Last week I wrote about being obedient to God and posed the question, "What if" we were. I am continuing my experiment of trying to respond each time I feel a nudge from the Lord. Sometimes I have been more successful than others, but I believe that God knows my heart and will
continue to help me along the way.
As I was thinking about why we should be obedient, I thought about the book of Deuteronomy. To set the stage, the scriptures I will share were shared with the Israelites just before they were going to enter the promised land. The generation that had been set free from slavery in Egypt had died off and the second generation were about to enter the land that God had promised to their ancestors. It was important for this second generation to hear the promises of God for themselves and make a choice and commitment to obey the commandments of the Lord. I think it is important to revisit these promises now, in our lifetime, so that we too will be aware of what they are.
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 NIV (Moses is speaking) "See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.
But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants., by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him:..."
God loves us more than we can imagine and would love to have an intimate relationship with us, but we have free will to choose. Will we do things our way and distance ourselves from the Lord, or will we do things God's way and have more blessings and peace than we could ever imagine. The choice is our to make.
Remember, God will meet you where ever you are at. So no matter how far you feel you are from God or how much you feel you have sinned and could never be forgiven, there is always hope in Christ. He died for our sins to reconcile us to God, so that we could have a close relationship with our Father God, Christ, our brother, and the Holy Spirit. All we have to do is turn toward the Lord, ask for forgiveness and accept Jesus as our Savior. Please choose life.
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