Devotions From the Heart: Choose Life

by Pastor Derek Gitsham

Choose Life

"And it shall come to pass, if thou wilt
hearken diligently unto the voice of the
Lord thy God, to observe and to do all
his commandments which I command thee
this day, that the Lord thy God will
set thee on high above all nations of
the earth: and all these blessings shall
come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou
shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord
thy God." Deuteronomy 28:1, 2

The list of blessings follow this statement
from Moses, from the Lord, and it is most
encouraging. The only thing that saddens
these series of verses is the list of curses
that follow if we do inherit the blessings.
According to these verses, we are either being
cursed or blessed. Unfortunately the list
of curses is longer, much longer than the blessings.

In a later verse in chapter 30:19 Moses
exhorts Israel to choose life after having
set before them life and death. The blessing
he is talking about is life, the curse is death.
Obedience to God is a choice we must make.

Paul says of sin in Romans 6:16, “Know ye not
that to whom you yield yourselves servants to
obey, his servants you are to whom ye obey,
whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto
righteousness?” If we obey sin we are its slave.
Paul says, “If we obey righteousness, we are
slaves of righteousness.”

Obedience is what God is seeking from all His
people. Acts tells us God gives the Holy Spirit
to them that obey Him. We have been given the
Holy Ghost for the purpose of obeying Him. Paul
to the Corinthians says, “All the promises of
God are yea and Amen in Christ Jesus.” Yes is
obedience. Amen is “so be it.” The promises of
God are available to all who obey. They are
conditional.

We determine whether we are going to be blessed
or not. The decision is ours. God helps us to obey
and desire to obey, that blessings may overtake us.


Pastor Derek Gitsham
Deuteronomy 28: 1,2