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| Take my hand. Let me lead you along this narrow path. Kim & Amelia - Badger Mt. Richland |
The
LORD your God will delight in you if you obey his voice and keep the commands and decrees written in this Book of
Instruction, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.
This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand,
and it is not beyond your reach. It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you
must ask, 'Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and
obey?' It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, 'Who will
cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?' No, the message is
very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey
it. "Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death,
between prosperity and disaster. For I command you this day to love the LORD
your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his
ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the LORD your God
will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy. But if your
heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve
and worship other gods, then I warn you now that you will certainly be
destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the
Jordan to occupy. Deuteronomy
30:10-18 (Underlined for emphasis.)
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| Take my arm. The Lord delights in you. Kim & Amelia Charleston |
Delight.
That’s a great word. You may think of it more for ice cream or some other
dessert, but it is a great word to think about with some people. I’ve know a
couple of ninety-seven years old ladies that I would describe as delightful.
Always with a smile on their face and an encouraging word on their lips. They
bring joy to others. That is probably a quality that God is looking for in us
as we obediently follow His commands, decrees, and regulations. He is finding
joy in us…as we are finding joy in serving Him. Joy. That is another synonymy for
delight. Do you delight and find joy in the Lord? Does He find joy in you?
Moses
wrote this portion of scripture for the Israelites just before they crossed the
Jordan River into the Promised Land. The same directives can apply to us. Where
is our “Promised Land” today? We find God within our hearts—so you might feel that
our spiritual being is our Promised Land. Otherwise, it is Heaven. For those
looking forward to going there, there is one major step. Accepting Jesus as
your Savior. Jesus told us that the only way to the Father was to know Him, to
trust in Him.
Don't let your
hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than
enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you
that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will
come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. ... Jesus told
him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father
except through me.” John
14:1-3, 6
The
Father is in Heaven. How are you going to get there? Just being “good” is not
good enough. Jesus died on the cross for everyone—He took all of our sins upon
Himself. Would you rather die on a cross for your own sins…or accept that Jesus
has already done that for you? It’s a choice to make. Those turning their
hearts away—not accepting what Jesus has done for them—not listening—will be
destroyed. Those who choose to serve Satan will ultimately end up in the Lake of
Fire that has been prepared for Satan and his followers (see Revelation 20:14-15).
I certainly don’t want to go there. I’ve accepted what Jesus did for me. It’s
humbling to admit that we are all sinners—but we are. It is our human nature
since the fall of Adam and Eve. God made a plan—a provision—for a way out. It
is the way back to Him through Jesus along a straight and narrow path. I
delight in following that path. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We
have a choice between life and death. Choose life.
Verse
of Salvation ~ Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to
obey you. Psalm
51:12
© 2024 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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