When God called the children of Israel, He knew they would face the same difficulties we face today: "Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them" Deuteronomy 11:16. He said the values of the world must never distract from our primary duty to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" Deuteronomy 6:5.
God told His chosen people that the best way to remain near to Him was to remain near to His Word through disciplined reading, teaching, discussing, and applying. When our lives are completely immersed in His Word, the "enticements" of the world lose their power and no longer pull us from God's path.
But His desire was never for us to stop with outward disciplines. While disciplines are somewhat useful in themselves, the desired end is always for His Word to be written on our heart and for our thoughts to remain with Him all through our day!
Only as He is allowed to truly live through us will our lives become a complete sacrifice of worship.
If this is the life we desire, then we must begin with a disciplined approach to God's Word. We must become immersed in His Word such that His truth becomes a part of every portion of our day. God will soon reward us with a more intimate relationship as His Word becomes written on our heart and our thoughts turn more toward Christ.
The world will still try to pull us away, but it will no longer succeed; we will be walking in His Presence and will have learned how to guard His deposit.
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