The Feed Mill

Today’s Bible Reading: Deuteronomy 28-29

Today’s Devotional: Deuteronomy 28:1-14

When the leaders of the children of Israel were to stand on the separate mountains,  as we will read in Joshua 8:30, with the congregation between them in the valley below. They were not pronouncing blessings and curses over the children of Israel. The leaders were announcing the natural order and ways of who God is and that His character demands Holiness, and that character is in a completely opposite direction away from the character and ways of the world. A dividing visual distinction is provided for the children of Israel in Joshua 8 and is instructed to do so in Deuteronomy 28 and 29. The blessings and curses were warnings, that the natural results to obeying the Lord’s warnings and His Word are for better, more enjoyable, more fulfilling, and longer lasting than disobeying and going after and obeying the pleasures of this world. God warns the children of Israel that the natural progression of letting the voice and influence of the world in our lives leads to a very confused, difficult, and inevitably broken life.

Deuteronomy 28:1-14 these blessings came out of spending time with and obeying the Word of God, obeying it carefully. Obeying the Word of God leaves the individual blessed, and the individual will be happy and content with the Lord’s blessing.

For the children of Israel to trust and obey God’s warning it must be louder than the words of the world, and the only way for that is by God’s Spirit making it louder and a burning desire for His Holiness in our lives. In Philippians 3:3 Paul says it’s the one who’s heart has been separated from the things of this world who has God’s Spirit working effectively and efficiently in their life, because it’s only by the Holy Spirit being the louder influence in our life that we worship in the Spirit and not in our own ability and standing for being Holy. Our ability is found only in Jesus Christ. For the ability to walk blameless before the Lord, Paul goes on in Philippians 3:12 to say that he has not reached this holy and perfect life but what he does is press on, forward movement. Paul’s not done and neither is God working in his life, Paul’s value system had to be reconstructed. Galatians 1 Paul tells us this came from time he spent in the Word of God; and what Paul discovered, was there’s something more He needs of God than just his salvation. Moses and David both “I want to know you more God.” God wants to do more than just bringing us out of Egypt. Paul in order to lay hold of what all God wants to do in his life, he forgets all the world had to promise, and casts off what was valuable before. Paul desired a forward progress in his relationship with the Lord, not only Salvation, and this is the picture for us of the promised land or the Spirit filled life because it’s only by His Spirit which we are able to press on to the obtaining of that which is in Christ Jesus. There are natural blessings to pressing into and desiring more of God, I encourage you to press into the Lord and allow Him to equip and edify you for everything he has called you to do, it all starts with us being in His Word so that He can speak to us of the good things He has planned for us in addition to Salvation. God had additional blessings for the children of Israel than their salvation from Egypt, He didn’t leave nor desire to leave them in the wilderness and that goes the same for each and every one of us.