85.2 You Have A Choice: A Blessing Or A Curse

(Deuteronomy 30:1-10)

"I have now given you a choice between a blessing and a curse.  When all these things have happened to you, and you are living among the nations where the Lord, your God has scattered you, you will remember the choice I gave you. If you and your descendants will turn back to the Lord and with all your heart obey his commands that I am giving you today, then the Lord your God will have mercy on you. He will bring you back from the nations where he has scattered you, and he will make you prosperous again. Even if you are scattered to the farthest corners of the earth, the Lord your God will gather you together and bring you back, so that you may again take possession of the land where your ancestors once lived. And he will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your ancestors ever were. The Lord your God will give you and your descendants obedient hearts, so that you will love him with all your heart, and you will continue to live in that land. He will turn all these curses against your enemies, who hated you and oppressed you, and you will again obey him and keep all his commands that I am giving you today. The Lord will make you prosperous in all that you do; you will have many children and a lot of livestock, and your fields will produce abundant crops. He will be as glad to make you prosperous as he was to make your ancestors prosperous, but you will have to obey him and keep all his laws that are written in this book of his teachings. You will have to turn to him with all your heart."

85.1 Turn To God

(Job 11:13-20)

Put your heart right, Job. Reach out to God.

Put away evil and wrong from your home.

Then face the world again, firm and courageous.

Then all your troubles will fade from your memory, like floods that are past and remembered no more.

Your life will be brighter than sunshine at noon, and life's darkest hours will shine like the dawn.

You will live secure and full of hope; God will protect you and give you rest.

You won't be afraid of your enemies; many people will ask you for help.

But the wicked will look around in despair and find that there is no way to escape.

Their one hope is that death will come.

84.4 Prayer Of An Afflicted Sinner

(Psalm 38)

O Lord, don't punish me in your anger!

You have wounded me with your arrows; you have struck me down.

Because of your anger, I am in great pain;

my whole body is diseased because of my sins.

I am drowning in the flood of my sins;

they are burden too heavy to bear.

Because I have been foolish, my sores stink and rot.

I am bent over, I am crushed; I mourn all day long.

I am burning with fever and I am near death.

I am worn out and utterly crushed;

my heart is troubled, and I groan with pain.

O Lord, you know what I long for;

you hear all my groans.

My heart is pounding, my strength is gone,

and my eyes have lost their brightness.

My friends and neighbors will not come near me,

because of my sores; even my family keeps away from me.

Those who want to kill me lay traps for me,

and those who want to hurt me threaten to ruin me;

they never stop plotting against me.

I am like a deaf man and cannot hear, like a dumb man and cannot speak.

I am like a man who does not answer, because he cannot hear.

But I trust in you, O Lord, and you, O Lord my God, will answer me.

Don't let my enemies gloat over my distress;

don't let them boast about my downfall!

I am about to fall and am in constant pain.

I confess my sins, they fill me with anxiety

My enemies are healthy and strong; 

there are many who hate me for no reason.

Those who pay back evil for good are against me because I try to do right.

Do not abandon me, O Lord;

do not stay away, my God!

Help me now, O Lord my savior!

84.3 Parable Of The Unfruitful Fig Tree

(Luke 13:6-9)

Then Jesus told them this parable: "There was once a man who had fig tree growing in his vineyard. He went looking for figs on it but found none. So he said to his gardener, 'Look, for three years I have been coming here looking for figs on this fig tree, and I haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it go on using up the soil?' But the gardener answered, 'Leave it alone, sir, just one more year; I will dig around it and put in some fertilizer. Then if the tree bears figs next year, so much the better; if not, then you can have it cut down.'"

84.2 Turn Your Hearts To God

(John 1:13-16)

They did not become God's children by natural means, that is, by being born as the children of a human father; God himself was their Father.

The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he received as the Father's only Son.

John spoke about him.  He cried out, "This is one I was talking about when I said, 'He comes after me, but he is greater than I am, because he existed before I was born.'"

Out of the fullness of his grace he has blessed us all, giving us one blessing after another.