October 14, 2021 -- Deuteronomy 30:15-20 -- Choose this day!

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over 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, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 ESV

It is a common command “choose life”, that is, vow to obey the commandments of the LORD. By making that vow, and repeating it, daily preaching it to your heart and mind, you are preparing for the moment of temptation. You’ve already chosen for God, decided to live walking the path of loveliness and blessing, so temptations fall powerless to the ground because of your strong decision to follow Jesus.

Disobedience against the LORD our God brings the sentence of death (verse 18) and hell. Even the heavens and the earth will witness against the one who chooses to act wickedly (verse 19). Conversely, heaven and earth will testify in favour of the one who chooses to act in step with the commands of God.

Jesus Himself presents this stark choice to us. “And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Right after these words, Jesus approaches various people, with the command “Follow Me” and they hesitate, offering many excuses and turn away from Jesus (Luke 9:57ff).

When I worked for a car rental company, I wore a shirt that had the name of the company emblazoned on it, the company leadership constantly reminded us, when you wear the shirt, you are representing the company. Therefore, be polite. Keep the policies of the company. Thinking about that, I often think as Christians we need to wear shirts emblazoned with this proclamation, “I, Richard (or insert your own name here), am a follower of Jesus Christ”. Wherever we go, people read that and they will evaluate all our words and actions as either reflecting discredit or honour to His Name. Knowing what is publicly displayed on our shirts would also be a strong reminder to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).

It takes the strong and powerful presence of the Spirit of God to direct our living and our hearts in true, joy-filled obedience. That is the promise of God also of our Father in heaven, how He blesses us in Christ. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness (II Peter 1:3). When we stumble and when we fail, we are called to confess our sins. We do so in the full knowledge God our Father has forgiven us in Christ and He continues to lead us in the way of salvation through His Spirit until we see Him face to face. Therefore, choose this day to serve the LORD.

God in heaven, Father of all blessing and source of every good thing, great is Your Name. With the prophets and saints through the ages, help us to declare “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD”. Jesus, in view of Your great salvation, let our lives be a fragrant offering of self-denial. Spirit of God, teach us to be quick, when we mess us, to fess up. Guide us, Spirit of Truth, in the way everlasting. Amen.

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