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Day 57, or February the 26th. Is it a promise,

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or just wishful thinking? Our thoughts today

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are from Deuteronomy chapter 26, verse 18. The

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Lord has declared this day that you are His people,

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His treasured possession as He promised, and

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that you are to keep all His commands. First,

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the big picture surrounding this verse. The book

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of Deuteronomy contains many personal laws, including

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marriage and the keeping of vows. Whilst marriage

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in the Bible was not the same as it is in the

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21st century, it was based on a covenant and

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agreement before God, so in that respect little

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has changed. Vows of all kinds were required,

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and should be made with no -escape clauses. Just

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as God made vows to his people and kept them

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all, he expected them to keep the promises they

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made to him. Now today's action step. Have you

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ever been on the phone and been given a cast

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-iron promise that action would be taken on your

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behalf, and then heard nothing? When you ring

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again, no one has heard of your contact's name,

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and there is no record of your phone call. All

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these people need to read Deuteronomy. Well,

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that may be an overreaction, but you get the

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point, I'm sure. Not keeping your word is bad

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business, and it's bad for the kingdom of God,

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too. Does your church promise a warm welcome

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on your external notice board and weekly in your

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announcements, but the reality is a gathering

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of cliques each Sunday that are totally unwilling

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to accommodate any visitor? As a preacher, this

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has happened to me more than once, when I have

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been made clearly aware that my job is to preach

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and that's it. I am never available to preach

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in that church again. I would rather go somewhere

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else. I am like a friend of mine who, when he

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didn't want to accept an engagement, he always

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said sadly that he had a funeral that day, even

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if it was months ahead. It's amazing how many

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times it worked for him. Why not vow now that

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all your future vows will be honoured by you?

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This may curtail the number you make, but that's

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probably not a bad thing.