Really loved today's reading! It's interesting how God commanded the children of Israel, when they entered the promised land, to write the law on stones and set them up as a memorial. Ellen White comments about this: "Before taking possession of their inheritance, they must renew their covenant of loyalty to God." (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 499)
But the following quote is what really spoke to me as I was reflecting on the memorial and the stones. This is in the margin of my Bible.
"The same law that was engraved upon the tables of stone is written by the Holy Spirit upon the tables of the heart. Instead of going about to establish our own righteousness we accept the righteousness of Christ. His blood atones for our sins. His obedience is accepted for us. Then the heart renewed by the Holy Spirit will bring forth 'the fruits of the Spirit.' Through the grace of Christ we shall live in obedience to the law of God written upon our hearts. Having the Spirit of Christ, we shall walk even as He walked. Through the prophet He declared of Himself, 'I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart.' Psalm 40:8. And when among men He said, 'The Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him.' John 8:29." (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 372)
Reading through Deuteronomy 28 about all the blessings if you obey God, and the curses if you disobey Him was quite sobering and yet very meaningful! I'm reminded of another verse in Deuteronomy a couple chapters away that says, "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live." (Deut. 30:19)
So which will we choose today?
Unfortunately... as Romans 7 so clearly shows, it is a struggle... even when we want to choose LIFE, it is a struggle and often times we end up choosing the things that lead to death. I can resonate with Paul's cry, "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin." (Rom. 7:22-25)
The key -- we can't, but the through the power of Christ -- we can! He does in and through us what we cannot do in and of ourselves. God is so good!
Tomorrows Reading: Deut. 29-30 and Psalm 36
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