March 9, 2014 (Deuteronomy 10-12; Mark 16)
From the Life Journal of Adam Proux:
Scripture: “If you carefully obey all the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and soul, then He will send the rains in their proper seasons, the early and late rains, so you can bring in your harvest of grain, new wine, and olive oil.” Deuteronomy 11:13-14 NLT
Observation: God’s love for His people is, and always has been, unconditional in spite of all the rebellious and blatant actions of disobedience committed by the ones He loves. However, just because His love for His people is unconditional that doesn’t mean there will be no consequences suffered for doing wrong. The generation that walked out of Egypt, never set foot on the Promised Land due to the consequences of their disobedience. Even Moses, their leader, would not be able to enter the Promised Land because he disobeyed God. Moses was now speaking to the children of those that had been denied entry into the Promised Land. He gives them a stern warning and clear instructions. This instruction included two “ifs” and one “then”. “If you carefully obey all the commands I am giving you today, and if you love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and soul, then He will send the rains in their proper seasons, the early and late rains, so you can bring in your harvest of grain, new wine, and olive oil.”
Application: Does any of this Old Testament stuff apply to us today? What is the purpose of the Old Testament for our lives in the twenty first century? Should we heed the warnings and lessons that God spoke to His chosen people long ago? I sure believe so. I think the “if’s” and “then’s” still mean something. I trust God’s word to be true and helpful to every generation. I can clearly see the affects not following His instructions has had on our culture and my own life as well. His word has been given to us as a great benefit to help us understand what He has commanded from the beginning. The “if’s” that applied to His chosen people in the days of Moses still apply to us today. And I believe if we can get the “if’s” right He will still do the “then’s”. It’s not working for salvation, or blessings, it’s more like following His order and reaping the bountiful harvest He gives. Listening to His commands and then putting them into action in our lives for our own benefit.
Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for this day. Thank You for Your mercy, grace and unconditional love. Father, help me sow the right seeds so that I can reap the right harvest. Protect me from disobedience and discipline me as needed to keep me on the right path. Forgive me for the sins I’ve committed this week and help me overcome the temptations that caused me to stumble this past week, in Jesus name, Amen!