Deut. 11:26-28 "See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not listen to the Commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known. "(NAS)

A blessing or a curse. Obedience to God, resulting in peace and prosperity, or disobedience, resulting in oppression from the nations around them, and, ultimately, losing the land that God was giving to them. The choice was theirs, and all too often they made the wrong choice.

 

God has also given us a choice between a blessing and a curse.

 

The Blessing

An eternity in the presence of a loving God and His Son, who died for us. A place where there is no death, no mourning, no crying, no pain. A place of unending joy, far beyond our ability to comprehend.

 

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. "(NAS)

 

Heb. 5:9 "And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, "(NAS)

 

The Curse

An eternity without God, described as a place where there is both outer darkness and unquenchable fire, where the worm does not die and there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

II Thess.1:7-9 "...when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in. flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, "(NAS)

 

The Choice is Ours

Like Israel, the choice is ours, and is based on our obedience to God, beginning with our baptism into Christ, being raised to walk in newness of life.

 

Mk. 16:16 "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned." (NAS)

 

Rom 6:4 "Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. "(NAS)

 

God gave the Israelites everything they needed to remain faithful to Him, so they had no excuse when they failed. Likewise, He has given us everything that we need.

 

II Pet. 1:3 "seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and excellence. "(NAS)

 

God's righteous judgment is sure, and He won't make any mistakes.

 

Gal. 6:7-9 "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. "(NAS)

 

Each day that we live, we make a decision to either serve God or disobey Him. We need to submit our will to His, to conform our way of living to His way for us to live, and, like the apostle Paul, exercise control over our bodies.

 

I Cor. 9:27 "But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified." (NKJV)

 

Our eternal destiny will be decided by the decisions that we make in this life. God has done His part. The question is, what will we do?