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I think that God isn't looking for good behavior, He's looking for changed hearts. When we really surrender our lives to Jesus, He doesn’t give us new arms and legs so that we can act differently. He gives us a new heart, so that we actually are different.

One of the things that strike me from this chapter is how because of their nit-picky rules, it became impossible to keep the law. Those who were sincerely trying to do the right things, carried an extremely heavy burden of guilt. This led to discouragement, of course, skewed their understanding of God, and made their religion a hated thing.
I expect that we do the same thing sometimes when we try to dictate and enforce lifestyle issues for those around us in the name of God. I suspect that this is why too many of our younger generations have turned away from the religion they grew up with.

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Nico,

If you wrote it, I'd do everything I could to share it. I think, perhaps the best way I could share it would be with my Pathfinder connections. It definitely belongs in a nature honor as a required devotional study!

When are you going to write a book, anyway?

(Ahem. Mr. Thomas, we have another very talented writer in our midst.)

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With all their minute, nit-picky rules, it became impossible to keep the law."

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And what was that Law that was no longer possible to keep.

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself."
Luke 10:27,28

Lift Jesus up!!

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From all I've read, I think you're right (and stop with the Mr. Thomas--I'm not that old). Nico, we are in constant need of fresh voices with something significant to say. It seems to me that you qualify on both counts. Write!

Jerry

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( alert)

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Wow that makes two (published book authors), you and Stephen King, who have told me to write or to keep writing. I write constantly. The only problem is, I am highly disorganized and don't know how to focus on one thing long enough or follow an outline sufficiently to prepare anything of manuscript length/quality for publication. Do you think you could help me with something like that, Jerry? Or are there other venues where shorter pieces work well -- you know what I'd really like to do is write Sabbath School lessons or more unique Bible studies than are out there now. Now THAT would work for me. What do you all think I'd be suited to writing for the King of Heaven? Ideas, please!

(1) give glory (inadvertently of course) to satan;
(2) provide an avenue of seduction/temptation he can exploit for others.