IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Daily Bread

Choose Life and Live

Date: May. 14, 2017

Passage

Deuteronomy 30:1-20 (ESV)

“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you, and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. And the LORD your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. And the LORD your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. And you shall again obey the voice of the LORD and keep all his commandments that I command you today. The LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, 10 when you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

11 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.

15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

Daily Bread

Key Verse: 30:15

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.

1. A promise of restoration (1-10)

Though God's discipline on his people through exile would be severe, God promised to restore them from wherever they were if they returned to the Lord with all their heart and soul. There was no calamity that God would not be able to reverse if they genuinely repented. When they repented, God himself would work in their hearts to circumcise their hearts to enable them to follow him wholeheartedly. We should also keep the hope of spiritual restoration in and among us.

2. Choose life (11-20)

The Covenant God made with his people was not anything too mysterious or difficult to understand. Ultimately, it consisted of two choices: one leading to life, when they loved the Lord and walked in obedience to him; and one leading to death and destruction, if their heart turned away and they bowed down to other gods (such as the god of money). In the end, no one could make the excuse of ignorance for their choice.

Prayer: Lord, thank you that you receive and restore repentant sinners no matter how far gone they are. Help me to choose life every day.

One Word: Choose life

Daily Bread

God’s Wrath and Justice

Revelation 6:1-17

Key Verse: 6:17

for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

Read More

Intro Daily

Today's Question

What does God require from us to escape His anger and curse, which we deserve for our sin?

See answer and references