Keeping the Word of God

            A man was asked the question, "Do you keep God's word?"  The response was, "Yes, I always keep it here on my coffee table."  What does it mean to keep God's word? It means to observe and practice it in our daily lives.  It means that His word becomes our will.  The psalmist said, "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee" (Psalm 119:11).  Taken to heart, God's word will affect our behavior toward Him and our fellow man.    

          God expects our behavior to be changed as we serve Him.  In Leviticus 18:4, the Lord said, "Ye shall do My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk therein.  I am the Lord your God."  Notice the emphasis placed on doing, keeping and walking.  We must exercise a continual effort to be pleasing to God.  I John 1: 7 teaches, "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."  Jesus said, "Not every one that says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven; but he that does the will of My Father, which is in Heaven" (Matthew 7:21).

          We are making great spiritual progress when God's will becomes our walk.  In Psalm 119:101, we read, "I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep Thy word."  Thank God for His Holy Word, the Bible.  Let it be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path (Psalm 119:105). 

          I gladly welcome your comments or questions and offer you my assistance in your own personal study of God's Holy Word.

Shane Hoover, Minister

Greeneville Church of Christ