Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you.
-Deuteronomy 6:17
This verse is one these, “I’ll stop saying it when you start doing it” kind of things. Why did God keep reminding His people about the importance of following His Word? For one thing, it was to stress the vital importance of it. The second reason was that they had a hard time doing that, as evidenced by their failings. Parents often do this with their kids; “I’ll stop saying this when you start doing it.” If something is vitally important and we believe can mean the difference between happiness and unhappiness, peace and turmoil, or even life and death, then we belief it is worth repeating a time or two.
I’m no mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, but when I was growing up and started driving, my father used to say to me, “Be sure to change your oil regularly. The oil is the life blood of the engine. Change the oil – and also check other fluid levels on a regular basis – and keep the right tire pressure in your tires.” There were times when that drove me crazy. I mean, he just seem to repeat that a lot. And do you know what happened? It worked. All these years later I change the oil in my car regularly. I even have a little book in which I write it down. And I’m a little fanatical about the fluid levels in my car. And that has made a remarkable difference in the life of every car I have ever owned.
If this was not important God would not have said it so many times. One of the keys to walking in spiritual victory is to bring our thought processes in line with the Word of God. For the believer this becomes very practical. God’s Word leads us to have the mind of Christ. This is where we approach life and it’s problems, not from a worldly standpoint, but rather from a Christ-like standpoint. Therein are life, joy, and peace.
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