Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them. However, if you do not obey the LORD
your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am
giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you: You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. The LORD
will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put
your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of
the evil you have done in forsaking him. The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. The LORD
will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with
scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague
you until you perish. The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed. The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You
will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and
you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. Deuteronomy 28:14-25 NIV
When
we choose to ignore God, we choose to be the recipients of His
Word--whether it is a blessing or a curse; it is our choice that
determines what happens to us in life.
For
the unbelieving--they won't care because they don't believe and won't
believe; God's Word means nothing to them except to be an object of
scorn and derision. And
Believers--true Believers (not those professing to be Christians but have no demonstrable fruit as proof of who they are),
should know we cannot afford to ignore God--and the obvious--the benefits or the consequences.
For
God's Word was given to man for our benefit that we might stand in
righteousness and be a beacon of light and hope for the unbelieving. The problem is--if our behavior and conduct is no different than what the unbelievers do--why would they pay attention to us?
Let's look at the world of the unbelieving--
they
lie to get what they want, will cheat others, plot conspiracies to
destroy reputations, in the corporate world and in communities. People get caught up on wanting titles and positions and status and will do anything to get what they want.
Hollywood accentuates the life of the unbelieving as the means to crush the opposition and to control what others do.
In every day life--
we
see the results of corporate corruption and greed and when greed needs
to be fed, everything in its path becomes food to soothe the craving.
Big companies swallow up the little ones without regard to the people
who must eek out a living--the best they can and when that becomes
problematic,
the people--turn to whatever is available--drugs, alcohol, bribery, more corruption--just to survive.
And if they ever had a conscience, many turn to suicide--not willing to
face themselves or what they've done or others and what they've done.
In the church buildings (because many have forgotten they are the church),
many
end up making the church leaders their god, and will do everything the
leader wants them to do in order to maintain an avenue to move forward. Those claiming to be Christians will lie and mislead, promoting untruths to pacify a leader who has turned aside from God.
Church
leaders have been guilty of predatory behavior, sexually and
financially; they have cheated the people they lead and planted the
seeds of corruption by convincing others to do what they say and to
treat others with disdain. The behavior of the leaders have led to public scrutiny and lawsuits and growing unbelief in the leaders, church and God.
Why is this occurring across the land?
We
have ignored the obvious--we stopped obeying God and chose to obey the
lust of the flesh and to follow the leaders who don't know God.
So we should not be amazed that the consequences of our actions are
bringing the Word to life in a way that we can no longer ignore God's
Word.
If we ever plan to see a change in this world, it is time to turn aside--from everything and everyone--from ignoring God. We can no longer afford to not make God a priority in our lives.
But is it too late? Have we already set the stage for the next act that brings about our destruction for all the world to see?
We
are on the precipice--overlooking a cliff--with a depth we cannot see
with our physical eyes, and once we go over--there is no help, no
return--no other chance to get things right with God.
God has said in His Word that only a remnant will be saved from the destruction the enemy has plotted for all who ignore God.
Are we included in the remnant? Have we maintained a right relationship with God, securing our destination and eternity to live with Him? Or
have we ignored the obvious by choosing to make men and women our gods, following them instead of God?
Though The Word of God applies to anyone who Believes it--regardless of nationality or ethnicity--
I believe we can see God speaking directly to Americans at this intersection in our history. Which way will we go?
Will
we continue to follow lying leaders or will we rise up and take a stand
to give God His rightful place in our lives and speak up for justice?
It's up to us--we all have to choice to make and I pray our choice is God, not men, and we will stop ignoring the obvious.
