“He said, ‘If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.’” — Exodus 15:26 (NIV84)

The ultimate test will always center around the Word of God. Ever since Eve heard the fatal words from Satan in the Garden of Eden, “Did God really say?”, we have been plagued by that very same question. It seems easy if analyzed in theory. God is God!  + God tells you to do something = You do it! The logic seems undeniable. But regardless of its undeniability, like Eve, we fail at this simple test every day. Satan got Eve all tangled up, and before she knew it, she had fallen into sin. The Lord was telling Moses, “I am God.” I have redeemed the Israelites because of my love for them. I have given you my word and commands because I love you and want you to remain my people. All you have to do is hear, believe and live according to my good word. That’s it! And they failed. And so do we!

Why is it so difficult for us to believe and live according to the Word of God? Especially when we know that it has been given to us for our own good. First, I think that Satan dupes us into believing that God’s Word doesn’t apply to us. He convinces us that we know what is good for us better than God does. He tells us that it is OK to reinterpret what God has said. Second, I think it is because we want to be lords of our own lives. We want the final say. Deep down our sinful nature wants to rebel against God’s Word. But listen! You and I have been made new in Christ. We are a new creation. We have the Spirit of God living within our hearts and souls. We need to feed that new creature in us as much of the Word of God as we can. We need to exercise our faith continuously. We need to let the new man in us make the next decision of our life. We need to face the test to believe and live according to God’s Word and pass it. Every time we do it, we gain the confidence to do it again. In this life we may never perfect this obedience. We may not pass the test every time. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to pass it each and every time. Just maybe, we may pass more than we fail.

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church