“Little faith will save a man, but little faith cannot do great things for God.” – Charles Spurgeon
KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Wednesday, March 20, 2019
Chapters: Deuteronomy 27-28
Message: Draw Near With A True Heart
Hello My Friend,
All my imagination was, and still is over the top. I use to write stories about some woman being in some kind of controlling situation, then being rescued by the amazing guy. Life itself is far from fiction, we envision it as the knight in shining armor coming to rescue the damsel in distress, but reality is never close to what we envision. Reality is a series of ups and downs, and in betweens, and if we somehow find the right path we find Jesus, and a life much more than we envision. Amen! Now that Jesus is a part of my life I could not imagine one day without Him, and have no idea how I managed to go as far as I did without Him. Then it occurred to me, and this always does when I get emotional, He was always with me, He just did not reveal it until my heart was ready to accept Him. “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” – Hebrews 10:16-18,22.
“I will put my laws into their hearts,” Believe it or not, God controls the heart, He will harden a heart to prove His people, He will soften one to use His people, and He will open one when it is ready to give it all to Him. Our heart itself softens, and or hardens through the choices we make, and how we deal with life itself. I have a hard time trusting people because I was hurt a few times. And this is what God uses to determine how to use us. Remember, He is the potter, we are the clay, He will not hesitate to use some reprobate to judge His people or to turn some tender hearts toward Him. Saved, born again Christians, have no idea the power they have inside of them, and yet, so many live defeated lives because they have made wrong choices in their heart, and God closes them until they open up to Him. God does not want us to live life defeated, He wants to bless us, to do that He wants a little bit of faith, trust, and to love Him with all our heart. As Moses winds up his speech to all who would enter into the promised land, he encourages them to listen to God, and if they do He will bless them.
“And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in his ways. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee. And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.” – Deuteronomy 28:1-2,8-11.
“if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.” We need to learn to listen to God more often, He speaks to us in so many ways. I was driving and decided to play a gospel CD rather than listen to the news, and before I knew it I was in tears as God reminded me that I have a mountain that he has led me on to climb, and if I want the blessings at the top I need to keep climbing it. Let me tell you, curses, instead of blessings come when we do not listen to God. And the curses far outnumber the blessings. Moses tells them of the curses that will come if they did not listen to God.
“But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. The LORD shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.” – Deuteronomy 28:15,20-22,25.
“The LORD shall send upon thee cursing,” We must understand that the natural evils in this world, meaning death, sickness, disease, handicaps, and even mental disorders are all curses of sin. The second Adam and Eve sinned it brought that curse down to all of us because sin of any kind in itself is a curse. Think about it. A person who tells one lie to get out of something, tells another lie to keep that lie being found out, then tells another lie, and it just keeps going until the lie itself becomes an alternate reality. You know, sometimes my stories seemed more exciting than life, I wanted them to become a reality, and the one time that I tried to make it become one it turned into a nightmare. God does not want to afflict us with these curses, but if we do not listen to Him, and turn to our own will, He will allow it. “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” – Romans 10:1-4.
“and going about to establish their own righteousness,” Do you think that God expected Israel to know and obey every one of the six hundred and thirty commands that were in the Law of Moses? No. What he expected, and still expects, is for His people to love Him with all their heart, mind, and soul. If they love Him they will turn to Him for everything, including redemption. Salvation will save us, and remove our sins and far as the east from the west, but it does not take away the curse of sin that comes to the flesh if we choose to go against His Word. A nation that welcomes sin, and encourages it, will face judgment from God in the form of famines and diseases.
“Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed. And ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD thy God. And it shall come to pass, that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. And the LORD shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life:” – Deuteronomy 28:61-66.
“and shalt have none assurance of thy life:” Wow! That is a powerful statement. Every single person comes to a point in their lives when they wonder what is going to happen to their life. Is there really life after death, do we just die, and that is all? Jesus answers all those questions, there surely is life after death, whether it be heaven or hell, that is up to each and every one of us to decide. Those who refuse to believe that Jesus is the only way will never have the assurance of life, but those who do have the greatest assurance, their salvation by grace alone, through their faith in Him. “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” – Acts 17:30-31.
“but now commandeth all men every where to repent:” Since creation God has winked at ignorance, they did not know any better so they did what was right in their own eyes, well, that all changed with Jesus. Ignorance cannot save anyone, it will send a soul to hell, and the sad thing, they were given the opportunity at least once to know Christ as their Saviour. They will face the same judgment as the wicked reprobate that God will never open its heart to because they reject Him all together, even though they know He is their Creator, hence the devil. Moses reminds Israel that God has always been with them, they have seen the miracles and judgments, and so has Egypt, but they could not see them because God had not given them the heart to understand it.
“And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles: Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do. Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water: That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day: That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” – Deuteronomy 29:2-4,9-13.
“Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive,” In order for our hearts to change, and God to open them to see who He is, we must first have faith in His Word. I grew up Catholic, I knew about God and Jesus, and learned many of the Bible stories, but like Israel, I did not perceive any of it until I started reading His Word. I spent my life searching for my fairy tale, my happy ever after in the wrong places. It took for me to start losing every single thing of value to me for me to find the one thing I need, Jesus. I even remember the day I was traveling, and asked a coworker what she thought about God. I believe that was when God opened my heart to see Jesus, He knew I was ready to perceive Jesus for more than His Son who died on the cross for crimes He did not commit. Interestingly, that same week, I spoke to my brother on the phone, and he told me he had gone to church, and I should go with him. It is only when we turn our attention on Him that He reveals Himself to us. And that is the full assurance of our faith. “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” – Hebrews 4:2-3.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them:” – Deuteronomy 28:13.
Today’s Prayer: God, You never cease to remind me of just how blessed I am, everything could be falling apart around me, but I truly have Your favor. You never stop loving me, and are always there to give me guidance and correction when I need it. Lord, lead me and guide me, open my ears to hearing Your voice at all times, open my eyes to seeing everything You are trying to show me, open my heart to receive it all, help me to learn of and follow all Your commands, not because I have to, but because I want to honor You and give thanks to You for Your unmerited mercy and grace. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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