Choose Life

Did you know that the choice between life and death, are yours?  Not God’s.  Not the devil’s.  Not your past.  Not your parents.  Not your spouse.  Not your boss’s.  Yours, and yours alone.  Straight from the mouth of God, your Father, this is what He says to, and about, you.  Let’s look at Deuteronomy 30:11-20 (NKJ), together, and then do a deep dive into the Word of Life.

“For this commandment which I command you today is not mysterious for you, nor is it far off.  It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’  Nor is it beyond the sea that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’  But the word is very near you, iin your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statues, and His judgemnts, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you to go possess.  But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess.  

I call heaven and earth, life and death, as witnesses against you that I have set before you blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

Deep Dive into the Word:

For this commandment which I command you today is not mysterious for you, nor is it far off.

In verses 2, 8, and 10, previous to the passage we are studying, God repeats the commandment:
     vs. 2:  return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul.   
     vs. 8:  And you will again obey the voice of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you today.
     vs. 10:  If you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Today is translated from ‘this day’; now, currently, continually, always.  
Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:2 that “In the acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”  Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
In the acceptable time…when is this?  It is now.  Today.  As long as you have breath in your lungs and are experiencing life here on earth.
Notice God said He ‘heard’ us and that preceded that day of salvation.  We will talk more about that later.
The main take-away is that TODAY is always NOW.  The only expiry date on ‘today’ is our expiry date.  Until that day, today is always today.

Mysterious is translated from the word meaning ‘hidden’; surpassing, extraordinary, separate by distinguishing action, beyond one’s power, be difficult to do or understand, hard.
This reminds me of the first beatitude in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.  Humility is the first key to the upside down kingdom of heaven.