Add years to your life.

29 “Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My Commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!” (Deuteronomy 5) 

There have been many ideas, food supplements, diets, therapies, and exercises that have been recommended to improve life expectancy: a good night sleep, laughter, eating less fat and sugars, superfoods, physical exercise, music, and many others. These are essential for our overall health and wellness. We only live this life once, so we might as well try to live as long as we can, by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. We want to be able to carry out our responsibilities, accomplish goals, and be there for those we love.  If we want to live long, fulfilling lives, we need to apply the best principles. God is the only Source of life because He is our Creator. God gives us the best wisdom to live for eternity. 

“God’s Word keeps us in good stead through every season of life.”

32 “Therefore you shall be careful to do as The Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 You shall walk in all the ways which The Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.” (Deuteronomy 5)

If we want to prolong our days, and truly live as God intends, we must hang on every Word God speaks and commands. With eager willingness we are to obey and walk in all His Ways. It seems impossible, but as long as we have the desire to please Him, we will make strides with each passing day. We have to be steadfast, pliable and submissive to do what He has already commanded us in The Scriptures. He promises that we will prosper in this life, and we will prolong our days. 

The Lord will supply everything we need that facilitates living a life that honors Him. Be diligent to not just eat right and exercise; but to do as The Lord has commanded. He gives us each breath and commands every cell to do as He commands. He controls our entire body system, and He teaches us how to maintain our mind, soul and spirit for eternity. He ensures that everything is working in tandem with His Purpose and Will for us. 

Then Jesus was led up by The Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are The Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the Mouth of God.’ ”(Matthew 4)

The Lord Jesus is The Son of God, Who came as The Son of Man; He took the form of our likeness. The Spirit led Him to the wilderness to be tempted, just as we are led into trials to test our faith, while we are serving God. He held His own by not trying to convince the devil that He was The Son of God. We must be vigilant, especially during hardship, to not get tripped up by doubting God’s Love for us as His children. We live through good times, but we are often thrust into the ebb and flow of life’s struggles. Food only sustains us physically, but every Word that proceeds from the Mouth of God bolsters our convictions, steels us through adversity, and reassures us of God’s Faithfulness. God’s Word keeps us in good stead through every season of  life. Our lives are not preserved by bread alone; but by every Word that proceeds from the Mouth of God.

“Eternal life is life preserved in Christ—The Word of God”

10 But the day of The Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the Heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the Earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the Heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new Heavens and a new Earth in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless (2 Peter 3).

It’s hard to imagine that everything in the galaxies and here on Earth is destined for incineration. God Who created it all can do as He pleases with it, and no one can restrain Him. If all these will be consumed, then we must live for what will last. We are created in God’s Image to live for eternity. Our bodies are for this Earth, but our souls will live in perpetuity. As we wait for the new Heavens and Earth, we should have an eternal perspective.

Be diligent to be found in Christ—robbed in His Righteousness—because the new Earth will abound with righteousness. No diet, cosmetics, wealth, workout, or technology will prevail on the day when The Lord brings down the curtains. Only righteousness will endure forever. Be spotless and blameless, by abiding in Christ; and be found at peace with Him. He is coming in Righteousness and Judgment to destroy the habitation of wickedness, injustice, pride and ungodliness. He will create a new place where He will dwell forever with His people.

“Only righteousness will endure forever.”

20 “When your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which The Lord our God has commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a Mighty Hand; 22 and The Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes, great and severe, against Egypt, Pharaoh, and all his household. 23 Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers. 24 And The Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear The Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day. 25 Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.’ (Deuteronomy 6)

If righteousness endures forever then we must understand what it is: It is the fear of God that compels us to obey Him, even as we love Him with all our being. His Righteousness is earned by obedience. As He promised the Israelites land, He has promised us His Kingdom. As He took the Israelites out of Egypt, as slaves of Pharaoh, He has brought us out of the kingdom of darkness; where we were slaves to sin. He brought us out so that He might bring us in. He commands us to observe His Ways, and fear Him for our good. He will preserve our lives for the eternal dwelling He has created us for. We will not perish in the new life we have in Christ. He Who led us out, by His death, has given us new life by His resurrection. 

24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My Word and believes in Him Who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” (John 5)

It is those who hear His Word, believe it and observe to do it that have everlasting life. These are those who live not by bread alone. Bread sustains only for a time; but the Word of God nourishes us for an everlasting life. The life we now live is The Risen Life of Christ. He is our righteousness, if we submit to His Spirit to do The Will of The Father. Those who believe allow Christ to live through them, by submitting to His Word. Those who are obedient do not come into judgment; they pass from physical death to everlasting life. We will not die, but will live because He lives in us. Eternal life is life preserved in Christ—The Word of God. 

25 “Of old You laid the foundation of the Earth, and the Heavens are the work of Your Hands. 26 They will perish, but You will endure. Yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed. 27 But You are the same, and Your years will have no end. 28  The children of Your servants will continue, and their descendants will be established before You.” (Psalm 102)

The Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. He will change the Earth and Heavens, but He remains the same.  He never changes; His years have no end. The Creator of all things seen and unseen will do His pleasure. His children will continue to live and be established before Him. As their Father is Eternal, so are they because they have His Spirit. They are complete in Him in this life and the next. 

“Those who hope in The Lord are kept in His constant supply of provision.”

7  “Blessed is the man who trusts in The Lord, and whose hope is The Lord. 8  For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.” (Jeremiah 17)

The tree planted by the river will have a constant supply of nourishment; the one who trusts in The Lord will never run out of resources. Regardless of how much the surrounding environment changes, the source is unaffected. Those who trust in God will not fail to be productive, fruitful and effective in all they endeavor to do. They will not fear in time of scarcity because The Lord is all they need and live on. Those who hope in The Lord are kept in His constant supply of provision. Though they go through adversity, they will overcome, by being fruitful where they are planted. The Lord will use them as His vessels of purpose, for every good work, and will equip them with what they need to perform it.

24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (Matthew 7)

The wise one will build their lives by hearing and doing what The Lord Jesus has taught. They build on the rock—on The Lord’s Wisdom. They are established on truth that stands the test of time and never fails. When the storms come, obey; when the winds hurl, obey. No temptation or pressure will topple the one who hangs on Christ’s Words. You will not crumble under the strain of sin, temptation, hardship, if you shift your focus to pleasing The Lord. Obedience is the foundation we lay on the Words of Christ. The wise will build their lives on Wisdom of The Lord.

Everyone who hears is everyone who is mulls over Christ’s Words and digests it. Some come eagerly to hear what He says, but they discount it as irrelevant to their lives. Those who hear and do not do what He says are foolish for disregarding The Wisdom of The Lord. Disobedience is foolishness that fails those who practice it. They are like those who build their lives on sand, by depending on their own understanding, acting on their fleshly desires, and trusting on their own resources. When temptation, sin and adversity buffet them, they will not be able to stand. What they built their hopes on will collapse with a great fall. 

Choose to prolong your days by living on every Word that proceeds from The Mouth of God. Resources, diets, exercise and relationships don’t guarantee a long life. Life is preserved in the Giver of life. Those who put their hope in The Lord have provision that is impervious to changing circumstances; they are like a tree planted by the waters. They will not be in want, as they are fruitful by serving God. Righteousness will preserve us alive. We were created to live forever. We have a place promised to us, where righteousness abounds because God dwells among His people.

19 “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love The Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which The Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” (Deuteronomy 30)