The LORD said, “If you will not obey my commands, you will be punished.”

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: LEVITICUS 26:14
TODAY'S READING:
Punishment for Disobedience
(Deuteronomy 28.15-68)
14 The Lord said, “If you will not obey my commands, you will be punished.15If you refuse to obey my laws and commands and break the covenant I have made with you,16I will punish you. I will bring disaster on you—incurable diseases and fevers that will make you blind and cause your life to waste away. You will plant your crops, but it will do you no good, because your enemies will conquer you and eat what you have grown.17I will turn against you, so that you will be defeated, and those who hate you will rule over you; you will be so terrified that you will run when no one is chasing you.
18“If even after all of this you still do not obey me, I will increase your punishment seven times.19I will break your stubborn pride; there will be no rain, and your land will be dry and as hard as iron.20All your hard work will do you no good, because your land will not produce crops and the trees will not bear fruit.
21“If you still continue to resist me and refuse to obey me, I will again increase your punishment seven times.22I will send dangerous animals among you, and they will kill your children, destroy your livestock, and leave so few of you that your roads will be deserted.
23“If after all of this punishment you still do not listen to me, but continue to defy me,24then I will turn on you and punish you seven times harder than before.25I will bring war on you to punish you for breaking our covenant, and if you gather in your cities for safety, I will send incurable diseases among you, and you will be forced to surrender to your enemies.26I will cut off your food supply, so that ten women will need only one oven to bake all the bread they have. They will ration it out, and when you have eaten it all, you will still be hungry.
27“If after all of this you still continue to defy me and refuse to obey me,28then in my anger I will turn on you and again make your punishment seven times worse than before.29Your hunger will be so great that you will eat your own children.30I will destroy your places of worship on the hills, tear down your incense altars, and throw your dead bodies on your fallen idols. In utter disgust31I will turn your cities into ruins, destroy your places of worship, and refuse to accept your sacrifices.32I will destroy your land so completely that the enemies who occupy it will be shocked at the destruction.33I will bring war on you and scatter you in foreign lands. Your land will be deserted, and your cities left in ruins.34-35Then the land will enjoy the years of complete rest that you would not give it; it will lie abandoned and get its rest while you are in exile in the land of your enemies.
36“I will make those of you who are in exile so terrified that the sound of a leaf blowing in the wind will make you run. You will run as if you were being pursued in battle, and you will fall when there is no enemy near you.37You will stumble over one another when no one is chasing you, and you will be unable to fight against any enemy.38You will die in exile, swallowed up by the land of your enemies.39The few of you who survive in the land of your enemies will waste away because of your own sin and the sin of your ancestors.
40“But your descendants will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors, who resisted me and rebelled against me,41and caused me to turn against them and send them into exile in the land of their enemies. At last, when your descendants are humbled and they have paid the penalty for their sin and rebellion,42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob and with Isaac and with Abraham, and I will renew my promise to give my people the land.43First, however, the land must be rid of its people, so that it can enjoy its complete rest, and they must pay the full penalty for having rejected my laws and my commands.44But even then, when they are still in the land of their enemies, I will not completely abandon them or destroy them. That would put an end to my covenant with them, and I am the Lord their God.45I will renew the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I showed all the nations my power by bringing my people out of Egypt, in order that I, the Lord, might be their God.”
46All these are the laws and commands that the Lord gave to Moses on Mount Sinai for the people of Israel.
REFLECT
What punishments are cited in today’s reading? What were your thoughts as you read these verses? Reread verses 40-45. What does God promise? What will bring about God’s remembering his covenant (verses 41b-43)?
#PRAY
Lord God, when I sin and fail to obey your commands, humble my heart as I seek your forgiveness. Teach me to remember your covenant, renew my spirit, and restore me to a right relationship with you. Amen.

Isaiah 26:4

Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
Confía en el SEÑOR para siempre: porque en el SEÑOR JEHOVÁ es la fortaleza eterna:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Isaiah%2026%3A4&version=AKJV

El Amor de DIOS:

Nunca Falla
Nunca Se Acaba
Nunca Se Rinde
Nunca Cambia
Nunca Nos Deja
Nunca Se Agota
Su Amor Es Fiel

#DiosEsAmor

“I will be with you; I will be your God, and you will be my people.”

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: LEVITICUS 26:12
TODAY'S READING:
Blessings for Obedience
(Deuteronomy 7.12-24; 28.1-14)
1 The Lord said, “Do not make idols or set up statues, stone pillars, or carved stones to worship. I am the Lord your God.2Keep the religious festivals and honor the place where I am worshiped. I am the Lord.
3 “If you live according to my laws and obey my commands,4I will send you rain at the right time, so that the land will produce crops and the trees will bear fruit.5Your crops will be so plentiful that you will still be harvesting grain when it is time to pick grapes, and you will still be picking grapes when it is time to plant grain. You will have all that you want to eat, and you can live in safety in your land.
6“I will give you peace in your land, and you can sleep without being afraid of anyone. I will get rid of the dangerous animals in the land, and there will be no more war there.7You will be victorious over your enemies;8five of you will be able to defeat a hundred, and a hundred will be able to defeat ten thousand.9I will bless you and give you many children; I will keep my part of the covenant that I made with you.10Your harvests will be so plentiful that they will last for a year, and even then you will have to throw away what is left of the old harvest to make room for the new.11I will live among you in my sacred Tent, and I will never turn away from you.12 I will be with you; I will be your God, and you will be my people.13I, the Lord your God, brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves. I broke the power that held you down and I let you walk with your head held high.”
REFLECT:
What blessings are promised if the people live according to God’s laws and obey God’s commands? In what ways have you been blessed by God? In what ways can you be a blessing to others?
#PRAY
Holy God, you are ever-present and with me always. You are my God, and you promise never to turn away from me. Trusting in your love, I know the blessings of peace and security that can be found only in you. Amen.

Isaiah 55:6

Search for the LORD while he can be found, call him while he is near:
Busca al SEÑOR mientras puede ser encontrado, llámalo mientras está cerca:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Isaiah%2055%3A6&version=AKJV

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

If I speak in tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Israelites cannot be permanent slaves, because the people of Israel are the LORD’s slaves. He brought them out of Egypt; he is the LORD their God.

TODAY'S SCRIPTURE: LEVITICUS 25:55
TODAY'S READING:
Release of Slaves
39 If any Israelites living near you become so poor that they sell themselves to you as a slave, you shall not make them do the work of a slave.40They shall stay with you as hired workers and serve you until the next Year of Restoration.41At that time they and their children shall leave you and return to their family and to the property of their ancestors.42The people of Israel are the Lord's slaves, and he brought them out of Egypt; they must not be sold into slavery.43Do not treat them harshly, but obey your God.44If you need slaves, you may buy them from the nations around you.45You may also buy the children of the foreigners who are living among you. Such children born in your land may become your property,46and you may leave them as an inheritance to your children, whom they must serve as long as they live. But you must not treat any Israelites harshly.
47Suppose a foreigner living with you becomes rich, while some Israelites become poor and sell themselves as slaves to that foreigner or to a member of that foreigner's family.48After they are sold, they still have the right to be bought back. A brother49or an uncle or a cousin or another close relative may buy them back; or if they themselves earn enough, they may buy their own freedom.50They must consult the one who bought them, and they must count the years from the time they sold themselves until the next Year of Restoration and must set the price for their release on the basis of the wages paid hired workers.51-52They must refund a part of the purchase price according to the number of years left,53as if they had been hired on an annual basis. Their master must not treat them harshly.54If they are not set free in any of these ways, they and their children must be set free in the next Year of Restoration.55Israelites cannot be permanent slaves, because the people of Israel are the Lord's slaves. He brought them out of Egypt; he is the Lord their God.
REFLECT
How were the people of God instructed to treat fellow Israelites who sold themselves as slaves? Today’s reading refers to the Israelites as “the LORD’s slaves.” What does being a slave of the LORD mean to you?
#PRAY
Holy God, I seek to obey your commands. Teach me your ways so that all I do and say this day is in accord with your will. I trust in your steadfast love and care. Amen.