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15 See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing 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, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. (Deuteronomy 30:15-20 NRSV)
Happy Wednesday Friend! May the full blessings of God be with you on this special day.
Perhaps you remember the game show where the contestant had to choose between opening one door or another, and the host of the show would pressure the person by offering money instead of the door. The fun was being at home watching the poor contestants having to decide between doors and a surprise cash offer. Sometimes the door held behind it the ultimate prize and the contestant would be ecstatic if s/he opened that door. Othertimes, the door had a live goat behind it and well, that was the prize.
In today's passage, the host, as it were, was Moses, and he wasn't playing games. Moses says, "Here are your choices!" And Moses shared them frankly and openly: Life and prosperity or death and adversity. They seem very clearcut and most people would know to choose the first "door" of life and prosperity rather than "door" two of death and adversity." To be honest, it's like being in church on Sunday. You hear a rousing sermon and in the context of being with other believers, we leave content we will be faithful and fruitful. All it takes is the wrong word or gesture in the car, and an entire family forgets the sermon and begins a trek home that has destroyed the message and made a mess of all members of the family in the car.
Moses lays out the way to enjoy door number one. "Obey the commandments... by loving the Lord your God, walking in His ways, observing His commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess." Show God you Love Him by doing what He asks, and you will be alright.
The way of door two is the opposite. Moses says, "If your heart turns away (from God), and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in th eland that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings an curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and holding fast to Him; for that means life to you and length of days."
If you're one of the passengers in the car what transpired may not have started with you, but soon you were a part of it. Moses is sharing the word of God showing that sometimes, whether we know it or not, our hearts do turn away, and our ears may get distracted and closed to God and we don't hear what God wants us to hear. And before you know it, we have chosen door number two, and instead of the blessings of life and prosperity, we are receiving the adversities and junk of death. Not where we wanted to be. We have to take care and indeed following that which blesses us in our walk with Christ. And if we can, we should walk with other believers and seek to bless one another to that no one strays off the path to life.
PRAYER: God of Life and prosperity, we seek to follow You and the way that leads to life. We acknowledge that sometimes the path gets hazy and difficult; guide us to faithfulness and fruitfulness. Help us walk with others who know the path; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Seek the door that leads to life and help others find it!
Receive my blessings of peace and love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
