Greater Nations

Deuteronomy 11:22 - For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;
Deuteronomy 11:23 - Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves.

God's commandments are sacred and important for us to follow. It isn't that we should simply keep them, though. God is looking for people willing to diligently follow him and keep them. We can't pick and choose which commandents we follow, we have to follow all of them. The Bible describes how we are to follow the commandments. Deuteronomy 11:22 specifies we are: to do them, not just remember; to love the Lord, not just respect Him; to walk in His ways, not just recognize or admire them; to cleave unto Him, not just desire His presence. We can't have a surface relationship where all we have is a knowledge of God and His precepts. We have to apply that knowledge of the Lord to our lives. God is pleased when we do that and follow His commandments with an honest, seeking heart.

When we do these things for God, they aren't done without merit or benefit. God will reward us. The next verse, Deuteronomy 11:23, mentions that God will "drive out nations" from before us. Historically, in the Old Testament, those "nations" were literal enemies of God's children. Now they refer to the trials we face. If we do as God instructs, He will guide and help us through them. We can, with God's assistance, take on big trails (with victory) we wouldn't ordinarily have the ability to conquer ourselves. When we are in line with what God wants us to do, He will help us out. He will drive out the problems we face. Then, we will "possess greater nations" and become mightier than we were before. Our success forged in following God's commandments helps us move on to bigger and better things in God's kingdom.

God has specific instructions for us that go beyond a simple knowledge and understanding of God and His ways. We have to live actively in God's service to reap the rewards of what He has for us. The "nations" or issues in our own lives may seem like giants much bigger than we are capable of facing. However, if we trust God and are diligent to seek and follow His commandments, we will possess greater nations than the ones we once had trouble overcoming.

Impossible Made Possible

The impossible made possible with God! 

I thank the Lord for his dealings with me and his faithfulness towards me. I'm not bring anything new. It's plain and simple truth that we know, but is a good reminder to us all. I know we know and acknowledge that all things are possible with God as brought out in Matt 19:26 and Luke 18:27, but God's ability to go above and beyond what we could imagine dates back way before Matthew and Luke came along. 

I am currently reading in the book of Exodus and in it are many wonderful treasures of truth. While I was reading in the 14th chapter it brought out many things that would seem impossible to us, yet so simple and possible with God. The first thing was when he told Moses to part the Red Sea and the children of Isreal will cross on "Dry ground through the midst of the sea" (V.16). Here the Lord spoke to me and showed me the impossible turned to possible.

If you've gone to the beach and have stood on the shore with the waves hitting and retreating you'd notice that the sand is wet, you could sink a little, and sometimes it could be difficult to walk in. Now, take into consideration, when they cross the sea imagine how many years it was  prior to their incident that the water had been there. I don't know exactly, but im sure quite a few years. Yet, they crossed on "Dry land" not wet land or moist land; it was dry! Praise God for his ability to make the impossible possible.

The second thing I noticed was in V. 20 where he was a pillar of fire to them and it said "...it was a cloud and darkness to them (Egyptians), but it gave light by night to these (Israel)." How marvelous it is to be in the same situation and have such a total different experience and outcome with those that are close by. That isn't something I could do nor you could do. Praise God for his ability to make the impossible possible.

The Children of Israel had some wonderful experiences and examples of God's faithfulness to them. How was awesome it must've been to see God's miracles i  that fashion. But, as we know, although they witness the power of God it seemed in the chapters to come they forgot about God's ability to change the order of things and started to murmur. Let us ever remember the Power of God. Let us not turn to murmuring, but stand fast knowing and acknowledging the power of the Almighty God.

I hope my thought and burden was brought out in a clear fashion that wasn't confusing to any and I pray you received a blessing from this. God bless!

Yours in Christ,

Damar D. Randle