God blesses us so that all the ends of the earth may revere Him. (Verse 7)
You must listen to the voice of the Lord, your God, and diligently obey His commands, then the Lord, your God, will make you greater than any nation on earth. Obey the Lord so that all these blessings will come your way.
You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
Your children, crops, herds will be blessed.
Your basket and your kitchen will be blessed.
You will be blessed when you come in and when you go out.
The Lord will help you defeat your enemies.
The Lord will bless you with full barns.
He will bless everything you do.
He will bless the land He gives to you.
The Lord will make His people holy.
But you must do what He wants you to do. Then everyone on earth will see that you are the Lord's people, and they will fear you.
The Lord will make you rich with children, animals and crops.
The Lord will open up His heavenly storehouse so that the skies send rain at the right time.
He will bless everything you do.
You will lend to other nations, but you won't need to borrow.
The Lord will make you the head and not the tail.
You will be on the top and not the bottom.
But you must obey and not follow after other gods.
Deuteronomy 28
Our lives should run counter intuitive to the world. When things are bad, we should be see good. When life makes lemons, we should be sipping heavenly wine. If we sit in the middle of a dead economy, we should be trusting for provision, smiling in the knowledge that we know our God. If we are ill, dying, even, we are not without hope. If we are hated, we don't hate in return. We give when it doesn't make sense to share. God's children bless when we are cursed. We touch the leper, help the widow, take in the orphan and visit those in prison. Joy should be our hallmark. Faith pervade our lives. Peace should be our gift. Favor clothe us. The blessings of our God in our lives are promised us when we listen to Him and obey.
I know these verses in Deuteronomy sound legalistic to some. If you do everything right, then you will get God's blessings. I don't think that is what He is saying. It's a matter of listening to Him. That is what the word obey means in the Hebrew. Literally: listen to the voice of. That makes perfect sense. God knows everything. If we want to live in such a way that we are blessed, we have to be in relationship with the Blesser. He is doing all He can to get us blessed! The Father knows what it takes for us to have a life here on earth that transcends the ordinary. Why, then, would we balk at His words and do otherwise than what He asks? Again with the heart. Will you listen to the One Who can bring great blessing in your life, knowing His love for you is never-ending and His plans for you include great favor? Or, in your hubris, will you thumb your nose at Him so you can say you control your own destiny? That is our choice. One way brings blessing and relationship with the Lord of all. The other? Less than....
Our lives should really be somewhat inexplicable. But for God, we should be like everyone else. Gain for loss. Hope for despair. The presence of Abba in our lives and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our jars of clay should make those without Him scratch their heads. The closer we are to Him, the more aware we are of the voice of the Good Shepherd, the more our lives take on the aroma of Christ. Blessed are we in everything by the grace of our Father.
You must listen to the voice of the Lord, your God, and diligently obey His commands, then the Lord, your God, will make you greater than any nation on earth. Obey the Lord so that all these blessings will come your way.
You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
Your children, crops, herds will be blessed.
Your basket and your kitchen will be blessed.
You will be blessed when you come in and when you go out.
The Lord will help you defeat your enemies.
The Lord will bless you with full barns.
He will bless everything you do.
He will bless the land He gives to you.
The Lord will make His people holy.
But you must do what He wants you to do. Then everyone on earth will see that you are the Lord's people, and they will fear you.
The Lord will make you rich with children, animals and crops.
The Lord will open up His heavenly storehouse so that the skies send rain at the right time.
He will bless everything you do.
You will lend to other nations, but you won't need to borrow.
The Lord will make you the head and not the tail.
You will be on the top and not the bottom.
But you must obey and not follow after other gods.
Deuteronomy 28
Our lives should run counter intuitive to the world. When things are bad, we should be see good. When life makes lemons, we should be sipping heavenly wine. If we sit in the middle of a dead economy, we should be trusting for provision, smiling in the knowledge that we know our God. If we are ill, dying, even, we are not without hope. If we are hated, we don't hate in return. We give when it doesn't make sense to share. God's children bless when we are cursed. We touch the leper, help the widow, take in the orphan and visit those in prison. Joy should be our hallmark. Faith pervade our lives. Peace should be our gift. Favor clothe us. The blessings of our God in our lives are promised us when we listen to Him and obey.
I know these verses in Deuteronomy sound legalistic to some. If you do everything right, then you will get God's blessings. I don't think that is what He is saying. It's a matter of listening to Him. That is what the word obey means in the Hebrew. Literally: listen to the voice of. That makes perfect sense. God knows everything. If we want to live in such a way that we are blessed, we have to be in relationship with the Blesser. He is doing all He can to get us blessed! The Father knows what it takes for us to have a life here on earth that transcends the ordinary. Why, then, would we balk at His words and do otherwise than what He asks? Again with the heart. Will you listen to the One Who can bring great blessing in your life, knowing His love for you is never-ending and His plans for you include great favor? Or, in your hubris, will you thumb your nose at Him so you can say you control your own destiny? That is our choice. One way brings blessing and relationship with the Lord of all. The other? Less than....
Our lives should really be somewhat inexplicable. But for God, we should be like everyone else. Gain for loss. Hope for despair. The presence of Abba in our lives and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our jars of clay should make those without Him scratch their heads. The closer we are to Him, the more aware we are of the voice of the Good Shepherd, the more our lives take on the aroma of Christ. Blessed are we in everything by the grace of our Father.
No comments:
Post a Comment