TAKE HEED, OBSERVE, POSSESS
Suggested Reading: Deuteronomy 4
(click scripture link to read online)
A father walks his child from a time of studying holy books in a Jewish library located in Jerusalem at the foot of the Temple Mount, beside the Western Wall.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: Deuteronomy 4:9
Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and grandchildren.
Words repeated in a chapter stand out to me. “TAKE HEED” (3 times), “OBSERVE” (3 times), and “POSSESS” (4 times). I believe God wants us to pay attention to Him, carefully scrutinize His Word and our response, and then assimilate (make part of our being) what we are learning. This will equip us to pass on our stories to the next generations, and for us personally, “That you may live” (vs 1). Also, “Lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life” (vs 9). Another reason to take heed, observe and possess is, “Lest you act corruptly” (vs 16). How about, “Lest you forget?” (vs 23). The result of our diligence is found in verses 29-31. This is so important that I’m going to type those verses here for extra emphasis, “BUT FROM THERE YOU WILL SEEK THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND YOU WILL FIND HIM IF YOU SEEK HIM WITH ALL YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL. WHEN YOU ARE IN DISTRESS, AND ALL THESE THINGS COME UPON YOU IN THE LATTER DAYS, WHEN YOU TURN TO THE LORD YOUR GOD AND OBEY HIS VOICE (FOR THE LORD YOUR GOD IS A MERCIFUL GOD), HE WILL NOT FORSAKE YOU NOR DESTROY YOU, NOR FORGET THE COVENANT WHICH HE SWORE TO THEM.” Amen!!!!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, I can’t do this on my own, nevertheless I’ll give it my best. My best won’t be enough Lord. Therefore I ask you for sufficient grace to fully “Take Heed,” “Observe,” and “Possess.” Through the person and work of Jesus, the One who did it right, I pray. Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
Telling my stories to my children and grandchildren is a joy for an old man. Besides, when I do this I’m being obedient to God. That’s most important. I would do this blog for any one of those for whom I’m responsible. As I ponder what story I should tell, I’m looking at the pictures on the wall of Norma-Jean’s special room where I’m typing this. I see a framed front page picture from the National Post. It’s of Stephen Harper (who was to become Prime Minister in 3 days’ time) holding my great-granddaughter, Noelle Neilson (I’ll put a copy of that picture below). His campaign bus stopped right in front of Noelle’s home in Waterdown, Ontario. Meanwhile, I had a book of photographs from the 1948 Stanley Cup Champions, the Toronto Maple Leafs, that I thought Stephen Harper would enjoy, knowing that he’s a BIG hockey fan and is writing a book on hockey. I had prayed, “Lord, I have no idea how to get this book into Stephen’s hands; can You help me?” Now back to that surprise street visit…Mr. Harper asked Noelle’s Mom, my granddaughter Sheryl, “Who is this child.” She answered, “This is David Mainse’s great-granddaughter.” He responded, “Tell David I’m going to call him next week.” The day after the election, as I was walking into a nursing home to get the blessing of the elderly couple who had given me the photographs originally, my cell phone rang. Guess what? It was our new P.M. I travelled to Ottawa and presented him these historical photos on Thursday that week. No one could tell me that God did not have a hand in these events. Hebrews 11:6 says, “He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” So that’s another story for my great-grandchildren. Noelle is now 7, and 6 more have arrived since.
Yours for passing on the stories of God’s grace and mercy,
David
Here is the photo from the National Post which I referred to above. It was from January 20, 2006. You can click on the photo to enlarge it.
Wow! You’ve led an interesting, rich and full life David … the people you have met, the places you have seen! God definitely had His gracious hand in all of it!
Take heed, observe, possess : The essence of the gospel message! We need to understand that the Bible is a Holy word of the Lord, read it, study it, question it, seek wisdom in it, and then take hold of the promises of God by accepting our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ into our hearts, into our lives, and by totally surrendering our thoughts, will and desires up to Him. In this way, we too can acquire a holy land that He has prepared for us in heaven. The exciting thing about this is that we don’t have to wait to die to possess it; we can decide to believe at this very moment and God’s spirit will enter in to forever be with us. Imagine that! Immanuel = God with us! Now and forever. Amen!
Thank You Heavenly Father for your Good Word. In this chapter you really make it clear… And thank you for the Good message, David, and for sharing your interesting and inspiring stories with us, as you also share yourself.
And your comment was great Scott. This is a wonderful blog to follow….we are blessed!
Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ~ Jesus
(Matthew 19:14)
Amen!
Lianne Hogg
God’s hand was indeed in your story about you Stephen Harper’s visit. All we need to do is take heed and observe and we can see God working every day in so many situations.
Thank you David for your faithfulness to this Blog. I have always meant to read the Bible through but never stuck with it. With your help I am doing it and sticking with it everyday. Thank you for being obedient.
Yes, Thank You Mr. Mainse 🙂
Thank u for your sharing your rich heritage and for your prayers for Canada and beyond.
Have blessed, peaceful and beautiful Christmas season.
Dear David: Thank you and may the lord contin ue to richly bless you, your famil;y and ministry; Thank you for your faithfulness and opbedience; My husband and I celebrate our 39th wedding anniversary today; We were so blessed to meet you and Norma-Jean when we joined you on the journey to the Holy Land in 2005 where both of us re-dedicated in Baptism by you. We come from worhsipping false gods in hindy and buddhist backgrounds and the lord brought us out to ‘Heed ” his Wordm “observe” and Possess”. Please pray for us, for both our sons, who were NOT raised in the Word, and for their wives, for salvation; for the Lord to bless my heart’s desire for grand-babies~Thank you again~
Hi David,Great to hear that Norma-Jean and you have a special room for precious memories.l too like to keep special memories by writing them down. l have quite a collection of wonderful God-moments,which l pull out from time to time, to remind myself of our Lord’s faithfulness in my life. l have been blessed so much,it’s good to write it down to also share with others. In 0ur reading today we read again how God holds out his arms and welcomes us back anytime we have messed up,and return to him in true repentance of heart. Faithful,Faithful God!
Thankyou !
looking back ~ remembering~ is a wonderful thing to do ~ when the times come when you feel alone or forgotten by God, all it takes is a look back and relive His Presence, then, as He is now. It is good to ‘remember.’ He is faithful even when we are not.
And the greatest of these is LOVE! “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8. Everything else pales!
Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.
Amen!!
Nancy Webb-Waisberg, Edmonton, Alberta