Message summary: Although Moses gave the wonderful promise in the daily text to the children of Israel shortly before they entered the Promised Land it is also a great principle applicable to all of His children today.

Listen to our message on your audio player.

"See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess" (Deuteronomy 30:15,16). "Do not move the ancient boundary which your fathers have set" (Proverbs 22:28).

We had a strong thunderstorm pass through our area late yesterday afternoon with heavy rain, strong winds and lots of thunder and lightning. Mollie, as is characteristic of border collies, was terrified. Her favorite hiding place is the tub although she also tries to get in the refrigerator or oven when she sees a family member open the door(s)! Anywhere to hide from the booming thunder!

After an hour or so the skies cleared and we went outside commenting on the pleasant smelling "fragrance after the rain", which we think would be a great line in a song.

Brooksyne went for a walk with the dogs and I took a bike ride meeting up with them on Gibble Road about a mile from our home. At the corner of Gibble and Musser Roads about twenty head of cattle clumsily ran to the fence to greet us. We don't know whether they were interested in seeing us or the dogs. But they stopped at the electric fence, sensing the rather unpleasant consequence that awaited them if they touched it!

The farmer established the fence as a boundary to keep the cattle in for their safety and danger out. We don't know how the cattle feel about this fence although they clearly see fresh green grass tasty for grazing on the other side!

"The grass is greener on the other side" is a common assumption in our fallen human nature as well!

But God, in His love and care for us, has also established fences (or boundaries). Figuratively speaking we have a propensity in our sin nature to consider the grass on the other side to be greener, denser, and tastier! What a blessing to have an outlook which sees boundaries as blessings.  God has set up boundaries expressed in different ways in the Scripture. There are negative boundaries of prohibition such as "Thou shalt not" and there are positive boundaries of command such as "Thou shalt".

Man's nature since the fall has always been to mess with these boundaries! Just consider the world's problems in light of this. But how vitally healthy to recognize that these boundaries are for our good.

Although Moses gave the wonderful promise in the daily text to the children of Israel shortly before they entered the Promised Land it is also a great principle applicable to all of His children today.

"See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction." Truth be told we might prefer if this just said, "I set before you today life and prosperity"; leave the negative stuff out. But God (in this case through Moses) tells us the truth, that death and destruction are also set before us if we get off the right path.

"For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess".


Be encouraged today,


Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, we are grateful for the boundaries You place throughout Scripture that guard us from danger. Often it's to protect us from the devil who lurks waiting for the opportunity to pounce and other times it's to protect us from our own vain vices that can be equally destructive. Wise us up so that we don't resent or rebel against the fences intended for our own eternal good. Rather help us to see that You are an all-wise, all-knowing God who looks after us and sets boundaries so that we don't lose sight of our spiritual heritage here on earth which will keep us on the straight and narrow way that leads to our eternal inheritance in heaven. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

---

---

"O Come To The Altar/Come Thou Fount"  Video  Closing song at Calvary Church this last Lord's Day (includes pastoral prayer).


"Saviour Like A Shepherd Lead Us"  Video  4Him

"The Blessing Of The Ancient Landmarks"  A message on today's theme written several years ago.

"A Christian College Gone Pagan": When living in New England we were not far from Wellesley College which is now a liberal bastion of "elite" academia. (AKA nonsense). I was not aware till reading this article of the Christian foundations this school has. This quote from the article is especially pertinent to today's message: "Following the 2015 legalization of same-sex marriage, historian Paul Kengor stated: “an American majority no longer holds fast to the traditional-religious boundaries that navigated the lives of their ancestors” (Kengor, Takedown, 202–5). This is now equally true about august cultural centers of present Western education, like Wellesley College. “You’ve come a long way, baby!”

Almost always funny and insightful The Babylon Bee reports: "Progressive Mob Tears Down Oppressive ‘One Way’ Street Signs Throughout City"

Finally today: