Birthday Blessings

First thing this morning, my cell phone delivered this message.

And all of these blessings shall come on the and overtake thee if thou shalt harken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. (Deuteronomy 28:2) 

What a wonderful promise to start a birthday. I was awash in gratitude. Then I thought I’d better check out what I had to harken to! There it was in Deuteronomy 27. You guessed it; another version of the Ten Commandments! 

Obedience is a blessing but we won’t realize it until we actually do it. Remember that Jesus called us to obedience. If you love me, you will obey my commandments! ((John 14:15)

The Lord does not care so much about what we do, but for the heart that does it. 

Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. (James 1:22–25)

Obedience is proof of love. We can see that every day in our children. It shows how they trust us and how we trust God  Don’t just listen to God’s word. If you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. If you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. (James 1:22–25)

Remember that obedience is always better than sacrifice. (1 Samuel 15)