DATE POSTED Saturday, 2021-08-14
WRITTEN AT: Hattiesburg, MS

SCRIPTURE FROM: Deuteronomy 30:19-20
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹⁹ “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! ²⁰ You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long….

APPLICATION: Some may take my subject for today’s devotional as a pro-life theme, while others may ask ‘who wouldn’t want to choose life over death?’ But I would encourage you to look beyond your assumptions today and consider the message that Moses gave to his people. He not only gave them the choice of life over death, but he clearly showed them what they needed to do in order to have life, and have life more abundantly. Since these things still apply to us today, I believe that it is worth our while to spend some time to understand them and to seek ways that we might apply them in our lives:
——> Loving the Lord – In other Scriptures, Jesus admonishes us that if we love Him: We will serve Him; We will worship Him; We will tell others about Him; We will desire to be with Him. These words are not strange to us, for our spouse will frequently tell us that if we love them, we would…. You see, there is always evidence of our love for God, and for each other. So love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind, and all these things will be given to you!
——> Obeying the Lord – To disobey your God, your spouse, your boss or your friend, shows that you have no respect for them or their authority over you. To obey what they ask or tell you to do, shows that you love, respect and honor them, so you will do whatever they ask. So show you love for the Lord by obeying His commands!
——> Committing yourself firmly to the Lord – To whom do you belong? If it’s God, then firmly commit to Him in every aspect of life. I don’t know that it’s possible to say that you love the Lord and you obey the Lord, but you have not fully committed your life to Him. Show me an uncommitted ‘Christian’ and I believe you will show someone who follows Jesus when it is convenient, otherwise it’s all about him or herself. I always got a kick out of politicians who showed up at community groups right before election time. At other times of the year they were no where to be found. They showed up when they needed the people, not when the people really needed them to serve!
Moses told his people, and I believe the Scripture supports a very similar promise for those who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ – do these things and you are choosing life eternal – in heaven. Continue your selfish desires and ignore the commands of Jesus, and you will receive your heart’s desire – curses and damnation in a place especially designed for folk like you – Hell. Just as Moses did in our Scripture, let me repeat the same plea ‘Choose life’ my dear friends!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: We can escape the damnation of eternity in Hell, by loving the Lord our God, obeying Him, and committing ourselves firmly to Him. By doing these things we are promised eternity in heaven with the Father and His precious Son!

PRAYER: Thank You precious Lord for calling me to Yourself many years ago, and for granting me peace to obediently follow You today and every day until You call me home to glory. Please touch the hearts of each reader/listener with Your Word today and may every word shared by Your faithful servant be acceptable in Your sight and in the hearts of every reader or listener. May we enjoy Your blessings today and every day, until You call us home for even more intimacy with You and the Father. Please draw the unbeliever to You very powerfully today, as this may very well be the last day we have here on earth. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!