Good Morning All,
Deuteronomy 7:21; “You shall not be in dread of
them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.”
Any of you who were, or are athletes, or have watched a movie or two
about sports contests know all about the pep speech. Sometimes it is before the start of the game;
if you remember the movies” Hoosiers” where the coach (Gene Hackman) takes the
tape measure and shows the players that the big city gym and basketball court
is the same as theirs back home trying to calm the nerves. If you want a good pep speech, the one Al
Pacino gives in “Any given Sunday” when he talks about how football and life is
about inches and fighting for that inch.
Of course, the classic is “Win one for the Gipper” by Knute Rockne’s
half time speech of the 1928 Army-Notre Dame Game.
This
verse is part of a pep speech that Moses is giving to the Israelites as they
are leaving the wilderness and entering the land of Canaan to conquer it. The Lord you God is in your midst there is no
need to dread them. The Israelites had
no need to fear their enemies as God had promised them success. The Hittites, the Amorites, the Jebusites, and
the others were not going to be a match for the Israelites even though these
other nations appeared to be stronger.
What
about us? Do we need a pep speech? Do we fear our enemies? You might think that you fear no enemies; no
country would dare attack this country; perhaps that is true but what about
your personal enemies. Instead of the
Hittites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites, are our enemies named fear, anxiety,
and doubt? Do we sit in dread of some
calamity that looms on the horizon? Do
we fear the next visit to the doctor? Do
you wonder if those people in your lives are questioning whether or not you are
worth the effort to love anymore?
Perhaps you feel like a burden to everyone because you can’t do
everything like you used to. We all have
lots of enemies in our lives trying to cause you dread, trying to cause you to
lose sleep, trying to separate you from the Good Shepherd’s flock.
We
have no reason to dread for the Lord our God is a great and awesome God. God’s love for you is so powerful that he
sent Jesus to die for you in order that you and I will be reconciled back to
God. That intimate conversation between
God and man which took place in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the morning,
which was broken by sin, is repaired by Christ’s death and resurrection. God the Father, working through God the Son,
with God the Spirit as the active agent is in our midst giving us the speech,
“nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus”, or
“This is eternal life that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom You sent” or “I can do all things through Him (Jesus) who
strengthens me” and the list goes on. God
gives us these to give us hope when we need it, comfort when we need it and
strength when we need it. We have
nothing to dread for God is in our midst.
Father of all mercies, your grace rolls over us
like a mighty river. We thank you for
your everlasting love which knows no measure and has no bounds. Keep us safe in your hands and protect us
from all evil and give us that sense of peace which comes only from you. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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