REMEMBER!

"So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him. ⁷ For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. ⁸ It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey. ⁹ It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills.¹⁰ When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. ¹¹ “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. ¹² For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, ¹³ and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful!¹⁴ Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. ¹⁵ Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock! ¹⁶ He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. ¹⁷ He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ ¹⁸ Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.¹⁹ “But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed.²⁰ Just as the Lord has destroyed other nations in your path, you also will be destroyed if you refuse to obey the Lord your God." ~Deuteronomy 8:6-20 NLT

In this section of the OT book of Deuteronomy, Moses is addressing a nation of people that he knew all to well. He had led them from Egypt to the desert and for 40 years of wandering. He had seen them at their worst, rebelling, crying, complaining and disobedient. He had seen the fickleness of the people who would celebrate God's goodness and less than 24 hours later would be complaining against Moses and Aaron and ultimately against the God who had journeyed with them in the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night!

So Moses reminds the people over and over again with some of his final words to REMEMBER and NOT FORGET! He reminds the to OBEY and not become PROUD!

"When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. ¹¹ “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. ¹² For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, ¹³ and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful!¹⁴ Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God" ~Deuteronomy 8:10-14a NLT

In this section of this passage Moses reminds the people of something we need to be REMINDED of still today. Moses reminds the people NOT to become PROUD or SELF-SATISFIED! Moses reminds them NOT to THINK that it was their own STRENGTH that brought them the spoils of the land that God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob!

You see, today as I look around at our world it is safe to say for the most part that we have FORGOTTEN! We have FORGOTTEN and FAILED to REMEMBER the bearer of the great gifts we have been blessed with! We have FORGOTTEN the TRUTH that is our God that has given us the strength, the gifts, the abilities, and the talents to "DO" all we do in this lifetime! We have FORGOTTEN the TRUTH of verse 18:

"Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath." ~Deut. 8:18 NLT

We live in a beautiful country with incredible benefits and prosperity. And "ALL" our stuff can easily cause us to stumble, to fail to remember, to think more highly of ourselves than we ever truly should.

SO, this morning it might be a "GOOD" thing to simply take some time and take STOCK of the amazing ways that God has provided along the way. And as you reflect may the blessings you have received cause you to TURN your attention back to the ONE who longs to bless you and keep you and prosper you according to His plans and purposes!

Feeling BLESSED...

Rev Trev