Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

A Daily Devotional by Kenton Cheek

20 March 2024

Reading From Deuteronomy 30-31

Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

–Deuteronomy 30:11-20

     What a powerful reminder that following God is simple and accessible.  Life is complicated and applying biblical principles is rarely easy, but human beings are the ones making loving God, loving others and loving ourselves more difficult than it needs to be.  Jesus told us that unless we have child-like faith, we cannot enter the Kingdom of God.  If children can follow Him, so can adults.  Overthinking every little thing is a trap that those with the best of intentions can get caught up in.  Overthinking love paralyzes our spiritual growth.

     From Genesis to Deuteronomy to Joshua to Romans and in many other places in Scripture, choices are distilled down to either following God or going our own way.  Our own way is how Satan and his demons want us to go.  It is called the flesh, the sinful nature, the old self, the former way of life.  Whatever we call it, the ultimate destiny down that road is the same which is destruction.  Thanks be to God that when we choose to follow Him and deny ourselves, that highway of holiness leads to blessing, peace, security, love and life abundant and eternal. 

     When we make the decision to follow God and worship Him rather than ourselves, we go from death to life, curses to blessings, darkness to light and God fills us with His Holy Spirit.  The Spirit brings light to our path through the revelation of the Word of God and gently guides us forward in life.  This means that God is with us every step of the way.  When we make mistakes, He is there ready and waiting to forgive, cleanse and give us the strength we need to keep going.

“Thank You God for Your love and understanding.  Forgive me for overthinking what should be simple choices.  When the answers don’t seem clear in the moment, please bring perspective and the wisdom of Your Word to my circumstances.  Remind me to take a step back, pray and seek Your face in all things.  Thank You for the guidance of Your Holy Spirit in everyday life.  Amen.”

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin

–Romans 7:21-25