NOW CHOOSE LIFE
Opening Prayer
Meet with me here and now, my Jesus.
Read Deuteronomy 30:11–20
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
The Offer of Life or Death
11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
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.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
If God were to offer you life and blessing, or death and destruction, which would you choose? Any hesitation?Moses’ instruction to the nation was not incomprehensible, nor was it inaccessible. They really could not hide behind any excuse. Nobody had to go hunting for what Moses was trying to communicate. The message was on their lips and in their hearts. The big question was, which way would they choose?
They could choose to go down the path of life and blessing, or the path of death and destruction. Either they loved God and obeyed him, or they did not love God and disobeyed him.
Jesus said to his disciples that if they loved him, they would obey his commands (John 14:15). Paul would quote this section of Deuteronomy 30 and say that nobody needs to ascend into heaven to find Christ, but the word of faith is in our mouths and our hearts (Rom. 10:6–9). The real question for us today is not whether we will commit to keeping the old covenant instruction, but instead what we will make of Jesus. Will we accept his love, love him back, and obey his commands? That is the pathway to life.
Apply
It is through faith we are saved, but it is out of love for Christ that our obedience flows. How is your love meter? Does your obedience show that you love Jesus?
Closing prayer
Jesus, I want everyone to know that I love You. May my life be a reflection of my love for You.
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