“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the LORD your God, and live in a way that pleases him, and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. And you must always obey the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.” (Deuteronomy 10:12–13, NLT)
So many people do not realize that God’s Word is not meant to be an overbearing piece of literature that is full of laws to control one’s life! It is meant to be a writing of sacred grace about God’s intent to save humanity from sin and destruction. When God’s Word is heeded and followed, good things tend to happen. When God’s Word is distorted or neglected, often people suffer. Where God’s Word is unknown, all manner of ills present themselves. One might even say that without God’s Word, the world would be a much more dangerous and darker place for humans to live.
“The English ship, Bounty, commanded by Lieutenant William Bligh, journeyed to the South Pacific in 1787 to collect plants of the breadfruit tree. Sailors signed on gladly, considering the voyage a trip to paradise. Having no second-in-command, Captain Bligh appointed his young friend Fletcher Christian to the post. The Bounty stayed in Tahiti six months, and the sailors, led by happy-go-lucky Fletcher Christian, enjoyed paradise to the full. When time came for departure, some of the men wanted to stay behind with their island girls. Three men, trying to desert, were flogged. The mood on ship darkened, and on April 28, 1789 Fletcher Christian staged the most famous mutiny in history. Bligh and his supporters were set adrift in an overloaded lifeboat (which they miraculously navigated 3,700 miles to Timor).
The mutineers aboard the Bounty began quarreling about what to do next. Christian returned to Tahiti where he left some of the mutineers, kidnapped some women, took some slaves, and traveled 1,000 miles to uninhabited Pitcairn Island. There, the little group quickly unraveled. They distilled whiskey from a native plant. Drunkenness and fighting marked their colony. Disease and murder eventually took the lives of all the men except for one, Alexander Smith, who found himself the only man on the island, surrounded by an assortment of women and children.
Then an amazing change occurred. Smith found the Bounty’s neglected Bible. As he read it, he took its message to heart, then began instructing the little community. He taught the colonists the Scriptures and helped them obey its instructions. The message of Christ so transformed their lives that 20 years later, in 1808, when the Topaz landed on the island, it found a happy society of Christians, living in prosperity and peace, free from crime, disease, murder—and mutiny. Later, the Bible fell into the hands of a visiting whaler who brought it to America. In 1950 it was returned to the island. It now resides on display in the church in Pitcairn as a monument to its transforming message.” (Robert J. Morgan, On This Day, April 23).
When Spencer Christian and his group of mutineers lived lives of debauchery in a society devoid of God’s law, they suffered one disaster after another. They suffered from infighting. They dealt with drunkenness. Men fought over women. Children were neglected. Slavery was introduced. Disease and murder came soon after. Only when Alexander Smith found the Bounty’s neglected Bible and began to teach everyone on Pitcairn Island about the gospel did things change for the better. By the time the next ship, Topaz, visited the island, it was the paradise that Spencer Christian always hoped for but never found. When neglecting God’s Word, there was much suffering. Living out God’s Word changed their society for the better and brought happiness and peace and security to the island.
There is a belief among many educated elites today that human beings are reasonable and don’t require any God to flourish. They believe that humans, when given full reign, will develop advanced and successful societies without any need for God. Not only was this disproved in the story of Spencer Christian and the Bounty’s Bible, but it has also been disproven over and over in history. You might hear the lies being told on college campuses that religion has caused more wars and death than any other thing in history. The facts say otherwise. Communism, Socialism, Totalitarianism, and Dictatorships have killed more people in history than any other form of social construction. Where religious leadership helped the world move beyond the Dark Ages and into the Renaissance, for example, political revolutions in Russia and Germany during the early Twentieth Century led to more than one hundred million deaths and the largest war in the history of humankind. It is also a fact that more Christians died as martyrs in the twentieth century than all previous centuries since Christ COMBINED! When people choose to neglect, ignore, abuse, or get rid of the gospel, there will always be suffering as a consequence. Following God makes people more humane, more grace-full, more merciful, more honest, more trusted, and more faithful. It always transforms societies for the good.
I recently had a conversation with a friend who is involved in prison ministry. His group worked with a chaplain to lead Bible Studies and prayer meetings in a local prison. The result? The warden personally recommended the group be given recognition. Almost all the guards spoke highly of the effects on the prison population. And hundreds of people in prison lived changed lives. The recidivism rate of the prisoners (the rate to which they returned to crime after their prison term) dropped significantly. This has been further seen as the norm by groups such as Prison Fellowship and Kairos Prison Ministry. When groups turn their lives over to Christ and follow God’s law, good things tend to follow!
The scripture for today from Deuteronomy 10 cautioned the people of Israel to “fear the Lord”, “love”, “please”, and “serve HIM” with “all heart, soul, and mind” (Deuteronomy 10:12). They were not called to do this just because God willed it. On the contrary, the scripture reveals in the end that turning their lives over to God and following God’s law would end up being the best thing they could do for their future. It would be “for their own good” (Deuteronomy 10:13). Their lives would be blessed. If they did not, their lives would eventually spiral into suffering and degradation, just like occurred with the crew from the Bounty.
Many people, even Christians, look at the gospel as “a bunch of laws and commands of God” that are required, like a hurdle, for eternal life. They mistake the purpose of the gospel. Jesus brough God’s Word into this world to save it, to preserve life, to protect love. God’s law doesn’t make earthly living worse. It blesses human endeavors. It safeguards and preserves human life. When followed faithfully, it protects the planet. When obeyed, it brings life and hope and peace and prosperity.
How has following God been a blessing to you and your family? Do you see the gospel as a blessing or as a habit? Is following Jesus a duty or a joy? How might you share the blessings of following Jesus with others?
“The English ship, Bounty, commanded by Lieutenant William Bligh, journeyed to the South Pacific in 1787 to collect plants of the breadfruit tree. Sailors signed on gladly, considering the voyage a trip to paradise. Having no second-in-command, Captain Bligh appointed his young friend Fletcher Christian to the post. The Bounty stayed in Tahiti six months, and the sailors, led by happy-go-lucky Fletcher Christian, enjoyed paradise to the full. When time came for departure, some of the men wanted to stay behind with their island girls. Three men, trying to desert, were flogged. The mood on ship darkened, and on April 28, 1789 Fletcher Christian staged the most famous mutiny in history. Bligh and his supporters were set adrift in an overloaded lifeboat (which they miraculously navigated 3,700 miles to Timor).
The mutineers aboard the Bounty began quarreling about what to do next. Christian returned to Tahiti where he left some of the mutineers, kidnapped some women, took some slaves, and traveled 1,000 miles to uninhabited Pitcairn Island. There, the little group quickly unraveled. They distilled whiskey from a native plant. Drunkenness and fighting marked their colony. Disease and murder eventually took the lives of all the men except for one, Alexander Smith, who found himself the only man on the island, surrounded by an assortment of women and children.
Then an amazing change occurred. Smith found the Bounty’s neglected Bible. As he read it, he took its message to heart, then began instructing the little community. He taught the colonists the Scriptures and helped them obey its instructions. The message of Christ so transformed their lives that 20 years later, in 1808, when the Topaz landed on the island, it found a happy society of Christians, living in prosperity and peace, free from crime, disease, murder—and mutiny. Later, the Bible fell into the hands of a visiting whaler who brought it to America. In 1950 it was returned to the island. It now resides on display in the church in Pitcairn as a monument to its transforming message.” (Robert J. Morgan, On This Day, April 23).
When Spencer Christian and his group of mutineers lived lives of debauchery in a society devoid of God’s law, they suffered one disaster after another. They suffered from infighting. They dealt with drunkenness. Men fought over women. Children were neglected. Slavery was introduced. Disease and murder came soon after. Only when Alexander Smith found the Bounty’s neglected Bible and began to teach everyone on Pitcairn Island about the gospel did things change for the better. By the time the next ship, Topaz, visited the island, it was the paradise that Spencer Christian always hoped for but never found. When neglecting God’s Word, there was much suffering. Living out God’s Word changed their society for the better and brought happiness and peace and security to the island.
There is a belief among many educated elites today that human beings are reasonable and don’t require any God to flourish. They believe that humans, when given full reign, will develop advanced and successful societies without any need for God. Not only was this disproved in the story of Spencer Christian and the Bounty’s Bible, but it has also been disproven over and over in history. You might hear the lies being told on college campuses that religion has caused more wars and death than any other thing in history. The facts say otherwise. Communism, Socialism, Totalitarianism, and Dictatorships have killed more people in history than any other form of social construction. Where religious leadership helped the world move beyond the Dark Ages and into the Renaissance, for example, political revolutions in Russia and Germany during the early Twentieth Century led to more than one hundred million deaths and the largest war in the history of humankind. It is also a fact that more Christians died as martyrs in the twentieth century than all previous centuries since Christ COMBINED! When people choose to neglect, ignore, abuse, or get rid of the gospel, there will always be suffering as a consequence. Following God makes people more humane, more grace-full, more merciful, more honest, more trusted, and more faithful. It always transforms societies for the good.
I recently had a conversation with a friend who is involved in prison ministry. His group worked with a chaplain to lead Bible Studies and prayer meetings in a local prison. The result? The warden personally recommended the group be given recognition. Almost all the guards spoke highly of the effects on the prison population. And hundreds of people in prison lived changed lives. The recidivism rate of the prisoners (the rate to which they returned to crime after their prison term) dropped significantly. This has been further seen as the norm by groups such as Prison Fellowship and Kairos Prison Ministry. When groups turn their lives over to Christ and follow God’s law, good things tend to follow!
The scripture for today from Deuteronomy 10 cautioned the people of Israel to “fear the Lord”, “love”, “please”, and “serve HIM” with “all heart, soul, and mind” (Deuteronomy 10:12). They were not called to do this just because God willed it. On the contrary, the scripture reveals in the end that turning their lives over to God and following God’s law would end up being the best thing they could do for their future. It would be “for their own good” (Deuteronomy 10:13). Their lives would be blessed. If they did not, their lives would eventually spiral into suffering and degradation, just like occurred with the crew from the Bounty.
Many people, even Christians, look at the gospel as “a bunch of laws and commands of God” that are required, like a hurdle, for eternal life. They mistake the purpose of the gospel. Jesus brough God’s Word into this world to save it, to preserve life, to protect love. God’s law doesn’t make earthly living worse. It blesses human endeavors. It safeguards and preserves human life. When followed faithfully, it protects the planet. When obeyed, it brings life and hope and peace and prosperity.
How has following God been a blessing to you and your family? Do you see the gospel as a blessing or as a habit? Is following Jesus a duty or a joy? How might you share the blessings of following Jesus with others?