Fear of God and love for God coexist happily in the heart of people who are rightly related to Him.

God warned Israel, "And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it" (Ex. 20:25). To pollute something is to make it ordinary. God insists that any approach crafted by human ingenuity will produce a worship system just like all the pagan systems in the world. In other words, it will be common or profane - just like everyone else's paganism.

In Deuteronomy 11, God offers Israel a choice; either a life of productivity and enjoyment made possible by obedience to Him, or a life of difficulty and opposition made necessary by disobedience. The happiness Israel desires can only be theirs by being properly related to Him.

People sometimes punish to exact judgment for past actions. God disciplines in order to teach and always in the interest of those whom he disciplines.

The worship of false gods is always an outgrowth of spiritual deception.

God leads His people whether they are obedient or rebellious, but His leading is far more pleasant when they obey.

Those who serve God in vocational ministry must learn to trust Him for their daily needs before they can encourage others to do so.