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Day 176, or June 25. Rule-keeping can be joyful. Our thoughts today are from Psalm 119, verses

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97 and 98. Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands are always

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with me, and make me wiser than my enemies.

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Just the big picture surrounding these verses. Today we have concentrated on the second half

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of this massive acrostic psalm, the longest chapter in the Bible, and focused in on verses

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97 and 98. The writer, who is unknown, describes the Word of God as being sweeter than honey.

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The word honey described both bees' honey and syrup from dates. When God wanted to highly

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praise the promised land, he described it as a land flowing with milk and honey. David

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also likened God's word to honey when he wrote in Psalm 19, The laws of the Lord are

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sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. David's best friend Jonathan also

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said when he tasted honey in an act of disobedience, See how much better I feel now that I have

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eaten this little bit of honey. Honey may be wonderful, but the Word of God is even

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sweeter and better.

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And now today's action step. A cricket match without rules is not worth watching. The great

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Fred Truman was once bowling, and no matter what he did, the umpire would not give the

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batsman out. Fred was sure he was showing unlawful favouritism. After being told that

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a catch had not carried, and that an LBW appeal was not in line, Fred finally bowled a beauty,

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and splattered the batsman's wickets to the four corners of the ground. With glee he turned

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to the umpire and shouted sarcastically, Nearly got him that time. Rule-keeping really is

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essential. Rules improve sports, and more importantly, they improve life. God doesn't

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give us guidance to stop us enjoying ourselves, but in order that we may live our life to

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the full. Don't keep the rules like the Pharisees of old, so that you can point out where others

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are failing, but obey God's commandments so that your life may be lived to its full

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potential.