Deuteronomy 32:45-47 (NIV) When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

After wandering around the desert for forty years, the Israelites were finally about to cross the Jordan River to enter into the Promised Land. But before they did so, Moses had a lot to say to them. He reviewed their past, from their slavery in Egypt to all of the things that happened as they wandered around the desert for all of those years. He also reviewed all of the laws that God had given Moses to give to the people. After going over them all with the people, he reminded them that they weren't just random words, but that they were their life. What a powerful claim that was! He didn't say that the words were good advice or even that they were good truths to live by. He told them that the words were their very life.

Those words continue to be life today. Some people think that they are not as relevant today as they were back then, but Jesus said that He did not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. He explained those words to His disciples, giving them a better understanding of them. He spoke about the spirit of the law as opposed to just the letter of the law. In other words, He explained that there was a difference with just obeying those words outwardly and obeying with your heart because they are life to you. He explained in a parable that obeying His words is like a man who built his house on a rock. When the rain fell causing a flood and when the wind blew against that house, it held its ground because it had its foundation on the rock. Conversely, Jesus said that anyone who doesn't put His words into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. When the rain fell and the floods rose and the wind blew against that house, it fell with a great crash. Interpretation: His words are your life.

God's Word is not just a list of do's and don'ts or a list of random rules that God made up because He is God and He can decree whatever He wants to decree. Like Moses stated, the laws of God are not a bunch of idle words. They are even more than instructions for life. They are life itself because Jesus is the Word and He is Life (John 14:6). Follow Jesus by obeying His words because they are life to you. Obey them, teach them to your children and speak them to one another. In that way, you will be speaking and living words of life that will bring life and blessings to you, to your family and to everyone around you!

Pastor Joey Vazquez