READ: Deuteronomy 11-12
THINK: “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse…” – Deuteronomy 11:26
It’s really that simple. God invites every one of us to live the way that we were created to live – the way that the original designer designed and wired us to live – and, at the same time, allows us the opportunity to choose not to live that way. And he promises us that if we do things his way we will be blessed beyond measure. But if we choose to go the other way then we’ll experience the very real and present hell of separation from him in this life and the next.
One of the coolest things that God does in Deuteronomy 11 is gives us a really practical handle on what it looks like to live his way in daily life. In verses 18-20 he says, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates…”
These words remind us that God’s word and his character should dominate our desires and our will. They should define our actions and our thoughts. They should be a focal point of our interactions with our children. They should define us when we’re at home and when we’re out in the world. And they should impact our relationships with both family members and guests and strangers.
ASK: Ask yourself today: Do God’s word and character define my thoughts and actions? How does this impact my interactions with everybody that I intersect day to day? Am I the same person in the comfort of my home as I am in public?
If you are uncomfortable with any or all of your answers to those questions – and I know I am and suspect most all of us will be – what will you do about it? I assume that you want to live a blessed life rather than a cursed one. I certainly do. And the God of universe tells us that the real key to doing so isn’t anything the world has to offer but, instead, following him and allowing his word and his will to define everything about us. How can you open yourself up today so that this will be your reality?
PRAY: Ask God to fill you. Ask him to define you. Ask him to invade the spaces of your heart that haven’t been open to him in the past. Ask him to help you live the way you were created to live. Ask him to bless you.
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