WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE OF YOU?

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good?" (Deuteronomy 10:12-13, NKJV)

Most human relationships, if not all start with an introduction. One of the individuals may say 'I am so-so and so' or 'I am Mr. Big Stuff' to which the question, ' Who do you think you are?' may be the response 🤓. On a serious note, introductions are important and thereafter come covert evaluations designed to check out the validity of the prospective relationship. So, let's check out who God is.

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." (James 1:17)

God is good and His mercies endure forever. The Psalmist was inspired to write

"Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s."
(Psalm 103:1-5)

Words are inadequate to describe our God but we can say with all amount of assurance that He is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent and He is love. "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." (1 John 4:8). God forgives our iniquities, heals our diseases and redeems our lives from destruction. In John 3:16, we read "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." What is the point in all this? The point is that God is reliable, trustworthy, faithful, and loving. In fact He is love personified. He can be trusted because He wants the very best for you and has great plans for you. He said in Jeremiah 29:11-13

" For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."

In the light of the above, it is not difficult to see why God's requirements are not out of place. Since His plans for us are the best for us, it makes sense for us to draw near to Him and to heed His commands so that all that He has in store for us will come our way.

What does God require of us?

1) To fear Him
2) To walk in all His ways
3) To love Him
4) To serve Him with all our heart and soul
5) To keep His commandments

That's not a long list and it is possible to achieve these with the power of the Holy Spirit. In fact we are told in Scripture that "His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
(2 Peter 1:3-4)

Moses reminded the children of Israel thousands of years ago what God required of them. God has not changed and will never change. He requires the same from us today because it is for our own good. We should not try and wiggle our way out of it or try to replace His requirements with carnal desires. The Bible clearly states what the whole duty of man is 

"...Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil." (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). 

Will you do what God requires of you? Every thing that we do will be put under the scrutiny of God's light and guess what, nothing will escape His notice. He will not impose Himself on you but He will offer you invaluable advice - words of life, that are designed to bring you to the place of fulfilment and fruitfulness. 

Finally, relegating God to the background or blatantly refusing to heed His commandments will surely lead you to a place of futility and waste. Jesus said

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5).

Without Jesus, our lives are meaningless. With Him, we flow with the divine plan and purpose for our lives. WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH THE ABOVE INFORMATION?
May Almighty God guide you and keep you and may you be sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Have a blessed day.