Tag: Choose life

Choose Life!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Eternal Life, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

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!

Choose Life

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2019-07-31

Bible Reference: 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……

OBSERVATION: From a heart of love and deep concern, Moses explained to the Israelites that their decisions and actions from that point forward would direct their future chances of survival, and that of their children. Doesn’t it seem like a very clear-cut, simple decision for the Israelites? I believe that in meditating on this today, our eyes will be opened on how challenging it is for us to make similar decisions.

APPLICATION: For a kid ridding down a path, that you know leads to a dangerous cliff, I believe that you will shout, run after, and call friends to help you stop that kid before it is too late. Agreed? That’s similar to the dilemma that Moses faced. God made it obvious to Moses that He had two choices on how He would handle the multitude of people, whose ancestors started on a 40-year journey with Him towards a Promised Land filled with milk and honey. Each promise came with predetermined results. 1). If they would simply follow the commands that Moses shared with them, and stayed true to the Living God, then they and their future generations would remain under the care and protection of God, who would continue to provide for them. 2). If they chose otherwise, in verses 17-18, Moses was very clear that they would not live a long, good life in the land, and they would be destroyed. However, this provided a choice that the people had to make for themselves. Now if I was to stop right at this point and ask you what should their choice be, I’m sure you would quickly respond that the people should choose life over the serious, dangerous, critical, ludicrous second choice that would lead to certain misery, harm, hurt and certain death. Seeing that Moses pleaded with his people to make the same choice, I would say that your answer was probably the only choice in the matter. HOWEVER, just like many who live all around you, and who sit all around you in church, the Israelites made the same decision as your friends do each time a pastor or teacher gives the invitation to accept Jesus as Lord. Unspoken responses will vary, but they probably sound something like: ‘I need to live my (worldly) life out before tying myself down to Christ only’; or ‘I heard there are beautiful ladies, or handsome men, in the town I am moving to and I must enjoy some time with them first’; or ‘Wow, let me list the fun things I will miss if I make this serious commitment’; etc, etc. Friends, is it not obvious that the Israelites must have had their minds centered on the many pleasures awaiting them in the Promised Land, that they didn’t want to commit until they saw if there was something better, or if there was going to be a need for God? Is it not very similar thoughts that our unsaved friends must ponder when faced with the same choice in our churches? Please allow me to suggest to you that only prayer will break the barriers that Satan presents to his followers, so if you love, and are concerned about a loved one or a friend standing next to you in church, pray, pray, pray. For God has the power to overcome Satan in every battle that he starts! For my unsaved friends reading this devotional today, allow me to plead with you to ‘choose life’ my friend!

PRAYER: Thank You Father for leading me to ‘Choose Life’. I have relatives, friends, coworkers, neighbors, blog readers and even church attendees that are faced with this same choice today. Please, oh God, soften their hearts and draw them unto yourself. Please open their eyes to the truth of Your Word and to the love and promises that You offer. Oh that they may accept You as Lord and Savior today is my humble plea. I pray that my Christian readers will take priority in going before God today on behalf of all those in their circle of influence who are headed for Hell, begging with God for their salvation, and that they may ‘Choose Life’. AMEN!