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Day 24, or January the 24th. The Ten Commandments

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are a great start. Our thought today is rooted

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in Exodus chapter 19, verses 7 and 8. So Moses

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went back and summoned the elders of the people,

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and said before them all the words the Lord had

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commanded him to speak. The people all responded

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together, We will do everything the Lord has

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said. Now the big picture surrounding these verses.

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This is one of the most important parts of the

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whole Bible. All the people are at the foot of

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Mount Sinai, and are instructed to cleanse themselves

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as preparation to receive what their holy God

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has to give them through his servant Moses. They

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are then given a basic legal framework in the

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form of the Ten Commandments, which is a series

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of laws that are the foundation of many legal

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systems in the world today. At this time, Moses

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gives the commandments verbally. He simply declares

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them, and people listen. It's at a later time

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that they are written by God himself on two tablets

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of stone. This is a truly momentous occasion,

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and marks mankind's history forever. And now,

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our action step for today. Many think the Ten

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Commandments are all negative and restrictive.

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But personally, I like the concept of restricting

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murder, stealing, and not bearing false witness,

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to name but three. These are qualities that make

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our world a better place to live in. God knew

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what He was doing when He gave them to us. They

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are designed to encourage us to be better people.

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Having said that, they are impossible to keep

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simply by being determined or strong -willed.

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If we could keep them by our own willpower, thus

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making ourselves acceptable before God, then

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Jesus needn't have died. It's what is produced

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in our lives when we live by them that may be

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equated to Paul's idea of the fruit of the Spirit

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in Galatians chapter 5. They are a permanent

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reminder that we need God's Spirit every day

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if we are ever to have a truly civilized and

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godly society.