Taking the Higher Road Part 3

Based on Deuteronomy 30 (MSG, NLT, CEV)

In part 1 I listed the blessings given to every person who loves and serves the Lord with a pure heart.  Whoo Hoo!

Part 2 listed the curses of the person who walks away from the Love of the Lord and serves the evil one.  Booo!

Today we will see what happens to the person when he or she decides to love and serve the Lord again with a sincere heart in absolute devotion.

J     The Lord promises to give him back his freedom!

J     Jesus will feel sorry for him and restore him!

J     The repentant person will have success, favor and blessings!
      (Read part 1)

J     He will love God with his whole being and live.  God will put all the curses on his enemies who are cruel to him.

J     The Lord will be happy with this person who whole heartily clings to the Spirit of the living God!

J     The Word of God is very near to his heart and mouth.

It boils down to two choices, according to this passage:

1. Choose life and blessings or
2. Choose death and curses

The Lord commands the wayward person to turn and love the Lord, keep His commands, obey His Word, and then the Lord will bless him.  If he chooses death, the Lord will turn away from him and all the curses will come upon him.  He will be destroyed.  Today, Jesus is offering this person life or death, blessings or curses.

CHOOSE LIFE! (Deut 30:19) To choose life is to love the Lord, our God, obey him and stay close to him (30:20).  He is your life.  He will let you live many years.  It’s your choice.  What will you choose?

I choose life, Lord.  Help me to serve only You, not the world or myself.

Taking the Higher Road Part 2

The Low Road

Based on Deut 28:15-48 (MSG, NLT, CEV)

What if someone decides the high road is too hard?  What if he decides to take a wide, crowded, easy road that leads to destruction?

"Taking the high road is usually not the easy one to take or the most popular. The low road seems to offer instant satisfaction. It may seem better for the moment, but if you compromise your principles and your integrity, it will always end up costing you far more in the long run."
- Billy Cox

 

The Lord speaks about the damage that would fall on someone if they decide to turn away from God and follow their own selfish interests.  Deuteronomy 28 lists these curses for Israel, but can be personalized for the individual (male or female):

N       Everywhere he goes he is cursed, whether he is in the city or the country.

N       He will have lack of food.

N       The Lord sends confusion and punishment in everything he does.

N       He will be destroyed and suddenly ruined because he left the Lord and chose a life of sin with an unrepentant heart.

N       He will have terrible diseases. Fever, swelling, bad growths, open sores & itches that can’t be cured.

N       He will feel the heat, lack of rain, drought, dehydration, blight and mildew until he dies.  Everything the person does will be hard.

N       Enemies will defeat the person who chooses sin.  He will try to attack his enemy from one direction but he will flee in seven directions.

N       He will be a thing of horror to others.

N       Madness, blindness (natural and spiritual) and a confused mind will possess this person. It will make him crazy and he’ll grope around in the middle of the day like a blind person feeling his way through a lifetime of darkness; he will never get to where he’s going.

N       He will fail in everything he does.  People will hurt and steal from him everyday.  No one will be there to help him.

N       He will build a house and not live in it.  The woman he is engaged to will have sex with someone else.

N       He will lose everything and no one will come to his rescue.

N       Other people will reap the benefits of this cursed person’s hard work that he has produced.

N       He will be tired of looking for things he can’t quite grasp.  What he sees will drive him crazy because he can’t quite reach it.

N       He will be mistreated.

N       This person who hates God will in turn be hated everywhere the Lord sends him.  People will laugh at him and make fun of him.

N       Children will be estranged from him.

N       Others around this person will grow stronger while he gets weaker and weaker.

N       He will go into debt because of the things taken and stolen from him.  He will be the “tail”.

N       He will be hungry, thirsty, naked and poor.

N       All these curses will come upon the person who deliberately turns away from the Lord.  These curses will chase him down and catch him because he did not serve the Lord with joy and a pure heart.  This is someone who is unrepentant and as long as they live that way these evil things will sweep over him.

N       All the curses will be signs and miracles to him to lead him back to the road of repentance (the higher road) and right standing with God again.

 

These things will happen to someone who decides to turn his back on loving and serving the Lord with a pure heart.  It is a deliberate act of disobedience and rebellion against the Lord and His commandments.

But wait…There is Hope!   

What if that person repents and turns back to the Lord?  Read Deuteronomy 30 and part 3 of “Taking the Higher Road”. 

 

Lord, help me to always follow you and keep my eyes open to any areas of

compromise that would cause me to turn toward the wrong path.

Taking the Higher Road Part 1

The High Road
Based on Deuteronomy 28:1-14 (MSG, NLT, CEV)

High road refers to a higher moral ground. "Taking the high road" expression refers to one being a "class act" during a very difficult time. Those who take the high road, are demonstrating being honest, fair, and selfless while not being completely defenseless.

– Urban dictionary

You are taking the “high road” when you choose to rebel against the evil in the culture especially when people around you sin and deliberately walk toward wickedness. Scripture refers to a straight and narrow path that is not very crowded.  Abundant blessings are promised to you for taking that narrow “high” road, as we see in Deuteronomy 28.  This scripture lists blessings promised to the nation of Israel, but we can personalize it and see the blessings for us if we whole heartily live for the Lord.  Here are the blessings promised for you, His faithful one, in this passage:

©      The Lord will make you great. God will chase you down and overtake you with His blessings.

©      You are blessed in the city and the country and anywhere you go or live.

©      Your children have many blessings bestowed upon them.

©      You will have favor in your business or place of employment.

©      Your kitchen will be blessed with lots of food.  There will be plenty for you and your family and enough to share or give away.

©      You are blessed coming and going.  Everywhere you go you are highly favored.

©      The Lord will defeat all your enemies that come against you.  The enemy will come and try to attack from one direction but will scatter in defeat in seven different directions.

©      The Lord blesses everything you do. 

©      He causes the land to be abundantly fruitful and produce good crops.

©      Father God calls you Holy.  You are his Holy child and He promises you all good things.

©      You are raised up and exalted in the community and among the people of earth.  God is glorified in your life by raising you up.  People will hold you in respectful awe because of the Lord in you, as you set your heart and mind on obeying His commandments.

©      The Lord will make you rich.  You will have success in family, ministry, business, and work.

©      You will have successful children (natural and spiritual).

©      Jesus will do all that He promised you and your ancestors.  He will give it ALL to you!

©      The Lord will open the flood gates of heaven and will rain down favor and blessings at the perfect time.  He will lavish on you all good things.  You will have more money than you need so that you can give it away and never need to borrow from others.

©      God will make you the leader (the head) not a follower (the tail).  You are FREE!

All these blessings belong to you because you love the Lord and carefully follow His commandments.  It is simply out of complete LOVE for Jesus that you don’t swerve an inch to the right or left from His words.

 I claim all the promises You have said in Your Word, Lord Jesus,

because I love You so much and desire to do everything You say to do.

Lord, turn Your face to me and bless me and my family.