THE AMAZING NATURE OF THE LORD

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

And Moses recited the words of this song from beginning to end in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:

Listen, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.

I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!

He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.

Deuteronomy 31:30, 32:1-4

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

As Deuteronomy, chapter 31 ends and chapter 32 begins, we find Moses reciting the words of a song God gave him to pass onto the “whole assembly of Israel”. Through his words, we find seven critical points to remember as we go forth to speak with people about the awesome God we serve:

1. We should seek to proclaim the word of the Lord everywhere.

Moses starts off by saying:

“Listen, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.”

Here we find Israel’s leader emphasizing a point of critical importance for the words he spoke weren’t his but rather from the very mouth of God. Given this, all attention in Heaven and on earth was to be focused on what was about to be said.

Today, there should never be a time in our lives when we don’t lift up the Lord and proclaim His greatness and goodness. After all, He is responsible for everything that we are and everything we have.

With this, we should never cease testifying about His providence, grace, mercy, provision, and love so that everyone who hears our praise knows the One who is our Maker and Master, the One who defines our lives.

2. We should always seek to teach others about the Lord.

One of the major tenets of the Great Commission issued by our Savior Jesus Christ involved teaching others to obey all that He commanded. Before He even gave this command, His Father had set the same expectations first and Moses fully understood this.

We know because of these heartfelt words from Israel’s leader:

”Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.”

The people of Israel had so much to learn about God including His word, His laws, His commands, and His expectations. Many of them were new in their faith, like “new grass” and “tender plants”, and Moses hoped his teaching (which in essence was God’s teaching) would “descend like dew” or “abundant rain” on those he taught, helping them to grow and blossom in the name of the Lord.

All believers today should wish to do likewise as we go forth to carry out the call of Jesus to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20).

3. We should always praise the Lord’s greatness.

Think about everything that you are and everything that is.

God made it all. He created everything in existence and continues to reign over all things as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Frankly, we would have nothing and be nothing if it weren’t for Him.

Friends, we serve a truly great God and He is worthy of all our admiration and appreciation …now and forever. And so let’s never cease to lift Him up in every way…every day…to everyone we talk to.

4. We should always remember that we serve a Lord who is the Rock.

Genesis 49:24 calls our God the “Rock of Israel” and He remains our Rock today. This is so important because so many people today are in need of strength and assurance, too often living a life that is built on shifting sand.

As believers, we are tasked by the Lord to point the weak toward directing their life onto Jesus, the Solid Rock for in and through Him, they can and will find everything they could ever want or need to make it through their circumstances.

Or as the Apostle Paul wrote while incarcerated:

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

5. We should always remember that the Lord’s works are perfect.

You may remember these words from James, Jesus’ half brother:

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (1:17).

The truth that God never changes should bring us all to a place of great thanksgiving and this is one reason why He is called the Rock. He is immovable and permanently anchored in the provision He gives to His beloved, provision that is doled out according to His will. This ensures we have everything we need to accomplish His purposes as He never leaves us void.

This is good news for us as the Lord moves in His perfect way and in His perfect time. All we need to do is patiently wait for His glory to be revealed, whatever our circumstances might be…a glory that will always show us that His works are indeed flawless.

Let us be encouraged by this truth and share it with those we minister to.

6. We should always remember that our Lord is just.

Our God does no wrong and is perfectly upright in all He does. Unfortunately, we are not like that at all and given our sinful inclinations, it’s incredible that we would gain any favor from Him.

And yet, the Lord corrects us only as needed to draw us nearer to Him as He develops us to carry out the righteous, holy life He desires. When we respond to His correction and/or conviction by repenting, we find where He forgives and restores us.

Indeed, God is perfectly just and fair, something we should rejoice over and share with others.

7. We should always remember that the Lord is faithful.

Our Lord is the perfect definition of faithful, ever staying with us even though we so often turn from Him. Thankfully, He never gives up on us and is always waiting anxiously for the day when we return to Him like the prodigal son in Jesus’ parable (Luke 15:11-32).

The bottom line is that we have no one in our lives who is more reliable and trustworthy than the Lord God Almighty. Be glad in this and make sure everyone knows it as well.

Brothers and sisters, we serve a great, perfect, just, upright, and faithful God whose name should be proclaimed and praised for all to hear. Whether we do it in a song, a poem, a devotional, a letter to someone, in prayer, or in conversations with everyone we speak to, we simply must make the Lord known to all, not because we have to but because we want to with all our heart and soul.

The Lord would expect nothing less and He is worthy of nothing short of our greatest honor, glory, and praise.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

WHAT DOES GOD SEE IN YOUR FUTURE?

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

The Lord said to Moses, "Now the day of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, where I will commission him."

So Moses and Joshua came and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting.

Then the Lord appeared at the Tent in a pillar of cloud, and the cloud stood over the entrance to the Tent. And the Lord said to Moses: "You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I made with them. On that day, I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide my face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, 'Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?' And I will certainly hide My face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.”

"Now write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for Me against them. When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their forefathers, and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods and worship them, rejecting Me and breaking My covenant. And when many disasters and difficulties come upon them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten by their descendants. I know what they are disposed to do, even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath."

So Moses wrote down this song that day and taught it to the Israelites.

The Lord gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: "Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I Myself will be with you."

After Moses finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord: "Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. There it will remain as a witness against you. For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you have been rebellious against the Lord while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die! Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and all your officials, so that I can speak these words in their hearing and call Heaven and earth to testify against them. For I know that after my death you are sure to become utterly corrupt and to turn from the way I have commanded you. In days to come, disaster will fall upon you because you will do evil in the sight of the Lord and provoke him to anger by what your hands have made."

Deuteronomy 31:14-29

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

The Book of Deuteronomy has been building to this moment, the moment when Moses would pass away and Joshua would assume leadership over the Israelites as they crossed the Jordan River into the land God promised them. Unfortunately, God’s chosen people were going to betray their Lord once in Canaan.

We know this through our scripture passage for today from the 31st chapter of Deuteronomy where we find God summoning Moses and Joshua to the Tent of Meeting so He could commission Joshua. There, He says this to Moses:

"You are going to rest with your fathers, and these people will soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I made with them. On that day, I will become angry with them and forsake them; I will hide My face from them, and they will be destroyed. Many disasters and difficulties will come upon them, and on that day they will ask, 'Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us?' And I will certainly hide My face on that day because of all their wickedness in turning to other gods.”

It’s important to remember that the Israelites hadn’t entered Canaan yet and yet God knew what was to come because He is the Lord of the past, present, and future. He knew Israel would let Him down, despite all His attempts to teach them His expectations for how He wanted them to live. We know this because God tells Moses this:

“I know what they are disposed to do, even before I bring them into the land I promised them on oath."

Indeed, Israel would “soon prostitute themselves to the foreign gods”, abandoning their God while breaking the covenant they made with Him. And so out of anger over their disobedience, God would “forsake them” and hide (His) face from them” while permitting their destruction at the hands of their enemies.

In the end translation, the Lord had forewarned His people regarding what would happen if they chose to be unfaithful to Him and I can’t help but think He was deeply saddened to know that His beloved children would soon turn away from Him to chase after their sinful desires.

So how about us today? Do we think about our future and what God sees there?

Like the ancient people of Israel, we have the Word of God but we have so much more than they did. Our bibles contain sixty-six books in all and within those books, God has fully spoken. Further, we have the benefit of having the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a Spirit who illuminates the scriptures to bring us understanding and discernment. Finally, we have a full documentation of the life of Jesus which we can use to model our own lives after.

But here’s the thing. We need to put all this to work in our lives in order to ensure we are living in ways pleasing to God, the God who can already see out future before we get there.

So we should ask ourselves…

What does God see when He looks at my future?

What does He see me predisposed to do?

When He looks ahead in my life, does he see things that will bring joy to His heart? Or does He see things that will enrage Him and cause Him to turn away from me, leaving me hostage to the sin and evil in the world?

Looking into what’s to come, does He see me in a totally reverent relationship with Him, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit? Or does He see our relationship fractured by the sins I committed against Him?

As we consider all these questions, the key to being on the positive side with the Lord is through surrendering our will and way for His. He has given us His absolute all and we need to be equally committed, willing to lay ourselves down and sacrifice for Him.

My prayer is that we will commit ourselves daily to starting, finishing, and doing everything in a God-honoring way. For if we vow to do this and then carry through with our promise, not breaking it like the Israelites, then our Lord will see our future and feel compelled to say with gladness:

“Well done, good and faithful servant. With you I am well pleased.”

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

SPIRITUAL SURVIVAL

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

So Moses wrote down this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. Then Moses commanded them: "At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place He will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing. Assemble the people—men, women and children, and the aliens living in your towns — so they can listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. Their children, who do not know this law, must hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess."

Deuteronomy 31:9-13

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

As we are getting set to reach the end of the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses is about to die, never having the opportunity to enter the Promised Land. We know he had spent much of his life serving as a faithful spokesperson for the Lord, faithfully and obediently sharing messages from Him with the Israelites. His work ensured that the people of God would know all of God’s laws, commands, and expectations. And although he knew his time was drawing to a close, Moses still wanted to make sure his brothers and sisters would have a record of what God had said.

To that end, the scriptures tell us that Moses wrote down the law and “gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel”, giving them the following instructions:

"At the end of every seven years, in the year for canceling debts, during the Feast of Tabernacles, when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place He will choose, you shall read this law before them in their hearing.”

Here we see where the Lord would set an appointed time at which all “men, women, and children” as well as “aliens” were to be assembled so to listen to the reading of the law so they would “learn to fear the Lord…and follow carefully all the words of (His) law”. Keep in mind that God had issued stern warnings against disobedient living and He wanted His people to know that there would be serious consequences if they chose to turn away from Him into sin. We should note that there was special emphasis placed on teaching the Lord’s expectations to the children…the next generation of Israelites. Truly, God expected His laws and expectations to remain embedded in the minds of His people, present and future to include us today.

Indeed, believers today are to read God’s word and be reminded of His expectations as well. We need to keep in mind that we have many more words from God than Israel had, sixty-six books of them to be exact. The ancient Israelites only had the first five books of what we have as the Holy Bible today: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. They comprised what is widely known as the Torah (in Hebrew), the Pentateuch (in Greek), or the Books of the Law. And while the people of Israel were to review the words of God every seven years, the requirement for us is more stringent. For today, we simply need to read and study the Word of God every single day, allowing the Lord to continuously remind us of who He is and what He wants us to do in life. To reinforce this, consider these words from Jesus as He was tempted by Satan for the first time:

“The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’" Matthew 4:3-4

To further illustrate what Jesus was getting at as He quoted from the Book of Deuteronomy (8:3), think about the physical act of eating and the need for it if one is to remain healthy. Ask yourself this question:

What would happen if you went consecutive days without eating anything?

I think you can agree that you would soon begin to become physically ill and if this went on for too long, you would eventually die from starvation. The bottom line is that we must eat to survive and this is a simple fact of life.

Now, let’s take this same discussion and apply it to our spiritual health, something as equally important as our physical side for if we live long enough, we learn that we can’t simply live on food alone.

Indeed, we all have a spiritual component that is equally important, if not more so, than the physical one. And if we hope to be healthy spiritually, then we have to be in the scriptures, from “every word that comes from the mouth of God”. We know this because God’s Word says it and His word is always perfectly true.

With this, some questions to consider:

How are you doing in your spiritual life? Have you been feeding yourself daily from the Word of God, the Word that Jesus said we need to survive?

The answer to these questions will determine whether you are spiritually healthy or sick and if it’s the latter, the remedy is easy. All you need to do is dedicate time every day to read from the Bible for when you do, spiritual nourishment happens.

In the end translation, don’t only give attention to your physical body at the expense of starving your very soul. My prayer is that these messages the Lord gives me to share daily are just one of the ways that keep you spiritually healthy. If so, drop a comment and testify about it.

Love and blessings to you, the reader, always.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com 

DON'T BE AFRAID

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: "I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has said to me, 'You shall not cross the Jordan.' The Lord your God Himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said. And the Lord will do to them what He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom He destroyed along with their land. The Lord will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you."

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Deuteronomy 31:1-8

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

“Do not be afraid. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

These words of assurance resonate in this passage from the opening eight verses of Deuteronomy, chapter 31 as Moses stands before Israel and announces that Joshua would be the one who will lead them across the Jordan River and into Canaan.

You’ll recall earlier that the Lord had told Moses that he wouldn’t “cross the Jordan”, after he and his brother Aaron failed to give God the credit before bringing water to the Israelites from a rock (Numbers 20:9-12). As we come to this point in today’s scriptures, Aaron had already died and Moses was soon to follow but despite losing their leader, the people of Israel were to carry on and forge ahead into Promised Land…and to do so with a sense of faith, hope and confidence in the words mentioned before:

“Do not be afraid. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Indeed, the Israelites were about to face massive change. They were entering a foreign land, occupied by foreign people, and were now going to be led by a new leader. I can’t help but sense that the people were uneasy and unsettled, fearful and worried. Worn out and feeling forlorn.

Speaking into that space, Moses sought to reassure his brothers and sisters, saying:

“The Lord your God Himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said. And the Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom He destroyed along with their land. The Lord will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you.”

These words once again reinforced the common, overall theme:

“Do not be afraid. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

I can’t help but think that Joshua must have been feeling a little uneasy as well. After all, Moses had faithfully led the Israelites for many years…through their oppression in Egypt…to their deliverance from Pharoah across the parted Red Sea…through their exodus…to their first opportunity to enter Canaan…to their punishment as God sent them back into the wilderness for forty years…and now to this place and time when they were about to finally enter the land that was said to flow with “milk and honey”.

Indeed, Joshua would have big shoes to fill and perhaps there were some questions raging in his head.

Would I be able to be as strong a leader as Moses was?

Would the people follow me as they did him?

Would God find as much favor with me as He did him?

Perhaps all these questions and more were under consideration as Joshua readied himself to become the new leader of Israel but into these anxious thoughts, Moses soke words of encouragement and reassurance:

“Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance.”

And interlaced in these words was again the message we have gone to over and over in this message:

“Do not be afraid. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

So given all this, let me shift my attention to you, the reader.

How is life going for you right now? Are you in circumstances that are causing you to be afraid…stressed…discouraged?

Are events unfolding that threaten to bring changes to your life?

Is uncertainty looming on your horizon?

If you’re in the midst of challenging times, times which have seemed to bring worry and concern, then the central point of this scripture passage and its message are as much for you as it was for Joshua and the Israelites around 3,400 years ago. It serves to remind us that God and His Word are always there to offer us strength and assurance, and my prayer is that you will write down these words and always keep them close at hand in your heart, mind, and soul.

“Do not be afraid. Do not be terrified. Do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

 

LIFE'S ABOUT CHOICES

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in Heaven, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will ascend into Heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.”

“See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.”

“But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.”

“This day I call Heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life, and He will give you many years in the land He swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Deuteronomy 30:11-20

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

As we walk through each day that God has blessed us with, one thing is certain.

We will have to make a choice or choices.

Some might be easy…some might be hard…some are just routine…but nonetheless, we are faced with having to decide on things over and over and over…and the Lord expects us to make the right calls every time we do. We see this clearly in our passage for today, the closing verses of Deuteronomy, chapter 30.

So how do we know what we should do in life? What do we have at our disposal to help us make proper choices?

Well, we can start with God’s Word, a Word He has breathed out for us (2 Timothy 3:16), a Word that isn’t “too difficult for (us) or beyond (our) reach”. In fact, we read where it is “very near (to us)…in (our) mouth and…heart so (we) may obey it”, just as it was for the ancient Israelites.

Indeed, we don’t need to reach too far to find God’s Word or what he expects us to do. He makes it easily accessible for anyone. We also don’t have to look far for His Spirit for it is ever within us, ever ready to counsel and guide us in the ways of righteousness.

This powerful Holy Spirit translates, illuminates, and spotlights the scriptures, bringing discernment and understanding to the reader so they might apply it to their lives in a way that brings the Lord’s Word to life.

In other words, a Living God gives us a Living Word and counsels us through a Living Spirit, which we have available to us 24/7, 365 days a year. Thanks be to God that we’re never in a place where we don’t have the Lord with us to help us always make the right choices.

Today, the Lord sets before us ”life and prosperity, death and destruction”, just as He did the people of Israel and it’s really up to us as to which we will experience.

If we follow God’s order to “love (Him)…walk in His ways…and…keep his commands, decrees and laws”, then we are assured we will “live and increase”…blessed wherever we are. For Israel, this was going to be the land of Canaan…the “land (they were) entering to possess”.

But if our hearts turn away from God…if we choose disobedience and “are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them” (other gods being anything else that we would give our devotion to outside of God and Him alone)…then we will face judgment and destruction.

In the end translation, the choice as to how things play out is on us because life is all about choices. My prayer is that we would fulfill God’s hope in the last paragraph of our passage and “choose life”…which means we will choose to live in obedience and reverence before our Lord, who has given us His Word and Spirit to ensure all choices we make in life are choices that would find His approval. If we do this, then we and our children may live in peace and hope and, most of all, truth as we love the Lord by listening to His voice and holding fast to Him and His Word.

Do yourself a favor and make sure you make the right choice.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

A GOD WHO FORGIVES AND RESTORES

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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 our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We have seen over the last few chapters how God vowed to punish the people of 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 the presence of the side of God that is perfectly loving, merciful, forgiving, and compassionate. Today’s passage shows us the balance found within Him for we see that while our Lord does expect obedience and will discipline anyone who chooses sin over the righteousness He desires, we also see how He will gladly receive back those who realize the wrongs of their ways and choose to run back into His arms. He affirms this in our scripture passage as we look at the opening verses of Deuteronomy, chapter 30. There we find the formula for resolving any relationship that had been broken with Him

Here’s how it would look:

After receiving God’s judgment for their transgressions, which largely involves the worship of false gods and idols, a judgment that would lead the Lord to disperse His people “among the nations”, He would be willing to reconcile with them. For this to happen, they (the Israelites and their children) would need to turn away from their sinfulness and recommit themselves to obeying all He had commanded with all their heart and soul.

When that happened, then the Lord promised to 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. With this, we should keep in mind that physical circumcision of men was performed because the Lord commanded it. It was to serve as a sign of the covenant He made with man. In relating this to a heart, a person who allowed God to spiritually circumcise it would lead to them being devoted to Him and His covenant promise. They would become a person who was obedient and loving, one that would be holy, righteous, and reverent.

Friends, this matter of having a heart circumcised by our Lord is just as important today as it was some 3,400 years ago for it is the only way to ensure we are loving God properly with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. In turn, this will result in us living the kind of life He wants us to live.

This message should lead us to ask some self reflective questions such as:

Where am I at in my walk with God?

Have I fallen into a disobedient lifestyle that has led me to turn away from God?

Am I am in the midst of some form of punishment for my sinfulness that I desperately need God to deliver me from?

I think if we’re honest, we have probably been in a place like this, a place where we strayed from the narrow path to life Jesus talks about and found ourselves going the wrong direction, walking the road that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).

Likewise, I think many of us could also attest to experiencing the Lord’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness when we chose to repent and turn away from our sinful ways, doing a u-turn in life and returning to Him. In those times, we found that our Heavenly Father never hesitated to allow His once wayward child to return, providing restoration while circumcising the heart so it would love Him completely and respectfully live fully for Him in obedience and reverence.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, is this not supremely good news for us today and every day after?

For while we serve a God who indeed corrects sinners, He also readily provides pardon, receiving us back to Him while blessing us more than He did before. May we ever give all of our thanks and praise to our Lord, for He and He alone is worthy of it, now and forever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

A COVENANT OF SURRENDER

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

“These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant He had made with them at Horeb.

Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them:”

“Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land. With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those miraculous signs and great wonders. But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear. During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.”

"When you reached this place, Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, came out to fight against us, but we defeated them. We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

“Carefully follow the terms of this covenant, so that you may prosper in everything you do. All of you are standing today in the presence of the Lord your God—your leaders and chief men, your elders and officials, and all the other men of Israel, together with your children and your wives, and the aliens living in your camps who chop your wood and carry your water. You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant with the Lord your God, a covenant the Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath, to confirm you this day as His people, that He may be your God as He promised you and as He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I am making this covenant, with its oath, not only with you who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God but also with those who are not here today.”

“You yourselves know how we lived in Egypt and how we passed through the countries on the way here. You saw among them their detestable images and idols of wood and stone, of silver and gold. Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.”

"When such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself and therefore thinks, ‘I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way.’ This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. The Lord will never be willing to forgive him; His wrath and zeal will burn against that man. All the curses written in this book will fall upon him, and the Lord will blot out his name from under Heaven. The Lord will single him out from all the tribes of Israel for disaster, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this Book of the Law.”

“Your children who follow you in later generations and foreigners who come from distant lands will see the calamities that have fallen on the land and the diseases with which the Lord has afflicted it. The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur—nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger. All the nations will ask: ‘Why has the Lord done this to this land? Why this fierce, burning anger?’"

“And the answer will be: ‘It is because this people abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers, the covenant He made with them when He brought them out of Egypt. They went off and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, gods they did not know, gods He had not given them. Therefore the Lord's anger burned against this land, so that he brought on it all the curses written in this book. In furious anger and in great wrath, the Lord uprooted them from their land and thrust them into another land, as it is now.’"

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”

Deuteronomy 29

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

Covenant promises.

We have seen them throughout the Old Testament to this point.

God had made agreements with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…all forefathers of the Israelites who now were listening to their current leader, Moses. In Deuteronomy, chapter 29, we find God again affirming through Moses that the people of Israel were His people and He was their God.

To that end, we read Moses reminding the Israelites of the experiences of their ancestors while held captive in Egypt and what God had done to Pharoah and his people before delivering Israel from oppression into freedom. The people were also asked to remember how they had been cared for throughout their own forty-year desert exodus to include how their “clothes and sandals” had “failed to wear out”. Indeed, the Lord had cared for His people and would continue to do so as they finally were about to enter Canaan.

And yet, we see in our scripture passage where God was concerned as He continues to warn the Israelites just as He has done in prior chapters of Deuteronomy. God knew that the hearts of the Israelites were vulnerable to temptation for after all they were sinners and given this, God persisted in cautioning them not to worship false gods or idols, to refuse to go the way their desires led them instead of the way that He wanted them to go.

To underscore the certainty that He would bring wrath on anyone who disobediently broke His commands, we find God promising destruction, calamities, and diseases similar to what He sent on “Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim”. Ultimately, the choice to either uphold or violate the covenant with God was up to the people. Their behavior would reveal whether or not they were faithful and loyal to the Lord who expected them to fully surrender their will for His.

And so it is with us.

As Christians, we have a new covenant with our God through belief in Jesus Christ. God’s promise, His covenant, is one grounded in the promise of eternal life to all who place their trust in His Son for salvation. This is why the New Testament is centered on three Christ-centered things:

1. Christ’s birth and subsequent life, the ministry portion of which beginning when He was approximately thirty years old and carrying on for three to three and a half years after. We find this ministry captured within the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John…the first four books of the New Testament.

2. Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, a period where we find Jesus issuing the Great Commission, calling all of His believers to make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching all to obey what he commanded (Matthew 28:18-20). In other words, Jesus called all those who would trust in Him to carry on the Gospel work He began, to spread the good news about Him and the salvation He brings.

3. Christ’s return. In regard to the obedience God requires of His people, nothing has changed. All Christians still hold the obligation to live as Jesus did and this means being steeped in obedience to the Father’s Word and will.

The bottom line is that our Lord hates sin as much today as He did in the days of the Bible. After all, it was sin that led Him to sacrificially offer up His only Son Jesus - the perfect, unblemished Lamb – to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29) by paying the penalty for our iniquities and purchasing our pardon. Instead of all of us being nailed to a cross, God sent Jesus to be nailed instead.

Friends, do we think about this enough as we walk through our lives every day, faced with our own choices and decisions to make?

Do we envision Jesus bruised, broken, bleeding, and dying while hanging from nailed hands and feet when we are faced with a decision whether to sin or not sin?

My brothers and sisters, we simply can never afford for Jesus to feel as if He died for us in vain. He gave up everything so we might be able to live to the fullest, now and forever. So in order to properly fulfill our end of the new covenant promise, we need to lay ourselves down for Him as He did for us for it’s the only possible way that we can hope to live fully in Him and model His life.

To that end, I pray we will pledge to live out these words from one of my favorite Christian hymns as a proclamation of covenant surrender for Jesus:

All to Jesus I surrender

All to Him I freely give;

I will ever love and trust Him,

In his presence daily live.

I surrender all, I surrender all;

All to thee, my blessed Savior,

I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender,

Humbly at His feet I bow,

Worldly pleasures all forsaken,

Take me Jesus, take me now.

I surrender all, I surrender all;

All to thee, my blessed Savior,

I surrender all.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.