I sat down someday and started thinking about the word of God, His unfailing promises to bless all believers- those who believe in His son Jesus. My attention was narrowed and focused on the topic of prosperity in line with the study of the book of Deuteronomy.
Have you ever wondered why most believers are not blessed or not as blessed as the Lord wants them to be blessed? To start with, let us look at the meaning of being blessed. The Merriam Webster online dictionary defines blessed as:
"of or enjoying happiness; specifically : enjoying the bliss of heaven —used as a title for a beatified person" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blessed)
- what a deep meaning this is.
The book of Deuteronomy emphasises quite a number of instructions for the Israelites regarding how God had journeyed with them from Egypt up until the time of writing of the book when the Israelites was preparing to enter the promised land of Canaan. Now let us study the book of Deuteronomy 11: 26 to 11: 28 in the King James Version (KJV)
26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;
27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day:
28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
vs 26: Israel had to make a choice between a blessing and a curse after Moses had recalled the deeds of God in their hearing
vs 27 - 28: Moses guided them through the conditions attached to the choices before the Israelites. In simple English, Moses told them "you will be blessed if you obey the commandments of God and be cursed if you disobey the commandments of God"
Brethren, I think this same choice lies in front of you and I who proclaim to be followers of Jesus Christ. The same way Israel had to make a choice that day, the same way we are faced with this same choice in our day to day life- the choice of a blessing or that of a curse. I am sure that most of us would rather choose to be blessed.
Now the question is how can we enjoy all the benefits that God promised the Israelites on that day. The answer is quite simple as the word of God rightly said... obey the commandments of God. Maybe you and I have not be obedient to the commandments of God and for that reason, we have not been able to receive all his promised blessings. Let us take a closer look at our lives from now henceforth, let us examine ourselves in line with the word of God; maybe there are some areas where we have not been obedient. Some of us could have been struggling with our human strength to obey God, it is time to trust on His grace which teaches us to say no to all forms of unrighteousness.
Surely, God's promises are yea and amen. I am very sure that God is more than ready to shower His blessings upon us, let us strive and trust God to live a life of obedience to Him and His commandments, by so doing, we can appropriate all His promised blessings to us.
May the Lord help us and give us grace to live a a life of obedience.
Yours in faith
Omotayo Oyewo
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