ICS Daily Devotions
God Cannot Bless Disobedience
Deut 30:17-18 But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess.
God gave the Israelites very direct instructions as to how they should live and the choices they should make as they entered the Promise Land. Prior to this, they had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, because rebellion, stiffneckedness and unbelief had caused them to live under the curse rather than blessings.
Christians who live in the dispensation of grace sometimes forget that God is also a just, holy and righteous God. He cannot bless rebellion, and a man reaps what he sows. We have already received the abundant life and the promise of an eternal life, and we have been given the ability to overcome sin and temptation through the power of the Holy Spirit. Being in a better position than the Israelites of the Old Testament, we can’t blame God for things which are the results of our bad choices. They are not curses that have been passed down, but simply the work of the flesh.
Some of the things that turn our hearts away from God include fornication, such as sex before marriage or co-habitation, which is idolatry. As for marriage, God has said not be unequally yoked with an unbeliever, just like how He instructed the Israelites not to inter-marry outside their own kind, because He knows it will hinder our walk with Him and lead us to worship other gods. Such marriage will not be blessed because righteousness and lawlessness cannot co-exist. Because of different values and principles in life, if the marriage does not work out in the end, it is because of the choices we ourselves have made.
By coveting their neighbour’s spouse, many have succumbed to extramarital affairs that destroyed families. Finally, the love of money can also draw us away from God. Although money used in the right ways is not evil, the love of money is the root of all evil. God has said we cannot serve God and money together, and when money becomes our “god”, we will start to compromise in our ways and values.
God has given us the ability and the responsibility to make wise choices, because He wants us to have great marriages, a blessed life and a close walk with Him, so let’s take God’s Word seriously and protect our hearts from turning away from Him so that we can experience the abundant life.
Sermon Series: Choices
