Read the Rules! – Part 2
By Shirley Mitchell
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Matthew 22:36-40
Yesterday, I told you about the time that my daughter Mikayla broke one of her brackets on the braces of her teeth. I allowed her to buy rock candy and because neither one of us were familiar with the orthodontist’s rules, her bracket broke. When she told me the bad news, we faced each other and said simultaneously, “We have got to read the rules!”
Sometimes, we need to go back to our Rule Book, too. We may have learned the rules when we were a child or perhaps when we first became a Christian. However, it is easy to forget the rules, and we need a refresher course at times.
Jesus summarized the Ten Commandments, the Law of Moses, and all that the prophets told the people by these two commandments in Matthew 22. Yesterday, we talked about the first four commandments and our relationship with God. Today we will talk about the next six commandments. Jesus covered them by saying “Love your neighbor as yourself.“
God wants us to have esteem and to know that we are dearly loved. Therefore, it is okay to love our neighbor like we love ourselves. If we will take care of each other like we want to be taken care of, then everyone’s needs will be met. If we treat them like we want to be treated, then we won’t break this next list of commandments.
The fifth commandment is to honor our father and mother. It is the first commandment with a promise – that we will live long. We are to honor them regardless of whether or not they are saved. We are to learn to respect their position regardless of whether their characters are worthy of respect.
The sixth commandment is to not murder. This means we are to not intentionally kill another person. It is not talking about acting in self-defense or protecting a nation in times of war. It is addressed to individuals who have hate, jealousy, or uncontrolled anger in their hearts or do not honor the sanctity of human life.
The seventh commandment is to not commit adultery. Oh, my, I have a lot to say about this one. In our sex-crazed society, adultery is prevalent. It is no longer the great taboo. Precious one, we must protect our marriages. Wives, we must not nag but respect our husbands and take care of his needs. Both husbands and wives, we must not put ourselves in relationships with others that create a level of intimacy that belongs to our mates. Remember, precious one, if you get them through adultery, your chances of losing them through adultery is great. An unfaithful heart won’t change without God.
The eighth commandment is to not steal. We should not take something that doesn’t belong to us. If we steal, we are letting satan lie to us for the need for immediate gratification and steal from us our character and hurt our relationship with God. Stealers reject dependency on God to provide our needs and godly desires.
The ninth commandment is to not give false testimony against your neighbor. Simply, we should not lie about each other. I’m also amazed at the wickedness in people’s hearts to hurt others in order to elevate themselves or put that person down. I’m also amazed at how many lies are stemmed from inability to see the truth of situations, the denial of truth, or reliance on our limited perception. I tell my children all the time, there is nothing worse than a liar. A liar will betray friends, twist things in their favor, and eventually lie to herself.
The tenth commandment is to not covet your neighbor’s house, wife, animals, or servants – essentially anything belonging to someone else. I believe this is the biggest sin in our country. We are so stricken with the illness of coveting and longing for what others have. And most of us have no idea that we do it.
Did you notice how many of these are about control and the desire to have it our way? What motivates people to covet? Because they want to create the best life here and control what they have. People steal for the same reason. They want it now, and it doesn’t matter how they get it. Why does someone lie? To control what others believe about someone or manipulate the situation.
As we leave each other for the day, let’s really think about this refresher course on God’s commandments. Let’s implant these commandments in our hearts and be compelled by our love for God and love for people to live by them the best that we can. Let’s relinquish control to God and let His way for our lives win.
Pray with me: Oh, God Almighty, You are so wise. You knew exactly the Ten Commandments that the Israelites and we would need and the two commandments that Jesus used to summarize it all. Help us to love You with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strengths. Teach us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Help us to care about others and to desire to meet their needs as we would meet our own. May we not live in self-centeredness. Guard us from the temptations to dishonor our parents, murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, and covet. Help us to be people who know Your rules. At the same time, may we be motivated by love and not legalism. Help us to relinquish control of our lives to You! It’s in the Name above all names, in Jesus’ Name, Yeshua’s Name, we pray. Amen.
Copyright ©2009 Christ Compels
"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 2 Corinthians 5:14-15
Showing posts with label 10 Commandments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 10 Commandments. Show all posts
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Read the Rules!
Read the Rules!
By Shirley Mitchell
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Matthew 22:36-40
My daughter Mikayla plays on a select soccer team. We enjoy the mother/daughter time when we get to travel to her games out of town. We especially love the tournaments because we get the whole weekend together. We recently went to a tournament in Nashville, TN. After a team dinner at the Rain Forest Café that weekend, the girls on the team went shopping in the café's store. Mikayla and her teammate McKenna brought back rock candy sticks to ask their parents for permission to buy them. I turned to McKenna's dad with a "Oh, let's just spoil them this time" look, but playing tough in front of them I said, "Why don't we buy one bag with two sticks in it and they share instead of each have two sticks each. McKenna's father agreed to the plan and to spoil our little angels who had played so well that day.
Well, regrettably both of our little angels have braces on their teeth. In the time that it took to walk from the restaurant's side of the mall to where our cars were parked, Mikayla had broken one of the brackets of her braces. In the two months that she has had braces, this was her second incident. When she told me the bad news, we faced each other and said simultaneously, "We have got to read the rules!" Neither of us remembered that rock candy is not allowed by the orthodontist.
Sometimes, we need to go back to our Rule Book, too. We may have learned the rules when we were a child or perhaps when we first became a Christian. However, it is easy to forget the rules, and we need a refresher course at times.
Jesus summarized the rules for us in Matthew 22. After He silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees confronted Him, trying once again to attack Him. One of them, an expert in the Law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Jesus summarized the Ten Commandments, the Law of Moses, and all that the prophets told the people, in other words the Old Testament by these two commandments. This summary is about relationships - our relationship with God and our relationship with others. When I pray with my children every night, I pray for them to love God with all their being - their heart, soul, mind, and strength. If they will put Him first, then I know their lives will be blessed. They will have His presence, strength, and comfort through their darkest days. They will have everlasting joy and satisfaction that the world can't take away. They will have discernment and wisdom for the decisions they must make.
This first and greatest commandment of Jesus summarizes the first four of the Ten Commandments. Since we are refreshing our memory on the rules, let's talk about each one of them. The first commandment is to have no other gods before God. Other gods can also be relationships, work, money, knowledge, sports, food, body image, worry, TV, internet, identity, our children's activities, pleasure, lust, sex, or a dream. The second commandment goes hand in hand with the first. It is to not have any idol - or a god that we can see in this world. While our idols may not be made of stone, wood, metal, or precious jewels, they are whatever masters us, whatever owns our hearts, whatever we trust, whatever we fear, or wherever we focus our energy. It is the root of our motivations. Why are we motivated to participate in this or choose this thing? It is anything that substitutes for God. These things can be good, but when we want them too much and more than we want God, then we are figuratively hiring a goldsmith to make a god for us to carry around.
The third commandment is to not take the name of God in vain. This means that we are to speak of His name as holy and to not defile it. It also means that since we are a people of His Name that we should conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of carrying the family Name. The fourth commandment is to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. I go to my mother's house almost every Sunday afternoon. Recently, she was ill and couldn't do her usual housework. So I told her since I was there that Sunday that I would vacuum for her. She wouldn't let me because she didn't want me to work on Sunday. It surprised me because even though I try to guard Sunday and won't work in the workplace on that day, I had become desensitized to giving God a day out of the week.
We'll talk about the rest of the Ten Commandments next time. As we leave each other for the day, let's take this refresher course on God's commandments to heart while making sure that we don't fall into the stronghold of legalism. Let's live by His rules out of the motivation that all we really want in this life is Him.
Pray with me: Oh, Lord, we exalt You. Help us to be people who know Your rules. Don't let us become desensitized to them. As generations move away from You and what becomes acceptable for some, let's remember what is acceptable to You. At the same time, may we be motivated by love and not legalism. You never desire for us to come to You doing all the right things without a passion for knowing our God. It's in the Name above all names, in Jesus' Name, Yeshua's Name, we pray. Amen.
Copyright 2009 © Christ Compels
By Shirley Mitchell
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Matthew 22:36-40
My daughter Mikayla plays on a select soccer team. We enjoy the mother/daughter time when we get to travel to her games out of town. We especially love the tournaments because we get the whole weekend together. We recently went to a tournament in Nashville, TN. After a team dinner at the Rain Forest Café that weekend, the girls on the team went shopping in the café's store. Mikayla and her teammate McKenna brought back rock candy sticks to ask their parents for permission to buy them. I turned to McKenna's dad with a "Oh, let's just spoil them this time" look, but playing tough in front of them I said, "Why don't we buy one bag with two sticks in it and they share instead of each have two sticks each. McKenna's father agreed to the plan and to spoil our little angels who had played so well that day.
Well, regrettably both of our little angels have braces on their teeth. In the time that it took to walk from the restaurant's side of the mall to where our cars were parked, Mikayla had broken one of the brackets of her braces. In the two months that she has had braces, this was her second incident. When she told me the bad news, we faced each other and said simultaneously, "We have got to read the rules!" Neither of us remembered that rock candy is not allowed by the orthodontist.
Sometimes, we need to go back to our Rule Book, too. We may have learned the rules when we were a child or perhaps when we first became a Christian. However, it is easy to forget the rules, and we need a refresher course at times.
Jesus summarized the rules for us in Matthew 22. After He silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees confronted Him, trying once again to attack Him. One of them, an expert in the Law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Jesus summarized the Ten Commandments, the Law of Moses, and all that the prophets told the people, in other words the Old Testament by these two commandments. This summary is about relationships - our relationship with God and our relationship with others. When I pray with my children every night, I pray for them to love God with all their being - their heart, soul, mind, and strength. If they will put Him first, then I know their lives will be blessed. They will have His presence, strength, and comfort through their darkest days. They will have everlasting joy and satisfaction that the world can't take away. They will have discernment and wisdom for the decisions they must make.
This first and greatest commandment of Jesus summarizes the first four of the Ten Commandments. Since we are refreshing our memory on the rules, let's talk about each one of them. The first commandment is to have no other gods before God. Other gods can also be relationships, work, money, knowledge, sports, food, body image, worry, TV, internet, identity, our children's activities, pleasure, lust, sex, or a dream. The second commandment goes hand in hand with the first. It is to not have any idol - or a god that we can see in this world. While our idols may not be made of stone, wood, metal, or precious jewels, they are whatever masters us, whatever owns our hearts, whatever we trust, whatever we fear, or wherever we focus our energy. It is the root of our motivations. Why are we motivated to participate in this or choose this thing? It is anything that substitutes for God. These things can be good, but when we want them too much and more than we want God, then we are figuratively hiring a goldsmith to make a god for us to carry around.
The third commandment is to not take the name of God in vain. This means that we are to speak of His name as holy and to not defile it. It also means that since we are a people of His Name that we should conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of carrying the family Name. The fourth commandment is to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. I go to my mother's house almost every Sunday afternoon. Recently, she was ill and couldn't do her usual housework. So I told her since I was there that Sunday that I would vacuum for her. She wouldn't let me because she didn't want me to work on Sunday. It surprised me because even though I try to guard Sunday and won't work in the workplace on that day, I had become desensitized to giving God a day out of the week.
We'll talk about the rest of the Ten Commandments next time. As we leave each other for the day, let's take this refresher course on God's commandments to heart while making sure that we don't fall into the stronghold of legalism. Let's live by His rules out of the motivation that all we really want in this life is Him.
Pray with me: Oh, Lord, we exalt You. Help us to be people who know Your rules. Don't let us become desensitized to them. As generations move away from You and what becomes acceptable for some, let's remember what is acceptable to You. At the same time, may we be motivated by love and not legalism. You never desire for us to come to You doing all the right things without a passion for knowing our God. It's in the Name above all names, in Jesus' Name, Yeshua's Name, we pray. Amen.
Copyright 2009 © Christ Compels
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