~ "All day, every day..."

And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD has said will we do, and be obedient. (Ex 24:7)

The Israelites promised to be obedient to God. Some seven chapters later, Moses finds them not as he left them (dutiful and obedient). While he was conversing with God, the Israelites got tired of waiting and decided to do it their way. God was not happy with this and sent Moses back to them. Moses wasn't too thrilled with them either.

We, as Christians, want to be obedient to the word of God. We know that we cannot be perfect, but that doesn't dissuade us from trying. We, too, get tired of waiting for the answers to our prayers. We want our answer from God immediately. We don't want to wait until next week! God asks us to be patient. Sometimes our human impatience gets in the way and we choose to do what we want to, whether it is God's will or not. Nine out of ten times, we make the situation worse than if we had just waited on the Lord.

Being obedient to God is to follow his word without hesitation, live our lives by the laws he has laid out for us. Though not always successful, we are given the opportunity to try. When we fail, his grace and mercy sustains us! He doesn't want to punish us, he loves us! When we continue to commit the same sin over and over again for either lack of self control or blatant disregard, he's not happy with us either. We need to learn to restrain ourselves and turn to him for strength. Only through his strength are some trials in life overcome.

Interestingly enough, the chapter and verse are "24:7" - an expression we use quite frequently. This verse should be a reminder to us that "all that the Lord has said, we CAN do" all day, every day! Through prayer and meditation on his word, and through Christ, we can be better Christians, lead better lives, and serve in a greater capacity. Although his plan for us may not include all the things we would like it to, it contains everything we need it to. He has our entire existence mapped out for us, we just need to give him our hearts.

God has a beautiful place prepared for us in heaven. It is not a Burger King; we don't get to have it our way. We get to have it through faith in Jesus Christ, and ONLY through the belief that he shed his blood on Calvary for our sins. Just as salvation cannot be earned by good works, neither does it need good works to be maintained or sustained. Good works and changed lives are the inevitable results of salvation.

Reach out to Jesus and let him take your hand and lead you to your destiny. Let him work through you and there will be rewards you can't even imagine! Answer the call of a higher authority! Be a Christian that exemplifies Christ!