Plagues, wars and conflicts, diseases, poverty—have you wondered, Why? We live in a fallen world because of sin, but the sin-nature does not have to be the victor. We have a choice of whether to obey or disobey God. These are Moses' words to God's people before they entered the Land of Promise. The message of obedience or consequences has not changed over the centuries; it is still valid today. As God's people, absorb the verses considering where you stand personally and our stance as a nation with the Lord God:
"If you fully obey the Lord
your God and carefully keep all His commands I am giving you today, the Lord
your God will set you high above all the nations of the world.” (Deuteronomy
28:1 NLT)
Obedience
guaranteed blessings of their towns and fields, children and crops, herds
and flocks, food supply, wherever they went, and whatever they did. God
promised He would conquer and scatter their enemies and fill their storehouses
with grain. He guaranteed the land and blessings were theirs if they obeyed
Him. God gave His word He would establish them as His people if they walked in
His ways, and all the nations of the world would stand in awe, recognizing them
as a people claimed by the Lord (vs. 2–10).
The consequences of disobedience were the opposite of the
blessings God promised. They would not only come but would overwhelm the people
(v. 15). Because of Jesus, we live in the age of grace, but consequences for
sin still apply. Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed? Cry out to God for mercy and
help. God forgives sin and wants to bless His children, but the consequences of
disobedience linger. For God's blessings, strive for obedience.
Forgiveness is always available to those who repent, but consequences will always follow disobedience.
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