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.
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 this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As we walk through each day that God blesses 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 decisions…and the Lord expects us to make the right ones. This is made clear at the end of Deuteronomy, Chapter 30…our scripture for today.
So how do we know what we should do in life? What do we use to help us make our choices?
We can start with God’s word…a word that our scripture tells us is “not too difficult for (us) or beyond (our) reach”. It’s very near (to us)…”in (our) mouth and…heart so (we) may obey it” just as it was for Israel. We don’t need to reach too far to find God’s word or what he expects us to do. We also don’t have to look too far for His Spirit for it’s ever with us and always ready to counsel and guide us in the ways of righteousness. The Holy Spirit translates, illuminates and spotlights the Word of God, applying it to our lives in a way that brings the Word to life. A Living God gives us a Living Word and counsels us through a Living Spirit. And the good news is that we have this available to us 24/7, 365 days a year…until the final day we take breath. We are never at a place where we don’t have the Lord with us to help us always make the right choices.
So the Lord sets before us…just as He set before Israel…”life and prosperity, death and destruction”. It’s really up to us as to which we will enjoy.
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, where they were about to be was in 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 revere outside of God and God alone)…then we will face judgment and destruction.
So the choice is ours because life is all about choices. May we follow 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 the God who has given us His Word and Spirit to ensure all choices we make in life are choices that would find His favor. 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.
Given all this, what choice will you make?
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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