Inside Out

Inside Out
Words of Faith 1-18-2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2023
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Exodus 23
[13] "Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.
[14] "Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me.
[15] "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread; for seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Abib, for in that month you came out of Egypt.
"No one is to appear before me empty-handed.
[16] "Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field.
"Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.

What does it mean to walk with God?
The Lord God called upon the Israelites to "be careful to do everything I have said to you." The Lord called the Israelites to an "observant" religious life of careful doing and celebration. God's plan was that the life of an Israelite would include joyous festivals to God three times a year and regular worship celebrations before the Lord. And, of course, a careful walk with God would never use the names of other gods. So how did we get so focused on rules?
Interestingly, idolatry- the worship of false gods- would become the biggest struggle for Israel! Eventually, the Lord would exile the Israelites from the Land of Promise and send them into captivity for 70 years in Babylon. Upon return to the land from the devastating exile, teachers reexamined the Law to ensure that Israel did not break it even in small ways. They counted 613 rules or laws in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) that were to be obeyed as meticulously as possible. These rules became the way of life.
So is a life that walks with God one of rule-keeping? Rules can be helpful sometimes, especially for a child, but they are not the essence of a relationship. The Israelites were not exiled in the sixth century B.C. because of breaking rules but because of breaking their relationship with God.
The observance of God's way in life and worship is something that grows out of a loving relationship with Him. Rules attempt to change us from the outside in, and this always fails. Relationship changes us from the inside out.
So how do we walk faithfully with God? Do we try to keep the rules? Do we throw them all away? Many will quickly point out that as Christian believers, we are not under Law but under grace. This is very true. But being "under grace" does not mean that we simply cast aside everything God has told us.
As Christian believers, we listen to God's Word. We are concerned with the Ten Commandments, as we have discussed them here. We understand that we are not justified by a life observant of these commands. Still, an observant life certainly grows out of being justified.
In other words, as those saved by grace, we seek by God's strength to walk in the ways of God as a life of gratitude and thanksgiving for the grace that has been shown to us. We also discern the guidance God has for our lives from the teachings of the New Testament, the words and life of Jesus and the Apostles. Again, we do not turn these teachings into a set of rules. Instead, we live as part of the New Covenant by which the Lord has given us a new heart and has written His ways upon our hearts.
So how do we walk faithfully with God? We walk by His Spirit in a joyous relationship with Him. We walk in celebration of the New Life He has given to us. We walk, seeking to embody His will and way. Deeply rooted in Him, He changes our hearts such that rules are not the issue. He lives in us such that we do everything He has said, and we do not think to invoke the names of other gods.
How is your walk?

Lord God, I want to walk with You! I want my life to be a life of relationship, not rules. I want my life to be transformed into joyous observance. I want to celebrate the wonder of your love and the gifts from Your hands and heart. Change me from the inside out. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2023
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2023 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.