3 May ESOCS Devotional
TEXT: DEUTERONOMY 28:1-14
MEMORY VERSE
“If you obey the LORD your God and faithfully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, he will make you greater than any other nation on earth.”
Deuteronomy is the last book of Moses wherein he gave his farewell addresses to prepare the new generation of Israelites to live as obedient people of God in the Promised Land. Majority of Israelites who left Egypt with Moses had died before they were to enter the Promised Land. Their children needed to know the law of God and the need to obey them. In our text today, Moses spells out the truth: that the blessings of God are wrapped in obedience to His words.
God holds the key to the treasures of heaven and earth. He is also the giver of all riches – physical and spiritual. But the big question is: how can humans get what they desire and need from God? The answer is straight and direct. Verse 1 of our text says, “If you obey the LORD your God and faithfully keep all his commands… he will make you greater than any other nation on earth.”
There is no way that one can obey somebody in whom he does not believe. For us Christians, we are required to believe in God first before we can receive the power to obey Him(Acts 1:8). God has given us Jesus Christ, and He commanded that whosoever believes in Him will have eternal life (John 3:16). Eternal life is the ultimate of the blessings a Christian gets from God. It starts in this life and extends to eternity. In Galatians 3:9, the Bible says, “Abraham believed and was blessed, so all who believe are blessed as he was.”
Read yesterday’s ESOCS Devotional here
The blessing God gives is total and sufficient to keep and help us to accomplish our God given mission on earth. Israel, through the blessing on their father Abraham, was to serve the purpose of being a blessing to other nations; thus, God blessed them in everything they did and made them greater than any other nation(verses 1 and 6).
Again, the power of men both physically and spiritually cannot obstruct the blessing of God in the life of his servant. In verse 7 we read thus, “The LORD will defeat your enemies when they attack you. They will attack from one direction, but they will run from you in all direction”
In ESOCS, our text is used to bless our children during naming ceremony. It now depends on us parents to nurture the children in the Christian faith so that they will grow with the blessing of God. We should also note that it is a portion that can be used in prayer to challenge God when things are tough. See verses 3-14.
CHALLENGES
√ Do you know that God is the giver of all things?
3 May ESOCS Devotional – PRAYER POINT
√ Lord I depend on You for all I need on earth in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!
FURTHER READING
√ Judges 19:1-16; Matthew 25:14-30; Galatians 3:1-14
