Tag: Pondering God as our ABBA

What Happens When We Think Precious Thoughts about Jesus? Romans 12:1-3

Romans 12:1-3 Amplified Bible

Dedicated Service

12 [a]Therefore I urge you, [b]brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. 2  And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be [c]transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].

3 For by the grace [of God] given to me I say to everyone of you not to think more highly of himself [and of his importance and ability] than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has apportioned to each a degree of faith [and a purpose designed for service].

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia! Amen.

One of the most precious things a person can be given by God is a heavenly mindset, a mindset formed by the cross, a mindset that sees earthly reality in view of Scriptural truths. 

Romans 12:2 teaches: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

During seasons of Lent, when we encounter the living Christ through Scripture, and Prayer, Devotions, Sermons and Service, our minds need to be opened to being changed and transformed as when we first come to know Savior Christ.

The more and harder we seek after Him, the greater the transformation we see, we will gradually come to experience within the thoughts of our minds.

We need begin an unplanned approach, with the goal of coming to the end of ourselves, then steadily ask for a bit more of God’s Spirit to come and change us, to conform us to spiritual realities rather than the principles of the world.

Here are some suggested ways we can prayerfully expect to see, feel our minds being subtly, utterly, transformed into greater and greater union with Christ.

What Matters Is What Will Last into Eternity

The things of this earth will be seen as finite, temporary and transient.

There is surely goodness to enjoy on this earth.

But what matters is the spiritual work of God in us, and that spiritual work we participate in mission and ministry and acts of aid and service with others.

His Suffering for Us becomes Our Most Precious Thought

The reality that God came in flesh to suffer on the cross for our sins becomes precious beyond comparison.

We revere this truth and treat it as holy.

Our Savior has become so precious to us we can hardly bear the thought of Him hanging on the tree for us.

We treasure His sacrifice deeply.

His Work in This World Is Our Priority

Jesus has given the church a mission: to make disciples of Jesus around the world.

His work of doing that, at home and abroad, takes deep roots in our hearts.

He loves His gospel, and we love His gospel.

We want to do our part to see His gospel shared and to see it shine around the world — no matter where we live and what our daily calling.

The Person and Character of Jesus Is Our Loveliest Treasure

Jesus is held up as our priceless treasure.

When we come to know Him better, to take in His character, to learn about His truth and His ways in the Scriptures, to behold His grace in our lives, we realize that we are all treated impeccably by the perfect One of all time and all eternity.

Jesus becomes our richest prize, our first and only singular aim and goal.

God’s Goodness Is Never in Question

We balk at the idea of God’s goodness being in question, when He is the One who bore with all of our failures, all of our rebellion, all of our sinfulness and still — in His immeasurable kindness — offered salvation to the world.

What kind of God is this?

We cannot and will not come to entertain the thought of Him not being always considered the good God He is, was, and forever will be.

The Salvation That God Offers Is Unfathomably Good

Evil is having its day.

The world and worldly values around us threaten to pull us in on all sides.

By contrast, the things of the Lord and of the Scriptures are pure and holy and righteous.

We come to love the righteousness that has been revealed to us.

Salvation into the things and ways of the Lord is an unfathomable reality — one that we will never fully grasp for all of eternity.

We will glorify, praise God always for the greatest gift He has ever given to us.

Sin becomes Utterly Undesirable

When we are thinking and focusing precious thoughts about Jesus, the sinful ways of our hearts and natures fall completely out of favor with us.

In fact, our ways of rebellion, the sin which has seeped into our pockets as we walk through the world, the fallen ideas that have passed through our ears, all come to be undesirable to us.

God shows them to us for what they are, and we want to abandon evil ways — whatever they are — and not allow them to take root within us.

God hates sin, and so do we; that becomes our true heart’s desire.

There Is Accountability before God for Everything That We Do

Because we know that God hates sin, we take seriously that we will stand before God for all that we think, say, and do in His world.

All of our wrongdoing will be covered by His grace.

But He wants relationships of truth with us.

So, we will stand before Him for our doings, whether good or bad.

I want there to be so much goodness, so little badness when I stand before Jesus.

The greatest words that I so want to hear are “well done, good and faithful servant.”

We take seriously everything we do when we are thinking precious thoughts of a Savior who died to remove our sins from us.

All of Life Is Lived by the Rule of Grace

Grace is the rule by which we live our lives.

Jesus loves His gospel of grace.

He loves that He offers us forgiveness as far as the east is from the west.

He loves that He has won a people to Himself.

When we come before Him with our sins, He welcomes us and washes us with his blood.

And He does that by His incredible grace that we can never exhaust.

It is truly amazing grace.

Each one of us is a small picture of His gospel, when He looks at us who believe.

We don’t fear sin because there is no punishment.

Rather, we live by His cleansing grace, and honor it highly just as He does.

To Fear the Lord Is Easy because God Is Great in Our Eyes

When we are thinking precious thoughts about the goodness and greatness of Jesus, we do not question whether or not God is to be feared.

He is the great One.

We possess a holy disposition before the great God of our souls.

Our hearts bow because God is very high.

Our hearts yearn for His glorification.

Our minds know that He is exalted and His thoughts and ways are not ours.

We stand apart from Him and know that He is to be magnified.

The Lordship of Christ Is Longed for So That We Can Reflect Jesus

Jesus is the Lord — and we are so grateful that He is.

We long for Him to lead and guide us in the ways of truth.

We long to follow Scriptural patterns of goodness.

We fully long to walk the straight and narrow path that brings holiness and righteousness to our days.

In short, we yearn for Jesus Christ to be the Lord of our lives.

We don’t want to lead but want to submit to His control.

The Care and Comfort of Jesus Exceeds Our Desires

When we think highly of Jesus, we value our relationship with Him very highly.

We draw near to Him, and He draws near to us.

So, when we reach out to Him for help and comfort, His care for us exceeds our desires.

We feel enveloped by His comfort and love.

The fact that the holy God of the universe would pour His love into our hearts is beautiful beyond description.

We thank Him greatly and welcome all that He gives and brings to us, as He is the vine and we are the branches.

We Have Contentment Based on Our Relationship with Jesus

Because the things of this earth matter less and less to us, we are transformed into a spirit of contentment.

We know that there is nothing we can gain that is of any value but Jesus Christ Himself.

We know that it is good to know God.

So, we can let possessions and values of this earth go.

We Are Willing to Be Called into Service of God, However He Wills

When Jesus is our highest prize, we wait upon Him to see if He might call us into His service.

We are honored so highly if He allows us to serve Him in any way.

And we leave open the possibility that He might call any one of us at any time to take His gospel to a lost world.

Turn the Fullness of Your Thoughts Upon Jesus

Romans 12:1-3 The Message

Place Your Life Before God

12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

3 I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.

My friends, let us practice thinking more precious thoughts about Savior Jesus.

Let us practice becoming ever more separate from this world, and practice being ever more, upper-most clinging to the Way, Truth, Life of our Savior.

Let us care about spiritual realities more than earthy realities.

Let us become more and more transformed by the renewing of our minds.

Let us make a greater effort, practice of daily approving of what is good and great according to the Lord, and seek Him — draw near to Him — so that He and His gospel, His Resurrection, alone might be so very highest in our sights.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Father, teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your Holy Spirit lead me on level ground. I see your faithfulness and goodness in what you have done for me throughout my life. I think about these things, and I thirst for you. Let me hear of your unfailing love every morning and every night, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you. Keep me on firm footing for the glory of your name. Shift, transform, my thoughts away from the world and unto you alone.

Adeste Fidelis! Venite Adoremus! Dominum.

Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Pondering the Word of God: What Does it Mean For Us to Say, and to Believe and to Also Act Upon, ‘God Is Love’? 1 John 4:7-8?

1 John 4:7-8 Amplified Bible

God Is Love

7 Beloved, let us [unselfishly] [a]love and seek the best for one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves [others] is born of God and knows God [through personal experience]. 8 The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.]

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

I want you to take a few seconds or minutes, preferably the rest of forever, and meditate, ponder, and just think about the depths of love that Jesus has for you.

Depending on the day, perhaps you may perceive or you genuinely feel a barrier, because we may know all too well, how we often fail, falter, take our eyes off our King, and at times maybe even want nothing to do with Him.

But I’m here to tell you that in those exact moments, Christ’s all-encompassing love is yet all the more present and there to sustain you!

For He has chosen you, though you will most definitely fail, and falter and too, stumble, He called you his own, though you and I will flinch, and we all have a place at His table even when your gaze is not perfectly fixed on the divine host. 

So do meditate, ponder and think about how Christ’s love for you and me is like an all consuming ocean that you and I cannot ever swim away from. 

Do think about that He is the greatest joy in times of triumph. 

Do think about that He is your deepest comfort in your utmost trying of times and sorrows. 

Pray – Oh, what love He has for his children…Oh, what love He has for you!

So please join me today in praising God, and His Word, for his persistent love.

Praise God, that He continually shows us what love is even right now.

Praise God, that He first loved us which enables us to, therefore, go and love on others exactly where they are. 

So today, the remainder of this week, and continually, let there be no shortage of love from the children of God especially during times we are all experiencing.

Ask Jesus right now, through prayer and study of His Word, through fellowship, to love others through you as He has so graciously covered all of you in his love.

What Does it Mean That ‘God Is Love’ in 1 John 4:8?

1 John 4:8 Amplified Bible

8 The one who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love. [He is the originator of love, and it is an enduring attribute of His nature.]

Love is a word that has taken on many meanings throughout the ages.

Innumerable writers, movie directors, music and dance choreographers and hosts and myriads artists alike have tried their best to convey the idea of love.

Though almost no one has the same definition, there is an underlying thought.

Love is a feeling and an action.

Love is what one person feels and does for someone else.

Even in the Christian faith, love entails many qualities. 

1 Corinthians 13 is an entire passage devoted to the idea of love.

The chapter ends on the notion that love is both greater than hope and surprisingly greater than faith.

Here too we see that love is how one person relates to another, both in feeling and action.

The dictionary definition also describes how people relate.

With so many perspectives on the idea of love, an entire biblical passage dedicated to the idea, and too many songs, stories, and movies to count, love must be very important.

Moreover, this proves without a shadow of doubt we have all been affected by love in one way or another – love touches everyone – without any exceptions.

We also know that God values the idea of love because of how many times the word is used in the Bible.

In the original King James Version (KJV) the word love appears 310 times.

The frequency of the word will largely depend on the translation.

Important to note, the English word for love is split into different words in the original writing of the Bible.

The original languages used words to describe love including phileo, pragma, and agape.

When love is evoked in Scripture, the term is used to describe the way we talk, act, and our mindset toward others.

In the Bible though, love is by no means limited to human relationships.

In fact, the Bible informs us that the reason why we love other people, the reason we can understand love, is exactly this: because God first loved us.

1 John 4:19 Amplified Bible

19 We love, because [a]He first loved us.

God gave us the example and the how-to guide.

This verse comes shortly after the aforementioned verse from 1 John 4.

To understand the context of the words here, we have to first identify the passage’s author – John, an apostle of Jesus.

In this chapter, John draws a comparison between people of the world and people of God.

More specifically, he identifies that some people will claim to purport God, but do so falsely.

These are “false prophets” (1 John 4:1).

We can identify these people by testing their spirit.

One way to test the spirit is by examining someone’s ability to love.

After John makes clear the difference between false prophets and true believers, he admonishes us to love one another.

How do we accomplish this?

We look at what God has done for us.

John makes the claim that love is first and foremost defined by God’s choosing to love us, His children.

With this powerful and inspiring truth into mind, we should then in response, turn our heart to love one another (God’s children), the way our Father loves us.

He speaks confidently in detailing that God loves us, so we ought to love one another, but what does John mean when he says, “God is love”?

What Did John Mean When He Said ‘God Is Love’?

1 John 4:8Authorized (King James) Version

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

In this verse, we see that John equates God with love.

This metaphorical statement takes on a literal meaning when we consider the evidence of John’s claim.

In this passage, John mentions the sacrifice of Jesus for humanity–an act of love (1 John 4:10).

Since the Garden of Eden, God has acted on behalf of humanity, showing His love and support for His followers.

There have been consequences such as the banishment from Eden (Genesis 3), but God has maintained a loving relationship with people since the Fall.

Why?

The answer is evident in God’s love and all the stories that follow in the Bible where God acts on behalf of humanity.

These events culminate into the eventual Second Coming of Christ.

As God has remained an ever-present constant in the lives of humanity, so too are we supposed to show ever-present love to one another on an ongoing basis.

John states that we cannot love God and hate someone else (1 John 4:20).

If God has already chosen to love each of us despite our fallen nature since the beginning of time, why should or would we choose not to love someone despite an offense in the present time?

Obviously, this is easier said than done, but John makes clear “God is love.”

He drives this point further by stating we remain in love when we draw close to God, and as we draw close to God, the love of God abides in us (1 John 4:16).

The way God perpetually treats us in love, we should strive to treat other people.

How Does This Verse Affect How We Give and Receive Love?

John’s message to followers of Christ is a message echoed throughout the Bible.

A significant area where this is shown occurs when Jesus is questioned by a Pharisee.

“When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him: ‘Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?’

He said to him, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.’” (Matthew 22:34-40)

Jesus lets us know that the second greatest act we can do daily as Christians is love other people, while the greatest commandment is to love God.

If we are abiding in God, as John admonishes us to do, then we will not only seek to love God as Himself but will see loving others as an extension of that.

Interestingly, the Bible does not tell us to love ourselves, possibly because that action comes so naturally for believers and nonbelievers alike.

We can use this awareness then to change how we view other people.

Instead of maintaining a mindset of “me versus you” or “them versus us,” we can acknowledge the fact that we are all image-bearers of God (Psalm 139:13).

No matter our difference in faith, behavior, or physical appearance, we are God’s children and we should definitely strive to treat each other accordingly.

Three Ways to Love Others by Knowing that God Is Love
1. Encourage One Another

Proverbs 16:24 Amplified Bible

24 
Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
Sweet and delightful to the soul and healing to the body.

The words we speak carry weight, for better or for worse.

When we choose to speak in a godly fashion, we can use words to encourage those around us: family, friends, coworkers, even strangers.

Pleasant words include gratitude, compliments, and any other type of speech that benefits the person hearing.

As we know that God is love, our love is not by any means limited to words.

We can also show love through actions that bring about health to the body of the person receiving.

2. Forgive One Another

Matthew 6:14-15 Amplified Bible

14 For if you forgive [a]others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses.

Holding resentment against another is not the proper way to act as a Christian.

God has chosen to forgive humanity despite our constant sinful nature.

Likewise, God wants us to exercise forgiveness for those people who offend us.

3. Pray For and With One Another

James 5:13-16 Amplified Bible

13 Is anyone among you suffering? He must pray. Is anyone joyful? He is to sing praises [to God]. 14 Is anyone among you sick? He must call for the elders (spiritual leaders) of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with [a]oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer of faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another [your false steps, your offenses], and pray for one another, that you may be healed and restored. The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].

A lot of people say expressions like, “I’ll pray for you.”

How many of them will stop and pray in that moment?

Scripture informs us that prayer has miraculous power.

If the words we speak to one another can bring health to the body, surely the words we say in prayer are even stronger.

When we love like God, we pray for those we love, and those we don’t feel as fondly toward because the Lord watches over us all.

If God is omnipresent, then the Lord is present in all of our lives, whether we feel or even acknowledge His presence.

Acquiring this disposition of love will push us to serve and love others even when we may feel like their faith is not where we prefer, and may even bring others closer to God.

Once we perfect loving people, we would have perfected and fulfilled the second greatest commandment.

This will prove not only God is love, but God is always with us and within us.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

May I Recognize Your Words Prayer

God of truth, sometimes I not sure if I’m actually hearing your voice, or if it’s just my own thoughts or even another spirit. Sharpen my spiritual hearing, Lord, so I can recognize your words when you are speaking to me. Help me know it’s really you, with no doubt or second-guessing. When I’m asking for your guidance in important decisions, give me your peace that surpasses understanding with your answer. Help me remember that your words to me will never go against your written word in the Bible. Please, Give unto me a clear mind and push out all my confusion. Amen.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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Living our Life and Honoring Our God, Living Our Life, Respecting, Honoring Generations of our Families, Honoring and Respecting Our Grand Parents. Proverbs 17:6

Proverbs 17:6Amplified Bible

6 
Grandchildren are the crown of aged men,
And the glory of children is their fathers [who live godly lives].

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

What our Grand parents are to us …

“What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. Most importantly, milk and cookies and plenty of Ice Cream.”

“A grandfather is someone with silver in his hair and gold in his heart.”—Anonymous

If nothing is going well, call your grandmother. —Italian Proverb

“When Grand Ma smiles, the lines in her face become epic narratives that trace the stories of generations that no book can replace.” Anonymous

To a small child, the perfect granddad is unafraid of big dogs and fierce storms but absolutely terrified of the word “boo.” Anonymous

I still remember the simple lessons taught to me by my grandmother Lou. She taught me how special I was simply by telling me what a coconut looked like.

The time she spent with me, and the things she passed on with her simple, yet gentle words, pats upon my head, are still invaluable treasures that I cherish.

Throughout history, grandparents have played a central role in the lives of their children and grandchildren.

There is even a Grandparents Day the first Sunday after Labor day, put into its place by President Carter in 1978, to genuinely celebrate how important the contribution and impact our grandparents make to families, communities.

Today, let’s give honor where honor is long overdue, to take a few moments to stop and reflect on the value of grandparents—past or present and future.

Let’s dive into a few Scriptures that offer beautiful words of affirmation about the aged—timely words that show just how important grandparents truly are.

Does the Bible say anything about Honoring Our Grandparents?

When most of the books of the Bible were written, parents and grandparents held positions of high honor in the life of the family and of the community.

Children were expected to revere their elders and learn from them.

When God introduced the Law to the Israelite nation, He even included a commandment to “honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12).

God also made it part of His Law that the younger person should stand in the presence of the elderly as a sign of respect (Leviticus 19:32).

Implied within this command is a multi-generational attitude of respect and honor toward a family and communities senior relatives.

As children observed their parents honoring the grandparents, they, in turn, at some point in life, would shoulder that responsibility when their time came.

Proverbs 17:6 says that “children’s children are the crown of old people.”

Every grandparent understands that comparison.

There is a special kind of bond between a grandparent and a grandchild that benefits both.

Someone has humorously stated that “grandchildren are God’s reward for not killing your own children when they were teenagers.”

Humor aside, there is some truth to that.

Grandchildren, like children, are a reward—a blessing from the Lord and one way that He is good to us (Psalm 127:3).

“Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.” – Proverbs 17:6

What a picture of God’s design for the good of families.

Think about it.

There’s three generations here.

You have got grandparents, parents, and children.

All of us fit into this spectrum in some sense.

We all are children with parents.

We all are grandchildren.

Some of us are parents or step parents of children who pray about being blessed with Grand Children, perhaps even Great Grand Children.

Some are grandparents with grandchildren.

This Proverb Calls Us to Honor Generations of Our Families

And the picture here is ABBA Father God has designed our lives to honor and respect our own parents and our grandparents.

God has designed our lives as parents and grandparents to be glorified in the way we love and raise our children, in the very way we love our grandchildren.

So, as we see these three generations, I just want to encourage you to think about life and think about how you can honor your parents, even just to thank God for them, to pray for them, and grand and great grand parents, as well.

How can you honor them?

How can you pray for them?

I think in my own life, none of my grandparents are living.

My mom and my dad have long gone to be the Lord.

So when it comes to these groups in my life, I think about my mom.

I thank God so much for my mom and my dad and their parents, and by God’s grace, for the legacy, blossoming revelation of faith, they’ve passed on to me.

I could go on and on and on far, far beyond the scope of this devotional just talking about God’s grace toward me.

God, I want to honor all generations of my parents, I’m so thankful for them.

Proverbs 17:6 Encourages Us to Glorify God in Our Families

And then I look the other way and think about my stepson.

I think about how precious he is, what a gift he is, and how much I pray for him.

I want to glorify God by loving him and caring for him well, and then I pray for his growing son.

So I pray for my grandson all the time.

I have no children of my own, but my sister does so I pray for her grandkids.

I pray that they would know God, they would love God, they would know God’s love for them and model God’s love for others.

So, just think about your life and where you are right now in the spectrum, whether you are single, married, a parent, or a grandparent, So I just pray.

1 Timothy 5:1-5 Common English Bible

Caring for God’s family

5 Don’t correct an older man, but encourage him like he’s your father; treat younger men like your brothers, 2 treat older women like your mother, and treat younger women like your sisters with appropriate respect.

3 Take care of widows who are truly needy. 4 But if a particular widow has children or grandchildren, they should first learn to respect their own family and repay their parents, because this pleases God. 5 A widow who is truly needy and all alone puts her hope in God and keeps on going with requests and prayers, night and day.

In the New Testament, the duty of an adult grandchild is made explicit:

“If a widow has children or grandchildren, they should learn to serve God by taking care of her, as she once took care of them. This is what God wants them to do” (1 Timothy 5:4, CEB).

So the honor shown to a grandparent in need is more than mere respect; it is taking practical steps to support the grandparent and doing whatever it takes to meet his or her needs.

Doing so is a natural part of honoring and serving and giving glory to the Lord.

Grand Parent Responsibility Towards Grand Children

Proverbs 13:22 Christian Standard Bible

22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his[a] grandchildren,
but the sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.

Just as grandchildren have sacred obligations to love, honor, and assist their grandparents, so do grandparents have responsibilities toward their children’s children. 

Proverbs 13:22 says that “a good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.”

Righteous people live wisely and pass on their wisdom, their knowledge, and their material blessings to their grandchildren.

In our day, it has become common for grandparents to have full custody of their grandchildren from the parents’ inability [drugs, alcohol, mental illness, legal issues] or their unwillingness to rear their own children.

While this is sad, it also demonstrates the unique love grandparents have that creates a willingness to begin the task of bringing up a child just when child-rearing was supposed to be finished.

Few retirees would volunteer for the emotional, financial, and physical burden of rearing children again, but, because they are grandparents, they’ll set aside their own desires for the needs of a grandchild.

Honoring and Respecting All Grand Parents?

The Bible gives examples of grandparents, and some of those grandparents were wicked: 

2 Kings 11 recounts the sad story of Athaliah, mother of King Ahaziah of Judah.

When Ahaziah died, the Queen Mother ordered the execution of all her royal family so that she could take the throne.

Unknown to her, one of Ahaziah’s sisters, Jehosheba, hid a baby grandson, Joash, in a bedroom so that he escaped his grandmother’s bloody rampage.

He and his nurse remained hidden in the temple for six years while his grandmother ruled Judah.

When Joash was seven years old, the high priest brought him out, anointed him, put the crown on his head, and proclaimed little Joash king of Judah.

When Athaliah saw this, she flew into a rage, but the godly high priest ordered her to be executed.

Thus, it was the murder of his entire family by his own grandmother that had ushered in the forty-year reign of King Joash of Judah.

Did Joash, at some point in his 4o year kingly reign privately or publicly forgive the scriptures do not say.

If there is some reason, legitimate or otherwise, and you are at severe odds with your grandparents, the matter of extending or not extending mercy, granting or not granting forgiveness is between Father God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and you.

Scripture repeatedly says mercy and forgiveness are always the right choices.

Matthew 5:7Christian Standard Bible

7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

Matthew 9:13 Christian Standard Bible

13 Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.[a] For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”[b]

Kinsman Redeemer

Leviticus 25:25-27 Christian Standard Bible

25 If your brother becomes destitute and sells part of his property, his nearest relative may come and redeem what his brother has sold. 26 If a man has no family redeemer, but he prospers[a] and obtains enough to redeem his land, 27  he may calculate the years since its sale, repay the balance to the man he sold it to, and return to his property.

Ruth 4:14-17 Christian Standard Bible

14 The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you without a family redeemer today. May his name become well known in Israel. 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. Indeed, your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became a mother to him. 17 The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

An unusual grandparenting relationship is found in the book of Ruth.

The story of Ruth is a beautiful tale of love and loyalty between a young widow and her bereaved mother-in-law, Naomi.

Although her husband is dead, Ruth chooses to stay with her mother-in-law to care for her.

She even leaves her own people, the Moabites, to follow Naomi back to Israel where she meets and marries Boaz.

When their first child is born, the townspeople congratulate Naomi, saying, “Naomi has a son!” (Ruth 4:14–17).

The child was no blood relation to Naomi, but, because of the great love and connection between her and Ruth, she adopted the baby as her own grandchild.

This reminds us that grandparenting can come in many forms.

In this day of broken and dysfunctional families, divorce, and step-parenting, godly men and women who will prayerfully step forward, adopt their children’s step-children as their own grandchildren are blessed, as Naomi was blessed.

Her adopted grandchild, Obed, became the grandfather of King David.

When God designed this world, He instituted the ministry of the family as His means of propagating the earth and teaching us about love and relationship.

He intended for the elder to teach the younger and for the younger to revere the elder.

Grandparents, Great Grandparents play a uniquely special role in this design.

Free from the responsibility to train and discipline a child, grandparents can offer open arms, acceptance, and a safe place for a child to run when things are not going well with Mom and Dad.

Grandparents can provide wisdom beyond that of the parents, since they have already walked this road many years before.

A wise grandparent, though, will never intrude upon a parental decision in front of the child.

A grandparent’s role is not to supersede the parent but to support, encourage, and counsel as needed.

When parents, grandparents, and children are living out their roles as God first designed, the entire family, entire generations of families, communities thrive.

If I could give gold crowns to each one of my wonderful grandparents, I would.

They have invested so much into my life, and made such an impact,

I believe they ought to be treated like royalty.

However, I pray, that the way in which I’ve lived my life, would be such an abundant blessing to them, it feels like a crown of honor.

Not only are grandchildren a crown to the aged, the aged are the pride of their family – What a truly excellent reminder of the importance of grandparents!

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

ABBA Father, Every good and perfect gift comes from You. I thank you, Lord, for the joy and happiness, the moments of learning, and the guidance and care you have brought to us through our wonderful grandparents. I truly appreciate the kind of life, love, and nurturing they have given our parents, for through these, I was taught to depend on You by faith, and I was raised with the morals and values to respect others and be concerned for their welfare. Thank you, Lord, for our godly grandparents.

Gracious God, I pray also that each and every grandparent would be able to see their grandchildren as crowns of joy. I also ask that every child would be able to see their grandparents as people of steadfast faith they can look up to. Thank you, Lord, for the beautiful legacies they leave behind. I pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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What Does it Really Look Like to ‘Honor Your Father and Mother’? Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16

    Honoring your father and your mother is the only commandment out of the Ten Commandments that is followed by a promise, Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. (Deuteronomy 5:16)

    Exodus 20:12Amplified Bible

    12 “Honor (respect, obey, care for) your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land the Lord your God gives you.

    The Word of God for the Children of God.

    Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

    Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

    Most Christians are very familiar with the verse “honor your father and mother”, but few actually know of it’s origin in the Bible.

    The command to honor your father and mother actually comes from the Old Testament book of Exodus 20 in the story of the 10 Commandments.

    However, it is also a command that is repeated several times in both the Old and New Testament. 

    Chapter 20 of the Book of Exodus serves as a powerful reminder of the intimate relationship God has with humankind.

    This passage specifically reveals the intense care and concern that God shows toward His Children.

    Today this chapter remains popular because of a very special occurrence – the Ten Commandments.

    At eighty plus years old, after venturing up to Mount Sinai, Moses, a father, brought down the Ten Commandments, rules given Him directly from God.

    The Ten Commandments described ten precepts for how God expected His people to behave.

    This monumental moment follows after the Israelites fled Egypt. 

    Chapter 19 in the Book of Exodus details how the Israelites camped in the wilderness, now living a life outside of slavery for a few months.

    God informs Moses that He desires to bless the nation of Israel.

    However, He also wants them to keep a covenant with Him (Exodus 19:5-6).

    The Ten Commandments serve as part of that covenant.

    One of these commandments spoke to the relationship between a child and parent and is a guideline we as Christians still ought to be following today.

    Exodus 20:12The Message

    12 Honor your father and mother so that you’ll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you.

    The reason this commandment in addition to the other nine is still relevant today is because Jesus indicated such to later believers (Matthew 5:17-20).

    Jesus did not abolish the law, but rather came to fulfill it.

    The Apostle Paul wrote to the followers at the church at Ephesus;

    Ephesians 5:1-2 Amplified Bible

    Be Imitators of God

    5 Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]; 2 and walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God [slain for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.

    We are to do our part yet today in abiding in Jesus, by these commandments.

    Today, I do not believe there is little to no controversy about whether or not the Ten Commandments are still relevant.

    What has been up for rather contentious debate in the meaning of “honor” in the context of parents and children.

    There are many instances of children being the victims of incest, abandonment, neglect, or other severe and seriously exploitive forms of ultra damaging abuse.

    In these situations, how does a child honor a parent, when the parent lacks any concept or context of abiding in God, His Son Jesus and have honor for the child.

    To understand this commandment, we have to examine the original context.

    What Is the Original Meaning of Honor Your Father and Mother in Exodus 20?

    The commandment to honor our father and mother is the fifth of the ten mentioned.

    The commandment to precedes this one is honoring the Sabbath, followed by the commandment to not murder.

    Scripture explains the reason why the commandment should be followed.

    Exodus 20:12Amplified Bible

    12 “Honor (respect, obey, care for) your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land the Lord your God gives you.

    The benefit of abiding by this commandment is longer life, specifically for the Israelites venturing on toward the Promised Land.

    Dennis Prager [https://dennisprager.com/] emphasizes that though this could be viewed as a reward, this is also a reason.

    And many of the other commandments are not given explicit reasons to be followed.

    Prager suggests in a society where parents are honored by children, the society is bound to survive longer, than a society with a weaker family structure.

    This commandment in Exodus is mentioned a number of other times in the Bible, each time as an admonishment to God’s people to better establish them. 

    Deuteronomy 5:16 tells us, “Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”

    Ephesians 6:2 states: “Honor your father and mother” – which is the first commandment with a promise”

    God blesses the people when their parents are honored, but the people are punished when they do not.

    To honor is to hold someone in high regard or reverence.

    The word honor does not mean agree with or even obey, but does suggest in this context a child should hold the highest utmost respect for both of their parents.

    Now that we better understand the original context and interpretation of the commandment to honor thy mother and father, we can try to discern how this precept applies to modern-day life.

    How Can Christians ‘Honor Your Father and Mother’ Today?

    With an understanding of the word honor, there need not be a change in how parents are respected by children today.

    However, with modern cultural shifts, this commandment for some has taken on a different interpretation.

    We can perhaps better, more prayerfully understand the proper ways of honoring parents by first understanding how honoring should not appear.

    As Dennis Prager discusses in his video analysis of the commandment, some parents yearn to be loved, rather than honored.

    The visual example given in his video is that of a parent showering their child with gifts in order to receive affection.

    This same parent when trying to discipline their child instead receives severe retaliation from them.

    This is definitively not an example of a child honoring their parent because instead of respecting them as an “authority” figure, they are simply seeking what else, exactly how much more they can manipulate, gain from the parent.

    Much like the Bible commands us to love others, the call to honor our parents is an outward action – something we do for others.

    Honoring our parents is therefore not contingent upon what they give in return.

    Within the Ten Commandments, verse 12 of Exodus 20 gives no clarification as to what parents are to be honored or even how.

    We can conclude then that all parents are deserving of honor, and we can use the context of love within the Bible to discern appropriate ways to show honor.

    We can even in some instances see how people have honored God as Father as an example.

    Ways we can appropriately honor our parents include:

    Expressing Gratitude
    Parents invest time and effort into raising children.

    Those reasons alone are enough to show them gratitude for the sacrifices they make.

    Parents provide shelter, food, clothing.

    For every action they do in their support of their child is in itself a far more than sufficient reason for expressing their appreciation and gratitude.

    Spending Time Together
    When physically possible, children can and should get together with their parents.

    This acknowledges their existence and places a level of importance upon the relationship.

    If being together physically is not an option, calling a parent on the phone for a check-in is also beneficial.

    Dennis Prager shares with fellow believers he called his parents once a week.

    Serve
    Another way for children to honor their parents is to find creative ways to serve their desires, wants and needs, much like parents perform on behalf of children.

    To Honor or Not to Honor

    It goes without saying and preaching to the choir that modern parenting is not equivalent to the parenting in ancient biblical Jewish culture.

    Children today learn differently and have certain responsibilities such as owning a cell phone [I never did], which was not true for past generations.

    No matter the time, parents should always be honored.

    One concern followers, nonbelievers have with the commandment is the issue of bad parents, individuals who have abused their children by various means.

    The Bible does not qualify which parents deserve honoring.

    Additionally, Jesus mentions we are to love others as ourselves (Matthew 22:39) and to bless those who persecute us (Romans 12:14).

    We, therefore, know that even when seemingly impossible, we should all do our best to express love for our parents, our children as we express love for our God.

    This fifth commandment, however, does not advocate for putting ourselves in danger with bad parents.

    Applying this commandment for children who have been abused will look different in terms of how they show their honoring.

    Spending time together may be an impossibility but talking on the phone or writing a letter could prayerfully be an option depending on the circumstance.

    Sometimes we have to set boundaries in relationships, and whenever that is the case we have to pray unto our ABBA God for wisdom, so that we may honor His commandment and honor our parents while keeping ourselves safe (James 1:5).

    There are no easy or set human answers how to be complete, perfect parents.

    As Mom’s and Dad’s together …

    The very best we can do is diligently consult the Word of God for His Children.

    Study it …

    Like Jesus did, intentionally plumb its depths, its ways, its truths and its life.

    Pray without ceasing over every aspect of it, revelation from it …

    Koinonia, Fellowship with our ABBA Father, His Son Jesus, Holy Spirit, other Parents …

    Finally,

    Be Still, Be Quiet, know only God is God, and can, should be, exalted as God.

    Matthew 6:25-33New King James Version

    Do Not Worry

    25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one [a]cubit to his [b] stature?

    28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not [c]arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

    31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

    In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

    Let us Pray,

    Heavenly Father, thank You for my parents and for giving me life. Thank You for the pleasant and harsh lessons I have learned and the good times and the bad we have shared together. Forgive me for the times when I have not sufficiently honored my father and mother as I ought – for I am now acutely aware that this is dishonoring to You. From this day forward, I pray that I should honour You in all my interactions with my own family and with my friends, and may my life be honoring to You.

    Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

    Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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    Honoring Parents, Honoring God. Exodus 20:12

    Exodus 20:12Amplified Bible

    12 “Honor (respect, obey, care for) your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged in the land the Lord your God gives you.

    The Word of God for the Children of God.

    Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

    Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

    The fifth commandment is simultaneously a simple instruction and an indispensable element of the well-being of entire societies.

    When the Lord gives the command “Honor your father and mother,” He is laying down the essential blueprint for maintaining the stability of families, communities, the Body of Christ and His churches and hosts of all nations.

    What does it mean to honor your parents?

    The word for “honor” carries the notion of weight and heaviness; children ought to feel the weight of respect for their parents.

    By this fifth commandment, God places the full weight of responsibility for the lifetime of moral and ethical upbringing of the children and their instruction in righteous living, firmly and squarely on the shoulders of the father and mother.

    By this “God” weight, this weight of God, Parents are owed such high regard because God has placed upon them in their roles, the stewardship of such a role, accountability to such a role, to raise the next generation of children, is worth many times over, far beyond its utmost maximum possible weight in honor.

    While children are in view here, the Bible also has much to say about parenting that honors God (see also Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21). — More on this later.

    How does a child display this honor?

    In several ways.

    For one, a child ought to show practical respect to his or her parents.

    This can be as simple as speaking well of our parents, showing them courtesy, looking them in the eye, and addressing them with a due sense of deference.

    Second, it involves genuine love; there should be heartfelt expressions of affection between parents and their children.

    Third, unless it would involve disobeying God, a child ought to obey what his or her mom and dad say.

    This expectation is found all over Proverbs: for example, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching” (Proverbs 1:8).

    Fourth, a child should submit to their parents’ discipline and authority.

    All good parents discipline their children (though it must not be done in anger nor vindictively or disproportionately), and children should ought to be taught to implicitly trust such discipline is for their long-term good (Hebrews 12:5-11).

    In ancient Israel, respect for ones parents was valued so highly that those who disregarded it flagrantly or persistently faced the death penalty (Deuteronomy 21:18-21).

    Why such a significant consequence?

    Because the home provides the most essential and vital training ground, the success of which affects how the child will relate to authorities of all kinds.

    We never outrun authority in our lives.

    There are political authorities we are called to obey (Romans 13:1-7).

    Spiritual authorities we are to respect (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:12).

    And those of advanced years we are commanded to honor (Leviticus 19:32).

    Most significantly, when children are taught how, when they learn over time to honor their parents, even despite their parents’ many imperfections, they learn what it too means to learn how to honor our ABBA, our perfect heavenly Father.

    Reverence for parents is an integral part of reverence for God.

    Because parental authority is God-given, for children to learn to honor their parents is to come to that place of spiritual maturity and honor God Himself.

    So if you are a parent [age not specific] with children [age?] at home, it is not loving (though it may be easier) to fail to insist that your children honor you.

    If you are an adult with parents still living, it is a matter of obedience to God you still show them the honor they are due, not according to how well (or other- wise) you feel they raised you but according to the position the Lord gave them.

    As you honor them, you will be pleasing Him and showing those around you that God-given authority, when exercised in a godly way, is a blessing to all.

    Honoring Parents …

    It may come as a surprise to many of us this commandment is not age-specific.

    It’s a commandment not just for the young but for children of all ages.

    God asks parents be worthy of honor in the way they relate to their children.

    And God commands that children obey and show respect for their parents in line with doing what is right.

    This means both are to act appropriately at each stage of their lives together.

    This commandment came to a society without the support systems that many of us are used to.

    Adult children were totally responsible to look after aging parents.

    God reminds us that as long as we have parents, we are to honor them, seeing that their living is respectable and they are well cared for.

    It’s not just a matter of doing what our parents tell us to do when we are young.

    It’s a matter of showing our utmost respect, life-long honor to the parents who gave us life, sacrificed incredibly all to raise us, launched us upon life’s journey.

    The apostle Paul calls this “the first commandment with a promise.”

    God indicates when we honor the parents with whom we are in relationship, he will honor us and He will surely and certainly bless us.

    Some parents are easier to honor than others.

    But respecting to the utmost those whom the Lord has chosen to place over us opens a door to abundant blessings.

    By honoring our parents and others whom God places in authority over us, we honor and glory and our utmost worship and praise unto our Father in heaven.

    Which is what each and everyone of us were created, shaped by God, to do …

    In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

    Let us Pray,

    Heavenly Father, ABBA Father, thank You for my parents and for giving me life. My First ABBA, Thank You for the lessons I have learned and the good times we have shared together. Forgive me for the times when I have not honored my father and mother as I ought – for I am aware that this is dishonoring to You. From this day forward, I pray that I may honour You in all my interactions with my family and my friends, and may my whole life be honoring unto You. This I pray in Jesus’ name.

    Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

    Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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    The Fourth Commandment: Our Rest, Our Witness. Remember the Sabbath. Exodus 20:8-11

    Exodus 20:8-11 Amplified Bible

    8 “Remember the Sabbath (seventh) day to keep it holy (set apart, dedicated to God). 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath [a day of rest dedicated] to the Lord your God; on that day you shall not do any work, you or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock or the temporary resident (foreigner) who stays within your [city] gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy [that is, set it apart for His purposes].

    The Word of God for the Children of God.

    Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

    Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

    Keep the Sabbath [verse 8]

    Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8

    Throughout history there have been well-meaning, earnest Christians who have, perhaps without their ever knowing it, who have come to functionally believe the Ten Commandments are really only the Nine Commandments.

    Somewhere along the way, some have decided the fourth commandment is not like the rest of the commandments but rather as a relic that belongs in the past.

    In truth, though, the ancient command to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy has abiding significance for us all, even today.

    Why has this simple command fallen on such hard times?

    Some have claimed that its regulations and penalties were tied to the old covenant, so it must no longer be relevant.

    Yet we do not treat the other commandments this way.

    Others have said that the way Jesus spoke of being “lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8) diminished the commandment’s significance and force.

    What about Jesus’ apparent intent here?

    What the man Rabbi Jesus sought to overturn was not the Sabbath itself but the host of hypocritical external rules of the Pharisees.

    I have long suspected what keeps most Christians from thinking of the fourth commandment as we ought to is simply that we do not like its implications.

    We do not like, nor appreciate all of the subtle and not so subtle ways it intrudes into our lives, into our leisure and whatever else takes precedence in our hearts.

    So we act as though this command is in a different category from the other nine.

    However, If we truly want to grasp the significance of the Sabbath and respond to it in a God-honoring way, we must all embrace, as a conviction, the real truth that God has intentionally set aside the Sabbath day as distinct from the rest.

    This was the case in the week of creation, with God resting on the seventh day and declaring it sanctified.

    The church, in the age of the new covenant, then changed the day from the seventh day of the week to the first day to mark the resurrection of Christ.

    In both cases, we see that the distinction of the day is woven into God’s work of creation and redemption.

    With that conviction in place, we can see that the day is not simply a day set apart from other days, but it is, in Gospel Truth, a day set apart unto the Lord.

    By not seeing it this way, we’ll be tempted to view our spiritual exercises on the Lord’s Day as something to “get over with” in order to “get on with” our week.

    If this is our mentality, we stand condemned by the fourth commandment.

    The Sabbath ought to be treasured for what it is: a gift of a day on which we enjoy, uninterrupted by leisure commitments or (if possible) by employment, the privilege of God’s presence, the study of God’s word, and the fellowship of God’s people.

    Seen like that, this command becomes an invitation: not only to just something we should do but something we will each come to learn how to love to do.

    If this is not how you have been viewing God’s Sabbath, then ask yourself:

    What’s preventing you from honoring the Lord’s Day?

    Take stock of your habits and receive the gift of the Sabbath.

    From that next Sunday, be sure that your priority is not to make the Lord’s Day convenient but to make the Lord’s day exclusively about God, to keep it holy.

    Keep the Sabbath [verses 9-10]

    9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath [a day of rest dedicated] to the Lord your God; on that day you shall not do any work, you or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock or the temporary resident (foreigner) who stays within your [city] gates. [verses 9, 10]

    Having established the fourth commandment remains what it has always been—a commandment of the Lord—and as such it is relevant to our lives, we can now turn our hearts, souls, minds, to thinking profitably about how to keep it.

    But we must be careful as we get specific about honoring the Sabbath.

    The Lord Jesus, after all, had some very harsh, strong words for the Pharisees regarding the way their moral specificity had become a means not of obedience but of self-righteousness (Mark 2:23 – 3:6).

    With “quaking and trembling knees” and maturing humility, let’s take some quality time to consider how are we to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

    Let us try to explore: How do we prevent worldly concerns—those of leisure, recreation, and work—from infringing on our enjoyment and worship of God?

    Let’s think first of public worship.

    What kinds of conversations do you typically have prior to the worship service?

    Are they concerned at any point with exclusively the things of God, or only ever with sports – making it to the home team game, family, and every other thing?

    It takes a conscious and a thoroughly intentional act of the will to give eternal matters the very highest measure of maxed priority in our minds and mouths.

    If you were to determine that in your preparation for worship you would set aside every priority which looms, loomed so large on other days, I guarantee the focus of your time at church would be changed.

    The same goes for after the service.

    When the last song has been sung and the service is over, how long does it take for your mind and conversation to return to worldly matters?

    If we were instead to:

    commit to spending time after the service speaking to one another about the greatness of God, the truth of His word, and the wonder of His dealings with us,

    and praying with one another about the week ahead and the trials we face, then we would begin to understand better the “one another” passages in the New Testament about:

    encouraging one another (Hebrews 10:25),

    speaking the truth to one another (Ephesians 4:25), and

    building one another up (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

    —for we would then be prioritizing ourselves to actually living them out.

    Similarly, in our private affairs on the Lord’s Day, spiritual improvement should still take priority.

    That may mean additional family worship, reading edifying books, prayer, discussion of what was preached that morning, and more—but whatever it means, we should make it our aim not to let the cares of the other six days push into our efforts of growing our spiritual enjoyment of the first day of the week.

    If we want to profit from keeping the Sabbath, and if we want to take the fourth commandment more seriously, then our convictions must fuel our actions, and our daily aspirations must turn into daily practices.

    Avoid making unique rules that only serve to foster self-righteousness, but consider whether anything worldly needs to change, be re-prioritized Godly.

    How would, should, could you change to keep the Sabbath holy the next time Sunday comes round, then Monday, then Tuesday then Wednesday and so on?

    Our Sabbath Rest as Our Witness

    [sermon illustrations]

    The college student broke down in tears over his coffee.

    Driven by competition for limited space in a pre-law program, he had just poured himself into studying virtually nonstop, eight hours a day seven days a week. After seven months he found he lost the ambition for learning—and nearly for life itself.

    Driven by the desire for promotion and the prospect for more money for him an his growing family, [……….] takes extra work home every single night to get the one up on his fellow workers – he stays up till midnight every night for weeks. Taking no time for dinner with his wife or leisure time his young kids, he hears them crying.

    Our reading today states that “in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth … but he rested on the seventh day.”

    The ambition and creativity we bring to work is a reflection of our mindset on our Creator’s sovereignty over our lives and over the lives we genuinely value.

    It’s part of how we reflect his image and a big part of how we serve as witnesses for him.

    God also rested on the seventh day, however, and he calls us to do the same.

    For us, good work hinges on good rest.

    Without good rest our good work suffers.

    The discipline of regular rest is a witness in our fast-paced world, especially when that time is focused on enjoying our Creator.

    It speaks of God’s love to command what’s good for us.

    Our ambitions would otherwise serve only to distract us from him and drive us into the ground if we let them.

    How will you take our rest the rest of this week and this next weekend?

    For the sake of good work later, let’s rest.

    For the sake of sanity, let’s rest.

    For the sake of glory to God in regular worship and fellowship, let’s rest.

    God blesses those who “work hard” at resting in the Lord Jesus Christ.

    Let’s trust him to establish the work and rest of our hands (see Psalm 90:17).

    In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

    Let us Pray,

    God, grant us and all our loved ones true rest on this Sabbath Day. May Your Holy and Sacred Presence drive out from among us anger and fear, worry and regret. Send your blessing upon us, that we may be people of the Word. Lord of work and of rest, thank you for these gifts. Help us to work hard and rest well. Please provide work where we need it. Please also bless whatever years of retirement rest we may have.

    Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

    Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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    The Second Commandment: Have or Make No Image Engraved or in Mind. Exodus 20:1-4

    Exodus 20:1-4 Amplified Bible

    The Ten Commandments

    20 Then God spoke all these words:

    2 “I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

    3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.

    4 “You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship].

    The Word of God for the Children of God.

    Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

    Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

    The Ten Commandments

    The Ten Commandments are the supreme expression of God’s will in the Old Testament and merit our close attention.

    They are to be thought of not as the ten most important commands among hundreds of others, but as a digest of the entire Torah.

    The foundation of all of the Torah rests in these Ten Commandments, and somewhere within them we should be able to find all the law.

    Jesus expressed the essential unity of the Ten Commandments with the rest of the law when he summarized the law in the famous words,

    “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). 

    All the law, as well as laws of the prophets, is indicated whenever the Ten Commandments are expressed.

    The essential unity of the Ten Commandments with the rest of the law, and their continuity with the New Testament, invites each and every on us to apply them to today’s ministries broadly in light of the rest of the Holy Scriptures.

    That is, when applying the Ten Commandments, we will take into account related passages of Scripture in both the Hebrew [Old] and New Testaments.

    “You Shall Have No Other Gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3)

    The first commandment reminds us that everything in the Torah flows from the love we have for God, which in turn is a response to the love he has for us.

    This unconventional, inexpressible miracle of love was demonstrated by God’s deliverance of Israel “out of the house of slavery” in Egypt (Exodus 20:2).

    In our heart of hearts, from within the deepest depths of our souls, nothing else in our lives should concern us more than our desire to love and be loved by God.

    If we do have some other concern stronger to us than our love for God, and who of us does not have other “stronger concerns,” they are not so much that we are breaking God’s rules, but that we are not really in relationship with Father God.

    The other concern—be it money, power, security, recognition, sex, or anything else—has become our god.

    These gods will have their own commandments at odds with God’s, and we will inevitably violate the Torah as we try to comply with these god’s requirements.

    Observing the Ten Commandments is only conceivable for those who start by being determined to diligently study, to pray at having no other god than God.

    In the realm of work, this means that we are not to let work or its requirements and fruits displace God as our most important concern in life.

    “Never allow anyone or anything to threaten God’s central place in your life,” as Dr. David W. Gill [https://www.davidwgill.org/] puts it. 

    Because many people work primarily to make money for their and their family’s future, we might just conclude that an inordinate desire for money is probably one of the most common work-related dangers to the first commandment.

    Jesus warned of exactly this danger. “No one can serve two masters…. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24).

    But almost anything related to work can become twisted in our desires to the point that it interferes with our love for God.

    How many promising up and coming, careers come to a tragic end because the means to accomplish things for the love of God—such as political power, financial sustainability, steadfast commitment to the job, status among peers, or superior performance—become their alpha to omega ends in themselves?

    When, for example, recognition on the job becomes simply far more important than character on the job, is it not a sign that their reputation is displacing their love of God the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, as ultimate Alpha to Omega concern?

    A practical touchstone in balancing life lived in the world of man and God is to just ask whether our love of God is shown by the way we treat people on the job.

    “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also” (1 John 4:20-21).

    If we put our individual concerns ahead of our concern for the people we work with, for, and among, then we have made our individual concerns our god.

    In particular, if we treat other people as things to be manipulated, obstacles to overcome, instruments to obtain what we want, or simply neutral objects in our field of view, then we starkly demonstrate that we do not love God with all our heart, soul, and mind as required by the Word of God for the Children of God.

    In this context, we can begin to list some work-related actions that have a high potential to interfere with our love for God.

    Doing work that violates our conscience.

    Working in an organization where we have to harm others to succeed.

    Working such long hours that we have little time to pray, worship, rest, and otherwise deepen our relationship with God.

    Working among people who demoralize us or seduce us away from our love for God.

    Working where alcohol, drug abuse, violence, sexual harassment, corruption, disrespect, racism, or other inhumane treatments mar the image of God in us and the people we encounter in our work – our co-workers and our neighbors.

    If we can find ways to avoid these dangers at work—even if it means finding a new job—it would be wise for us to seek God, study, pray, to consider to do so.

    If that is not possible, we can at least be aware that we need help and support to maintain our love of God in the face of our work.

    “You Shall Not Make for Yourself an Idol” (Exodus 20:4)

    The second commandment raises the issue of idolatry.

    Making and then Naming our Golden calves then marketing them for all to see.

    Idols are gods of our own creation, gods that have nothing to them that did not originate with us, gods that we feel we control.

    In ancient times, idolatry often took the form of worshiping physical objects.

    But the issue is really one of trust and devotion.

    On what “shirt” do we ultimately pin our hope of well-being and success upon?

    On whose “lapel” should we ultimately pin our hopes of well-being and success upon?

    Anything, Anyone, which is not capable of fulfilling our hope—that is, anything other than God—is an idol, whether or not it is a physical object, even a person.

    The story of a family forging an idol with the intent to manipulate God, and the disastrous personal, social, and economic consequences which then tragically follow, are memorably told in Judges 17-21.

    In the world of work, it is common to speak of money, fame, and power as potential idols, and rightly so.

    They are not idolatrous, per se, and in fact may be utterly necessary for us to accomplish our roles in God’s creative and redemptive work in the world.

    Yet when we then imagine that we have ultimate control over them, or that by achieving them our safety and prosperity will be secured, we have begun the so inevitable “foot to shovel to earth to digging our grave” descent into idolatry.

    The same may occur with virtually every other element of success, including our preparation, hard work, creativity, risk, wealth and other resources, and favorable circumstances.

    As Christian workers, we have to recognize how important these are.

    As God’s people, we must recognize when we begin to idolize them.

    By God’s grace alone, we can overcome the temptation to worship these good things in their own right.

    The development of genuinely godly wisdom and skill for any task is “so that your entire trust may be in the Lord alone” [Proverbs 22:19].

    The distinctive element of idolatry is the human-made nature of the idol.

    At work, a danger of idolatry arises when we mistake our power, knowledge, and opinions for reality.

    When we stop holding ourselves accountable to the standards we set for others, cease listening to others’ ideas, or seek to crush those who disagree with us, are we not beginning to make and shape, obsess over our graven idols of ourselves?

    No Image Engraved or in Mind [eXODUS 20:4]

    Exodus 20:4 Amplified Bible

    4 “You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship].

    If the first commandment

    —“You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3)—deals with the object of our worship, the second commandment deals with the manner of our worship.

    What the second commandment tells us is that it is not enough that we worship the correct God; we must also worship Him correctly.

    The crystal clear and immediate meaning of the command is that God is to be worshiped without any visual symbols of Him.

    Why the prohibition?

    Because God is spirit: infinite and unfathomably great.

    No physical representation could ever do justice to His glory and grandeur.

    The problem with statues, shrines, and pictures is not that they don’t look good but that no matter how good they look, they will all inevitably severely blur the truth about God’s nature and character.

    Such images will tend to distract men and women from genuinely worshiping the true and living God, [John 4:20-24] instead leading them to naively worship whatever physical representation of God is placed before them in the sanctuary.

    Yet the second commandment takes us beyond mere images and idol-making and into our own thought life.

    Our hands may be innocent of the skills and craftsmanship of hand making graven images, but our thoughts and imaginations are so seldom unskilled.

    Any conception of God in our minds and hearts that is not derived from Scripture runs foul of this command.

    When God gave strict instructions for the building of the temple, He ordered that the ark of the covenant, on which His presence would dwell, should reside in the Most Holy Place (Exodus 26:34).

    What was inside the ark?

    Perhaps most significant is what was not in it: it contained no visible, physical, hand shaped representation of God.

    Instead, there were the two tablets of the Ten Commandments.

    It was as if God was saying to His people, as He says to us, Don’t look for Me in shrines, paintings, or statues. I’m not there. Look for Me in My word.

    So we take our cues from God. If we want to worship Him—if we want to meet with Him and know what He is like—we must conform our minds to His word.

    Our own attempts to conceive of God apart from divine revelation will utterly, invariably fail.

    He has published His truth in His word, and so we are to tether ourselves to what is revealed there.

    What’s at stake in this is the integrity not only of our worship but also of our lives—because when people go wrong in their worship, they’ll end up going wrong in their living.

    Anything and anyone that encourages us to worship the correct God incorrectly will prove to be a detriment to our spiritual growth.

    What an absolute tragedy it would be to embrace an image and miss the person of Christ, to sit at a shrine and miss the Savior, to worship a misconception and fail to know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through the Holy Words of God.

    Instead, resist the temptation to modify God in your mind or to conform Him to your own graven image, and be sure to KNOW Him as He has revealed Himself.

    In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

    Let us Pray,

    The Joy of Integrity Prayer

    God, my Father, my Guide and Guardian of my life, illuminate my mind so I can better understand just how you want me to live. Your Living Word tells me that people of integrity who diligently follow after your instructions are joyful. You have said that those who obey your laws and search for you with all their hearts are blessed and happy. I plead with you for my own share of that indescribable joy! Intercessor Holy Spirit, please guard me and my thoughts against allowing evil to influence what I believe and do. Help me walk only in your paths. May my actions, and my worship more consistently reflect what you have said is right, good.

    Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

    Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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    What does it mean for us to have no other gods before God? Exodus 20:1-3

    Exodus 20:1-3Amplified Bible

    The Ten Commandments

    20 Then God spoke all these words:

    2 “I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

    3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.

    The Word of God for the Children of God.

    Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

    Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

    Perhaps the most basic truth about the God of Scripture is He is the only one.

    There is no other.

    This truth ought to simplify things for us because it teaches us that there is only one who is the worthy object of our love, loyalty, and devotion.

    But the hearts of men and women are not so easily convinced or instructed.

    And so it is necessary for God to give us the first commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.”

    The danger is not that there are actual other gods for us to worship but that we have a proclivity for making them.

    On first glance, this first command is straightforward.

    To live for a god other than the true God would be like taking a second spouse while your first spouse is still alive and still happy to be your spouse.

    Worse, it would be like taking a second spouse who is in truth a figment of your imagination.

    It would be a seriously severe breach of an exclusive relationship.

    We must not kid ourselves that we are immune from the possibility of breaking this commandment.

    Many of us read it and then picture people bowing down before statues or going through elaborate rituals, and those mental images assure us that we are not in much danger of violating it.

    Yet the commandments are not restricted to our outward actions but also relate to the disposition of our minds and hearts.

    From this perspective, there is the tough realization we may not be as far from those mental images as we assume.

    We may not have statues to which we bow down, but maybe we have segments of our lives that we keep away from God, preserving them under the authority and exclusive sovereignty of some other little “deity”—ourselves, perhaps.

    Ask yourself:

    “Do I joyfully acknowledge God’s exclusive comprehensive claim on my life?”

    “Is God in Alpha to Omega charge of my family, my work, my relationships, my money, my dating, my use of my time, my talents, my gifts and my services?”

    Take a close and honest look to see if there are portions of life you try to keep from Him.

    In addition to our keeping, “secreting” things away from God, another form of danger is functionally replacing Him.

    When we put our family, our job, our hobbies, or anything else in the place that is God’s alone, we violate the first commandment.

    To the degree that we allow anyone or anything besides obedience to God to direct our course day to day, we defy His law.

    So we are not so safe from the possibility of breaking this commandment as we may think!

    While we must acknowledge the truth that there is one God, we must also beware our own ability to put things in His place.

    If we do not daily submit ourselves to Him and entrust the entirety of our lives to Him, something will take His place.

    We are made to worship.

    The question is, are you going to worship the living God or are you going to pretend there is another?

    Put serious focus on these words: ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me.’

    God’s Word leads us to the full life Christ died for us to live.

    The Ten Commandments are guardrails for our modern-day lives.

    We no longer live in the Old Testament church, where animal sacrifices upon altars were required for breaking God’s laws.

    Today, we live under the new covenant, ushered in by Christ Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross to forgive our multitude of sins.

    We cannot follow the Ten Commandments through our own sheer will but can aim to through the power of the Holy Spirit given to us at salvation.

    Still, we will never hit the mark of perfection as Christ did. He loved the Father with His whole heart, soul, and mind.

    Thankfully, perfection is not required of us.

    What Does ‘Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods before Me’ Mean?

    “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 the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” Matthew 22:37-39

    In ancient times, and in some places and people groups around the globe today, people worship a variety of gods.

    God clearly stated, “I am,” and commands His people to worship Him alone.

    “No deity, real or imagined, is to rival the one true God in Israel’s heart and life” (NIV Study Bible).

    Worshipping other gods gives a false sense of security from a source other than God, who is everywhere, all-powerful, and all-knowing.

    The Hebrew, often translated as ‘besides me’ or ‘before me,’ means ‘in my presence.

    The point is that nothing else can qualify as god in your life.

    The true God is not only to be number one but the only one. 

    Other gods can also constitute things we place higher than God in our lives.

    The Bible defines these as idols, and they can be anything from money and possessions to food and working out or people and relationships.

    Anything or anyone we place above God is another god.

    As Christians, we are a “chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” ( 1 Peter 2:9). 

    We are God’s people, set apart to live according to his ways.

    His ways are not, and never will be, our ways.

    Our tendencies are to cave to the cravings of our flesh and fall prey to the thinking they will give us the comfort and happiness we need.

    God is faithful to bless us in this life, but there is no blessing bigger and more important than the source of the blessing.

    Our marriages, best friends, jobs, houses, habits, and hobbies all take a serious backseat to the ONLY One who numbers our days.

    Why Is it Important That ‘Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods before Me’ Is the First Commandment?

    “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.” [1 Timothy 2:5]

    God’s laws are for our own good.

    He is a loving Father who provides rules, boundaries, and discipline for His children as any good parent/caregiver does.

    We don’t earn or keep our salvation by following God’s rules.

    Obedience is a heart issue, which expresses our faith and trust in the Lord by instilling limits in our lives.

    He has our best interest in mind.

    Though Christians do not believe achieving the law is demanded for salvation, they still see the Ten Commandments as the establishment of God’s moral law. 

    Jesus called people to an even higher standard by obeying the commandments not only in their behavior but also in their hearts and minds.

    When we take the time to be with God each day through prayer, worship, and the Word, we get to know Him better.

    We’re not promised an understanding of all of the ways of God, but the deeper our relationship is with Him, the more we trust and obey.

    God’s timing in waiting until the third order to give the commandments was no coincidence.

    He had already proven Himself as their Deliverer and Provider and it was time to test their faith and reveal His divine standards for them.

    God’s people knew then He who He was to them: their Provider and Deliverer.

    He is unchanging.

    He’s still our Provider and Deliverer today, and so much more.

    Why Did God Need to Say ‘Thou Shalt Have No Other Gods before Me’?

    “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, ‘Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.'” Exodus 32:1

    God’s people struggled with faithfulness to Him.

    In their fickleness, impatience, and lack of faith, they quickly turned to the temptation to worship as other nations did.

    This time, it was by creating a golden calf representing Baal to worship.

    But over time, Scripture mentions others gods they worshipped, too: Molek, Chemosh, Dagon, Asherah, and more.

    In ancient times, this law steered people away from the many false gods worshipped by various cultures. 

    God’s people were surrounded by other nations who worshipped other gods.

    I imagine, much like we easily compare ourselves to others who live different lifestyles today, God’s ancient people often wondered what life would be like if they worshiped other gods.

    It’s a temptation they often fell into and angered God with.

    What Other Gods Might Christians Be Tempted to Bow Down to Today?

    “Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'” Matthew 4:10

    Before we are tempted to think of God’s ancient people in a bad light, we have to realize that the devil tempted even Jesus to worship other gods!

    In the modern, new covenant age we live in, we are tempted every day to look outside of the providence, provision of God for something the world promises to give us.

    In fact, the world will always tempt us to believe we are entitled to certain things, such as amenities and circumstances.

    When we genuinely seek to obey it with all our hearts, the first commandment guards us against falling for those lies.

    In Modern times, this Commandment is a warning against elevating money or other worldly things to god-like status in our lives.

    We could include social media, the Internet, shopping, coffee, or even our gym memberships.

    Anything we are tempted to find happiness and peace in other than God is a lie that will end up failing us. 

    Outside of Christ, we are only wretched.

    But in Christ Jesus, united to him, we are completely forgiven of our constant failure to keep them, his constant and perfect keeping of them is credited to us.

    Jesus died for us, knowing we would not only be tempted by these things but fall prey to them, too.

    Sometimes, we dive right in without much convincing or swaying.

    The hope of Christ Jesus assures us forgiveness when we turn from those idols and other gods- no matter how deep we’re in – and come back to the Lord, who is our all in all.

    The first commandment addresses a very human struggle, unavoidable even to the most faithful. Following this commandment perfectly is not God’s goal.

    He knows we can’t do that.

    He is much more concerned with our hearts, our trust in and obedience to Him.

    The Holy Spirit will convict us when we’re falling off the rails.

    And when we are genuinely repentant to turn back to Jesus, over and over again, He eagerly welcomes us all, washes us with His living water, again and again.  

    God always has our best interest in mind.

    He loves us so much He sacrificed His one and only Son Jesus on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.

    He saved us from ourselves before we saw our first fleck of sunlight.

    He knit us in our mother’s womb with such care, gifted us with talents, and gave each of us a unique purpose on this earth no one else can accomplish.

    Our God loves us wholly, perfectly, and completely.

    In Him, we find peace and happiness, hope and comfort, encouragement and love.

    The true gauge of our lives is measured only by God, the Father, through our relationship with Him through Christ Jesus, our Savior.

    He alone knows, and can plumb the deepest depths of our hearts and our souls.

    In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

    Let us Pray,

    A Prayer to Have No Other Gods before God

    Abba, Father. 

    You are the best Father to us. Yahweh, You are the path to peace, hope, and grace. Christ Jesus, Messiah, we come to the Father through You alone, by Your sacrifice to forgive our sins. Holy Spirit, You convict and counsel us when we fall away and stray from the guardrails intended to help us live our lives to the full. Help us to cling to this commandment, to love You alone, God. May our lives bring glory to You, today and always. Help us to grow a love for Your Word that inspires us to come to You daily through it, Father. You tell us to pray about everything. Let us each take Your wisdom into every day of our lives and let it fill our hearts to the brim. We pray to saturate our minds with Your wisdom so that we follow it in our daily lives, Father. 

    Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

    Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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    Loved by and Belonging to God, the Giver of Law and the Giver of Liberty. Exodus 20:1-2

    Exodus 20:1-2 Complete Jewish Bible

    20 Then God said all these words:

    א 2 “I am Adonai your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the abode of slavery.

    The Word of God for the Children of God.

    Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

    Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

    The Ten Commandments are some of the most recognizable words in the entire Biblical Canon, yet they are often among the most misunderstood.

    How has the coming of Jesus transformed these ancient laws?

    Do these commandments still matter to Christians today in 2023?

    What does it look like to obey them in today’s world?

    What do they tell us about God and His Love for His beloved Children?

    In this devotional message we see in verses 1-2 three truths about the Law: it’s given by God, it follows the Gospel, and it’s the path of freedom.

    Loved By and Belonging to God

    Adonai, The Lord who claims our allegiance is God, our Creator and Savior.

    God delivered Israel when he brought them out of Egypt.

    They had been slaves there for hundreds of years.

    Faithful to his covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:13-21; Exodus 3), God called this people his own and continued his work of making them into a nation through which all other nations would be blessed.

    Then, many years later, through Jesus, a descendant of Abraham, God brought salvation to the world—and today God includes all who believe in Christ as his people, his worldwide family.

    So if we believe in our Savior Christ, we belong to God, and we are His alone.

    1 Peter 2:9-10 Complete Jewish Bible

    9 But you are a chosen people,[a] the King’s cohanim,[b] a holy nation,[c] a people for God to possess![d] Why? In order for you to declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; before, you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.[e]

    1 Peter 2 puts it, we are a holy nation set apart to be “God’s special possession.”

    From the beginning, it was love that created us and has bound us to God.

    And since our relationship with God is based on love, God’s law is not a burden but a means of unconventional liberty towards showing love to our neighbors.

    God, The Giver of Law and Liberty

    Exodus 20:1-2King James Version

    20 And God spake all these words, saying,

    2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

    To faithfully read and respond to the Ten Commandments, we must first make a diligent effort to pray and study them, understand what they are and are not.

    We find clarity in the truth that lies at their head: “I am the LORD your God.”

    This poignant reminder of who God is precedes the instructions that follow.

    In other words, the I am of God’s person grounds the you shall of His commands.

    He can command us because of who He is.

    The psalmist further expresses this:

    “Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his” (Psalm 100:3).

    God created us, and His being our Creator grants Him rights and authority over His creation.

    Regardless of the efforts of our world to reject the creational handiwork of God, thus His authority over our lives, His role as our Ruler remains unthreatened.

    He has made us; we are His.

    When we should remember who spoke the law, we are in a position to grasp the purpose of the Ten Commandments as well as to understand what they are not.

    First, the commandments are not a formal list of dos and don’ts given to restrict our personal freedoms.

    God is NOT the Ultimate Cosmic Killjoy

    God is not the Ultimate cosmic killjoy.

    In fact, if you wanted to provide a heading for the Ten Commandments, you could instead call them “The Ultimate Guidelines to Freedom and Joy.”

    They do not restrict our freedom but rather give us a blueprint for joy, showing us how life works best.

    Second, the commandments are not intended as a ladder up which we climb to attain acceptance with God.

    No such ladder has ever existed!

    God brought His people out of slavery—from Egypt in the exodus, and from sin and death at the cross—before He called us to obey Him.

    So we obey God because we have been “brought out by God,” not in order for us to somehow believe we could ever persuade Him to do so on our own time line.

    If that were the case, why then did the bondage last as long as it did despite all the years of crying, pleading by the generations of Israelites held in bondage?

    Until Moses had been prepared by 80 years of life at the pinnacle of authority, then at the bottom of authority for His “Burning Bush” encounter with God.

    Rather than being rules that save us, the Ten Commandments serve as a mirror in which we should see ourselves, revealing the depths of our sin and our need for a Savior—and they show how we can all live every day to please our Savior.

    Third, the Ten Commandments have not been rendered anywhere near obsolete by the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

    When Jesus said the two greatest commandments were to love God and love our neighbor, He was summarizing the Ten Commandments (Mark 12:28-31 AKJV).

    28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

    What does it mean to love God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength?

    The first four commandments tell us. [Exodus 20 verses 3-11]

    What does it look like to love our neighbor as ourselves?

    The final six commandments flesh that out. [Exodus 20 verses 12-17]

    Jesus, master teacher that He was, summed up the ten with the two.

    When we see all this, we are ready to read the Ten Commandments and let them transform our lives.

    We must see the sin that the commandments reveal and respond in repentance and faith in the only One who fulfilled the law and offers Himself as our Savior.

    He, the Lord Jesus Christ, will ensure that this law is not merely etched into our conscience but also inscribed upon our hearts and upon our souls.

    Give yourselves unto the Lord our God and His way, and His Truth and His Life you and I will find everlasting love, everlasting joy and His everlasting liberty.

    In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit …

    Let us Pray,

    Psalm 40The Message

    40 1-3 I waited and waited and waited for God.
        At last he looked; finally he listened.
    He lifted me out of the ditch,
        pulled me from deep mud.
    He stood me up on a solid rock
        to make sure I wouldn’t slip.
    He taught me how to sing the latest God-song,
        a praise-song to our God.
    More and more people are seeing this:
        they enter the mystery,
        abandoning themselves to God.

    4-5 Blessed are you who give yourselves over to God,
        turn your backs on the world’s “sure thing,”
        ignore what the world worships;
    The world’s a huge stockpile
        of God-wonders and God-thoughts.
    Nothing and no one
        compares to you!
    I start talking about you, telling what I know,
        and quickly run out of words.
    Neither numbers nor words
        account for you.

    6 Doing something for you, bringing something to you—
        that’s not what you’re after.
    Being religious, acting pious—
        that’s not what you’re asking for.
    You’ve opened my ears
        so I can listen.

    7-8 So I answered, “I’m coming.
        I read in your letter what you wrote about me,
    And I’m coming to the party
        you’re throwing for me.”
    That’s when God’s Word entered my life,
        became part of my very being.

    9-10 I’ve preached you to the whole congregation,
        I’ve kept back nothing, God—you know that.
    I didn’t keep the news of your ways
        a secret, didn’t keep it to myself.
    I told it all, how dependable you are, how thorough.
        I didn’t hold back pieces of love and truth
    For myself alone. I told it all,
        let the congregation know the whole story.

    11-12 Now God, don’t hold out on me,
        don’t hold back your passion.
    Your love and truth
        are all that keeps me together.
    When troubles ganged up on me,
        a mob of sins past counting,
    I was so swamped by guilt
        I couldn’t see my way clear.
    More guilt in my heart than hair on my head,
        so heavy the guilt that my heart gave out.

    13-15 Soften up, God, and intervene;
        hurry and get me some help,
    So those who are trying to kidnap my soul
        will be embarrassed and lose face,
    So anyone who gets a kick out of making me miserable
        will be heckled and disgraced,
    So those who pray for my ruin
        will be booed and jeered without mercy.

    16-17 But all who are hunting for you—
        oh, let them sing and be happy.
    Let those who know what you’re all about
        tell the world you’re great and not quitting.
    And me? I’m a mess. I’m nothing and have nothing:
        make something of me.
    You can do it; you’ve got what it takes—
        but God, don’t put it off.

    Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

    Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen

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    What is God Like? He is Merciful and Gracious, Slow to Anger, Abounding in Steadfast Love, in Goodness, and Truth. Exodus 34:5-9

    Exodus 34:5-9Amplified Bible

    5 Then the Lord descended in the cloud and stood there with Moses as he proclaimed the Name of the Lord. 6 Then the Lord passed by in front of him, and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth (faithfulness); 7 keeping mercy and lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; but He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers upon the children and the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers].” 8 Moses bowed to the earth immediately and worshiped [the Lord]. 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor and lovingkindness in Your sight, O Lord, let the Lord, please, go in our midst, though it is a stiff-necked (stubborn, rebellious) people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your possession.”

    The Word of God for the Children of God.

    Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

    Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

    What is God Like?

    A little boy was working hard on drawing a picture from his Sunday School and his daddy came up from behind, asked him what he was working so hard on.

    The son replied, “Drawing a picture of God.”

    His daddy said, “You can’t do that, son, Nobody knows what God looks like.”

    But the little boy remained undeterred, continued to draw for several minutes.

    Without stopping his work, he looked at his picture with satisfaction and said very matter-of-factly, held it in his daddy’s face : “They will in a few minutes.”

    We may never know what God’s physical features are, but from the beginning, He does reveal His attributes to us so we can each know what He is about, like.

    In Exodus 34:6-7, rather than painting a picture a visual description of God, he writes a list about God’s invisible qualities.

    From this, we learn God is merciful and gracious.

    Keeping mercy and lovingkindness for the thousands.

    He is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

    He is abounding in goodness and truth

    He is longsuffering and willing to forgive.

    Forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin.

    We also learn that God will not spare the wicked from punishment.

    We also learn that God expects us to automatically respond to who He is with an attitude of repentance and with worship that is worthy of being in His Presence.

    “Show Me Your Ways Lord, That I May Find Favor”

    Exodus 33:12-13Amplified Bible

    Moses Intercedes

    12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways so that I may know You [becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, recognizing and understanding Your ways more clearly] and that I may find grace and favor in Your sight. And consider also, that this nation is Your people.”

    In Exodus 33:12-13, Moses asked God to teach him more about God’s ways.

    Moses said,

    “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight.”

    In gracious response to Moses’ request for God to show him more about who He was, God shows Moses favor, God passes by Moses and proclaims the attributes about Himself, revealing to a much humbled Moses more about His character.

    God wanted Moses (and us) to know that He is not an angry, impersonal God.

    Instead, He is a God that loves us, unconventionally, while also being a just God who will hold His Children to account for their words and deeds and punish sin.

    The result of God’s revelation to Moses was that Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped God because Moses knew all he needed to accomplish the task God had called him to do was to be in and remain in, the presence of God.

    “Hear My Cry Lord, Show Me More of Your Ways”

    When was the last time we cried out to God and said,

    “Lord show me more of your ways?”

    Just as God answered Moses, God will answer us today.

    It might be through the Words of truth and life found through scripture that you read and study or in a sermon from your pastor or a song on the radio.

    When our desire to know more about God is a longing that is from the heart, God will most abundantly, decisively, definitely and directly reveal Himself.

    Where are the “Crying Christians?”

    Isaiah 2:2-3 Amplified Bible

    2 
    Now it will come to pass that
    In the last days
    The mountain of the house of the Lord
    Will be [firmly] established as the [a]highest of the mountains,
    And will be exalted above the hills;
    And all the nations will stream to it.
    3 
    And many peoples shall come and say,
    “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    To the house (temple) of the God of Jacob;
    That He may teach us His ways
    And that we may walk in His paths.”
    For the law will go out from Zion
    And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

    “All nations” is one of my favorite phrases in the Bible.

    God is an inclusive God. When he established a beachhead in our fallen world by starting a little nation called Israel, he was already thinking big.

    God’s plan was to reach out through Israel to call all nations to himself.

    Now, in 2023, Revival has broken out quite literally all over the world.

    Thousands upon thousands are responding … they are crying out to God …

    Onto the street Corners, into the streets of cities all across the globe …

    Into College Campuses …

    Into Churches whose pews had more accumulated dust than congregants.

    Into malls and supermarkets …

    Into the maximum security prisons …

    Into the incarcerated for life hearts of violent life long criminals …

    Into countries where Jesus Christ is not necessarily the most favored name.

    The Word of God for the Children of God goes forth …

    Repentance and Baptisms …

    “Show us Your Ways, O’ Lord, that we may find Grace and Favor IN THY sight.”

    Transformations …

    The Message of Salvation through Christ and Christ alone.

    God has a Plan …

    Jeremiah 29:11-14Amplified Bible

    11 For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you. 13 Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and I will [free you and] gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

    Jeremiah 29:13 says,

    “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

    How bad do you really want to know more about the Exodus 34:6-7 God?

    How badly do you want people to know more about the Exodus 34:6-7 God?

    How much do you long for the presence of the Exodus 34:6-7 God to lead you to what He’s called you to do?

    With what effort do you seek the Goodness and Mercy, the Slow to Anger and abounding in Steadfast Love, the Faithful and Forgiving and Max Truth of God?

    What effort do you bring your Worship, cry out to God: “Show Me Your Ways?”

    What strength of plea arises from your heart and soul: “If I have found Favor?”

    What percentage of your prayer life includes … “That I May Know God’s Grace?”

    What percentage of your heart is “firmly prostrated” before the Lord, your God?

    What percentage of thy soul is “squarely grounded” in the life of Savior Christ?

    Percentage of thy only hope is saturated in nothing less than the blood of Jesus?

    God’s promise of a gospel that reaches “to the ends of the earth” is being realized (Acts 1:8).

    All nations are streaming toward the mountain of the Lord’s temple—not by pilgrimage to a physical temple in Jerusalem, but by coming to Jesus, the one alone who fulfills the temple’s deepest meaning of God’s presence among us.

    Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing right now within us.

    Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing right now among us.

    Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing within our homes.

    Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing within our families.

    Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing among our friends.

    Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing among our neighbors.

    Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing within our schools.

    Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing upon, within our streets.

    Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing upon, within our prisons.

    Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing within our communities.

    Praise God for all the amazing things He alone is doing within our country.

    Praise God for the amazing things He alone is doing right now in our world.

    And thank Him that in a tragically shrinking world we can yet experience, be a thriving community with fellow believers from across all cultures and nations.

    In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

    Let us Pray,

    Psalm 150 The Message

    150 1-6 Hallelujah!
    Praise God in his holy house of worship,
        praise him under the open skies;
    Praise him for his acts of power,
        praise him for his magnificent greatness;
    Praise with a blast on the trumpet,
        praise by strumming soft strings;
    Praise him with castanets and dance,
        praise him with banjo and flute;
    Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
        praise him with fiddles and mandolin.
    Let every living, breathing creature praise God!
        Hallelujah!

    Adeste Fidelis. Venite Adoremus. Dominum.

    Gloria. In Excelsis Deo. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Amen.

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