If nothing else, I bet the 10 Commandments can be a great reminder that:
God WANTS us to TRY to keep FELLOWSHIP with HIM.
Yes, the 10 Commandments were how God set the law, detailed by Moses and shared for all, and these are reflective of God’s go-to list of beliefs and behaviors. But that last TOUGH commandment is one that we and even Jesus’s CLOSEST followers shalt break: Thou shalt not covet. Jealousy is a great problem – Thank God Jesus’s redemption is far stronger!
God’s outstretched arm to save the Israelites is the same arm that holds us safe. We are to honor the Lord by doing likewise on the sabbath (and each day) by outstretching our attitudes and keeping them and our minds HOLY. But Jealousy sometimes sees us stretch our minds further into wants further than our arms should ever reach. Jealousy leads to theft. Jealousy leads to gossip. Jealousy leads to twisting the truth. Jealousy leads to anger. Jealousy leads to ludicrous thoughts of things for which we have NO CONTROL OVER. Jealousy even leads to strange frustrations where the devil makes us think we are far from God because of our sin and the sin of others, even cursing against what Adam and Eve did.
Why should we maintain jealousy or stay mad at God for a life we think we SHOULD HAVE HAD. We end up wasting time waggling our tongues rather than praising God. Being jealous BLINDS us to our blessings.
What do we do? Count BLESSINGS. Be less bold for our wants. Be a giver of other’s needs. Take less. Give more. Realize Righteously. Forgive forever-ly.
Here are 10 reminders:
Look for and count 10 BLESSINGS for every curse or almost curse.
Praise people 10 times for every put-down.
GIVE 10-fold away for every item taken.
THANK 10 times for every thankless moment.
Sing PRAISE10 times as loud as any grumble.
Shine LIGHT 10 times brighter into any darkened hope.
LISTEN 10 times for each one thing we speak.
Read 10 things for each thing you write.
Be Still 10 times more than we react.
Trust 10 times in God’s faithfulness over each doubt.
God wants fellowship not forgetfulness or flight. God wants servants not slide-by-the-seat-of-my-pants living. God wants to call us Home, not drag us. Jesus wants to walk WITH us, not race after us.
How about we take 1 step, then we take 10 steps WITH the Lord, and then let Him take all the rest!
Amen
The people were afraid of God but learned that God DOES talk with them and they live. “And ye said, Behold, the Lord our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth.”
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The Ten Commandments Deuteronomy 5:1-24 NIV
Moses summoned all Israel and said:
Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. It was not with our ancestors that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. The Lord spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. (At that time I stood between the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.)
And he said: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me.
“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
“Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
These are the commandments the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leaders of your tribes and your elders came to me. And you said, “The Lord our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks with them…”
Debbie Upper 