A Nugget from New Life Network
Scripture for the Day (September 16, 2015)
(parts reprinted from Dr. Larry Ollison)
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live. (Deuteronomy 30:19)
There are blessings that come with obedience. In Deuteronomy 30:19, God said in His Word that He placed life and death before His people and then He goes on to say that we should choose life. It may seem strange that He has to tell us to choose life, but in reality there are many people choosing death.
I visited a denominational Bible study recently and this verse was brought up. The teacher of that class quickly discounted this scripture as one that was instructing the Jewish people how to live with no bearing on us today. My heart hurts for the people that heard and accepted that teaching. The entire Bible is for all of us TODAY! God’s wisdom and promises are found from Genesis to Revelation and God’s heart has not changed. He wants to bless His children and their children.
God wants us to make the right choices. He wants us to choose life in all our decisions. When He gives us His Word, He will usually tell us the benefits of obedience at the same time that He gives us a command. This is what He does in Proverbs 20:7. God says that when a righteous man walks in his integrity, his children are blessed after him.
When we are made righteous by accepting the blood of Jesus and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, God’s will and desire is for us to walk in integrity. From that moment on, we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us and we have God’s grace empowering us. We no longer have an excuse for living with the character of the world. We can now do all things through Christ and we can fulfill the verse that says a righteous man walks in his integrity. Proverbs 20:7 gives us God’s plan. He wants righteous men to walk in their integrity. But the blessing for doing this is also stated in the remainder of the verse – His children are blessed after Him. This simply means that not only is the righteous man blessed because he walks in integrity, but after he receives his blessing, his children are blessed also.
If you have children, do you want them blessed? You have a choice. Before you is placed life and death for your children. Before you is placed blessing and cursing. What will you choose for your children? Whether or not you have children, what will you choose for yourself? If you choose blessing, it is yours (and your children’s if you are a parent) as long as you are a born-again believer and you walk in your integrity.
God’s entire Word is true. It is settled in Heaven forever and His blessings are Yes and Amen.
The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him. (Proverbs 20:7).
