Monthly Study
March 2025Walk in Obedience
The Book of Deuteronomy
Walk in obedience to all that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.—Deuteronomy 5:33
This past Fall, my wife and I sent our oldest daughter to college. In the weeks leading up to her departure, we peppered her with advice on the importance of making time to study, eating healthy food, and getting adequate sleep. We wanted her to flourish in college, and we would not be there to help.
In some small way, our experience was similar to what Moses must have felt. Israel was poised to enter the Promised Land, but he would not be joining them. The Book of Deuteronomy includes his last words to the people of Israel before they embarked on this new era. He wanted them to remember what the Lord had done for them and be faithful to His commands. In this study, we get to listen to this message and reflect on the ways obedience shapes our own walk with God.
Your devotional author,
Ryan J. Cook
Volume 38Edition 3
Managing Editor: Jamie Janosz, Senior Editor: Elena Mafter, Contributing Editor: John Koessler, Writer: Ryan J. Cook, Graphic Designer: Rachel Hutcheson, Marketing: JD Hamby, Production: Rhonda AuYeung
About the Author
Ryan Cook
Ryan Cook
Dr. Ryan Cook is professor of Bible and the executive director of the Center for Advanced Global Leadership Studies for Moody Theological Seminary.
View MoreMarch Devotional Calendar
Podcasts
Remember and Believe
Remember and Believe
Forgetfulness is part of human nature. God understands this. Throughout Scripture He has built systems and structures to help us remember important truths. For example, after Jesus died for our sin and rose again, He instituted the Lord’s Supper to help the church remember this precious truth.
March 1, 2025
Remembering the Journey
This past year I attended a high school graduation ceremony. They had two students speak. The first student told stories about their shared high school experience. The second student reflected on the future. In this section of Deuteronomy, Moses acts more like the first student. He reminds Israel how they got to this point—on the edge of the Promised Land—and after years in the wilderness.
March 2, 2025
The Conquest of Canaan
Reading the Old Testament, one of the most difficult things to understand is the Lord’s command to destroy the Canaanites. Why would a good God command the elimination of an entire people? In Deuteronomy 3, Moses recounts that at the Lord’s command: “We completely destroyed them [Og and his territory]…every city—men, women and children” (v. 6).
March 3, 2025
The World Is Watching
In our house, we have a fireproof lockbox in which we keep important documents. Some documents are important legally (e.g., birth certificates, marriage license, will). Others are important relationally (e.g., love letters, family pictures).
March 4, 2025
Law and Grace
On our wedding day, my wife and I recited traditional vows to one another. We promised “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us part. This is my solemn vow.” Marriage is a covenant relationship. While it is deeply personal, it also comes with standards and expectations for the husband and wife to be faithful to one another.
March 5, 2025
First Love
There are 613 commandments in the Pentateuch. One teacher of the Law asked Jesus, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” (Mark 12:28). Jesus’ answer came from the passage in today’s reading.
March 6, 2025
No Place for Pride
When I was newly married, I worked as a Christian school teacher and finances were tight. One day at church, I shared some car trouble that we were dealing with simply as a way of making conversation. After church, a friend offered to help us pay for our car repair. I was touched by the offer, but also a little humbled. It can be difficult to be on the receiving end of charity.
March 7, 2025
The Test of Success
After a rich young man walked away, Jesus reflected, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:23). There are many reasons for this. The wealthy may feel like they deserve what they have because of their hard work, intelligence, and wisdom. They may feel like they don’t have many needs. There is a temptation of pride and self-sufficiency that comes with wealth.
March 8, 2025
You Don’t Deserve It
In an April 1963 magazine, a travel company ran an advertisement with this tagline: “Sit back. Relax. You deserve it.” It was one of the first advertisements to try to sell its product by appealing to a sense of entitlement. Today this kind of language is ubiquitous. Our culture has taught us to believe that our worth and value takes top priority.
March 9, 2025
Transformed by Grace
Have you ever been given a second chance? At a church I pastored, a man came to faith in Christ later in life. Afterward, he reconnected with his ex-wife. After seeing the change in her husband’s life, she agreed to get remarried, and they have enjoyed many more years together.
March 10, 2025
Teach Your Children Well
When my children were newborns, one of my favorite things to do was place my finger in their palm causing them to wrap their fingers around it. This is a natural reflex that most babies are born with, it is not something they learned. However, almost everything else a child needs to know in life they must learn. We invest billions of dollars in school systems to help our children become functioning adults.
March 11, 2025
Right Worship
“It’s not about you.” This is the opening line to the best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life. It is a helpful reminder for a culture that is steeped in concern for the self. Often the best thing we can do is realize that life is not about us. This is especially true in how we approach worship.
March 12, 2025
Keeping First Things First
I often leave home early to commute to work. It’s part of the reality of living in the metro-Chicago region. Sometimes I dress in the dark so as not to wake up my wife. Occasionally when I put a shirt on, I’ll get the top button wrong and later discover that my shirt is on cockeyed. If you get the first button wrong, the rest just doesn’t work.
March 13, 2025
The Economics of Worship
When I started seminary as a poor graduate student, my wife and I visited several churches. At one church, the parking lot was filled with high- end luxury cars. Our decades-old sedan looked markedly out of place. Although the people were welcoming, we wondered if we would fit in.
March 14, 2025
Rhythms of Worship
On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to break free from Great Britain’s rule. But it was two days later before they issued their justly famous proclamation: the Declaration of Independence. Ever since that day, American’s have commemorated the birth of their nation on the Fourth of July with picnics, fireworks, and parades.
March 15, 2025
Picture of Success
What does it look like to be successful? What images come to mind? You might picture someone who has reached the pinnacle of their profession or who is well respected in the community. Maybe someone with a large and loving family or who has achieved financial security. Our culture often shapes how we envision success.
March 16, 2025
Violence and Justice
Recently, my wife learned that one of her high school classmates was murdered by the classmate’s husband. Even though she had not seen her classmate for years, the news was jarring. In our world, violence and disregard for human life is rampant. But it has been that way since the day Cain killed his brother. History is filled with a trail of blood (Genesis 4).
March 17, 2025
Rules of Engagement
War is an inevitable and tragic reality of living in a sin-soaked world. This was true for ancient Israel as well; it needed to defend itself against hostile neighbors. However, Moses provided Israel with a set of rules for warfare that were in stark contrast to common practices of that time.
March 18, 2025
Do to Others
Did you know that in Alabama it is illegal to make a person in church laugh by wearing a fake mustache on Sunday? In North Carolina, it is illegal for a bingo session to last more than five hours! This is a sample of laws that are technically still on the books, but no longer enforced.
March 19, 2025
Grounded in Compassion
In the 18th century, groups of Enlightenment thinkers joined forces with many evangelical Christians to form an anti-slavery movement. This was unprecedented because, at the time, slavery existed on every inhabited continent. Israel also lived in a world where slavery was a part of everyday life. One could become a slave due to debt or through being captured in war. God’s people had experienced this oppression firsthand during their time in Egypt.
March 20, 2025
Generosity in Relationships
The actor and comedian Charlie Chaplin once quipped, “Judge a man not by how he treats his equals but by how he treats his inferiors.” How we treat those who have no power over us is a good measure of our values and character.
March 21, 2025
Justice and Kindness
When Scripture repeats something, we should pay careful attention. In Deuteronomy 25, there is a law that we might be tempted to gloss over except for the fact that it gets repeated in the New Testament not just once but twice!
March 22, 2025
Giving to God
I recently had a conversation with one of my students who was wrestling with the idea that he hasn’t done enough to earn God’s favor. The beauty of the gospel is that our relationship with God does not depend upon what we do but upon God’s work of salvation centered in Jesus. Paul sums this up well: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).
March 23, 2025
Consequences, Consequences
Ceremonies often mark important transitions in life. High school graduation marks a transition toward adulthood. Marriage celebrates the start of a lifelong union between a man and woman. In Deuteronomy 27, Moses looks forward to a significant transition for Israel—they would cease to wander in the desert and take up residence in the Promised Land.
March 24, 2025
Blessings of Obedience
As a college professor, I write syllabi for my courses. They include a list of objectives, the requirements of the class, and the standards by which students will be assessed. A student can earn a high grade by following the course requirements and doing quality work. But if they turn work in late, plagiarize, or don’t show up to class, there are consequences.
March 25, 2025
Recommitment and Renewal
To celebrate a wedding anniversary, some couples will renew their marriage vows. The point is not that the original vows were no longer valid, but to show that they both are still committed to them.
March 26, 2025
Choose This Day!
I love to read. However, when I was a student, it was always difficult for me to be motivated to complete the required reading for a course. Reading just about anything else seemed more interesting than what the teacher assigned. There is something in us that chaffs against being told what to do. Ob
March 27, 2025
Leadership Transition
Times of leadership transition for a nation are often fraught with uncertainty. This was especially true in the ancient world. Moses had led the nation of Israel for forty years through some of the most challenging and difficult circumstances. He had brought them to the brink of the Promised Land. Now it was time to pass the mantle of leadership to the next generation.
March 28, 2025
Worship in Song
When my children were young, my wife taught them a song called “The Perfect Ten.” The lyrics were a paraphrase of the Ten Commandments. If I asked my college-age daughter to list the Ten Commandments, she references this song. Music helps us remember!
March 29, 2025
A Final Blessing
Leaders often struggle to finish well. Approaching the end of their career, some focus on ensuring their legacy, so they are not forgotten. Others cling to their power and position longer than they should. Some fail to provide a succession plan for fear of being pushed out early.
March 30, 2025
A View of the Promised Land
Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the greatest composers of all time. While he was regionally famous as an organist and technician in his lifetime, he was not well known for his work as a composer. But about one hundred years later, his music was rediscovered by Felix Mendelssohn. After this, Bach achieved worldwide fame and acclamation.
March 31, 2025
Grow with Moody
March 1, 2025
Shake the Box
Are you a “forgetter” or a “rememberer”? In Deuteronomy 8:11, we read, “Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God.” Forgetters, when they achieve something great, say, “Wow! Look what my hard work has achieved!” In crisis, forgetters turn to God, but when things go well, they pray less. In contrast, when life is good, rememberers give God glory. The more they achieve, the more humble they become. They say, “Look what God has done. I give Him the glory.”
Mark Jobe
Today with the President
March 1, 2025
Obedience and Love
If we had to summarize the theme of Deuteronomy in a single sentence, we might say: “Obey the Lord!” It makes sense. The command “obey” appears frequently in this book filled with “laws” and “decrees” (Deut. 4:1). Yet the Lord also uses another, less obvious, word to provide context. It is a “covenant of love” (Deut. 7:9, 12). God’s love is the foundation for our obedience. Obedience is answering love.
John Koessler
Practical Theology
March 2025
Walk in Obedience Discussion Starters
What is the general purpose and format of Deuteronomy? Why is remembering what God has done important to your faith journey?
Discussion Starters
March 15, 2025
Is the Old Testament Relevant? | Ryan Cook
17:00
Some people think the Old Testament is outdated. They think that it was written for the Jewish people, before Christ, so it is not relevant to believers this side of the Cross. Is that true? Listen in as Dr. Ryan Cook, professor of Bible and devotional author for Today in the Word, explains why all of the Bible is important. He explains what we can glean from the book of Deuteronomy and from the entire Old Testament.
Ryan Cook
Video