The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 17 May 2020 – Strength To Possess Our Possessions
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TOPIC: Strength To Possess Our Possessions
READ: Deuteronomy 11:1-17 (NKJV)
- “Therefore you shall love the LORD your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always.
- “Know today that [I do] not [speak] with your children, who have not known and who have not seen the chastening of the LORD your God, His greatness and His mighty hand and His outstretched arm —
- “His signs and His acts which He did in the midst of Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to all his land;
- “what He did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and their chariots: how He made the waters of the Red Sea overflow them as they pursued you, and [how] the LORD has destroyed them to this day;
- “what He did for you in the wilderness until you came to this place;
- “and what He did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, their households, their tents, and all the substance that [was] in their possession, in the midst of all Israel —
- “but your eyes have seen every great act of the LORD which He did.
- ” Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess,
- “and that you may prolong [your] days in the land which the LORD swore to give your fathers, to them and their descendants, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’
- “For the land which you go to possess [is] not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered [it] by foot, as a vegetable garden;
- “but the land which you cross over to possess [is] a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven,
- “a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God [are] always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.
- ‘ And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul,
- ‘then I will give [you] the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil.
- ‘And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.’
- “Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them,
- “lest the LORD’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the LORD is giving you.
THE MESSAGE:
Verses 1 to 7 reveal a concise summary of God’s mighty deeds which compelled Pharaoh to let Israel go. When Pharaoh changed his mind and pursued them, God overwhelmed the pursuing army who drowned in the Red Sea, while the Israelites walked on dry ground (verse 4; Exodus 14:28-29). During the 40 years of wandering in the desert, the same God provided for them (verses 4-7; 32:10-14). As they were about to enter Canaan, they were prepared to have the strength to take its full possession. Verses 10-11 show key features of Canaan, a land that God Himself cares for throughout the year (verse 12).
For the people to possess the land and retain its productivity, they were to love and obey God (verses 13-15). If they disobeyed, God’s anger would visit them, and they would soon perish (verses 16-17). God has given us so many good and precious promises which we can access by loving and obeying Him fully (verse 1, verse 13; Joshua 21:45). His promises are sure, not one of them has failed or can fail (Joshua 21:45; 1 Kings 8:56; Matthew 5:18). May we therefore love and obey Him, so that we will have the strength to possess our possessions.
PRAYER: God, please help me to love and obey You so that I can realise Your promises in my life.
