Latest / The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast / 477 | God is Looking for Obedience - Deuteronomy 12

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477 | God is Looking for Obedience - Deuteronomy 12 · The Woman at the Well Ministries Podcast

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  God is in control.
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  She's a happy girl. Hello, friends, and welcome back to another podcast of Woman
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  at the Well Ministries, where we believe that all of us have to come to Jesus
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  like the woman at the well in John chapter 4.
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  Our highest priority is making God real in your life.
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  Whether you are listening in our app, in your favorite podcasting app,
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  or on our website at watwm.org, we invite you to sit down with us as we look
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  to the scriptures to learn more about God and to strengthen your daily walk with Jesus Christ.
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  Living her life for Christ She's a happy girl.
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  Music.
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  She's a happy girl.
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  Have you ever thought about how obedience shapes a life?
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  Deuteronomy chapter 12 shows us that loving God isn't just about emotion. It's about action.
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  It's about choosing God's way, even when everything around us pulls us in a different direction.
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  As the Israelites stood on the edge of the promised land, God didn't just give them land.
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  He gave them instructions. tear down the false gods, clear out the distractions.
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  Worship only where God says to worship.
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  Why? Because obedience leads to blessing, not just for them,
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  but for their children and their children's children.
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  This chapter reminds us that obedience isn't about rules. It's about relationship.
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  It's about living in a way that shows we trust God, we honor God,
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  and we love God enough to follow him fully.
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  Join us for this episode of the Woman at the Well Ministries podcast as Erica
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  Close teaches from Deuteronomy chapter 12, focusing on verse 28.
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  Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with
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  thee, and with thy children after thee forever,
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  when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of that Lord thy God.
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  Let's explore what it looks like to build a culture of obedience where our lives,
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  our homes, and our hearts are set apart for Him.
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  Deuteronomy 12 is a powerful chapter about the importance of obedience and about
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  how God himself is looking for our obedience.
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  Let's start reading in Deuteronomy 12.
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  These are the statutes and judgments which ye shall observe to do in the land
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  which the Lord God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it all the days that ye live upon the earth.
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  Ye shall utterly destroy all the places wherein the nations which ye shall possess
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  serve their gods, upon the high mountains and upon the hills and under every green tree.
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  And ye shall overthrow their altars and break their pillars and burn their groves
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  with fire, and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods and destroy
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  the names of them out of that place.
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  Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God, but unto the place which the Lord
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  your God shall choose, out of all of your tribes, to put his name there,
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  even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come.
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  And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices,
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  and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows,
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  and your freewill offerings, and the first things of your herds and of your flocks.
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  And there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all
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  that ye put your hand into, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.
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  Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day,
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  every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.
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  For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance,
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  which the Lord your God giveth you.
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  But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the Lord your God giveth
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  you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about,
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  so that ye dwell and safety.
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  Then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there.
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  Thither shall ye bring all that I command you, your burnt offerings and your
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  sacrifices, your tithes and the heave offering of your hand,
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  and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the Lord.
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  And ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God, ye and ye sons and your daughters
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  and your menservants and your maidservants and the Levite that is within your
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  gates, forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you.
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  Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place
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  that thou seest, but in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes.
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  There thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.
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  Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates,
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  whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the Lord thy
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  God, which he hath given thee.
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  The unclean and the clean may eat thereof as of the roebuck and as of the heart.
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  Only ye shall not eat the blood, ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.
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  Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil,
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  or the firstlings of thy herds, or of thy flock, nor of any of thy vows which
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  thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offerings of thine hand.
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  But thou must eat them before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy
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  God shall choose, thou and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant,
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  and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates.
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  And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.
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  Take heed to thyself, that thou forsake not the Levite, as long as thou livest upon the earth.
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  When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee,
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  and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because my soul longeth to eat flesh,
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  thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.
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  If the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too
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  far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock which the Lord
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  hath given thee, as I have commanded
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  thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.
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  Even as the roebuck and the heart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them.
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  The unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike.
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  Only be sure that thou eat not the blood, for the blood is the life,
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  and thou mayest not eat the life without the flesh.
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  Thou shalt not eat it, thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.
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  Thou shalt not eat it, that it may go well with thee and with thy He when thou
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  shalt do that which is right in the sight of the Lord.
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  Only thy holy things which thou hast and thy vows thou shalt take and go unto
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  the place which the Lord shall choose.
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  And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood,
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  upon the altar of the Lord thy God, and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be
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  poured out upon the altar of the Lord thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh.
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  Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with
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  thee and with thy children after thee forever, when thou doest that which is.
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  Good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God.
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  When the Lord thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee,
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  whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them,
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  and dwellest in their land.
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  Take heed to thyself, that thou be not snared by following after them,
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  after that they be destroyed from before thee,
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  that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve
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  their gods? Even so will I do likewise.
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  Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God.
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  For every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods.
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  For even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
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  What things soever I command you, observe to do it. Thou shalt not add thereunto, nor diminish from it.
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  Loving God is obeying God. Chapter 12 lays out a series of statutes and judgments for the Israelites.
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  Statutes and judgments designed to teach them about proper worship,
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  sacrifice, and tithing.
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  While the chapter focuses on obedience, the chapter closes with a promise,
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  the results of obedience.
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  As the chapter opens, the Lord gives instructions to the Israelites for what
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  they are to do as they enter the promised land.
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  The first instruction is a big one. The Lord is very clear that as the Israelites
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  enter the promised land, they are to utterly destroy all the places where the
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  nations that previously inhabited the promised land worshiped and serve their gods.
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  The Lord calls for complete destruction of all the places of worship,
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  those on the high mountains, those in the hills, and those under the shade of a tree.
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  The Lord is clear as to how these altars are to be destroyed.
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  They are to be overthrown, broken, and burned.
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  The graven images of their gods are to be hewn down so that nothing is left,
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  not even the name of the God.
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  In place of these altars, the Israelites were to listen to the instructions
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  of the Lord, as the Lord identified places for the Lord to put his name.
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  This place will be where the Israelites would seek the Lord and offer their
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  burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tithes.
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  These places are to be places of celebration of the blessings of God.
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  The Israelites were cautioned not to live after the people that they come into contact with.
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  Every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes, but after God himself,
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  who is leading them into the promised land.
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  As the Lord leads them into and through the promised land, when the Lord identifies
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  a place of worship, the people are to worship and offer their sacrifices.
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  They aren't to worship at every place, for not every place is theirs.
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  But the Lord has a specific place of worship for each of his people.
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  The Israelites are reminded and instructed, again, regarding their sacrificial
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  offerings and the prohibition of the blood.
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  They're told where to eat and where to sacrifice, and that they are to remember
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  the Levites God's chosen priests.
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  The Lord commands the Israelites that when they increase their land holding
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  and they are further from the place of sacrifice the Lord has chosen,
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  they're still to follow his commands.
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  And those sacrifices are only to be made at his chosen location.
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  The end of this chapter is the promise for obedience. When the Israelites obeyed,
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  the promise was that it would go well for their children and their children and their children.
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  Obedience can be generational, just as sin can be generational.
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  As the chapter closes, the Lord reminds the Israelites that as they move into
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  new territory, they are to continue to live a life of obedience,
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  and not a life that picks up the culture of those that live in the new territories.
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  God is trying to build up in the Israelites a culture of obedience through an
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  understanding of the sovereignty of God and his preeminence over all other gods
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  the Israelites may have encountered in Egypt along their journey in the wilderness
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  and in the crossing into the promised land.
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  Do you have a culture of obedience in your life?
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  Do you have a concept of God where you see him as sovereign in all things?
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  We are often quick to judge the Israelites, but the truth is that we have many
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  lessons to learn from them.
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  Just like God was working on changing the hearts of the Israelites,
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  he is working on changing our hearts.
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  We aren't going to live obedient lives until we firmly believe and understand
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  in our hearts that God is sovereign and that he deserves all our obedience.
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  It's hard to say that God may or may not deserve something because he deserves all things.
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  But until you believe in who God is, you aren't going to honor him with your obedience.
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  Until you truly understand the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross,
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  you aren't going to sacrifice your own wants and desires to be in alignment with His.
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  When we think of having a culture of obedience in our lives and in the lives
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  of our families, it reminds us that it should pervade all things.
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  God calls us to obedience in all areas of our lives.
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  When we're at work, we're called to the same level of obedience as when we are sitting in church.
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  Obedience isn't circumstantial. Obedience is a state of the heart and is a core
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  value that we carry with us.
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  Just like the Israelites, when we go into new situations, it shouldn't change our core values.
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  New situations bring new people, new influences, new ways of thinking,
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  but the call in our lives is to stick closely to the obedient lifestyle to which we are called.
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  Life takes us in many directions and along many paths.
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  There are so many opportunities to wander, but our goal is to maintain our course
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  and our direction, following after Jesus the whole way.
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  Just like cultural changes in our world don't happen overnight,
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  changes in our internal culture sometimes takes time, but they don't have to.
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  Obedience in the Christian life isn't about our strength or our own ability
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  to conform to a set of rules.
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  It's a response to our understanding of who God is.
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  As you evaluate your own life, look at God and not yourself.
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  Do you love Him enough to change your life to be in alignment with what He is asking?
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  Remember, you are loved. Jesus loves you.
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  To reach out to us through our app, our website, or our Facebook page.
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  You can find our app by searching for Woman at the Well Ministries in your app
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  a daily devotion written by Kim and delivered Monday through Friday by text message.
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  And it is through your loving and generous support that our ministry continues to bless others.
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  To learn how to partner with Women at the Well Ministries, please visit our website.
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  Thank you to the Gospel Group Fudge Creek for letting us use their hit song, Happy Girl.
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  We greatly appreciate your prayers. We are praying daily for our listeners.
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  Remember that God loves you. You are loved.
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  And the sky of gray.
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  Music.