Thank God for His many blessings. The Lord blesses us in spite of ourselves. In Deuteronomy 9: 4-6 Moses told the people that they would inherit the promised land not because of their righteousness. He reminded them that they are a "stiff-necked people", in other words, stubborn. Then why were they given this land, promised so long ago to Abraham? They were given it into their hands because of the wickedness of the nations that possessed it. God's judgement had fallen on them and they were to be given over to the Israelites.
In Deuteronomy 10: 12-13 Moses informed the people what God wanted of them. God wanted them to fear Him, love Him, be obedient to Him, serve Him with all their heart and soul and obey all the commandments that will be given to them. Why? For their own good. God does not change. What He wanted in the Old Testament He wants in the New. As Jesus tells us in Mark 12: 30-31,
"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. ’This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”"
Simply put, God wants our hearts. All that we do for Him is for nothing if we do it without love for Him and others. If we truly love God, we will want to serve Him. The Holy Spirit that lives within us will guide us to do what He wants us to do. So if we serve the poor, attend church regularly, tithe our money, study the word, but we do it without loving God and others, we are doing it for ourselves only.
Many of today's TV preachers act like God is there to serve us. They say if you become a Christian, God will bless you with finances, He will bless you with a happy life and success. How does Jesus describe those who follow Him? In Matthew 13: 21 He describes those who stumble when "persecution and tribulation" arise. In Mark 8:34 Jesus tells us that we must take up our cross and follow Him. We are to be obedient to whatever end that takes us.
I wonder how popular these preachers would be if they talked about what Jesus and Paul talked about? If their sermon titles were, "Expect Persecution" or "Tribulation Ahead". James goes so far as to say in James 1: 2-4 that we should "count it all joy" when we fall into trials. Why? Not because the trial brings joy, but the trial works on us to produce patience. That is a fruit of the spirit. In Luke 9: 23 Jesus says to deny yourself. What? Deny myself? How counter that is to today's culture that glorifies self. The culture that says, "I am good enough." and "I am pretty, strong, smart, and on and on."
Jesus has prepared a place for us. A glorious promised land. Not because of our righteousness but because of His, just as the Israelites received their inheritance not because of their righteousness. Jesus asks us for our love and to show that love to others. That love is shown through humble obedience. We don't love Jesus for what worldly things He can give us. We love and praise God because He has loved and blessed us in spite of our disobedience. We put Him first and we obey because, as He told the Israelites, it is for our own good!
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