”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, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life.” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)
God has gone to great lengths to give mankind choices. When God created Adam, even before He created a wife to be Adam’s partner, God gave Adam the responsibility to choose names for the animals (maybe those names were more than just labels). In exercising that responsibility, Adam understood that animals were not suitable partners, so God made a woman and performed the first marriage. Later Adam and Eve made a disastrous choice, choosing to disobey God and bringing sin upon all mankind. God has always given people choices. In today’s verses, God describes the choice before His people as they entered their new homeland. It was a choice between life and death. And people today face that same choice, the choice between life and death. Some might object. Who, in their right mind would choose death? But in practice many make that choice, some even literally. Suicide, violence, even revenge are choices for death. Despair, abuse, and bitterness are dark, destructive choices that produce an environment breeding death. On the other hand, trusting God, loving Him, finding forgiveness, and obeying His Word are choices for life. These nurture health, safety and a bright future. God gives us the same choices he gave the people of Israel. We too can choose life. With that choice, we give God a chance to enter our private world and make it better.
Question: When the world around us pushes us toward death, will we choose life?
Challenge: Examine your choices today and choose life!
Prayer: : Lord God, the power to choose is an awesome responsibility. Show me today how to choose life and follow You.
Dude Garrett, Chapel Leader -- Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks
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