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Your Blessing is Near
Andrea Lende • March 3, 2021
Deuteronomy 1:6 and 8
Your Blessing is Near
You can also listen to the devotion and prayer at: https://anchor.fm/andrea-lende/episodes/Your-Blessing-is-Near-ere7q0
Deuteronomy 1:6 and 8
“The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, You have dwelt long enough on this mountain.”
“Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and take possession of the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them.”
Moses was relaying this message from the Lord.
They had spent forty years on a journey that should have taken them just eleven days.
But they had many lessons to learn.
They needed to learn to trust the Lord.
They needed to learn to love the Lord.
And they needed to learn to be obedient to the Lord.
These are all very difficult lessons.
Lessons that take a lifetime to learn.
And some didn’t live long enough to learn all that was needed.
Most perished along the way.
For some it was their own disobedience.
For others it was their lack of faith.
The Lord didn’t allow the original Israelites to enter the Promised Land.
Not even Moses.
But when those people were gone, the next generation would walk into the Promised Land.
A lifetime trip for many.
Now it would end.
The Lord would allow the people to go and take the land He had promised them.
As I read our passage today, I sensed that our waiting room days are over as well.
We have gone around the mountain many times.
We have waited, fallen, gotten back up, and persevered.
We have learned many lessons.
And the time is now.
The Lord tells us to go and get what He has set before us.
He tells us to go and take possession of the reward He has promised us.
Moses said, “May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you as He has promised you!”
The promises of the Lord are many.
They are beautiful and powerful.
And it is time.
Time to move forward.
Time to accept the gifts He has promised.
Today I choose to move forward and walk into the promises of the Lord and His perfect will for my life.
May you find the Lord has promised you many things which are soon to come to pass as He has determined it to be.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for Your many promises that are in Your Word. Thank You for showing me that it is time for those promises to come to pass. Thank You for showing me that You have made all things ready and I need to walk into those things. Lord You are Great and Mighty and greatly to be praised! I praise Your Name! You have gone ahead of me and worked out all the details of Your plan. Help me be obedient to You in every way. Help me walk into the blessings and the life You have planned for me. Strengthen me to serve You in all ways. May Your joy be complete in me, Lord. Help me bless someone this day. Thank You for hearing my prayer.
Answer: I have worked out all things for your good My child and everything is ready.
Response: Help me walk in wisdom, peace, and joy, Lord God of the universe and God of my heart.
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.