A Truthful Promise

In a world where I wake up to another killing in America by the police, and already two contrary stories regarding the incident, I am fed up of fake news. I am fed up of deceit!

I find solace in truth. The thing is truth isn't always easy. But it is always better than deceit.

This passage was written by Moses over 3400 years ago. Yet the truth remains the same today. Over 3 millennia have passed but we can still live in this truth here. It's pretty simple yet we find it difficult to do. So lets take it one step at a time.

STEP 1
Love God.
That's our starting point. You can't love someone you don't know. So get to know Him if you don't. You do that by finding out about Him for yourself. Don't rely on someone else's relationship with Him. You can't know God by proxy.

STEP 2
Walk in obedience.
We aren't so fond of that word but it's really good for us. If we obey the laws of the land and the laws of the road, we stay safe and we keep everyone else safe. It's the same with God's laws.
Walk in obedience means live it every day, every moment.

Step 2b (...how to do step 2)
Keep His commands.
Actually if you go to the new testament and see what commands Jesus gave and what commands were given to the church, they're largely common sense.... don't sin, live peaceably, deal wisely with people, don't repay evil for evil, don't be conceited, love God, love people, pray, rejoice in the Lord......

Although you'd think there weren't any commands because many Christians live however they like under the guise of "grace". Misused grace isn't grace. But that's for another day.

The things God tells us to do are for our benefit and our good. He says, He has plans for our 'peace and not our harm, to give us a future and a hope' (Jeremiah 29). He doesn't tell us to do anything unreasonable.

The promise
Keeping God's laws always came with promise.

We don't earn salvation this way. We can't do enough good to get in right standing with God. We're way past that!! We absolutely could not, even in 3 millennia, do enough good to earn a bean with God. His salvation is a free gift to any who believe.

But when we accept that free gift of salvation we do something special - we make Him our LORD. We believe in Him and we accept His sacrifice, exchanging our sin for His righteousness, and exchanging our old life for a new LIFE in Christ.
IF we haven't put off the old life, and put on the new life in Christ, then we're phony, hypocritical and we're not following God's commands. Romans 12 v 2 says "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God"

This is a command; it is written in the imperative in the Greek.

When we are His, He asks us to walk in His ways and when we do that we're positioning ourselves in accord with Him and He always promises us something good.

Possessing the land
Possess the land.
This sounds a bit heavy, after all the Israelites went into the land of Canaan that God had promised them nearly 500 yrs prior, and they had battles.

But actually, this is a great blessing. The land was literal in their sense - they were entering a literal land. But as I said, it started with a promise by God to His people, and God's promises will come to pass.
Whatever God has promised you, is your land. Better yet, He wants you to live and increase, and to be blessed in the land He has given you to possess.

Perhaps the land you're heading for is a new job, a new career, a new business, a marriage, a new family, a new ministry.....whatever God has promised you, that is your land to enter, and will possess. However, we see from the Israelites' example that we can make a mess of the land we enter when we move away from God's loving care. That should be a warning for us.

God wants to bless us but there are conditions. God requires something of us.
If we call ourselves Christians and we're not following His instructions for life, we cannot complain when it doesn't go to plan.

Jesus said that "it shall be given unto you, pressed down and shaken together and running over" ....But you have to do something first : Give !

Paul tells us "all things work together for good". But that isn't the end of the verse - read on and we see "for those who love God and are called according to His purpose". Romans 8 v 28

We must be doing our part in order to enjoy the blessings. Let's not water down God's word and take only the bits we want. That's also got it's own warning and promise for those who do that - and it's not a good outcome!

The words that God speaks are truth. They can be depended upon. Put them into action and see!