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Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lordyour God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.You shall not murder.You shall not commit adultery.You shall not steal.You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.(Exodus 20:1-17)
Good day dear Friend! Here's trusting that this week is been a blessing to you and yours. Given the scriptures for this week, the theme could be Foundations. Monday's passage was on the foundation of prayer in God's House; anything else rocks or weakens that foundation. Tuesday's passage was on the foundation of the Cross; those who believe are strengthened by the truth behind the Cross and its purpose in God's plan for the world. Today's foundation is the Mosaic Law, which we know has been the foundation of many of the legal systems in the world for ages. At their core, they still hold truth and practical application for everyday living. We pray they strengthen your faith and your walk with the Lord.
The key foundation to faith is faith in God. God as He shares this first commandment reminds us of Who He is and What He does. God is the Creator of all things and to reduce Him to a graven image is foolishness; to worship such things is sinful. God's zeal for us is strong and unbending as should our devotion and worship for God. To attempt to replace God with another god does not sit well with God.
God's name is holy and not to be taken lightly or in vain. The realm of sacredness cannot be violated by our casual or vain use of His holy name. It is a name to be respected. Think to the Lord's Prayer and the way it is ordered. Jesus said, "Our Father," meaning the closeness of love we should have towards God followed by, "Who art in Heaven," holy is God's dwelling place, the realm of sacredness and glory, our future home. Disrespecting that, and it won't be our eternal home.
God's day is the Sabbath. It is a day set aside for God. It is a day of worship and rest. It does not matter which day we set aside for Sabbath. Some hold literally to Saturday as Sabbath; we as Christians believe the Lord's Day is Sunday for on that day He rose from the dead. We are Resurrection people, who worship God on that day. Work schedules and other commitments for some people make it necessary to find other days in the week that work better for them. The holiness of the Sabbath is God Himself; He remains the center and focus of the day. We should build our worship and renewal of that day around God only.
Key to faith is our love and respect not only to God, but to our parents, those who brought us into this earth. Honor is that which shows our parents that rightful attitude towards them for who and what they have done and shared with us. A sound foundation is the family unit and the key of a sound faith. It is, as Paul points out in Ephesians 6:2, the only commandment with a promise, a promise of long life for honoring our parents.
Human life is sacred and should be respected as being God-given. The foundation of life is to do all we can to ensure a sound life for all. Jesus later emphasized that He has come to bring life and that in abundance; and He contrasted that with Satan, who comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. Our approach to life should be Christ-like. There are regrettable times when we do need to kill and God understands those, but to senselessly take lives is sinful. We do kill to eat; we kill to protect, but our respect for life should never depart from our hearts and spirits.
Adultery is that which serves no good purpose, only destructive ones. It is a violation of God's purpose for sexuality. It is a betrayal of trust and decency. At its core is lust, a desire that should be controlled. Pornography, prostitution, sex trafficking, etc., all are driven by lust. These serve also to destroy families and lives. They should have no place in our lives. Only God's power can break us free from these.
Respect of other's property is the beginning of great relationships. It shows to others the dignity due them. To take that which is not ours breaks up good relationships and character.
Being honest and truthful is a foundational key to life as well. Anything less is destructive to one's life and spirit. To speak negatively about others serves not God but God's enemy.
To desire that which someone else has is a crack in foundational living. It shows a discontent with what we have and may even reject blessings sent to us from God when we compare them to what others have and what we'd like to have from them.
The Ten Commandments should be.a daily foundational focus of our spiritual life. Its place in our hearts is more important than where it might hang in public or private spaces. If we make it a part of who we are, then we are blessing God and other people.
PRAYER: Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever, Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Bless someone with living the Ten Commandments in a way that glorifies God!
Eradio Valverde
