Corona Devo 315

It is so easy to be influenced by the people around us today.  It is even easy to be influenced by who we used to be before Jesus came onto our scene and into our hearts yesterday. And if we are not careful, the situations/people/surroundings of tomorrow will attempt to saturate and influence us.  

God's word gives us a firm reminder today to be influenced by Him and Him alone.  If we obey God, we will find life through Him, regardless of what is attempting to influence us. 

The negative influences have always been there, and more are always encroaching, but God gives us fair-warning and fore-warning to seek His ways, regulations and decrees because you will find life through them (Leviticus 18:5).

Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. I am the Lord your God. 3 So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life.  ~Leviticus 18:1-3

God said these things to the Israelites as they sought to live in His ways, and the Lord says the same things to us today. First He reminds/establishes/confirms Who He is:  I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 18:2).  God is the boss and He wants to be our chief influencer (because He knows what is best for us).  He has rules (instructions/decrees/regulations), and if we will submit to them (instead of the world's instructions/decrees/regulations) He promises us that we will find life through them. 

 In Christ and His ways is life.  When we act like the people in fill-in-the-blank, where you used to live, or like the people of fill-in-the-blank, where I am taking you then we are following people instead of God, which will eventually bring death (of morals/beliefs/faith) and not life.  Only God's decrees (birthed out of His deep love for us) are righteous because a Holy Father established these instructions/decrees/regulations for His children and He blatantly tells us the rewards of following them: you will find life through them. (Leviticus 18:5).

God warned the Israelites not to be influenced by "where they used to live" or the Egyptians, and we all have "Egyptians" from our old days and an "Egypt" where we used to "live".  People/attitudes/ and sinful influences that used to shape who we were.  

But we are different than we were because Jesus brings positive change, and today as we do our best to obey (God's) decrees and... regulations, God gives us the promise and hope that you will find life through them.  (Leviticus 18:5).  

The Israelites had exited Egypt and its sinful influences, but did you catch that in the next breath God warns them to not act like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you (Leviticus 18:3).  We so desperately want a pristine and easy faith where decisions are easy and following God is not complicated.  But here is a tiny phrase that packs a huge punch defining who God is and where He leads His people. 

God led the Israelites out of Egypt and then into a land of sinful people in Canaan.  On purpose.  God has a plan and it will rarely be the easy path.  Our journey will surprise us, but the reality of God being by our side remains constant.  

The life of a Christ-follower is a continual battle for influence.  Will we choose God's ways, or will we choose our own or the world's?  

God warned the Israelites and He warns us today also: So do not act...like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life (Leviticus 18:3).  

Where is God taking us today?  What "Canaan" is He marching us toward?  Where are we headed that He knows is a land filled with people and ways that are not His?  I guess time will tell.  

But His advice came before the trek into atheistic territory and prior to the worldly propaganda that seeks to influence us today.  God's Word came 2,000 years before today and yet it drips with immediate relevance:

4 You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the Lord your God. 5 If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the Lord.  ~Leviticus 18:4-5

God he had led the Israelites out of in Egypt, and they had followed Him.  They followed His ways, regulations and decrees and found life through them (Leviticus 18:5).  

If we have also sought God's ways in the past, we have similar stories of freedom and finding life through following God.

But today God takes us to a new land.  The map is unclear, the terrain rough, and God has already told us that where we are headed will not be familiar or friendly territory.  But the difference-maker is that God is with us.  He said this is where I am taking you.  And He gives us survival instructions:

I am the Lord your God. 3 So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life. 4 You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the Lord your God. 5 If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the Lord.  ~Leviticus 18:2-5

Today's journey is not up for discussion, but God's instructions are well-detailed and written clearly throughout the Bible for us to follow.

Today, let's be influenced by Him and Him alone.  If we obey God, we will find life through Him, regardless of what is attempting to influence us. 

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Corona Devo 1156

Image
At work, we provide Trainings for customers, so that they can be updated and educated on all of the latest features (and how to use them) within our product.  Many companies do this--sharing "Best Practices" are a way to ensure positive outcomes on the customer and vendor sides of things. My kids often offer me "life hacks" that they have learned from watching an online video promising to "save time" and "make your life easier".  And just this week, my husband enlightened me about the "tear-away" feature built into most plastic rings holding cans/bottles of pop or Gatorade together.  When separated, the plastic rips open easily, releasing the bottle--saving wildlife that might be caught if it is discarded as trash, and saving me  frustration or angst because I no longer have to pull with all my might to get a bottle out of the plastic rings.  ( Who knew? )  Life hacks do save time and make your life easier! Who couldn't benefit from...
Read more

Corona Devo 1217

Image
The unanswered “why’s” of life, the disorder of our days, and even the unfairness of our struggles can cause us to question ourselves and also to question our God. But the order-of-Creation and the systems that God has set in place are undeniable answers that swing back and forth like God’s pendulum-reminder that He set the world in motion, and He continues to keep order, even when it seems as if we and our world are in dis- order.   Job was a man going through some heavy and hard stuff.   Maybe we are too.   Job’s trials had caused him to question the order of life, and possibly God’s dominion over it.   We can relate.   The “Why’s?” and the “Why Me’s” can stack up in our minds and hearts, but like a parent exercising loving-authority over a child, God reminds Job and us--of His power, omniscience and of His ultimate authority over everything: Creation… and us today .   Then the  Lord  answered Job from the whirlwind: (2) “Who i...
Read more

Corona Devo 991

Running low on " good things " today?  Doesn't it (sometimes) seem like/trend like/read like/tweet like/water-cooler-chat or backyard-fence-visit like/intimidate like/depress like... there are no  good things in the land? . I know. It's no secret that many have abandoned  the Law of the  Lord,  and at times, that's us .   It is evident all around us that people have  followed each other  in this sin.  When we look around...or when we live our days...we can wonder: Are there  any  good things  left in the land? There are still some good things in the land ...and no matter how bleak we feel the "forecast" for today is...there will always  be  some good things in the land, because God is in the land.   T he Bible reminds us of that today.   ~~~ The Israelites (and their king, Rehoboam ) were God's people, but like all of us at times/seasons of our lives...they wandered from Lord and His ways....
Read more