Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.” Deuteronomy 34:4

Positive consequences are something that most people like to think and talk about, but rarely like to think or talk about negative consequences. Often the negative side is downplayed to the point it does not exist. Everybody is allowed to win whether they earned a winning score or not.

As Moses was about to die, God allowed him to see into the promised land. He was told he could see it but was not allowed to cross the river into it. This was due to his disobeying God by striking the rock.

In the same way that the world downplays negative consequences, many in the church are doing the same thing. Sin is allowed in the life of a believer with the expectation that there will be no bad consequence. Often this is viewed because God is willing to forgive the sin because of the death of Jesus upon the cross.

While forgiveness brings about removal of the sentence of death upon the believer, it does not always stop all consequences of the action or sin in this life. The person who kills someone may be forgiven by God but will still have to go to prison to pay for the crime.

Any disobedience to God is a sin, regardless of how great or small it is or whether man sees it as bad or not. God has a plan for every believer that must be followed step by step. If one chooses to not follow the plan of God, it is sin and there may be negative consequences. One will still be saved but may not get all the blessings originally intended.

God has plans of blessing for you that are dependent upon your obeying His commands. You may know what these blessings are, or you may not.

Strive to obey every command God gives immediately. Do not allow yourself to turn to the right or left of His commands. Do not allow yourself to be in a position in which you miss out on the full blessing of God in your life.

Live in a way that you will qualify to cross the river into greater blessings.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will know the commands God has for you; that you will obey all the commands of God; that God will allow you to cross the river to greater blessings; and that God will not have to bring on negative consequences due to your actions.