DEUTERONOMY 8:1-2: “The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.”

OBSERVATION: All or part? Full or partial? This is the question that I must answer as I stand before the Lord. Do I give Him all our part of my heart? Do I offer Him full or partial obedience? Do I view the Bible as a menu at a restaurant that I study only to pick out the “promises” that I desire – and ignore the rest? Do I only hear what is pleasing to my ears, or do I also hear what is difficult and what challenges me and calls me to repentance?

We live in a culture of part and partial. Today we are afraid to speak the truth fearing we will not be politically correct. We forget that Jesus died because He was politically incorrect. He spoke the truth in all situations. He spoke gently to the broken and bruised, and sternly to the proud and hypocritical. Jesus opposed the religious political system of His day that was keeping people from the Kingdom of God. Jesus called men and women to the WHOLE counsel of God’s Word, and to FULL repentance and obedience.

I need to return to the “Whole Commandment”. I need to remember the “Whole Way”. There is really no difference between the Old and New Testaments. It is not a different God. Jesus quoted the Old Testament in all of His teachings, and He fulfilled the Old Testament through His life. God does not change. Even though the sacrificial laws are fully completed in Jesus Christ’s one and final sacrifice, this does not mean that I do not need to study and understand their significance. As we look to the “Whole Commandment” we gain a full and complete understanding of the completed work of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary!

I am called to acknowledge, meditate upon, and obey the “Whole Counsel” of God’s Word. Why? It is for my benefit! It is for my blessing! God wants me to live, multiply, and possess the calling and destiny He has for my life! Deuteronomy goes on to expound this important truth.

DEUTERONOMY 10:12-13: “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?”

It is the word ALL that I need to note in these verses. God desires that I observe His WHOLE COMMANDMENT with ALL of my heart, mind, and soul, so that I can obey Him in ALL of His ways, so that He can bless me in ALL of my life! Lord, turn my heart fully upon You and Your Word today. May I look to the “WHOLE COUNSEL” of Your Word. May I surrender ALL of my heart, and by Your Grace may I follow and obey You in ALL of Your ways! In Jesus Name!