Day 57, or February the 26th. Is it a promise,
or just wishful thinking? Our thoughts today
are from Deuteronomy chapter 26, verse 18. The
Lord has declared this day that you are His people,
His treasured possession as He promised, and
that you are to keep all His commands. First,
the big picture surrounding this verse. The book
of Deuteronomy contains many personal laws, including
marriage and the keeping of vows. Whilst marriage
in the Bible was not the same as it is in the
21st century, it was based on a covenant and
agreement before God, so in that respect little
has changed. Vows of all kinds were required,
and should be made with no -escape clauses. Just
as God made vows to his people and kept them
all, he expected them to keep the promises they
made to him. Now today's action step. Have you
ever been on the phone and been given a cast
-iron promise that action would be taken on your
behalf, and then heard nothing? When you ring
again, no one has heard of your contact's name,
and there is no record of your phone call. All
these people need to read Deuteronomy. Well,
that may be an overreaction, but you get the
point, I'm sure. Not keeping your word is bad
business, and it's bad for the kingdom of God,
too. Does your church promise a warm welcome
on your external notice board and weekly in your
announcements, but the reality is a gathering
of cliques each Sunday that are totally unwilling
to accommodate any visitor? As a preacher, this
has happened to me more than once, when I have
been made clearly aware that my job is to preach
and that's it. I am never available to preach
in that church again. I would rather go somewhere
else. I am like a friend of mine who, when he
didn't want to accept an engagement, he always
said sadly that he had a funeral that day, even
if it was months ahead. It's amazing how many
times it worked for him. Why not vow now that
all your future vows will be honoured by you?
This may curtail the number you make, but that's
probably not a bad thing.