............................................................................................................
,
God has already made HIS decision that He
wants to bless you as His child, but now the ball is in your court — ready for
YOUR decision to align yourself with the favor He wants to give you. Will you
choose life or death? Do you want to be chased by God’s blessings or harassed
by curses brought on through your disobedience? Joshua declared that he had
already made his choice — both for himself and for his family: “As for me and
my house, we will serve the Lord.” Are you ready to make your declaration of
full allegiance to God today? Make a fresh commitment to live a life that is
pleasing to the Lord. Then get ready for a tidal wave of blessings to chase you
and overtake you!
by David Cerullo
The key to God’s amazing turnaround plan —
enabling you to walk in His favor in every area of your life.
Have you ever known someone who seems to be
constantly hounded by problems?
Whenever you run into them, there’s some new
crisis in their health, finances, or family. It’s as if the devil is harassing
them 24/7.
Fortunately, God offers such a person a
turnaround if they’re willing to heed His instructions.
His Word describes how each of us can attract
God’s blessings instead of bill collectors and never-ending troubles.
Would you like to know more?
Deuteronomy 28:1-14 paints a
beautiful picture of some of the blessings you can expect when you’re walking
the favor of God. Not only does God say you will receive these
blessings if you obey Him, but He says they will “overtake you” (verse 2).
In other words, instead of you
having to chase God’s blessings, they will chase YOU!
And notice how all-inclusive God’s blessings
will be when you have His favor:
Every place you go, whether in
the city and in the country (verse 3).
In the health of your body and
the fruit of your labor (verse 4).
With both your coming in and
your going out (verse 6).
Providing you with victory
over your enemies (verse 7).
Blessing you in everything you
set your hand to (verse 8).
Establishing you as part of
the Lord’s “holy people” (verse 9).
Giving you breakthroughs of
God’s bounty and “His good treasure” (verse 11).
Becoming “the head and not the tail” (verse 13).
But notice, as with countless other promises in
the Bible, there are conditions attached to this abundant favor.
All of the blessings listed in
Deuteronomy 28 are based on our response to God’s invitation in verse 1: “Now
it shall come to pass, IF you diligently obey the voice of
the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I
command you today…”
Too often, when we read God’s promises in
Scripture, we overlook the conditions He includes in the context.
If we expect to experience the kind of favor
described in Deuteronomy 28, we must obey His voice and observe His
commandments!
Attracting God’s Favor
Too often, people get the wrong idea that God’s
blessings are totally random and unpredictable — something we can’t really do
anything about.
This fatalistic view keeps people from taking
any responsibility for the life of favor God wants to give them.
Yet this is not at all what the Bible teaches.
God has already made HIS decision that He wants to bless you as His child, but
now the ball is in your court — ready for YOUR decision to align yourself with
the favor He wants to give you.
Throughout the Scriptures, you see men and women
faced with important decisions that will impact their earthly blessings and
eternal destiny.
For example, God confronted the Israelites with
a stark choice in Deuteronomy 30:15-20:
“See, I have set before you
today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today
to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and
His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that
the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to
possess it…”
“I call heaven and earth to
witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the
blessing and the curse.
“So choose life in
order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God,
by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the
length of your days.”
This shouldn’t really be a hard choice, because
the consequences are so clear.
Will you choose life or death? Do you want to be
chased by God’s blessings or harassed by curses brought on through your
disobedience?
Steps of Obedience
The Lord also explains in this passage what you
must DO in order to “choose life.”
It requires a firm decision to love Him, walk in
His ways, obey His voice, and hold fast to Him.
This is a decision you cannot avoid. God is
calling for a wholehearted choice to put Him first in your life.
Joshua described this to the
Israelites when he gave them this bold challenge: “Choose for
yourselves this day whom you will serve…But as for me and my house, we will
serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).
Joshua’s words are packed full of meaning for
your life today. You must make a choice.
And instead of procrastinating, you must make
your decision today.
There are countless other “gods” in our culture
today, but you must turn your back on them and choose to follow the Lord
instead.
Joshua declared that he had
already made his choice — both for himself and for his family: “As
for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Are you ready to make your declaration
of full allegiance to God today?
Take a few moments to pause and allow the Lord
to examine your heart. Is there some teaching in His Word that you’ve been
ignoring?
Have you hardened your heart to the voice of His
Spirit in some way?
Make a fresh commitment to live a life that is
pleasing to the Lord. Then get ready for a tidal wave of blessings to chase you
and overtake you!
Your partner to reach the Lost,
David
Cerullo is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Inspiration Ministries,
located in Indian Land, South Carolina – a ministry dedicated to impacting
people for Christ worldwide through media. The son of international evangelist
Morris Cerullo, David took a less traditional approach to ministry, graduating
from Oral Roberts University with a degree in business administration and
management. He has authored over 20 books, and operates a global media ministry
that powerfully impacts the world for Christ. More from
David on Inspiration.org.
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