the evidence of our intimate and active relationship with Him should be evidence to others to encourage them also to come into that relationship with Him for themselves. We are in a very privileged position to be able to call God our Father, but also to be ambassadors for Him.
Dear Lord,
I am grateful that You loved us so much that You sent Jesus to take our sins on Himself in order to restore our relationship with You. Help me to remember that You also want us to encourage others to enter into that relationship. Help me then to stay close and to keep it real. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen