“This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have today declared the Lord to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments and His ordinances, and listen to His voice. The Lord has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honor; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God, as He has spoken. (Deuteronomy 26:16-19) When we decide to accept Christ’s offer of forgiveness, it is a promise to follow Him and do our very best to carry Him with us in all we do. Will we fail Him? Undoubtedly, since we are but weak human flesh. But that doesn’t mean we give up. Quite the contrary, we seek forgiveness then forge ahead toward our goal. Satan will be putting his obstacles and tempting devices in our path, but we can do all things through Christ who will give us the strength to do them. God promised His chosen people every good thing He had planned for them, but they lost sight of His laws and commands. We must not get caught up in that trap! No matter how tough it gets or how many times we fall or even fail, we must remember that, because we have accepted Christ, we are part of Him and also the family of God. As such, we have the responsibility to follow God’s laws and commands, every bit as much as if we were ancient Israel. Pass along this kind of life to the next generations so that they, too, will pass it along. God never fails to keep His promises: What He has said He will do shall be done! We are now a modern Israel. We can rise above the dirt and grime of idolatry and sin. Live the Word!