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531 | Deuteronomy 30 - The Word is Near · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  God is in control.
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  She's a happy girl. Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman
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  at the Well Ministries, where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus
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  like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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  or on our website at watwm.org, we invite you to sit down with us as we look
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  to the scriptures to learn more about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  Have you ever felt like hearing from God was hard? Like His Word was distant
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  or His will was out of reach?
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  Deuteronomy chapter 30 reminds us that God's Word isn't far away.
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  It isn't hidden in heaven or buried deep in mystery.
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  It's near us, in our mouths and in our hearts, so that we can know it,
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  live it, and walk in it every single day.
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  In this chapter, Moses calls the people of Israel to return to God with all of their hearts.
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  He reminds them that even after failure and exile, God's mercy is greater than their mistakes.
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  When they turn back to him, he promises restoration, renewal, and blessing.
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  This chapter also reminds us that obedience isn't complicated.
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  God has already given us everything we need to follow him, his word,
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  his spirit, and his love. The question is not how far away God is,
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  but whether our hearts are willing to listen.
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  Join us in this episode of the Woman at the Well Ministries podcast as Erica
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  Close walks us through Deuteronomy chapter 30 to remember the nearness of God
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  and what it means to live every day with His Word written on our hearts.
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  Please open your Bibles and jump into Deuteronomy chapter 30 with me, starting in verse 1.
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  And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee,
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  the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call
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  them to mind among all the nations,
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  whether the Lord thy God hath driven thee, and shalt return unto the Lord thy
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  God, and shall obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day,
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  thou and thy children, with all thine heart and with all thine soul,
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  that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity,
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  and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the
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  nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.
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  If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven,
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  from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee.
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  And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed,
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  and thou shalt possess it, and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
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  And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart and the heart of thy seed,
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  to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul,
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  so that thou mayest live.
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  And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies,
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  and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.
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  And thou shalt return, and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments,
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  which I command thee this day.
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  And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand,
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  in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good.
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  For the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers.
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  If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments
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  and his statutes, which are written in this book of the law,
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  and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul,
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  for this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee,
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  neither is it far off.
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  It is not in heaven that thou shouldst say, Who shall go up to heaven for us,
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  and bring it unto us, that we may hear it and do it?
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  Neither is it beyond the sea that thou shouldst say, Who shall go over the sea
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  for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it and do it?
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  But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
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  See, I set before thee this day life and good and death and evil,
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  and that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways,
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  and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments,
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  that thou mayest live and multiply.
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  And the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
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  But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shall be drawn
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  away and worship other gods and serve them.
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  I denounce unto you this day that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall
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  not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.
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  I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I set before you
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  life and death, blessing and cursing.
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  Therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live,
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  that thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice,
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  and that thou mayest cleave unto him,
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  for he is thy life, and the length of thy days, that thou mayest dwell in the
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  land which the fathers swear unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac,
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  and to Jacob, to give them.
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  As we move into Deuteronomy chapter 30, we find one of the most encouraging
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  and hopeful passages in all of Moses' teaching.
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  This is literally one of my most favorite chapters in the Bible.
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  The previous chapters were heavy, with warnings and consequences for disobedience.
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  But this chapter brings light, hope, and mercy. Here we see the heart of God for his people.
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  Even if the Israelites fall into sin and find themselves scattered among the
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  nations, God's grace will still reach them.
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  His promise of restoration shows that no one is ever too far from his mercy.
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  I love how Matthew Henry says that this chapter is not an absolute prediction,
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  but it's a conditional promise, meaning that these promises applied to all people,
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  And quoting here, and the design of them, meaning the promises,
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  is to assure us that the greatest of sinners, if they repent and be converted,
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  shall have their sins pardoned and be restored to God's favor.
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  The opening verses of Deuteronomy 30 remind the Israelites that even after sin
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  and exile, repentance leads to restoration.
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  When they find themselves suffering the consequences of disobedience and choose
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  to turn their hearts back to the Lord in verse 2, he says he'll gather them again.
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  God's mercy is not limited by geography or circumstance.
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  Even if his people are scattered to the farthest parts of heaven.
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  He promises to bring them home.
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  This section shows us the depth of God's compassion.
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  His love does not end when his people wander away. This first part of the chapter
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  shows us that God waits for them to remember his covenant and return to him.
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  This is such a picture of grace.
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  When we turn back to God, he restores what was lost. He brings us back to the
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  place of blessing and fellowship with him.
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  Let's look at verses 6 through 10. Here, the covenant moves from the physical to the spiritual.
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  God promises not only to restore his people outwardly, but to renew them inwardly.
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  He says that he will circumcise their hearts so that they may love him fully and live in obedience.
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  This promise looks forward to the work of the Holy Spirit, who transforms hearts
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  and writes God's law within us.
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  This promise also looks back.
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  When the Lord made the covenant with Abraham, the physical evidence for the
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  covenant was circumcision.
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  Here in verse 6, God circumcises their hearts.
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  Outward obedience without inward change is never enough. The Lord desires a
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  people who will love him from the heart.
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  This passage reminds us that real obedience flows from a renewed heart and a willing spirit.
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  God himself makes this possible through his grace.
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  He does not simply command love, but he enables it.
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  As verses 8 through 10 show us, when the people turn back to God and obey his
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  commandments, he will bless the work of their hands.
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  He says he'll make up plenteous, and he'll bless their crops and their land once again.
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  As we move to verses 11 through 14, we see that these verses emphasize how accessible
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  God's word and God's will truly are.
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  His commandments are not distant or unreachable. They're not hidden in heaven or beyond the sea.
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  God has brought his word so near that his people can understand and obey.
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  Moses tells them that the word is very near, in thy mouth and in thy heart that thou mayest do it.
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  This is a beautiful reminder that obedience is not meant to be complicated.
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  God does not ask us to do the impossible. He gives us his word,
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  his spirit, and his strength.
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  The same truth applies to us today. The word of God is close at hand,
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  and when we open our hearts to it, we find that his commands bring life, not burden.
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  Paul echoes this truth in Romans 10, 8-10, teaching that the word of faith we
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  proclaim is both near and makes a change for all who believe.
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  Paul says, starting in verse 8, But what saith it?
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  The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that is the word
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  of faith which we preach, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
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  and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
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  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
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  Moses closes this chapter with one of the most powerful appeals in all of Scripture.
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  He sets before the Israelites two choices, life and good, or death and evil. The choice is clear.
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  If they love the Lord and obey His commandments, they'll live and prosper.
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  But if they turn away and serve other gods, they will perish.
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  Moses pleads with the people to choose life.
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  This is more than just a choice about longevity or physical blessing.
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  It's a call to spiritual life.
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  Choosing life means choosing to love God, to walk in his ways, and to hold fast to him.
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  God himself is the source of life, and to turn from him is to make a choice for death.
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  The end of this chapter reminds us that obedience isn't merely a duty.
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  But it comes out of devotion.
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  It's a response to the love and to the mercy of God Himself.
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  Every day, we're faced with the same choice—to follow the way of life through
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  obedience and faith or to go our own way.
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  The blessings of life, peace, and joy are always going to follow when we choose to follow God.
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  I absolutely love this chapter.
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  Deuteronomy chapter 30 reminds us that our relationship with God is never beyond repair.
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  This is a chapter that's full of hope and promise.
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  The Israelites were told that even after they sinned and found themselves far
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  away from the Lord, they could return to Him and He would restore them.
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  That same truth applies to us today.
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  When we repent and turn our hearts back to the Lord, he restores our joy,
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  our peace, and our fellowship with him.
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  God never gives up on his people. His mercy always makes a way back.
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  This chapter also teaches that true obedience begins in the heart.
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  God told the Israelites that he would, quote-unquote, circumcise their hearts
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  in verse 6 so that they could love him fully.
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  The same thing is true for us. Real obedience is not just about following rules.
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  It's about loving the Lord with all of our heart, our soul, and our mind.
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  When God works in our hearts, our actions naturally follow.
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  We obey not to earn His favor, but because we already have His love.
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  The verses that follow remind us that God's word is never far away.
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  It's not in heaven or across the sea. it is near us, in our mouth and in our heart.
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  We don't have to search endlessly to find God's will.
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  He has made it plain to us through His Word and through His Spirit.
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  The question is not whether we can find his word, but whether we will choose to follow it.
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  Lastly, this chapter closes with a choice that still speaks to us today.
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  I have set before thee life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life.
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  Choosing life means choosing God and choosing his ways, his commands, and his presence.
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  It means surrendering our will and clinging to his.
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  Every time we choose obedience over selfishness, faith over fear,
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  and love over sin, we're choosing life.
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  Deuteronomy chapter 30 calls us to turn from our sin, to let God renew our hearts,
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  and to live each day walking closely with him.
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  Obedience and blessing are not accidental. They're choices.
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  And when we choose to walk in God's ways, we find that his promises of life
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  and joy are just as true for us as they were for the Israelites.
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  Remember, you are loved. Jesus loves you.
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  Thank you for joining us in today's podcast. You can visit the show notes for
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  Thank you to the Gospel Group Fudge Creek for letting us use their hit song, Happy Girl.
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  Remember that God loves you.