“Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; a blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: and a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.” Deuteronomy 11:26-28
A blessing and a curse are set before us today, as well. God promises us a great blessing when we repent of our sinful ways and look to Christ Jesus and His cross for pardon and forgiveness, and then seek to walk according to God’s commandments. He promises a curse when we turn aside from His Word and continue on in our sinful ways, impenitent.
Grant that I hear and heed Your Word, O Lord, acknowledging my sinfulness and looking to You for mercy for the sake of Christ Jesus, my Savior. Teach me Your Word and lead me in the way everlasting. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]
“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” Romans 8:19-21
All of God’s creation was placed under a curse when mankind fell into sin, and it awaits the day when those who have faith in Christ are raised up and glorified, for then it too will be set free from the curse of sin and partake of the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Keep us in the true faith, O God, that we may be raised up unto life eternal in the new heavens and earth which You will create, where there will be no more curse, no more sin, and no more death. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]
“And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?” Deuteronomy 10:12-13
The LORD God has redeemed us from our evil and sinful ways by the death of His Son in our stead, and He has called us to Himself, to be His own special people. What does He require of us as His redeemed children? To honor and respect Him as our Maker and Redeemer, to walk in His ways, to serve Him with all our heart and soul, and to obey all that He commands us in His Word.
O LORD God, thank You for the gift of Your Son, for His holy life and innocent sufferings and death on the cross to redeem me from sin and death. Grant that I trust in Him and fear, love, and trust in You with all my heart and soul. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3
Unless and until one is reborn from above by the gracious working of the Holy Spirit through God’s Word, trusts in Christ Jesus as his Redeemer, and is baptized in His name, he cannot see or understand the kingdom of God. Nicodemus, who came to Jesus at night, did not know God’s kingdom and was not yet part of it because he, along with the rest of the Pharisees, had rejected John’s baptism and had not repented of his sins and trusted in Jesus as his Messiah and Savior.
Dear Lord Jesus, grant me to know You and look to You and Your cross in faith that I might see and be a part of Your eternal kingdom. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:29
It is the gracious will of God that those whom He foreknew as His own would be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. The goal of God the Father in sending His own Son into the world to redeem us from sin and the just condemnation of God’s law is not that we would continue in our old sinful ways, but that we would repent of our sins, trust in Christ Jesus our Savior, and become like Him!
Grant us true repentance and faith in the Son, O God, so that we might become more and more like Him and be changed into His image at His coming. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]
