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AUDIO PODCAST

“You shall therefore keep [shamar, ‘watch’] my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 18:5)

Are you weary of trying to be the ‘good Christian’—always doing the right thing, yet still facing battles that seem far too big for you? Do you feel the sting of failure, again and again, no matter how hard you try?

Fear not, there is an answer!

There is a kind of life that cannot be manufactured—only received. A quality of existence that flows not from relentless effort, but from right alignment. Not from the exhausting pursuit of perfection, but from being properly positioned under the divine order.

When God told Israel, “he shall live by them,” He wasn’t handing them a performance-based survival manual. He was unveiling a divine principle: that life—in its truest, fullest, most sacred sense—emerges when humanity aligns with heaven. The Hebrew verb וָחַי (vachai) doesn’t merely mean to stay alive. It pulses with vitality, wholeness, covenantal blessing. It means to thrive.

Paul, centuries later, quoted this very verse in Romans 10:5, showing us that this principle transcends time. But he points beyond law-keeping to something deeper: to the righteousness that comes by faith. Because the life God offers doesn’t begin in the hands—it begins in the heart and on the lips. It begins with alignment.

Righteousness—’alignment’—is not an adjective, its a verb.

This is not a call to return to striving. It is an invitation to return to design.

LIVING BY ALIGNMENT, NOT EFFORT

There is a kind of life that only comes through alignment. Not through striving. Not through performance. But by realignment with the original flow of divine intention.

God told Israel that if they keep His statutes, they will live by them—not merely exist, not merely avoid death, but live in the fullness of covenant reality. The word used in Leviticus 18:5—וָחַי (vachai)—does not suggest mere biologically activity. It echoes with vibrancy, purpose, and covenantal wholeness.

Paul quotes this in Romans 10:5, using the Greek word zēsetai (ζήσεται):

“The man who does these things shall live [zēsetai] by them.”

Yet Paul isn’t calling us back to legalism. He’s revealing something deeper: alignment with God’s voice has always been the source of life. Zēsetai also echoes living a life empowered by God, not merely being biological alive.

WHAT WAS BROKEN IN EDEN: A FRACTURE OF ALIGNMENT

The fall in Eden was not simply the breaking of a rule; it was the breaking of alignment, humanity separating itself from the very Source of life. Humanity, created in the image of God, was designed to operate in seamless harmony with the Divine—heart, word, and will flowing together like notes in a divine symphony with God Himself.

But when the serpent sowed doubt with the words “Did God really say…?”, the divine order required for blessing, unraveled as they agreed with his deceptive words. What was once a coherent, life-producing spiritual alignment between God and humanity fractured into chaos. They reached for wisdom without reverence and autonomy without alignment, and in doing so, dislocated their essence from the divine source. That misalignment gave birth to death—not only physical death but a kind of spiritual entropy: anxiety, shame, toil, suffering and alienation became our inheritance.

This is why righteousness—tzedakah (צְדָקָה) in Hebrew—is more than moral rectitude; it is re-alignment with God. It is not simply about behaving well, but about being restored to right relationship. In Greek, the word dikaiosynē (δικαιοσύνη from dikē, ‘justice‘) carries a legal sense—acquitted, justified—but its deeper meaning points to a cosmic recalibration of mankind within Christ.

When Paul says, “With the heart one believes unto righteousness [dikaioutai]” (Romans 10:10), he’s describing a return to Eden’s design through realignment In other words, righteousness is not just a condition—it is the cure to Eden’s rupture.

ALIGNMENT VS. UN-ALIGNMENT IN EDENIC DESIGN

Dimension	Aligned in Eden	Fractured after the Fall
Heart (לֵב)	Trusted God, believed truth	Doubts, fears, pride, arrogance
Lips (שָׂפָה)	Spoke life, authority, agreement with heaven	Silence, denial, accusation, lies, division
Will	In sync with God’s command	Rebellion, self-will
State of Being	Shalom (wholeness, harmony)	Brokenness, suffering, confusion
Relationship	Walking with God, face to face	Hiding from God, disconnected from His presence
Outcome	Dominion, fruitfulness, peace	Toil, death, pain

THROUGH CHRIST: THE INVITATION TO REALIGNMENT

Through Christ we are invited back into the rhythm of life. Not by striving. Not by performance. But by alignment through faith.

This has always been God’s plan: not merely to forgive sins, but to restore alignment—to recalibrate the human heart to heaven’s frequency. In Romans 10, when Paul quotes Leviticus 18:5: “The one who does these things shall live by them.” The implication is clear—if you could keep the law perfectly, you would live. But no one can. That was never the point. The law was a diagnostic, not a cure. It revealed the misalignment but could not fix it.

That’s why a new covenant was required—not one that depends on our perfection, but one that reconciles us in spite of our imperfection. A covenant of mercy, of re-creation, of inner transformation. Not based on the degree of our performance, but based on the perfection of Christ’s alignment.

What was required was not a better intellect or a stronger body—the problem is not fundamentally mental or physical. The fracture is spiritual. Proverbs 4:23 reminds us, “Guard your heart, for from it flow the springs of life.” And 3 John 2 echoes, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper and be in good health, even as your soul prospers.” The outward life always follows the inward condition. Right alignment precedes right experience.

JESUS: THE GATEWAY TO PROMISE

In Christ, the curse is broken. The exile is ended. The garden gate is open once more.

He realigns us to the Father—not only positionally, but experientially. This is the path to Eden restored. The promised land is not just a metaphor—it is the reality of divine fellowship, abundance, and purpose. But we enter it the same way we received the invitation: by faith. Paul writes in Colossians 2:6-7,

“As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

How did we receive Him? Not by effort, but by belief. So we walk out our salvation the same way (see also Galatians 3).

Our job is not to save ourselves. Our job is to believe:

• To believe that we are made righteous through Him.
• To believe that the curse no longer has legal right.
• To believe that the inheritance of Eden is accessible once more—not only after death, but also in life.
• To believe that thriving without striving is no longer just possible, but our legal inheritance in Christ.

FAITH IS NOT A MENTAL TRICK — IT’S ALIGNMENT OF HEART AND LIPS

“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart…” (Romans 10:8)

What saves you isn’t just believing something in your mind. Salvation flows when there is harmony between heart and mouth. This is the mystery of homologia often translated as “confession” or “profession” and means “to say the same thing” as God. To let His Word become your word.

The Greek lays it out the sequence simply:

• Heart → belief → justification (δικαιοῦται – dikaioutai)
• Mouth → confession → salvation (σῴζω – sōzō)

This brings us to the heart of it: faith is not passive. It is an active force rehearsed, stored up and released as part of a process. Faith is a process based on alignment between heart and mouth. You must believe and confess, but you must also confess to believe.

LINGUISTIC LINK: FROM HEART TO LIPS

Let’s go deeper still.

In Hebrew, the word for heart is לֵב (lev) or לֵבָב (levav). Far more than just the seat of emotions, the lev is the core of one’s being—where thoughts are formed, choices made, and desires conceived. It represents the full interiority of a person.

This concept is clearly echoed in the related Hebrew word קֶרֶב (qerev), meaning “inward parts” or “entrails” (cf. Leviticus 1:3). The sacrificial fat (chelev, חֵלֶב) was taken specifically from these inner parts—those hidden, vital organs closest to the heart. The offering of fat, then, wasn’t incidental; it was symbolic. It pointed to a giving of one’s deepest self to God—“all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength“ (Deuteronomy 6:5).

Even the milk of the word—referred to in Exodus 3:8 as חָלָב (chalav)—shares a root spelling with chelev, despite differing pronunciation (See also Heb. 5:13). Milk is essentially liquid fat. Both milk and fat nourish; both are rich, life-giving substances, just like God, to bring infants to maturity. This linguistic overlap hints at a deeper theological truth.

We now see a link between heart, milk, word and inward parts, all very symbolic of greater spiritual realities. Can we uncover more links?

LIPS AND LANGUAGE: A SHARED ROOT

Now consider the English word “lip”—and its European cognates:

• Old English: lippa
• German: Lippe
• Dutch: lip
• Swedish: läpp
• French: lèvre
• Latin: labium
• Greek: labion, labros (often fleshy, thick)
• Sanskrit: lávana (salty—connected to the mouth)

These terms all refer to the soft, pliable, and fat-rich parts of the mouth—often associated with speech, taste, and sensuality. Like the Hebrew lev (‘leb‘ meaning heart), these lips are not merely physical. They represent expression, utterance, confession and link linguistically directly to the lev, the heart of mankind.

And here’s where the connection sharpens: the heart and the lips are spiritually tethered. As Jesus said:

“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34)

Paul echoes this link:

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

What is rooted in the lev will rise to the saphah (lips)—and likewise, what the lips repeatedly confess, declare, and sing shapes the heart in return.

WHY LIPS, NOT JUST HEARTS?

Why does Joshua 1:8 say:

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth…but you shall meditate on it day and night”?

Why not your heart or your mind?

Because in Hebrew thought, meditation is not a silent, private thought exercise like in modern Western usage. The Hebrew word used here for meditation is הָגָה (hagah)—a term that means to murmur, mutter, growl, or speak aloud softly. Think about this recursive action the next time you “hagg-le” with someone over the price!

This kind of meditation involves verbal engagement, not just intellectual reflection. It is a bodily and vocal practice. One is meant to chew the word aloud, as one would chew food—letting the sound, rhythm, and breath of the text nourish the soul. It’s an image of rumination, like a lion softly growling over its prey (cf. Isaiah 31:4), or a dove cooing under its breath.

We worry about faith, and may even think that it is the domain of others more spiritual. Yet, God knows, if He can get the word in your mouth, it will drop into your heart. It turns out that the mouth is the doorway to the heart.

RASHI: “DO NOT DEPART FROM YOUR LIPS”

Rashi, in his commentary on Joshua 1:8, writes:

“Do not remove it from your mouth. You shall constantly engage in it with your mouth, so that you do not forget it.” (Rashi on Joshua 1:8)

Rashi is clear: the Torah must remain on the lips, not just in the mind. This verbal engagement awakens memory and deepens understanding.. Speech—more than thought—internalises what is intellectual, thereby planting it more firmly within the heart.

In this way, uttering the Word becomes both a method of remembrance and a means of embodiment.

Here, remembrance, describes the state of spiritual consciousness induced by “faith.”

MAIMONIDES: MEMORY THROUGH MOUTH

Maimonides (Rambam), in the Mishneh Torah, particularly in Hilchot Talmud Torah, codifies this practice:

“Even if one has memorised the entire Torah, it is a commandment to continue to study and recite it out loud constantly… because verbal repetition deepens understanding and commits the words to the heart” (Laws of Torah Study 2:4)

He underscores that true Torah learning is not complete until spoken aloud. Why? Because the act of speaking engages the physical senses, the mental faculties, and the spiritual essence of the learner. It turns abstract knowledge into embodied memory—a lived and breathed truth.

By ruminating (‘chewing’) on the Word of God, the strength—what we call faith—that is encapsulated within this divine ‘bread’ is gradually released, not as mere feeling, but as a spiritual force. Through this internal process, what was once intangible becomes accessible, activated within us through meditation

Joshua 1:8

Speech activates the body (voice, breath, movement), the mind (understanding, logic, emotion), and the human spirit (core essence, covenantal connection). All are brought into alignment through vocal meditation.

This fusion is what transforms the word from conceptual reality into experiential reality.

SILENCE VS MURMURING: DIFFERENT MEDITATIVE PHILOSOPHIES

Unlike many Eastern philosophies where meditation seeks emptiness or detachment from thought, biblical meditation seeks saturation—to be filled with divine utterance since, “you are what you eat,” which also explains why the Word is placed in your mouth. The Hebrew approach isn’t about clearing the mind, but about filling the mouth and heart with the logos of God, again and again. After all, we do not eat once and then never again. We eat regularly to maintain our strength. In Christ the Healer, P.C. Nelson offers a piercing reflection:

“We feed our bodies three hot meals a day and our spirits one cold snack a week and then wonder why we are so weak in faith.”

The Psalms reinforce this principle and once again links words, mouth, meditation and heart:

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord…” (Psalm 19:14)

Here, meditation of the heart (הֶגְיוֹן לִבִּי, hegyon libbi) is paired with the words of the mouth. The two are not separate but interwoven—a continual loop of inward reflection and outward articulation.

Consider the following verses:

Isaiah 55:2 (KJV):

“Why do you spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not?
Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.”

Hebrew:
שִׁמְעוּ שָׁמוֹעַ אֵלַי וְאִכְלוּ טוֹב וְתִתְעַנַּג בַּדֶּשֶׁן נַפְשְׁכֶם׃
Shim’u shamoa elai ve’ichlu tov, ve’tit’anag ba’deshen nafsh’khem.

• בַּדֶּשֶׁן (ba-deshen) — “in fatness”
• Again from דָּשֵׁן, linking spiritual attentiveness (hearing God’s word) with soul enrichment and delight.

Psalm 63:5 (KJV):

“My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.”

Hebrew:
כְּמוֹ־חֵ֣לֶב וָדֶ֣שֶׁן תִּשְׂבַּ֣ע נַפְשִׁ֑י וְשִׂפְתֵ֥י רְנָנ֗וֹת יְהַלֶּ֥ה פִֽי׃
K’mo chelev va’deshen tisb’a nafshi, v’siftei renanot yehallel pi.

• דֶּשֶׁן (deshen) — “fatness”
• שָׂפָה (safah) — lips
• Directly links the soul’s satisfaction and praise from the lips with chelev (fat) and deshen (abundance)—pointing again to the inner richness that enters through the mouth to the inward parts, but also overflows into the world.

WHY THIS MATTERS SPIRITUALLY

When God commands Joshua to keep the Book of the Law always on his mouth, He is establishing a spiritual principle:

You store and preserve the Word in your heart by rehearsing it with your mouth.

The Word becomes flesh—not only in Christ, but in us—when it moves from the written page (Le livre in French, Library in Eng), to spoken confession, to embodied action. And that movement flows through the lips. The mouth becomes the gateway through which spiritual truths are absorbed and later expressed. That’s why worship, confession, declaration, and Scripture recitation are vital tools for transformation.

WHY THE MOUTH?

Because in the Hebraic worldview, the mouth is a spiritual organ—not just for eating and speaking, but for incantation, meditation, covenant, blessing, cursing, worship, and warfare.

To speak the Word is to plant it more deeply into the soil of the heart. To murmur it day and night, to haggle with the Scripture, is to let it reshape you. And when your heart and mouth are in unity, your life becomes fertile ground—overflowing with fatness, richness, and divine life.

FROM FATNESS TO FULLNESS: LIVING FROM THE INNER EDEN

This brings us to a poetic truth: fatness is a metaphor for fullness, abundance, richness of life.

Scripture speaks of “the fat of the land” (Genesis 45:18), “the fat of rams” (Psalm 66:15), and even “the fat of the kidneys of wheat” (Deuteronomy 32:14). These are not symbols of excess, but of divine blessing—overflow, bounty, spiritual vitality.

Now let’s connect the dots:

• The heart (lev) is the centre, the most internal part, your guts.
• The lips express what overflows from the heart (Note: les lèvres in French)
• The fat (chelev) represents what is precious, consecrated, life-giving.

Interestingly when we reverse our “L-V” root, with which we can spell “LiFe,” and “LiVe,” we end up with “V-L” and find we are “Full.”

And then there is Caleb (כָּלֵב, ‘kelev‘ in Hebrew) whose very name embeds the Hebrew word lev (לֵב), meaning heart. His name literally means “dog,” and can be read as ke-lev, “like a heart,” or even “kol-lev” meaning “whole-hearted.” In Numbers 14:24, he is described as having “a different spirit” and as one who “followed [God] fully.” Compare his behaviour with mans best friend.

Rashi, commenting on this verse (Bamidbar 14:24), writes:

“Because he remained steadfast in his faith and stood against the [other] spies, who discouraged the heart of the people against Moses, he merited to receive a portion in the land that was fitting for all of them.”

This highlights Caleb’s heart of devotion—a heart that did not waver under pressure. While others melted the hearts of the people with fear (Deut. 1:28), Caleb’s words were bold and rooted in conviction. His faithfulness, grounded in the lev, was matched by his speech, as he stood and spoke truth when others stayed silent.

In other words, his words of faith is what set him apart from the others.

His name, כָּלֵב, shares root consonants כ-ל-ב (k-l-v) not only with lev (heart), but also with roots that suggest clinging and bonding. Cognates in English like “cleave,” “glue” and French “la colle.” Now compare with “col-lect” which means to stick or “put together.” Caleb, then, is a portrait of covenantal loyalty or covenants ‘stickiness’—a man whose heart and lips were united, cleaving to God and speaking with fearless alignment.

When our lips confess what our hearts believe, and our hearts overflow with the richness of divine Word, our lives grow fat—not with worldly indulgence, but with holy abundance.

BEWARE: COUNTERFEITS OF ALIGNMENT

There are three common ways we reach for life apart from true alignment—false alignments that appear spiritual, even noble, but in truth, they sever the flow between heart (lev), lips, and life:

• Athens (intellectualism) — The idol of intellect. We study the Bible like a textbook, honouring ideas with our heads but never surrendering our hearts. This leads to spiritual sleepwalking.
• Jerusalem (legalism) — A life dominated by external restraints such as laws to control the physical body. This starves the heart, fuels hypocrisy, and leaves us exhausted as we fight a losing battle with the ‘flesh’ (yetser hara, the evil incliation)
• Modern Christianity (Political correctism) — Often focused on a spiritual rebirth ( a good thing), while neglecting to cultivate and protect that new garden birthed within through spiritual practice. We do not clarify scriptural standards nor make reasonable demands on believers.

ATHENS—THE IDOL OF INTELLECT

We sit at the feet of philosophy and theology, treating Scripture like a textbook and truth like a puzzle to solve.
We honour God with our minds, but our hearts remain aloof, untouched. This creates clever sermons, dry orthodoxy, and faith without fire.
It is possible to know about God and yet not know Him. The result? Spiritual sleepwalking. A dulled soul dressed in intellectual robes.

“Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Timothy 3:7)

JERUSALAM—THE IDOL OF LEGALISM

Here, we reduce righteousness to rituals. We become meticulous in the flesh but malnourished in the spirit—obsessed with the letter of the law, yet estranged from its Giver. This is the path of the Pharisee, where performance replaces intimacy. The heart is starved, hidden behind the veil of religious activity. Legalism inflates pride and breeds hypocrisy, while inwardly the soul dries out. It is the appearance of godliness, devoid of power.

“These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” (Isaiah 29:13 / Matthew 15:8)

MODERN CHRISTIANTY— THE IDOL OF COMPROMISE

This version celebrates rebirth without formation. It champions the spirit reborn, but neglects the mind that must be renewed, and the tongue that must be tamed. People are assured they are saved, yet left unequipped to think, speak, and walk in the way that leads to fullness. We declare identity in Christ, but fail to train the human spirit in daily communion, confession, and transformation. We’ve birthed spiritual infants but withheld the milk and meat that matures them.

“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” (Romans 12:2)

“Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” (James 3:10)

Paul saw this firsthand. In 1 Corinthians 1:23, he draws a sharp contrast between human systems and divine alignment:

“But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness.”

Jerusalem stumbled over a Messiah who shattered their expectations. Athens dismissed a crucified Saviour as foolishness. Both missed the heart of God. Why? Because both idolised a part—intellect or law—rather than aligning the whole: Heart, soul, mind, and strength. And lips, too. For what the heart treasures, the mouth eventually speaks.

WHAT SHOULD WE BE ACTIVELY BELIEVING FOR?

We are not called to save ourselves. That was never the point. Our calling is to believe—and keep believing.

There’s a process between seeing what Scripture promises and experiencing it in your life:

1. Vision–You must see what God has given (Scripture, prophetic word, inner witness).
2. Voice–You must say it, again and again, until your mouth retrains your heart–fills it, if you will.
3. Victory–You walk in it by staying in alignment.

They “despised the pleasant land” and “did not believe His word.” (Psalm 106:24)

That generation of Israelites saw the promise but forfeited it, because they failed to align their hearts and mouths with what God had said.

Let us not repeat that mistake.

ALIGNMENT EXERCISE — HEART & LIPS

STEP 1: IDENTIFY THE PROMISE

Write down one promise of God that still feels distant.

e.g., “I am the LORD who heals you” (Ex. 15:26)

STEP 2: ASK YOUR HEART

• Do I really believe this?
• Have I spoken words that oppose this promise?
• What lies need to be replaced?

STEP 3: CREATE YOUR HOMOLOGEO (CONFESSION)

Craft a short, powerful confession rooted in Scripture that brings your mouth into alignment with God’s Word.

Example:

“Thank God. Jesus bore my sickness. I speak healing over my body. I align with His Word. I will not be put to shame. I am healed and whole. Praise God.”

Repeat this daily—especially when doubt creeps in. Let your mouth disciple your heart.

STEP 4: WATER YOUR PROMISE WITH PRAISE & THANKSGIVING

In the journey of faith, once you’ve received a promise from God, it’s crucial not only to believe but also to nurture it. Just like a seed that needs water to grow, your promises need to be watered with praise and thanksgiving. This is not just a polite formality; it is a spiritual discipline that brings the promise to life when the enemy brings his burning scorn to bear upon our harvest (Luke 8). Psalm 149:6-9 states:

“Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, To execute vengeance on the nations, and punishment on the peoples. To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute on them the judgment written; this is an honor for all His godly ones. Praise the LORD!”

We will expand on the idea in a following post.

ALIGNMENT PRAYER

Father, I come back into alignment.

I surrender not just my thoughts, but my heart and my speech.
Let my words mirror Yours, so that my life may do the same. Let my beliefs be shaped by heaven.
I reject the patterns of this world—the dead philosophies, the cold rituals, and the empty affirmations.
I believe in Your goodness. I confess Your promises.
Let my life reflect the reality of salvation—wholeness, rescue, peace.
I align. I receive. I live.

Amen.

QUESTIONS FOR ALIGNED LIVING

1. Where have I allowed disconnect between what I believe and what I say?
2. What promises am I not actively standing on?
3. Have I been silent when I should be confessing God’s Word?
4. What lie do I need to replace with truth?
5. What one confession could change the atmosphere of my life this week?