It isn't just turning to Him for mercy that is important in
the equation of removing the curse and restoring the blessing. What Moses says they must do is "obey
his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all
your soul." Obedience to the
commandments and will of God is important if they will be restored to the Land
and enjoy the blessing of fruitfulness and prosperity. What that tells us is that in His hand, in
Him alone, are the keys to prosperity.
Cain believed that his work was the most important factor in getting
produce from the land and that God has some part to play but perhaps a minor
part. We must always give thanks to Him,
recognizing that all things come from Him.
The promise for repentance, not just confession, is fruitfulness,
prosperity in all they do. Moses was the
first to speak in terms of circumcision of the heart, the imagery used by the
prophets when speaking of the new covenant to come.
Why does Jesus reveal amazing things about Himself and then
immediately speak about the horrible things to come? It is easy to get excited about things of
earth when we see the Lord do something that brings us to our knees in praise
and thanksgiving but that should never be allowed to define Him. If we get attached to the miracles we forget
that He is always with us even when no miracle happens. We lose sight of the fact that this life
isn't all there is and we live for such things.
Suffering is a part of life and He is as present in suffering as in
alleviating it. As they continue towards
Jerusalem, they come to Jericho and a blind man will not be dissuaded from
coming to Jesus. Jesus asks what the man
wants and he could have settled for a little money from the pilgrims headed to
Jerusalem but he goes for it all, he asks to have his sight restored and the
first thing he sees is the Lord Himself.
His reaction is appropriate, praise.
Paul is accused of being somewhat hypocritical, speaking
harshly to them in letters while when he is there being gentle and soft-spoken. Apparently even though they first heard the
Gospel through him they have been taken in by others who speak with boldness in
a way that Paul has not done. Sometimes
we are captivated by style in a way that then we fail to appreciate a more
soft-spoken approach to teaching and preaching.
Paul apparently was more a teacher than a preacher and there seemed to
be a disconnect between the difficult things he said to them via his letters
and the gentleness of his oratory. He is
defending himself in such a way as to indicate that they are in some ways his
children as he was the first to share the Good News with them. His boast is in Jesus alone, not himself and
they are part of his boast, their faith in Jesus is due to his work among
them. We must never lose sight of who is
our shepherd and we should always be thankful for those who shared Jesus with
us.
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