Obedience Brings Blessing 6-27-05

Good morning, Lord Jesus. Help me get quiet and still, as I center my thoughts on You at the start of this day. Open Your Word to me, that You can live Your Word through me this day. Correct me where I am wrong; convict me where I sin, that I can turn again to You and to Your path that leads to life and life abundant. ... "See, I have set before you life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in His ways, and observing His commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess" (Deuteronomy 30.15-16). The grace of freedom is the power to choose. You set before us the choice to obey or disobey, to trust in You or trust in ourselves, to follow Your paths or follow our own. One way leads to life and prosperity, the other to death and adversity. Whether we like it or not, obedience is a spiritual principle: "Misfortune pursues sinners, but prosperity rewards the righteous" Proverbs 13.21). Yet, it is not all or nothing; and we each experience a measure of it all -- both prosperity and adversity -- as we journey through a broken and fallen world, surrounded by broken and fallen people, confronted by our own brokenness and fallenness. But there is a general direction and overarching theme to the flow of our lives toward life or toward death, toward prosperity or toward adversity. If we keep looking to You and trusting in You, You redeem even our times of adversity into prosperity and redeem the struggles with death into victories of life. So how do we obey You? As Your Word says: by loving You, by walking in Your ways, by observing Your principles. Then we shall live and become numerous, then You will bless us in the land You have sent us to possess. Is obedience just an Old Covenant principle? You personally confirmed the necessity of obedience which brings the reward of blessing as a New Covenant principle, saying, "Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it" (Luke 11.28). As Your Holy Spirit said through Paul, "Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit" (Galatians 6.7-8). Give us the grace and desire to obey You, trusting that You know what is best for us, for You created us and the spiritual principles that govern us. Continue the process of putting to death the desires of our flesh that rebel from obedience to Your Spirit. If we truly love You and trust You, we will obey You, by the grace that You freely give to those who ask (John 15.10). Then we will prosper even through adversity and we will live an abundant life even in the face of death -- all to Your glory. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. Be encouraged this day! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays To subscribe/unsubscribe please send a note to me at Messiah Ministries -- "preparing the way of the Lord" -- MessiahMin@aol.com Our mailing address: 2800 Tates Creek Rd; Lexington, KY 40502. God bless you!Daily archives and devotional on the web at: www.morningbymorning.blogspot.com