Sep 22 – A Heart That Keeps His Commandments!

“Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!” (Deuteronomy 5:29)

Because there are police officers, courts and prisons, people in the world are afraid to violate the laws of the land. If people fear earthly laws to such an extent, how much more should we respect the laws and commandments of heaven! Therefore, make a firm decision to keep the commandments, statutes and ordinances of the Lord with all your heart.

What is sin? The Greek word conveys the idea of missing the mark. Those who practise archery aim at the centre of a target. When the arrow misses the intended mark, it has failed to reach the goal. In the same way, sin is a failure to live according to God’s standard. Transgressing God’s law, violating our conscience, and falling short of God’s expectation are all forms of sin.

The Lord gave the Ten Commandments through the Law. Four of them speak about man’s responsibilities towards God, while the remaining six deal with the relationships that ought to exist between human beings.

After fasting for forty days on Mount Sinai, Moses received the commandments of the Law and came down from the mountain. But when he saw the Israelites at the foot of the mountain, they had made a golden calf and were dancing and celebrating before it in nakedness. Moses became angry and threw the two tablets of stone down at the foot of the mountain and broke them.

On one side, the Israelites had broken their covenant with God; on the other, Moses broke the tablets containing the commandments.

Even today, people allow the desires of the flesh and the pleasures of sin to take precedence over their relationship with God. When people live according to what their mind and flesh desire, the heart of the Lord is grieved.

Before Moses died, he wrote the book of Deuteronomy as his final exhortation and spiritual testament to Israel. His message was essentially this: “Israel, if you desire to be well and blessed, keep the commandments of the Lord.”

In the New Testament, however, the Lord has given us not merely commandments written on tablets of stone, but the law of the Spirit written upon our hearts:

“After those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” (Hebrews 8:10)

What a glorious privilege! The commandments of God are no longer merely external rules written upon stone. Through the Holy Spirit, God writes His will upon the heart of the believer. Dear children of God, cherish and obey the commandments that the finger of God has written upon your heart. Let His Word govern your thoughts, your choices, your relationships and your conduct.

Verse for further meditation: “The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.” (Psalm 37:31)