Friday, March 20th, 2020: Truth or Consequences

“𝘚𝘦𝘦, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵. 𝘒𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘰, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘺, '𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦.'” -Deuteronomy ‭4:5-6

As the people of Israel paused at the Jordan River before they crossed over into the Promised Land, God inspired Moses to give them a summary and refresher course in His Law. He wanted it to be clear in their minds and hearts as they went on to take the land that God was giving them. That summary is the Book of Deuteronomy.

In these verses at the beginning of the book, Moses explains that it’s living according to God’s Word that will make them a great nation. The surrounding nations, whether they are allies or enemies of Gods people, will recognize them as a great and wise people and respect them IF they stay true to this wisdom from God. He also promises that if they turn their backs on God’s Word there will be consequences. They will become a laughingstock and a weak and despised people.

Dear Christians, God has blessed our nation with so much. For two hundred years we have prospered and been respected by allies and enemies, because we were known as a godly nation, a Christian nation, and were guided by the rules of God’s Word. As we - and other nations formerly known for godliness and faithfulness - turn our backs on these things, there are consequences. May the Lord draw our hearts to Himself, especially now. There is still hope, even as God’s hand of discipline is upon us.

𝙇𝙤𝙧𝙙, 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙪𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚. 𝙁𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙝. 𝙄𝙣 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚. 𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙬! 𝘽𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙪𝙨, 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙔𝙤𝙪.

Pastor Dan