Ten Keys to Life - Keep it Simple!

 

When Stephanie and I traveled to Peru on a short-term mission, we were so amazed at how simple life was for the people of Yurimagua. One of my absolute favorite scriptures, Deuteronomy 30:11-20, talks about the simplicity of our faith.

'“This command I am giving you today is not too

difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach.

It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must

ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down

so we can hear it and obey?’ It is not kept beyond

the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will

cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and

obey?’ No, the message is very close at hand; it is

on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.

“Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between

life and death, between prosperity and disaster. For I

command you this day to love the Lord your God and

to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by

walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and

multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the

land you are about to enter and occupy. “But if your

heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you

are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, then

I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed.

You will not live a long, good life in the land you are

crossing the Jordan to occupy. “Today I have given

you the choice between life and death, between

blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth

to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would

choose life so that you and your descendants might

live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your

God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him.

This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the

Lord , you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give

your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”'

Deuteronomy 30:11-20. https://my.bible.com/bible/116/DEU.30.11-20

We have a tendency to make belief in God so complicated. There are people that spend their entire lives exploring the depths of scripture, trying to understand who God is. There is nothing wrong with being a theologian. There is nothing wrong with spending your life exploring the deeper meanings of scripture. But, the Gospel is simple. 

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him." John 3:16-17.

A couple of years ago I shared the simplicity of this message at the funeral of a dear friend. John 3:16 summarized, perfectly, the message of the Gospel. We need to KNOW that God loves us. We need to KNOW that God gave his one and only Son. We need to BELIEVE in him, that he died on the cross to save us from our sins and we need to RECEIVE the gift of eternal life. 

The message is so very simple:

God Loved

God Gave

We Believe

We Receive

 

As we study scripture, lead Bible studies, preach, and share the Gospel may we never forget the pure simplicity of our faith.