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Day 39 or February 8. Keep God's laws for everyone's sake.

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Our thoughts today are rooted in Leviticus chapter 18, verses 3 and 4.

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You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they

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do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. You must

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obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God.

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First the big picture surrounding these verses. There is much detail about sexual cleanliness

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in Leviticus. Promiscuity was a real problem, and Moses did all he could to counteract it

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by telling the people that God didn't approve and demanded change. It's interesting that

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nowhere does God disapprove of sex. After all, it was his idea in the first place. However,

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when people simply do their own thing, it brings all sorts of problems and makes a God-given

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gift seem dirty and unwholesome. His people are to be distinctive and not the same as

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their heathen neighbors. The Canaanites were into tattoos and unusual hairstyles, so don't

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even look like them. Of course, this doesn't mean if you have the right hairdo and no tattoos,

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you're okay. I believe it means that we are to be God's people here on earth, and there

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are some aspects of modern life that are simply inappropriate.

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And now our action step for today. One of the most popular criticisms of the church

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today is that it's out of touch, and people see it as irrelevant because it's so old-fashioned

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and behind the times. My question is, who's moved? Would biblical teaching be more effective

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if it was regularly updated to suit modern trends in society? Sadly, some people would

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say yes, but I wouldn't. I've heard it said that the church should reflect the society

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in which it ministers. No, it shouldn't. It should reflect its Lord and Saviour and call

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for repentance and the need to progress to godly standards. Of course, let's be as contemporary

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and relevant as possible, but let's not distort the message itself. Are you one of God's

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special people, or do you appear just the same as everyone else? Time for a checkup.