THE LORD BLESSES THOSE WHO HAVE SINCERELY CHOSEN TO FOLLOW HIM

BIBLE PASSAGE:
It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. 
Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. 
(Deuteronomy 13:4)

MEDITATION:
We live in a world that promotes 
“Get all you can by doing as little as you can”.
It is not the kind of world that God planned for us to live in.
However, He has given us ‘free will’ and instead of using it for good, 
we have pushed Him aside and created our own rules and guidelines. 

How does that happen?
How can we ignore the One who created us and has offered us all things good?
Wouldn’t it have to be the selfish attitude 
that has been promoted in the world?
There seems to be a misconception that we can go to the Lord for salvation
and then continue to live under our own rules with no responsibility to Him.

In Deuteronomy we are given some specific responsibilities as believers.
We “must follow” the Lord our God.
That means that He establishes the guidelines for us and we obey them.
When we try to take the lead and put Him behind as a follower of us, 
we create all kinds of problems for ourselves and those around us.

Secondly, we are told to “revere” (respect, worship) Him.
That means that we carve out time in our day and week to spend time with Him.
We spend time with Him in prayer, and we worship and praise Him 
with other believers because we are adopted members of His family.

Next we are told to “keep His commands and obey them”.
If we are following someone, 
it means we are committed to their rules and guidelines.
If we choose to ignore their instructions, 
then we are following ourselves, or someone other than our Creator.

We are given instructions to “serve Him”.
Let’s be honest, we are either going to serve Him in some capacity, 
or we are going to serve something, or someone else.
We can either be contributors to the world He planned for us.
or by default, we are contributors to the world He did not plan for us.

Lastly, we are told to “hold fast” to Him.
Have you ever noticed how someone can be so enamored 
with another person that they cling to every word they say?
Whenever someone disagrees with them, they defend themselves 
by reciting a comment made by the one they admire.

Everything their ‘favored one’ says is treated as factual without debate.
This should be our relationship with the Lord.
We should have such a close relationship with Him and read His Word so often 
that we know what He expects and nothing will cause us to compromise His wishes.

ACTION:
Are you falling short in any of the areas mentioned in Deuteronomy?
Have you chosen to follow something or someone else 
instead of the One who can give you salvation?
Do you honor, respect, praise and worship Him?

Have you substituted His commands with your own rules and guidelines?
Do you obey Him 
or have you modified His commands to fit your own lifestyle and desires?
How are you serving Him; what are you doing specifically?

What is your relationship like with the Lord?
Do you look forward to spending time with Him, or do you consider it 
as something that infringes on doing the things you want to do?

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for making the greatest gift available 
to every individual. Help me to realize the magnitude of Your gift 
of salvation and the promise of spending an eternity with You. Help 
me to start spending my eternity with You now by being obedient to 
the instructions in Your Words. Teach me to be a true follower of 
You, to worship and praise You alone and with others, to prove I am 
a follower by obeying Your commands, to serve You in whatever capacity 
You desire of me, and to cling to You and strive to increase my 
fellowship with You. Remind me that Your instructions are beneficial 
to me, and I will be blessed by following them, and You.”

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