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View the devotional: https://www.tiktok.com/@eradiovalverde/video/7197649806553124138?lang=en
Hear the devotional: https://anchor.fm/eradio-valverde/episodes/Its-Your-Choice-e1uksho
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. (Deuteronomy 30:15-20 NIV)
Happy Wednesday, Friend! May the rich blessings of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you and all of your friends family, neighbors, and community. I pray this finds you well, as it finds Nellie and me on the road to wellness. We saw our doctor this afternoon and just seeing him is a blessing, as is, of course, his wise counsel and prescriptions for getting better. Thank you, Doctor Hisey! And our thanks to all of you for your prayers. I have no updates on our sister Lupe, but let us continue to pray God's healing upon her. Let us continue to pray for one another, for our community, for our nation and our world.
If the Sermon on the Mount is the greatest sermon ever, then this is a very close second. Preached by Moses on the event of Israel's crossing into the Promised Land. This in and of itself, was a very special event. The promise of God is being fulfilled and they will be the ones living the promise by walking into Canaan, the land given to Israel by God. The mood is electic I believe, for hopes and dreams, prophecies and predictions, are going to happen in a matter of minutes. To the Disney fan, this is very much like rope-dropping; the dropping of the ropes that prevent Disney guests from entering the theme parks. Okay, some of you don't completely understand, and I'll try another example in a bit. Rope-dropping allows the early worm to get on the desired rides. Imagine getting to your favorite football team's stadium on the opening day of the season. Kyle Field or The Tomato Bowl. You have your ticket and as soon as the gates open, you will be just where you want to be. But first, you get hear your coach say a word to fans and players alike. "This is our year! We are going all the way!" Fill in the blanks and chuckle as this coming weekend pretty much ends football. (Wives: Go console your husbands!). Seriously, this was bigger even than being an Eagles or Chiefs fan as the day will determine who is the Super Bowl champion for this year. Much bigger.
We read and heard the part where Moses spells out the choices facing the people of God. "It's your choice friends; you choose what you want and what you believe would best serve you and best serve God. You can choose life and prosperity or you can choose death and destruction." Funny, as even today many make choices similar to these and still end up choosing the wrong door! They may not fully realize it at the moment, but still they choose things that will ultimately lead them to spiritual death and eventual death. I can sadly think back to dear friends who are no longer with us because they made the wrong choice for the day or for their life. A dear dear friend chose to skip school to spend the day swimming in the wrong place, and drowned. The young lady making a decision to try recreational drugs only to find later she was enslaved to them and they led her away from life into death.
The command from Moses is for the people to love God, to walk with God in obedience to Him, to keep God's commands, decrees and laws, and the result will be to live a full life and increased blessings to boot. Yet, Moses says, you can choose to be disobedient, even to the point of bowing down to false gods and the worship of idols; you will be destroyed. Moses then calls on the heavens and the earth to come as witnesses against those of you who make such choices. The ultimate choice, Moses says, are life and death, blessings and curses. "Choose life," Moses says, "So that you and your children may live 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." The truth is that this challenge by Moses is one that does come to us daily. Every day, God gives us life and the freedom to choose what we want. We were given free will. The choices may not be as obvious as they could be; some are subtle and sneaky, and we were told by Jesus to be as wise as serpents, so that we could make the right life-filled choices. God would provide us that wisdom if we would but ask. Choose each day that which will bless your life.
PRAYER: Loving God, may we be wise by listening to You. Guide us away from temptation and that which may destroy us. Help to help others; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Choose life and prosperity; blessings not curses.
Receive my blessings of hope and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
