KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Tuesday, March 20, 208
Chapters: Deuteronomy 27-28
Message: Obeying The Voice of God
Hello My Friend,
Yesterday I was extremely late for work, but I was not worried about it because I knew that since I was putting God first that He would take care of me. When I arrived ninety minutes late I discovered that I was not late at all because no one else was even there. I ended up working an eight hour day with no one getting in the way. You see, I listened to God, put Him first, and He blessed me for my obedience. When God tells us to put Him above all things He means it, and if we do that He will bless us for it, but if we put Him last or choose to walk away from Him completely we can expect to be cursed. Judgment always begins at the house of God, so, if we say that we are His, we need to obey Him or else curses will come faster than we can blink our eyes. “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.” – Matthew 24:45-46.
The world frowns upon obeying God’s voice because, quite frankly, they enjoy doing the sinful things they do and will not turn away from them. I remember a man telling me that if he accepted Jesus he would have to give up everything he enjoyed doing so he was going to wait until he was done. Now, if he really knew Jesus he would have listened when I said that our salvation has nothing to do with our works, but he would not obey God’s voice that was telling him that you are saved by grace, and who knows where that man is right now. Now, once the Holy Spirit gets in you He will start telling you to obey God’s voice, and while we do not always obey Him, there are great earthly blessings that come from doing so. Moses continues urging Israel to always obey God’s voice, reminding them that they are God’s people and with that comes a blessing and a curse.
“And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the LORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day. And Moses charged the people the same day, saying, These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin: And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.” – Deuteronomy 27:9-13.
“Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the LORD thy God,” Obeying the voice of God does not always come easy for us, we are set in our ways, we have wants, needs, and desires that do not always line up with what God wants for us. People think that if they choose Christ that it means losing everything enjoyable, but the truth is we lose everything that brings the curses that come with sin, death, disease, famine, bondage, poverty, all these things are a result of not obeying His voice. The blessings that come from listening to Him are life, fulfillment, freedom, and wealth that nothing on the earth can give. I tell you what, I have done it both ways, and let me tell you, I rather be poor serving God than be rich not serving Him because it brings you down a path that truly is destructible. “Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” – James 1:9-12.
Blessing; Any means of happiness; a gift, benefit or advantage, that which promotes temporal prosperity and welfare, or secures immortal felicity. Think about the blessing that comes when we accept Christ as our Saviour, we are given eternal life in the Kingdom of God, one day we will be immortal, we will no longer have to feel pain or suffering, or even death. Now, when we choose Christ as LORD and live our lives with Him in it we get blessed here on earth also. Why? God promises to bless us when we obey His voice. Through Moses God tells Israel of the blessings that will come as long as they listened to His voice.
“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: 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. The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. 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 28:1,9-13.
“And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD;” It is no surprise that any nation that God chooses to put His name will become great as long as they follow His commands. It is also no surprise that curses will come if they forsake Him. Just as God tells of the blessings that come from a nation that makes Him LORD, He tells of the curses that come if they turn away from Him.
“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. And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the LORD shall lead thee. The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee:” – Deuteronomy 28:15,20,37,43-45.
“He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him:” As our nation goes more and more into debt because it has borrowed money from other countries in order to pay money owed to others, we are quickly falling into these curses. America was once a strong and powerful nation feared by others, known for their faith in God, truly a leader, but now it is being destroyed little by little as more and more do not listen to the voice of God. I told my nephew that God’s people will be carried off into some foreign land and be captives just like Israel was when they were judged. I do not know if this is true, but history often repeats itself, and just like God set the example of His judgment upon Israel, He will do the same to any one of His nations that does not listen to Him. “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” – I Peter 4:17-19.
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, 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
Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://readytofollow.com/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: http://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
Like I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength
Copyright © 2018 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.