Daily Pursuit Every Day: May 28
“See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today..." Deuteronomy 11:26-28
I have to be honest. It is difficult for me to read the Old Testament stories and laws and not think that was a graceless time. Righteousness was clearly defined for God’s people. It was written in stone. There was a clear cost to wrongdoing. I view it as if God said, ‘This is the way, like it or not. Follow it all to the letter or wind up dead.’ Doesn’t really sound gracious to me. No thanks. I’ll take this New Testament Grace instead. But that perspective is inconsistent with what God says about Himself. He does not change. He has always been offering Life and Grace because He is God. He is Life, the Life.
So when we disobey Life Himself what exactly do we think should happen? Should we be able to have our way sometimes? Is there any room for us to do things as we see fit? Shouldn’t Life make some concessions or exceptions to His rules for us at least a little bit? Well, He did. I couldn’t see this until I made an intentional, daily practice of giving thanks for a few years. The Lord changed my heart through that. The practice of thankfulness is given to us by God. It revealed to me that the fact we are living and breathing at all in this darkness apart from God is an incredible act of Grace by Him. Remember, He is the Life. When He speaks, disobedience isn’t really an option. Certainly not a matter of opinion. But because He is love and relationship, He gives us the choice and leaves us vulnerable to our decisions. He puts before us blessing and a curse; the tree of Life and the tree of death.
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’
Luke 10:27
That is a much higher bar than the one set in the Law given to Moses. That is our law in this ‘Age of Grace’ that some call it. I used to think that rule was really unfair. There isn’t any room for me and what I want in that New Testament commandment. But I know now that ‘opinion’ comes from selfishness and, honestly, it’s satanic in the purest form. It is unregenerate. It is like asking, ‘Did God really say?’ or thinking, ‘He must be keeping something from me because I’ll be more like Him.’ That needs to die so that I can truly live.
‘I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the father except through me.’ That’s the grace we get to walk in today! Stop making excuses for the old ways we used to walk. If we believe what He says we better be doing what he says. It’s really a matter of Life and death.
‘I came that they may have Life and have it abundantly.’
John 10:10
I want to leave with you this passage from the Amplified Version. It comes from Romans 8.
Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever]. [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God’s Law; indeed it cannot. So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him. But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls you]. But if anyone does not possess the [Holy] Spirit of Christ, he is none of His [he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God]. [Rom. 8:14.] But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you]. And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are debtors, but not to the flesh [we are not obligated to our carnal nature], to live [a life ruled by the standards set up by the dictates] of the flesh. For if you live according to [the dictates of] the flesh, you will surely die. But if through the power of the [Holy] Spirit you are [habitually] putting to death (making extinct, deadening) the [evil] deeds prompted by the body, you shall [really and genuinely] live forever. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
My wife Alysha and I host a podcast called Disrupt the Comfort. In it we discuss what the Lord has been teaching us and how the Lord is moving us out of darkness into light. Look us up on YouTube or Spotify.
Also, please heck out our woodworking shop! It helps fund our Disrupt the Comfort ministry. If you have any custom furniture or home décor needs, please reach out! mbwwstudios@gmail.com