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 and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I
command you today for your good?
The term “the whole nine yards” came from World War II fighter pilots in the South Pacific. The .50
caliber machine gun ammunition belts they used measured exactly 27 feet, before being loaded into
the fuselage. If the pilots fired all their bullets at a target, it got “the whole nine yards.” This has come
to mean that you give something your complete effort.
As Moses prepared the people to enter the land of Canaan, he wanted to remind them of God’s
expectations—their complete effort. They were to fear the Lord, walk in His ways, love Him and serve
Him with all their heart and soul. They were not to stop short but to give God “the whole nine yards.”
God is never pleased with anything short of our total effort. Christ told the church at Laodicea, “I know
your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you
are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth” (Rev 3:15-16). God’s desire
is for total commitment. He wants His people to give Him their all. Anything less is unacceptable.
The hymn writer says it this way: “All to Jesus I surrender; all to Him I freely give.” Let that be your
prayer today as you go “the whole nine yards” for Christ. In whatever you do, do it for Him with “all
your heart and with all your soul.”
WITH JESUS, ALL THE WAY IS THE ONLY WAY.