SEEING THE DIFFERENCE COMPILED BY JAMES LUBUS FROM TANZANIA
If you listen to these commands of the Lord your God and carefully obey them, the Lord will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always have the upper hand. You must not turn away from any of the commands I am giving you today not to follow after other gods and worship them. Deuteronomy 28:13-14In darkness there is no choice. It is light that enables us to see the differences between things; and it is Christ who gives us light. Augustus Hare (1792-1834)The head and not the tailWhen reading Deuteronomy 28, it is pleasant to focus on the blessings in Moses' message, yet we cannot avoid the fact that there were two sides to this oracle. Blessings would rain on the children of Israel as a result of their obedience, but harsh consequences awaited those who served other gods.…When the children of Israel turned from God, they would return to him only when they realized that they had placed themselves under the yoke of a far less benevolent master. Therein lies the curse—willingly abandoning a loving God to follow one whose intent is not to bless but to destroy. God still longs to bless us, but there is another who prowls about seeking to destroy those who are precious to God. Choose today to serve the God who longs to make you the head and the not the tail

MERCY IN SPITE OF WICKEDNESS
You will know I am the Lord, O people of Israel, when I have honored my name by treating you mercifully in spite of your wickedness, says the Sovereign Lord. Ezekiel 20:44
God the Redeemer
Have you ever given God reason to be angry with you? Compare your sins with the sins of Israel. As you read through the Old Testament, you discover the truth that seems to shock most people: At no time in Israel's history did they ever remain faithful to God. Of course, there were periods of collective obedience.…But as soon as the blessings flowed, their hearts wandered, and once again they fell into their evil ways. Their lives were steeped in a constant pattern of rebellion and unfaithful living.
Ezekiel records just one of the many times God responded to Israel's unfaithfulness. God says to them, "In this also your fathers blasphemed me by forsaking me.…You continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day.…You say, 'We want to be like the nations, like the peoples of the world, who serve wood and stone.'.…As I judged your fathers in the desert of the land of Egypt, so I will judge you, declares the Sovereign Lord" (Ezekiel 20:27, 31-36).
Once again Israel had provoked the wrath of God, and now they sat awaiting his judgment. If there was ever a time that Israel deserved to be wiped from the face of the planet, it was this moment. Now their sentence was at hand. Hold on to your chairs because here comes the gavel!
"You will know that I am the Lord, when I deal with you for my name's sake and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices" (Ezekiel 20:44, NIV).
And what is God's name? Redeemer. Deliverer. Savior. What is the judgment he hands down?
He plans to redeem them. Again. He deals with them according to his goodness, not their evil. He forgives them. Not because they deserve it but because it is God's nature to forgive.James LUBUS nowadays has accepted the presence of GOD AS OUR HOST IN BOTH HEAVEN AND THIS WORLD