Sunday, February 19, 2023

Deuteronomy 30:1

Deuteronomy 30:1 says, And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,  This is a call for the people of Israel to remember both God's promise of blessings when they obey His commandments and His curses on them if they don't while they are in captivity in other nations.  Verse two adds, And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;  Moses said when they remembered God's promises that he hoped they would repent and return to Him in obedience.  If we stray away from God today we need to remember His promises and return to Him and obey His commandments.  Verse three continues, That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.  Moses said that if they repented and returned to God that He would gather them from all nations.  If we as followers of Christ stray away from God's commandments, we will not lose our salvation, but we may not have God's protective hand on us in the world today.  If we stray away from Him, we must first realize that we have and then repent.  Verse four declares, If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:  Moses said that they could never be so far away from God that if they repented that God would not find them.  There is no place today, in heaven or earth, that God cannot find those who repent and call on Him by faith.  Verse five adds, And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.  Moses said God would would return them to the Promised Land if they repented of their sins. Again, though we as Christians do not lose our salvation if we sin again, we can certainly lose the joy of our salvation if we do, and if we repent and once more live by faith in God, He will not restore our joy.  Verse six continues, And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.  Moses said that if they returned to God that He would mark them as His own once more,  If we are followers of Christ, and have strayed away from Him, if we repent and return to Him, we will rejoice in being a part of His kingdom once more, and the people of the world should be able to see this.  Verse seven states, And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.  Moses said once they repented and God restored them as His people, that God would put the curses on their enemies.  The biggest curse on people today is everlasting separation from God, and the only way to be restored to Him is through faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Once we repent and come to Him in faith, this curse of everlasting separation is removed, but it still remains on those who do not repent and accept Jesus Christ.  Verse eight adds, And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.  Moses said once God restored them that they were to obey all His commandments.  Even though we are forever saved as Christians, we are still expected to follow God's commandments.  If we do, we should be different than the rest of the world, and they should be able to see this difference.  Verse nine continues, And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:  Moses said that after they repented and returned to God that He would bless their works.  Though we are forever saved by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, if we stray away from Him, we still need to repent and return to Him if we want His protection and blessings in life. Verse ten concludes, If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.  This restoration was based on the people of Israel repenting and returning to God.  Our restoration today whoever we are is based on our accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, and once we do the joy of our salvation is based on our obeying His commandments. There needs to be a change in how we live our life once we become a follower of Christ. 

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