Wouldn’t it be great if there
was a manual on how to live a blessed and prosperous life? Something that was simple to understand and
follow? Good news! There is such a manual and it’s in the
Bible. The overlying theme for this
manual is OBEDIENCE. –But don’t let that scare you off, because
it’s really so simple that it comes down to only 3 Steps!
Here’s what the Bible says:
Deuteronomy 30:15,16
See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.
For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways 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.
17,18
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, 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.
19,20
This day I call heaven and 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 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.
How can we fulfill the requirements to live a life of
prosperity full of blessings?
First of all, it’s a
choice. We either choose to walk a path
of life or a path of death. These are
the choices Moses was presenting to the people of Israel just before entering
into the Promised Land. “So what does
that have to do with us today?” you might ask.
In order for us to enter into the promises God has for us, we need to
consider our choices. If we expect to be
walking a life full of blessings, then there are requirements to fulfill and
those are the very same requirements Moses gave to the Israelites. –Still
not connecting? Stay with me, because in a little bit, I’ll explain how we are
heirs of the same promises that Israel has received.
The requirements are to 1) love the Lord your God 2) to walk in his ways 3) to keep his commands, decrees and laws
The first 2 requirements are fairly simple; love
God and obey Him. The 3rd seems at first to be the
hardest, but is really just as simple.
Let me explain…
Since this scripture was
written before Jesus was sent down to earth to die for all humanity, the people
at that time were only able to get close to becoming righteous through animal
sacrifice and obeying the Law of Moses.
Now fast forward to the New Testament and in Galatians chapter 3 Paul
speaks of how Jesus Christ became the law to fulfill it and that the sole
purpose of the law was to ultimately lead us to faith in Jesus. When we put our faith in Jesus, then we
become sons and daughters of Christ and Abraham’s seed; heirs of everything
that Abraham was ever promised and blessed with. (3:29)
So what is the 3rd
requirement post death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for God’s people
today? It is for us to be in active relationship with
Jesus; walking with God. Within
that relationship is GRACE for all of
our failures. (That’s why Jesus had to fulfill the Law, so that He could be perfect
for us; knowing that we could never be perfect enough to enter into
relationship with a Holy God)
Are you experiencing more “life” or
“death” in your life? “Blessings” or “Curses”? What are you going to choose
today?
Please share how you are specifically loving God more,
obeying God, and actively walking in relationship with Him. Let’s encourage one
another!
