It is a good practice to keep aware of one's spiritual rudders. These are the priorities and perspectives that keep life's ship on course, moving straight and true, impervious to changes of weather and winds and waves of circumstance.

Among my favorite passages of Scripture are the Upper Room chapters of John 13-17. This poignantly intimate final dialog between the Lord and his disciples is rich with significance on so many levels it is impossible to enumerate them briefly.

This is truly the first of the Commands. Its importance is self-evident. The nature of a command requires obedience. A "command" is not a "suggestion." A command is a command. Obedience is compulsory. And yet...there remains such a thing as disobedience.

In The Commands of Jesus, we discovered the frequency with which Jesus issued certain commands. We found this telling component clarifying where our own priorities ought to lie.

Again we confront the dichotomy between who we are and who we want to be.

Many are the injunctions from the mouth of Jesus and the other New Testament writers toward righteousness. This command will not surprise anyone. Indeed, the entire message of Scripture can be summarized as a call to righteous living.

The intricate progression of Paul's thought in Romans 12:1-2 continues. Verse 1 is highlighted by the chosen "living sacrifice" which characterizes the moment-by-moment life of the Christian in relation to God.

The next two apostolic commands come to us most succinctly in Romans 12:1-2. These verses represent one of the New Testament's foundational challenges in Christian discipleship.

Having acknowledged God's existence, it can truly be said that the foundational appropriate response of any human being to God is to yield to him.

From The Commands by Michael Phillips. Read by Michael Kimball. More information on this and similar writings may be found at Father of the Inklings. Visit Amazon to purchase The Commands and other books by Michael Phillips.