Deuteronomy 30:15-20New International Version (NIV):
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, 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.
17 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, 18 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.
19 This day I call the heavens and the 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 20 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.
What if these particular words were prophetic? What if they weren't just about some conversation between God and God's people on a given day in history? What if these were really the choices before us on any given day?
Isn't it true, as we renounce the forces of evil and wickedness in the world and profess and embrace our relationship with Christ (as in our confirmations), we are saying to God that we are choosing life? I think this is one of the hardest things for us as Christians to embrace. It is easy to claim God's grace and mercy, it is easy to get into the relationship with God because God so often meets us at our weakest. The tougher challenge is making this choice over and over again every day that we wake up.
It is the line half way through verse 20 that shakes me to the core: "For the Lord is your life..." Not my job, my spouse, my children, my family, my friends...but the Lord and only the Lord. For me it is a not too subtle reminder to check on my priorities. As I heard many years ago, if I am right with God, it is amazing how right the rest of my life will be (no matter what the circumstances).
Today, I pray that I/we can hear these words. More importantly, however, I pray that these words make it from our heads to our hearts.
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, 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.
17 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, 18 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.
19 This day I call the heavens and the 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 20 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.
What if these particular words were prophetic? What if they weren't just about some conversation between God and God's people on a given day in history? What if these were really the choices before us on any given day?
Isn't it true, as we renounce the forces of evil and wickedness in the world and profess and embrace our relationship with Christ (as in our confirmations), we are saying to God that we are choosing life? I think this is one of the hardest things for us as Christians to embrace. It is easy to claim God's grace and mercy, it is easy to get into the relationship with God because God so often meets us at our weakest. The tougher challenge is making this choice over and over again every day that we wake up.
It is the line half way through verse 20 that shakes me to the core: "For the Lord is your life..." Not my job, my spouse, my children, my family, my friends...but the Lord and only the Lord. For me it is a not too subtle reminder to check on my priorities. As I heard many years ago, if I am right with God, it is amazing how right the rest of my life will be (no matter what the circumstances).
Today, I pray that I/we can hear these words. More importantly, however, I pray that these words make it from our heads to our hearts.
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