Deuteronomy 28-29
Woo hoo! We come to one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible.
People always seem to be striving to find God’s will. Does He want me healed? Does He want my needs to be met? Does He want my children blessed?
In chapter 28 we find God’s will in a nutshell. The “blessings of Abraham” are enumerated for all to see: God’s will to bless His people. In Galatians 3:13, we see that the blessings of Abraham are ours through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
This is our Promised Land.
Now let me make myself clear. I am not saying that God wants to “enhance” a life that is lived totally apart from Him. He is not here to “enhance” a sinful life. He is here to bless a life that belongs to Him.
In fact, if you read the whole chapter, it’s obvious that an evil person shouldn’t be expecting much at all from God – until they repent. There are some pretty tough curses out there. (The curses come from the devil and his cohorts, when you allow him to rule your life).
Being close to God and in His will allows you to stay under His umbrella of protection from the evil one. Those who are out from under His umbrella, can’t expect a whole lot. There is a devil out there. It isn’t that God doesn’t love everyone, but this covenant is for those who are His covenant people. (And now we can all be His covenant people through Jesus).
But if your life does belong to God and you are living in the light that you know, being obedient to Him, you can even look at the curses listed and know that those are not God’s will for you. In my Bible, I have “no” written in the margin of several of the curses. Just to remind myself when things don’t look so good.
What about where it says “your children will be taken into another territory?”(28:32;41). No. Or the one that says, “The heaven which is over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you, iron.”(23). No. Or “You shall bring out much seed to the field but you shall gather little, for the locust shall consume it.”(38) No.
None of these verses are for God’s covenant people.
But hang on. I am not saying that these things won’t even try to come on you. I am saying that these things are not God’s will for you, if you are His.
There should never be confusion about His will. His will is always good for those who are His, walking in closeness to Him.
Often times, we have to fight for God’s will to be done in our lives. Just as the children of Israel had to fight for their land, we have to fight for our Promised Land. But we don’t fight people; we fight the demonic forces which try to stop God’s plan.
In this new day of a covenant with Jesus we have the power within us to overcome the evil one. By faith we fight for our territory by standing up for what God’s Word says. Through “faith and patience” we inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6:12).
If this concept is new to you, I hope you meditate on what I’ve said. In the days ahead, we will see more clearly God’s plan for our taking the Land.
Mark 14:53-72
How can these men be so cruel to God’s perfect man?
These are supposed to be God’s representatives – the chief priest and the council. Yet they falsely accuse Jesus, trying to put Him to death. Isn’t it shocking?
These men want prestige and power as their place of leadership. Jesus is rocking their boat. He is being merciful to the sinners, healing on the sabbath, raising the dead, and ministering to huge crowds. They just can’t have such competition.
Furthermore, these leaders have a good reputation with Rome, and they are afraid they are losing it.
So God’s supposed men fight against His plan and bring charges against His Son.
Yet God’s big plan goes on – with or without individuals. We can personally exempt ourselves from His covenant or His plan, but God will find someone else to cooperate with his will.
Just as these leaders chose not to go with God, we can too. We can choose for His will not to be performed in our lives, and He will get someone else to fulfill what He had planned for us. But God’s overall plan will succeed. He will search until he finds those who are willing and obedient.
I say, “Yes, Lord. I want to be in on what You are doing. I want to fulfill what You have for me.”
