IT'S NOT ABOUT US

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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

"Hear, O Israel. You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. The people are strong and tall - Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: 'Who can stand up against the Anakites?' But be assured today that the Lord your God is the One who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; He will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the Lord has promised you."

"After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, 'The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.' No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people."

Deuteronomy 9:1-6

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

Why do things happen to us in certain ways? 

Often times, this is a question that seldom has easy answers, although sometimes we try and make them easy, wanting to reason everything to our liking.

And when things do happen to us or others, we also hear people say things like:

“How could that happen?' or "Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?”

Maybe you have asked that or heard someone else ask it.

When I get a questions like these, my reply is this:

"Who is good?"

This response is an attention grabber for sure and it is firmly rooted in the scripture for today. For as we read from the third chapter of Romans:

"...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." v. 23

Given this, no one is good. Not one single person, at least when it comes to our standing before God, the One who determines our eternal destiny. And yet, we so want to convince ourselves that we're somehow "good" people and this because the world wants to convince us that we're okay. Of course, we know the world is Satan's domain and he is the father of lies (John 8:44) so it should come of no surprise when we consider the deception that comes on a people who don't want to accept who they truly are. Like the Old Testament Israelites, we are just as stiff-necked today.  

Speaking of Israel, we see in our passage for today where they are told what to expect as they get set to "cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger", nations with large cities that had great “walls up to the sky.” There the Israelites would come up against the Anakites who were described as “strong and tall”, a mighty opponent who would leave their adversaries wondering:

“Who can stand up against the Anakites?" 

The scriptures show us that Moses answered that question by reminding the Israelites that they had God on their side. 

"…be assured today that the Lord your God is the  One who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them (the Anakites); He will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as the Lord has promised you.” 

Indeed, as the Israelites went into Canaan to conquer the land as commanded, their God would go ahead of them, subduing the enemy in advance and ensuring victory for His people. 

Now, Moses could have stopped here and the Israelites would have gone forward with the promise the Lord was with them and fighting for them but there was a caution which needed to be added, a caution centered on why God was bringing the victories to His people once they went into the Promised Land. Going back to our passage for today, we find Moses saying this:

“After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, ‘The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.’ No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, the Lord your God will drive them out before you…Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.”

Here, Moses makes it very clear to the Israelites that it wasn't their righteousness that was leading God to drive out the nations currently in Canaan. They weren't anymore good than their enemies when it came right down to it. Rather, the enemies of Israel would be defeated because of their own wickedness because God doesn't honor anyone who is evil and living in sin. The bottom line is that the only way a person would be exempt from God’s wrath and judgment is if they were perfectly sinless and no one is that. For unfortunately, the people of Israel, just as every person after the fall in Eden's garden (Genesis 3) have been stubbornly attached to their own desires, surrendering righteousness for sinfulness. 

Indeed, no one is really good.  

Friends, the root message within today’s scripture passage serves to keep us humble, reminding us that no one is deserving of God’s grace, mercy, favor, and love. And yet, He didn't wish for us to die and perish in Hell and so He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to save us. All one needs to do is place their belief and faith in Him as Savior. 

When we do this, we become a child of the God Most High, as much a son and daughter as Christ. We are a co-heir to the Kingdom (Romans 8:14-17) and anything good that we might gain or do comes from the God who gives every good and perfect gift (James 1:17), every blessing and provision, every righteous deed we carry out in His name. With this, He and He alone gets all the glory and  honor because in the end translation, it's not about us but about Him. 

In response to this truth, let us remember who we are and stay humble before the One who surrendered His Son as a living sacrifice to pay the price for our sins and wash us white of snow from the sins that stained us. Let us trade in our stubbornness toward iniquity in exchange for a consistent drive toward righteousness and holy living. 

For while we will never be perfect, we still need to be committed to move toward that goal, using Jesus as our model and the Holy Spirit as our guide each and every day. 

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.