No Corners Cut, No Pacifying, No Round-About Way

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

Is that right? Are you sure that’s what you want to do? Because flirting with sin is flirting with death. That’s right! You flirt with sin, you flirt with death. [Romans 6:23]. The rule is simple: If you play with fire, you will get burned. If you think you can sin to your heart’s content without repercussions, and if you think you can go out and break the commandments of God over and over because you’re an exception to the rule, then you are deceiving yourself. God will not be mocked! If you compromise His rules, you will suffer horribly for it. Be forewarned reader!

Sin kills and destroys everything it touches. [Romans 6:13]. This is the purpose behind everything Satan does. Jesus said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” [John 10:10]. Be not deceived! You can’t dabble in sin without being swept away. You can’t gargle with toxins without ingesting poison. Sin will cause you to hook, line, and sinker. Do not underestimate the seriousness of sin! Sin is divisive, deceptive, destructive and deadly. Sin Thrills…then it Kills. Sin Fascinates…then it Assassinates. Sin always destroys lives, both for time and eternity. Do not flirt with it, and do not dabble in it!

[Matthew 5: 29-30] says, “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”

I tell you Satan always tries to minimize the serious nature of sin, so that we excuse it as no big deal, tolerate it as normal, or even re-package it as a good thing. The Devil is a liar! Sin is SINFUL and EXCEEDLING so! Sin appears attractive, but is hideously ugly. Sin appears to be right when it is wrong. Sin appears to bring life when it brings death. Sin appears to be so insignificant when it is so major. Do not be deceived! The wages of sin is death!

Listen, you get one chance to live your life; and then the judgment. If you do not make some radical decisions now, and set your face like flint to walk another way. If you go on yielding to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life as your way of life, you will get just what sin warrant ? Death! Do not be misled – you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. [Galatians 6:7-8].

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God! Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortions, shall inherit the kingdom of God…” [1Corinthians 6: 9-10].

God’s warning is clear. If you compromise His rules, you will suffer horribly for it. Be like Joseph who when Potiphar’s wife grabbed hold of his coat and said, “Make love to me!” Joseph ran out of the house, leaving his coat there in her hands. He ran as far and as fast as he could. He knew that there would be hell to pay with God and men. He knew he would be burned if he stayed, so he ran from the fire [Genesis 39:12]. He evacuated the building as fast as he could, closing doors and windows behind him as he left… I tell you, the wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way…” [Proverbs 14:8].

As long as it is called ‘today,’ [be sure] that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin… for was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? [Hebrews 3:13-18].

“Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1].

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

We ain’t even three months into the New Year, and you doing the same thing that God delivered you from last year. Why? After all the pleading you did? “Lord, please, if you get me out of this mess, I promise I want do it again!” “Lord, please, please forgive me Lord, I’m sorry!”? “Please Lord, help me, I promise I’ll serve you for the rest of my days!”? “Please Lord!” [Psalms 107:18-19] Miss Me with that!

You come weeping buckets of tears, and then you go and do the same thing you did before. You kept repenting and repenting, but somehow, you can’t get beyond, the repenting stage. Let me tell you something. Repentance is not you asking God to forgive you of your sins while you continue to live in your sins. Repentance carries with it the idea of changing?changing your mind, changing your heart, changing your attitude, changing your ways; a complete change of direction. You remind me of King Saul. Poor Saul never learned. He apologized and was sorry many times, but he never really repented, he never turned and went the other way. Saul would break down and weep before the prophet Samuel, but he didn’t weep because he was repentant; he wept because he was sorry he was about to lose the kingdom. He didn’t really confess and forsake his sin, the evil root beneath the outer show. Now King David, although he also committed great sins, after God forgave him, he became a man after God’s own heart. He deeply loved God, and he really wanted to glorify God and please Him. Exemplary of true repentance?not just being sorry, but having a complete change of mind and heart and direction—a whole new man, a new personality, a new creature in Christ Jesus—born again! Only God can do it, but we must put forth the effort of a believing will. 

I tell you, you can’t keep on living the same way. You can’t travel the same path anymore. You can’t go back and be a slave of mammon and serve God. It’s impossible; Jesus said, “You’ll either “love the one and hate the other, or hold to the one and despise the other.” Just as the Lord issued a call through Joshua, all those centuries ago, for His people to make of their minds as to whom they would serve, so He issues the same call to you on this day. Choose Whom this day you are going to serve. It’s time to make up your mind! And, it is! You need to contemplate all the Lord has done for you! Remember where He found you. What He did for you. How He has blessed you. How He has worked on your behalf time and again. How He has answered prayer and met needs. Remember His power in your life. In everything you faced, He was there to help you and to see you through. You need to contemplate the fact that you have much today that you simply DO NOT deserve! God has been so good to you. In light of these truths, I wonder why you seem to have a hard time just simply loving and serving Him as you should. Of course, this is nothing new! Israel was guilty of walking out on God even when He had been so good to them [Jeremiah 2:5-19].

Listen, Joshua’s command to the people was three-fold. They were commanded to “fear“ God; clean up their lives, and to serve the Lord. This would put them in a position to put God back in the forefront of their lives. If they serve Him, He will bless them, but if they renege on their end of the agreement, there will be a high price to pay. While God is a God of love, grace and mercy; He is also still a holy and righteous God. He will not tolerate sin in the lives of His children! There is a terribly high price to pay for disobedience and you better understand today that you will reap exactly what you sow [Galatians. 6:7].

If the Lord be God then serve Him. If He isn’t, then go ahead and serve whatever has your heart. Whatever you do, stop trying to have the best of both worlds! I tell you, it’s time to make up your mind! Today may be the last time you hear God’s voice. After today, God may give you over to sexual impurity, to shameful desires, or to a depraved mind. After today, God may take away His hand and let you find what it is that you think you want.

“If you go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment” [Hebrews 10:26-27].

“I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you, but if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life that both thou and thy seed may live” [Deuteronomy 30:15-20].

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

Now that the celebration of Black History Month is coming to a close; how can we honor our history, respond to the present, and build a viable, vibrant future for our people? I’ll tell you how…. We can honor their memory by rediscovering the “Faith” that allowed them to survive. The Faith, that enabled our forefathers to endure trials and hardships that we can only imagine. The Faith, that inspired leaders to respond courageously to the problems of our people. We can build on the legacy they have left us by carefully following the One they followed – Jesus. It is not too late! We can still return to the God of our fathers. For we have an extraordinarily rich spiritual heritage and there is victory in our bloodline. We belong to the family of God, and being engrafted into His family means that we are over-comers through the Blood of Jesus; the Blood of the Lamb, the Conquering Weapon.

Therefore, let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the pioneer and perfecta of our Faith. For it wasn’t by power nor by might, but by the Spirit of God—the wisdom, authority, power, and presence of the Most High God—that freedom, equality, and justice was and will continue to be.   Let us learn from the stories of the great cloud of witnesses.  “Though beaten, they were not beaten down by life because they looked to Christ. Though enslaved physically, they were not enslaved spiritually because they were free in Christ. For a people in bondage for 400 years— it is a sustaining and comforting reminder to know that God has not forgotten. “He has seen!” our afflictions, and heard our cries: every tear shed was preserved, and every groan uttered was being recorded, in order to testify at a future day, against the authors of the oppressors.”

Understand this truth…. God has chosen us for Greatness…. And there’s nobody, there’s nothing, and there is no circumstance, under the Sun that can keep God from doing exactly what He wants in us for His Glory! We have victory through Jesus Christ, the Risen Savior who lives and Reigns in our heart…. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” So, if God be for us, who can defeat us? If God be for us, who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?  If God be for us, is there anything that we can’t do? If God be for us, is there anything our families can’t overcome? If God be for us, is there anything that the world can do to stop us? I hear our slave ancestors answering, “No!” I hear the civil right marchers, answering, “No!” Because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The same Jesus who heard the songs of the slaves and the chants of the civil rights marchers will hear the prayers of those who now cry out for justice throughout our country. With God’s help, we shall overcome.

Oh, what an amazing future it is! Living moment by moment looking back with thankfulness on all that God has done for us, and looking forward at all God promises to do for us because of Christ. Let us rejoice in God’s great faithfulness consistently displayed through our great struggles and great strides. For empowered by God as they were, we can continue their work and likewise pass down legacies of strength, perseverance, faith, and victory to future generations. [Psalm145:41].

As it is written: “For our sake [they] were killed all day long; [they] were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in ALL THESE THINGS [they] were MORE than CONQUERORS through Him who loved us. They were persuaded that neither death nor Life, nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers, nor things Present nor things to come, nor Height nor Depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate them from the Love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Romans 8:35-39].

Thanksgiving toward the Past, Faith toward the Future!

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

I want to encourage you to NEVER lose hope.  Why? Because, hope is the anchor of the soul.  Our ancestors held on to hope when facts, circumstances, and actions of others said otherwise. They had no evidence and no reason to believe things would get better, so they held desperately to hope. Hope, that was based on the fact that: God will continue being what He has always been – faithful.  Hope that was based on the fact that:  God will successfully complete whatever He has begun.  Hope, that was based on the fact that: God would keep all His Promises. Hope, that was based on the fact that: There would be justice and equity. Hope, that was based on the fact that: All things would work together for good to them that love God.   What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

According to the Bible, “Hope,” is about a promise. Hope is a confident expectation regarding the unseen and future [Hebrews 11:1-2; Colossians 1:27]. That’s why Paul said in [Romans 5:3-5], we can rejoice in our sufferings because we are a people of Hope. Not only that, but that our suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” [Romans 5:3–5]. So as you hold on through the storms, know that there is a proven-ness in regard to your character.

Never lose hope. Hold on, for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. Because the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish usu. [I Peter 5:10]. And this is the hope we have as an anchor for our soul, firm and secure, says the Scripture.

“All the promises in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” [2 Corinthians 1:20].Never lose hope. The Anchor of the Soul!

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

You see, the phrase “United We Stand… Divided We Fall” has a lot of truth and merit to it! Christ gave us even greater insight when He said in [Matthew 12:25] a house divided, a city divided and a nation divided cannot stand. The reality is that God shows us a powerful principle concerning this truth. It is found in [Genesis 11:6] concerning the Tower of Babel. God said because of their “Unity” there was nothing they couldn’t accomplish if they put their minds to it. Now, if these were ungodly people without the prophetic purpose of God at heart, what could this mean to a people fulfilling the call of God on their lives and pursuing the purposes of God’s Kingdom. Ahh!

Unity a wonderful word, but requires deliberate action. That’s why I appeal to you today as Paul did in [1 Corinthians 1:10] when he said, “let us all agree with one another in what we say and that there be no divisions among us, but that we be perfectly united in mind and thought.” Paul exhort us to unite and conquer by majoring on the majors. You see, when we walk in unity we can accomplish supernatural achievements. We can walk on Water together. It’s a beautiful and powerful thing.

Unity: being one; combining into one; something that is whole; harmony [Psalm 133]. It is only when we come together in one mind and one accord in Jesus that we will have power and will be able to move in Spirit and Truth toward using our spiritual authority that God gave us—that same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead.  Unity the key to seeing souls saved… Unity the key to living in the Power of God… Unity the key to being used by God…

Let’s make the right choice based on an understanding of truth. Disunity causes great threat to our survival as a people. Without unity everything begins to crumble, becomes weakened, paralyzed, and ineffective. We are called to divide and conquer. This will only happen when we major on the majors, “We as a people.” We must be unified. We must strive and remain as one. There is Power in Unity!

Black History Month!  “All For One and One For All”.

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

Yes, we need to remember the importance of what we believe. We need to be stirred up, and gripped by the reality of it. For we should never, no never! Forget the toils and dangers. We should always cherish them and tell the history of our suffering in the cause of freedom. For if we have no memory, we are adrift because memory anchors us to the past, interprets the present, and charts a course for the future. And so, being reminded of the truth is critical. Don’t let the deceitfulness choke your life so as to forget where you came from. Remember what you know. Remember the day we came out of Egypt. [Matthew 13:22]. It’s in the Word [Deuteronomy Chapter 8]. Moses was having a little talk with the Israelites, they were getting ready to come up, out of 40 years of being in the wilderness, yeah, 40 years of trials, tribulations, and hardships and they were getting ready, to enter the blessed land of Canaan, but before it was time to go, God wanted them to be reminded of a few things, Moses says, first of all, that thou shall remember, the long way that God has bought thee, remember, where you came from, and he says that it was to test thee, to humble thee, to prove what was in thine heart, whether thou would keep thy commandments or not, as God’s chosen people. We are to remember…lest we become tempted to return back to our old way of life. You see, every time Israel forgot what Egypt was really like, they got the itch to go back. For this reason God asked them to have an annual event to “remember the day they came out of Egypt!  The importance of remembering and being reminded of truth – BLACK HISTORY! 

Without remembering the past we have no future, and present comes meaningless. Past victories gives us hope for the future when we need it in the present! Don’t forget to Remember! You see, the Bible commands that one generation should praise the Lord’s works to another [Psalm 145:4] The Bible commands that fathers should teach the history of Israel and the wonderful works of God to the children, so that future generations would know God’s acts in history, and “set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God” [Psalm 78:1-70]. The Bible commands believers to “Remember the days of old” and what took place in previous generations, so that it might inform our current realities [ Deuteronomy 32:7]. This generation and future generations need to understand what God has done in previous generations to deliver His people from darkness and bring them into the light. The Christian slaves understood that they were grafted into the family of Abraham and they made Israel’s story, their story. How did the slaves endure, overcome, and find hope while being in physical bondage for over 200 years? They learned the story of Israel having been delivered from Egyptian slavery. They heard sermons based on the story. They originated songs based on the story. Don’t forget to remember – BLACK HISTORY!

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, sodomites, thieves, covetous, extortioners, liars , lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, blasphemers, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, disobedient, arrogant, revilers. [1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-5]. Don’t you know that the Day of the Lord is at hand?” [Joel 1:15; 2:1]. Wake up! Stir yourself and don’t be slothful. “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore, cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. Walk properly, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. [Romans 13:11-14]. Be zealous and repent! [Revelation 3:19]. If you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. [Isaiah 1:20].

I tell you we are seeing the signs that will precede Christ’s return. We are experiencing the birth pangs that will come before Christ’s return. We are being shaken, as prophecy warned. And even though we don’t know the day or the hour, Jesus said we would know the season and we should be living as though His hand is on the door ready to come back. [Matthew 24:42-44.] Repent now while it is still day! For, “He said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” [Revelation 21: 6-8].  Don’t wait too late!

“Repent Now Every One of His Evil Ways and Evil Doing…” [Jeremiah 25:5].

“For the Kingdom of God is at Hand!” [Matthew 3:2].

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessings and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live…” [Deuteronomy 31: 19}

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

I don’t know who I’m talking too, but God says, “NOW,” “TODAY,” “NOT TOMORROW!” Time is not on your side! 

Whoever you are, you have heard the Gospel many, many times in the past, and you’ve been spoken to by the Holy Spirit, but you have not heeded the warnings.” I beg you today, please, do not trifle with your soul’s salvation, “Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” [James 4:14].  The Urgency of Today [Proverbs 29:1]. The Insistence of God – [Proverbs 1: 24-28]. Know that “TODAY” may be the very last time you may be exposed to the Gospel of the grace of God. Don’t blow it! “NOW,” “TODAY,” repent of your sins and accept Jesus as your Savior. For the Bible declares, “Behold, “NOW” is the acceptable time; behold, “NOW” is the day of salvation.” “NOW” is Mercy’s offer. “NOW” is the invitation from God, reaching down from Heaven. Know that the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. [2 Peter 3:9]. “TOMORROW” you may find the door shut. “TOMORROW” may be too late. NOW, NOW, NOW! Repent of your sins, and be forgiven.

You know three passages in the [Book of Proverbs- 1:24-28; 27:1; 29:1] warns us that we are not to wait too late about making our decision of commitment to trust Christ as our Savior and Lord and to receive forgiveness for our sins. Don’t take a chance and think that you will have time to get saved or repent later on in life. For Hell is filling up fast with people who thought that they would repent later on in their life. Some of them, like you, had heard the Gospel: were convicted by the Holy Spirit and Word of God; and had expected to get saved “SOMEDAY.” Unfortunately, for them, their “SOMEDAY” never came. Case in point, Governor Felix, who in [Acts 24: 24-25], was privileged to hear the Gospel, and was so convicted of his need for a Savior that he actually “trembled” but what did he do? He procrastinated, he put it off. He told the Apostle Paul, “Go thy way; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.” Well, his convenient season never came. His tomorrow never arrived. He died, lost; his chance had come and gone. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent… [Acts 17:30]. Please, be reconciled to God “NOW” before it’s too late!

“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that “I have set before you life and death…; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him for He is your life and the length of your days… [Deuteronomy 30:19-20].  

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

“Well I got news for you, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Glory, Glory! “[Lyrics Kirk Franklin-Stomp]. I tell you, Jesus loves you so much that He sent a messenger to warn you, that you are heading down the wrong path. But naw, you find Sin so pleasurable that you want to be mad at the messenger. Well Boo, Boo, the message is and always will be a straightforward command to repent. A call for a radical, 180 degree turning from Sin. That is repentance. Instead of getting mad you ought to be like the people who heard Peter in [Acts 2] and ask what response was expected of them. Plainly, Peter told them…Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin… [Acts 2:38]. So what’s your problem? No one is excluded from Jesus demand to repent. [Luke 13:3].

Listen, you can ignore the call of repentance if you want to, but God will not be mocked. The wages of Sin is death. Cleanse your hands, you sinner, and purify your heart, you double-minded. And know that if you continually refuse the salvation call of Christ, one day you will die and end up in Hell.  “Submit therefore to God. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Otherwise, be miserable and mourn and wept; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. The danger of knowing, but not obeying. Tragic!

Lou Coleman-Yeboah

By Lou Coleman-Yeboah

“Although I should have vomit you out of My mouth, because you say, I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked [Revelation 3:16], and because of your sinfulness and disobedience, know that I have loved you with an Everlasting Love, and because of My Love for you, welcome to the New Year, 2018. But, hear me and hear me good; DO NOT continue to take My Grace for granted, for there will come a time when I will not hear you, and it will be too late! You better ask Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. [Hebrew 12:16-17]. Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds. [Zechariah 2:4]. Return to Me and I will return to you. [Malachi 3:7]. For it’s time to make up your mind, “Choose Whom you will serve this day…” Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away…” [James 4:14]. Repent NOW I tell you, for tomorrow may be too late!

You know in the [Book of Hosea], Hosea didn’t try to hang on to Gomer by overlooking her affairs, manipulating her with guilt, or making empty threats. He simply said to her, “If you want to stay, I want you to stay, but with the understanding that you take whatever steps are necessary to end these affairs. If you want to go, you may go, but things cannot continue as they are. I want you to know that I’m not giving up on you, but I am willing to give you up if that is what you want.”

Hosea, after the manner of God, was to show Gomer that a relationship was still possible, not on the terms of her character, but on the terms of his commitment, “According to the love of the Lord.” Hosea’s solution to Gomer’s shameful past was to give her a brand new, secure start in their marriage. He was telling her that the past didn’t matter. They were going to begin working on their future, and there was only one rule – she had to let Hosea love her exclusively. She had to depend upon him for ALL her love needs. He ALONE was to be the source of her security in their relationship. That is God’s desire for all His people.  

Don’t be like the foolish virgins who when Christ came like a thief in the night, they were not ready. This is a call to repentance. “Now therefore, says the LORD, turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness and He relents from doing harm.” [Joel 2:12-13].

I set before you today the choice of Life or Death: “For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it? Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it? But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statues, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess.” [Deuteronomy 30: 11-18].