Don’t you love hearing about the many promised blessings God has for you?  I do.  Only the best for God’s people, including a hefty dollop of hard, cold cash thrown in for good measure.  God’s blessed cornucopia gushes my way.  Sounds good?  Think again. 

I’m sure you’re more levelheaded than I am.  You know the other side of the coin.  But first check out Deuteronomy 28.  Starts out with blessings… for obedience.  Wow–14 verses describing God’s bounteous blessings.  Deuteronomy 28: 6–‘Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.’  Great!  Guess I can close my Bible now on that rather upbeat note.  Right?  Wrong!

Possibly too good to be true?  You think so?  What God requires of His own is simple obedience as in following those 10 commandments, coincidentally the number of fingers on both hands.  Doing things His way.  Not veering off course into dead end streets with no U-turns allowed.  Don’t take the lead.  Follow… Him.

Glancing down at the rest of Deuteronomy 28, you’ll note that there are 53 verses of curses… for disobedience.  For selfishness.  Greed.  Lying.  You name the sin and it costs a tidy sum.  We won’t enjoy paying that piper.  Way overpriced.  

God warns us.  53 curses to 14 blessings.  A hint?  You think so?  Be careful how you live your life for Jesus.  How tolerant we’ve become with sin.  Especially my own.  Disobeying God is like an unnoticed sizzling hot stove.  Watch out!  Or wet paint.  Look before you touch!

I know that God wants me to obey Him from the bottom of my heart.  Not only when nothing else works, or I can’t weasel out of something on my own.  But a genuine, twenty-four carat follower of Jesus. 

Join me?  Remember, I’m about two-carat, if that.  So I know that this won’t be easy.  But will be worth it all, since it pleases Jesus.  That in itself should be enough.  Still with me?

Lord, give us strength to be your disciple.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.