A GOD WHO RESTORES

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you.

Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you. You will again obey the Lord and follow all his commands I am giving you today. Then the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers, if you obey the Lord your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Deuteronomy 30:1-10

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We have seen over the last few chapters how God would punish Israel if they decided to become disobedient and not follow His commandments. It was no secret that bad things would come if they chose to turn away from Him.

As we read through His warnings, we might find ourselves wondering about this God we see as all loving and merciful and forgiving and compassionate. Today’s passage brings things into focus better for us.

For we see that God does expect obedience and He will discipline us if we decide to turn from Him. But He also will receive us back to Him when we realize the wrongs of our ways and choose to run back into His arms. We know this because His word tells us just as it told Israel.

For our scripture tells us that after the Israelites had God’s blessings and curses set upon them, taking them to heart wherever the Lord dispersed them among the nations, AND after the Israelites and their children returned to the Lord and obeyed everything He commanded with all their heart and soul, THEN the Lord would restore their fortunes and have compassion on them and gather them again from all the nations where they had been scattered. In other words, He would restore them to a nation again, bringing them back to the land that belonged to their fathers and making them more prosperous and numerous than before.

In the course of their restoration, God would do more than just restore them as a nation and make them more prosperous. He would also circumcise their hearts AND the hearts of their descendants. Keep in mind that circumcision was performed because God commanded it as a sign of the covenant He made with man. A circumcised heart would be one that would be committed to God’s covenant promise…one that would be obedient and loving…one that would be holy, righteous and reverent. And friends, this is the only way our heart should be for it’s the only way we can truly love God all our heart and soul…and in turn live the life He wants us to live.

Question: Where are you in your walk with God? Have you fallen into disobedience and turned away from Him? Have you maybe found yourself in the midst of a curse or discipline from God for the sinful way you might have chosen to live?

I think if we’re all honest, we all can say we have been at a point where we might answer any or all of these questions in the affirmative. Likewise, many of us could also attest that we made the choice to repent and turn away from our sinful ways, turning back toward God…a God who didn’t hesitate to take us back in, restoring us and circumcising our hearts so we would love Him completely and live fully for Him in obedience, respect and reverence.

Is this not good news? That the God who would correct us would also just as easily forgive us, restore us and bless us more than He did before. May we ever give all thanks and praise to our God…for he is worthy of all this and so much more. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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