Have you ever considered how many man-made rules govern our lives, especially during the pandemic?
Rules govern the roadways. Rules govern society through legislative and executive orders. Rules govern our neighborhoods, especially where there are homeowner associations. Rules govern bicyclists. Rules govern the educational system. Rules govern what we can do with our land, and how we build our homes. Rules govern employers and employees. Rules govern what we buy, how we transact our purchases, how we return our purchases….and so many other rules govern our lives.
What is the basis for all of this governance? The Bible.
God was the first “rule maker”.
Why did God make rules?
He created a standard for our lives through rules, because He loves us, and knows that left to our own devices we would create chaos. Imagine having no stop signs, stop lights, and no other rules governing our roadways. That would be chaotic! I’d likely stay at even more than during the pandemic!
But God put His rules into place out of His heart of love for us. That might not always be the case with man-made rules.
God’s rules produce freedom in the lives of those who choose to obey Him (Isaiah 61:6; John 8:32; John 8:36; Romans 6:22; 1 Corinthians 6:12; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:1; Galatians 5:12). They are a noose to those who disregard and reject His commands.
The person who chooses to disregard the speed limit has to continuously look over his shoulder to make sure he is not going to get caught. Getting a ticket is costly. That money could have been utilized for something enjoyable. The ticket is recorded on one’s driving record, and may produce other ramifications…it could even keep someone from getting a desired job.
God wants all people to worship and enjoy Him! Without His instructions on how to worship Him, to seek Him, and to obey Him, life is less enjoyable, and we would be eternally lost.
The following verses are a few that help us understand God’s expectations for worshipping Him: Psalm 29:2; Psalm 95:6; Isaiah 12:5; Luke 4:8; John 4:24; Romans 12:1.
God’s rules protect us. They protect our hearts, our bodies, and our souls.
God’s rules help us to understand how to build healthy and enjoyable relationships. They teach us how to respect and appreciate each other. Without them, our sin nature yields itself to unkindness, selfishness, pride, and further destructive behavior.
Consider the family unit. Without rules of respect, careless words can devastate a marriage, and imprint the wrong thinking into the lives of children. Perhaps you know someone who has been verbally abused. The brokenness those unkind words produce can have a lasting impact on how the abused person sees himself/herself. That can lead to a cycle of failed marriage(s), more children being abused, and future generations lost in sin.
Today, we have many laws governing the care of children. I know several of my peers who state that if the laws we have today were in place when they were growing up, their parents would have been arrested for child abuse.
But God’s Word has always contained guidance to protect children. But people disobey, and people – young and old – suffer. Children become adults, who still suffer. But God can change that, when a person turns his or her life over to the Lord Jesus!
Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (ESV) has the following guidance for healthy families, which leads to healthy societies:
Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules[a]—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
God’s rules are the most important words we can live by. He emphasizes that in the above passage.
Every day we should be talking about Him and His Word with each other. They should be how we live our lives (“…bind them as a sign on your hand…they shall be as frontlets between your eyes”).
They should be known to all who enter our homes (“…write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates”).
Please notice how much effort God expects His people to put into the studying and implementation of His Word to our daily living (“You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”).
How much effort do you exert each day to be intentional in the study of His Word? How intentional are you in using what you have learned, turning knowledge to wisdom? If you want your life to be abundantly blessed, then abundantly obey God. There is no greater blessing than to have God speak His “well done” to your heart as you obey Him.
If you don’t have a starting point, I suggest the gospel of John, along with reading one chapter of Proverbs each day. God wants to bless you, ABUNDANTLY (1 Kings 2:3; Psalm 23:5; Matthew 6:33; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Ephesians 3:20).
I can personally testify that my life is filled with God’s abundance. I’m not talking about material stuff. I’m referring to His awesome and majestic presence in my life. Every. Single. Day. There is nothing that can compare to having our Creator, our Maker, intimately interacting with you on a personal level (Psalm 36:7-8).
He is my constant companion. My friend who never forsakes me.
This doesn’t mean that I am materially wealthy, though compared to a lot of places around the world, I am, but that He has always provided. God has always met, and will always meet, all my spiritual, emotional, and physical needs. He does this because of who He is to me – He is my Father, and I am His daughter!
Keeping God’s rules helps me experience His abundant blessings. When I disobey, though my relationship with Him is always guaranteed, I fail to experience the abundant life. When I repent, our relationship is restored completely. My obeying Him reveals that I truly love, trust, and respect that what He says is best for me. My obeying His rules is not a burden, but a delight!
The prodigal son never lost his father’s love, but lost the experience of the intimate relationship when he walked away from his father for the things of this world (Luke 15:11-32).
Psalm 37:4 states: “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (NIV 1984). When I follow God, through obedience to His rules, I reveal that I am delighting myself in Him.
Please delight yourself in the LORD, with me, as we trust and obey, because as the hymn states “there is no other way to be happy in Jesus”!
Living for Jesus, Donna
P.S. If this has helped you, please feel free to share it with others!
Note: If the verses for Bible references do not appear when you hover over them, go directly to the website, and they should appear for you.
Copyright 2020 Donna Shappy
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