I have placed before you...

Reading: Deuteronomy 30

Repentance and Forgiveness

30 “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. 5 And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. 7 And the Lord your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. 8 And you shall again obey the voice of the Lord and keep all his commandments that I command you today. 9 The Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, 10 when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

The Choice of Life and Death

11 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

My Thoughts

This is something that my LORD has done since the beginning. In Genesis, God placed before man and woman life and death. From verse 1 to 10 in Deuteronomy 30, I feel like it's the results choosing death. Pretty much almost everything we see now is the result of choosing sin--choosing to not follow God and His standards.

But what's even more interesting is from verse 19 where God says that He calls heaven and earth to be witnesses. " I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days..."

God is life. His word is life. Following His word is what keeps me going in life. It keeps me on the right path. This choice is not just for me, but it's for my offspring too. This is for the generations after me.

The way things are going around the world, I hope that they will be in a good environment. But more important than that, they have to know how to obey God's voice. Everyone wants to tell me what they believe or think about situations, which is fine, but at the end of the day what matters is what God says. I have to be able to hear and obey His voice so I can teach others to do the same....that's if they even need to learn since God Himself is alive and more than willing to speak directly to whoever He chooses.

LORD, help me to hear and obey your words regardless of how I may feel. The only thing that matters is You. With You I find rest for my soul. In You I am able to be a blessing to all who I come in contact with. I thank you so much. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

When it all comes down to it, it is all about love. What God wants is for us to love Him and choose to follow Him. Time and time again, it's as if God keep presenting Himself to the people so they can choose Him. But people seem to like their own ways which lead to destruction rather than choosing God who leads to life.