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Day 57, or February 26. Is it a promise, or just wishful thinking? Our thoughts today

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are from Deuteronomy chapter 26 verse 18.

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The LORD has declared this day that you are His people, His treasured possession as He

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promised, and that you are to keep all His commands.

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First, the big picture surrounding this verse. The book of Deuteronomy contains many personal

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laws including marriage and the keeping of vows. Whilst marriage in the Bible was not

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the same as it is in the twenty-first century, it was based on a covenant and agreement before

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God, so in that respect little has changed. Vows of all kinds were required, and should

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be made with no escape clauses. Just as God made vows to His people and kept them all,

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He expected them to keep the promises they made to Him.

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Now today's action step.

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Have you ever been on the phone and been given a cast-iron promise that action would be taken

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on your behalf, and then heard nothing? When you ring again, no one has heard of your contact's

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name and there is no record of your phone call. All these people need to read Deuteronomy.

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Well, that may be an overreaction, but you get the point, I'm sure.

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Not keeping your word is bad business and it's bad for the kingdom of God too. Does

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your church promise a warm welcome on your external notice-board and weekly in your announcements,

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but the reality is a gathering of cliques each Sunday that are totally unwilling to

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accommodate any visitor?

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As a preacher this has happened to me more than once, when I have been made clearly aware

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that my job is to preach and that's it. I am never available to preach in that church

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again. I would rather go somewhere else. I am like a friend of mine who, when he didn't

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seem to accept an engagement, he always said sadly that he had a funeral that day, even

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if it was months ahead. It's amazing how many times it worked for him. Why not vow

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now that all your future vows will be honored by you? This may curtail the number you make,

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but that's probably not a bad thing.