Category Archives: Character of God

Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Interceding for Others, Justice / Judgment, Merciful, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Seeking God, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

The Intercessory Prayer of the Righteous Is Powerful

The intercessory prayer of the righteous is powerful. Let us remember to pray for one another not just in sickness and hard times but also when we sin. The people of Israel sinned against God multiple times through disobedience.  God was ready to destroy them. Moses interceded on their behalf. He was not part of this sin, but prayed to God for the people anyway. God had mercy on them, not because they deserved it, but because in part of the intercessory prayer of Moses.

Deuteronomy 9:7-29

7“Remember, do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness; from the day that you left the land of Egypt until you arrived at this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD. 8“Even at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with you that He would have destroyed you. 9“When I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the LORD had made with you, then I remained on the mountain forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10“The LORD gave me the two tablets of stone written by the finger of God; and on them were all the words which the LORD had spoken with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. 11“It came about at the end of forty days and nights that the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12“Then the LORD said to me, ‘Arise, go down from here quickly, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made a molten image for themselves.’ 13“The LORD spoke further to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed, it is a stubborn people. 14‘Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’

      15“So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16“And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you. 17“I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my hands and smashed them before your eyes. 18“I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger. 19“For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the LORD was wrathful against you in order to destroy you, but the LORD listened to me that time also. 20“The LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him; so I also prayed for Aaron at the same time. 21“I took your sinful thing, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it very small until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that came down from the mountain.

      22“Again at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked the LORD to wrath. 23“When the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God; you neither believed Him nor listened to His voice. 24“You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day I knew you.

      25“So I fell down before the LORD the forty days and nights, which I did because the LORD had said He would destroy you. 26“I prayed to the LORD and said, ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 27‘Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look at the stubbornness of this people or at their wickedness or their sin. 28‘Otherwise the land from which You brought us may say, “Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which He had promised them and because He hated them He has brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.” 29‘Yet they are Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have brought out by Your great power and Your outstretched arm.’

Pray for one another… for mercy, forgiveness, a spirit of repentance when we sin. Notice that Moses did not excuse the sin or accept the sin of the people in order to rationalize asking for mercy. He strongly acknowledged the sin was wrong and without excuse and in need of repentance. However, he prayed for mercy anyway. Also note, the people were rebuked for their sin by Moses and he demanded a change in behavior. Intercessory prayer is not an excuse to keep sinning and assume we will receive mercy anyway. The sin must stop.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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The Lord Is My Shepherd

I want the kind of relationship with YHWH that David reveals in Psalm 23. I ask the Lord to help me draw near to Him so that I may have that in greater and greater portions. I have seen so much of my life transformed since fully submitting to YHWH through Christ. I find more peace indeed and more reason to rejoice, even when things are bumpy. I am more content. But I know I have farther to go…

Psalm 23

The LORD, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.

A Psalm of David.

     1The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.

      2He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.

      3He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

      4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

      5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.

      6Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

I encourage you to pray for this kind of relationship with YHWH and this kind of world view. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Blessed, Grace / Forgiveness, Humility, Justice / Judgment, Money / Finances / Wealth, Obeying God, Repenting from Sin, Thankfulness

Receive Our Blessings With Humility, Obedience, and Gratitude

We all need a reminder from time to time of two key messages.

1- YHWH does not bless us and provide for us because we are so righteous that we deserve it. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of YHWH.  Let us approach Him with humility, repentance, commitment to obey, and thankfulness.

2- Though YHWH is love, He is also just. He does hold people and nations accountable for their sin and rebellion. Do not think this only applies to “the other guy”. It applies to each of us as well. If we as a nation rebel and embrace wickedness, there will come a time when He removes His blessing and then perhaps even displaces us from our land and identity as a nation.

Deuteronomy 9

Israel Provoked God

     1“Hear, O Israel! You are crossing over the Jordan today to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, great cities fortified to heaven, 2a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know and of whom you have heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the sons of Anak?’ 3“Know therefore today that it is the LORD your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so that you may drive them out and destroy them quickly, just as the LORD has spoken to you.

      4“Do not say in your heart when the LORD your God has driven them out before you, ‘Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,’ but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is dispossessing them before you. 5“It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

      6“Know, then, it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stubborn people. 7“Remember, do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness; from the day that you left the land of Egypt until you arrived at this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD. 8“Even at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with you that He would have destroyed you. 9“When I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the LORD had made with you, then I remained on the mountain forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10“The LORD gave me the two tablets of stone written by the finger of God; and on them were all the words which the LORD had spoken with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. 11“It came about at the end of forty days and nights that the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12“Then the LORD said to me, ‘Arise, go down from here quickly, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made a molten image for themselves.’ 13“The LORD spoke further to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed, it is a stubborn people. 14‘Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’

      15“So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16“And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you. 17“I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my hands and smashed them before your eyes. 18“I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger. 19“For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the LORD was wrathful against you in order to destroy you, but the LORD listened to me that time also. 20“The LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him; so I also prayed for Aaron at the same time. 21“I took your sinful thing, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it very small until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that came down from the mountain.

      22“Again at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked the LORD to wrath. 23“When the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God; you neither believed Him nor listened to His voice. 24“You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day I knew you.

      25“So I fell down before the LORD the forty days and nights, which I did because the LORD had said He would destroy you. 26“I prayed to the LORD and said, ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 27‘Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look at the stubbornness of this people or at their wickedness or their sin. 28‘Otherwise the land from which You brought us may say, “Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which He had promised them and because He hated them He has brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.” 29‘Yet they are Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have brought out by Your great power and Your outstretched arm.’

Take time to come before YHWH with humility, repentance, and gratitude to thank Him for all He provides you and ask His help for you to walk in obedience and fellowship with Him.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Work Out Your Salvation With Fear And Trembling

We are called to obey YHWH even when no one else is looking. Our Father is always aware of what we are doing. We are not to focus on convincing other people we are saved or righteous, but rather focus on working out our Christian walk primarily with YHWH Himself. We do so with fear and trembling, meaning we recognize that YHWH has power over us in this life and in the next. We need not be afraid of YHWH per se, but perhaps more to the point just recognizing the seriousness of the issue at hand. Should we fail to work out our salvation with YHWH, we should fear the consequences of that choice.

Philippians 2: 12-13

     12So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Are you focused on pleasing and obeying YHWH as Christ demonstrated in His earthly ministry? Is this the most important objective or goal in your life? It is hard to do this, but it is the proper standard. Never lower the standard because you feel you can’t reach it. Instead, ask YHWH to help you and by His grace and power you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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All The Commandments That I Am Commanding You Today You Shall Be Careful To Do

Over and over again in scripture YHWH emphasizes a very key point which is lost on most Christians today. He calls for us to live according to His commandments and be blessed, remembering Him and He contrasts that with a dire warning about ignoring His commandments and growing prideful and diminishing His role in our lives.

We can certainly see this today as many Christians declare “Christian freedom” as an excuse to not obey God’s clear instructions. They ignore more and more of His instructions over time. We can see it even in looking back over our own lifetime, let alone over the past thousands of years since Jesus walked among us in the flesh. Today most who identify as Christian do not love God above all other things. They may use those words, but many things take His place in their heart and how they spend their time, money, and talent declare they love other things more than God. We are a culture of coveting. Sabbath is ignored and considered “odd” and “unnecessary”. Children do not honor their parents. The majority of people in the USA identify as Christian, but as a culture we tolerate the murder of unborn children and embrace “diversity” amongst those who worship false gods. We allow persecution of Christians for living God’s instructions regarding failing to honor homosexual marriage but are told to tolerate all manner of sinful behavior amongst people who reject or ignore God. We let Atheists continually chase God out of our public schools and government and mainstream life. Surely we are not on the path God calls us to follow as a nation.

Deuteronomy 8

God’s Gracious Dealings

     1“All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to give to your forefathers. 2“You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3“He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. 4“Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5“Thus you are to know in your heart that the LORD your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. 6“Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. 7“For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; 8a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10“When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.

      11“Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; 12otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, 13and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, 14then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 15“He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint. 16“In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. 17“Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ 18“But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19“It shall come about if you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. 20“Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the LORD your God.

I believe this passage is incredibly relevant today for the USA and most western nations. As we continue to diminish God and chase after sin He will surely remove His blessing from our country and leave us to the depravity of our own minds. For those of us who are followers of Christ, we must not tolerate sin and false religion. (Atheism is a religion too… it is not a “neutral” position.)

Pray for Christians throughout our nation and the world that we would be passionate and courageous for Christ. Pray for our nation to humble themselves, repent and turn back to God.  Pray for those who identify as Christian to live as Christ called us to do. Pray that the plans of the wicked would be defeated and God would lift up the righteous in His right hand and bring victory.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Promises Of YHWH

What promises did YHWH make to the people of Israel regarding their obedience to the ten commandments? Quite a strong covenant as we read in Deuteronomy 7. But a covenant requires agreement and action between both parties. We can see in great detail what YHWH commits to, but let us not overlook the part the people are to commit to to receive His blessings… “because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them…” When His people chose not to obey Him, they broke the covenant which He so lovingly offered for their benefit.

Deuteronomy 7:12-26

Promises of God

     12“Then it shall come about, because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you His covenant and His lovingkindness which He swore to your forefathers. 13“He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you. 14“You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle. 15“The LORD will remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will lay them on all who hate you. 16“You shall consume all the peoples whom the LORD your God will deliver to you; your eye shall not pity them, nor shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.

      17“If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’ 18you shall not be afraid of them; you shall well remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: 19the great trials which your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which the LORD your God brought you out. So shall the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. 20“Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet against them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you perish. 21“You shall not dread them, for the LORD your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God. 22“The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you. 23“But the LORD your God will deliver them before you, and will throw them into great confusion until they are destroyed. 24“He will deliver their kings into your hand so that you will make their name perish from under heaven; no man will be able to stand before you until you have destroyed them. 25“The graven images of their gods you are to burn with fire; you shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, or you will be snared by it, for it is an abomination to the LORD your God. 26“You shall not bring an abomination into your house, and like it come under the ban; you shall utterly detest it and you shall utterly abhor it, for it is something banned.

The USA was founded on faith and Christian principles. The founding documents all are based on a population living moral and righteous lives according to the instructions of Christ. We have been given great blessings as a nation for hundreds of years. However, as a nation, we are throwing away these blessings over time. We have largely rejected Christ and His teaching, even inside many churches. As we move further and further away from our Father and live in increasing disobedience as a nation, so too we do not live up to the covenant offer of blessings for obedience.

Pray for our nation… its people, its leaders, its laws… daily. Pray that the Lord defeats the plans of the wicked and raises up the righteous and protects them and lifts them to positions of power and influence. Pray that our people would turn back to YHWH in repentance for sin and live in obedience to His word, seeking relationship with Him.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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YHWH Is Faithful To Those Who Love Him And Keep His Commandments

Often, people get confused and perhaps prideful, associating their relationship with YHWH to their own personal accomplishments. The Lord does not choose us based on our own merit or accomplishment. Often He chooses what we would consider the underdog or someone who can never accomplish what He calls them to do on their own. He does so to make it clear to His people that it is He who delivers the victory and not them on their own. This actually helps us not to get prideful and independent from Him. It helps draw us near to Him and reminds us we can depend on Him as our faithful, loving Father.

Another common mistake people make is that YHWH will accept and bless everyone the same just how we are, no matter what amount of sin we embrace and accept. Quite simply, this is wrong. He is faithful to those who keep His covenant, who love Him, who keep His commandments. He repays those who hate Him. The warning is clear and direct.

Deuteronomy 7:7-11

     7“The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9“Know therefore that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 10but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face. 11“Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them.

There is no excuse for our churches and culture to ignore this and teach that all are accepted as they are regardless of behaviors and attitudes filled with sin or holiness. They are leading people away from YHWH and on a path to hell.  Be sure you do not accept the common false teaching that helps people get complacent accepting their sin. We are called by YHWH to repent of sin and obey His commandments faithfully. It affects our relationship with Him dramatically. Our behaviors and attitudes are a reflection of whether we love ourselves or YHWH more. If we say we love YHWH but do not obey Him, the truth is not in us.

John 14:15, 21-24

 15“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

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21“He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” 22Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” 23Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. 24“He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Tolerance of Sin Is Not A Virtue

YHWH does not consider tolerance of worship of false gods to be a virtue. This may come as quite a hard message for many who are desensitized by worldly influences which constantly preach tolerance of all types of sin as if it is a virtue.

Deuteronomy 7:1-6

     1“When the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, 2and when the LORD your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. 3“Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. 4“For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you. 5“But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire. 6“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

YHWH inherently recognizes and warns His people not to intermarry and not to accept their false gods and worship practices. He instructs His people to tear down even their altars and pillars and idols.

Why?

Because these things are dedicated to sinful worship of false gods. Their continued existence, certainly with intermarriage, will draw some of YHWH’s people away from Him into false worship of worthless things. It separates YHWH from His people.

The same is still true today. Tolerating sin generally, and tolerating the worship of false religions or gods specifically, is not a virtue, but rather a trap. It separates YHWH from His people and leads to destruction for those individuals. We do not help them by tolerating and accepting their false beliefs and idols. We certainly don’t help those that are to come later by leaving all the pagan temples and idols around for them to consider in the future.

YHWH instructed His people rather directly and boldly to be set apart from these things and maintain a very important separation from those things which would in turn separate YHWH from His people. He did so for their benefit, not His. We should apply this principle still today with vigilance.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.
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You Shall Love Your Neighbor As Yourself

For those of you who read our article yesterday, the introduction to this companion article will be redundant, but we pivot to focus on the last 6 commandments in this article where we focused on the first 4 yesterday. (You Shall Love The Lord Your God With All Your Heart)

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The ten commandments do not represent the sum total of God’s law or instruction for His people. However. He saw fit to focus on these 10 as He addressed the people. Much more detail was shared with the people through Moses and is available for us to study and learn in scripture. The point is, that learning and obeying these 10 commandments is not sufficient but it is a good place to start.

Some immediately want to say that this is out of date, “Didn’t Jesus say to love God and love others was all we need to do?”

Matthew 22:34-40

     34But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Context is important. This is not a new commandment replacing the others. Jesus lived obeying the law of Moses and quoting from it in His teaching. He explicitly said He did not come to change the law.

Matthew 5:17-19

      17“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19“Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

What Jesus is essentially saying is that He can summarize God’s instruction down to loving God and loving one another. However, we don’t get to define what that means on our terms. All too often people today define that as accepting sin and encouraging people that they do not have to repent of sin to be in right relationship with God. God already defined what it means to love God and love one another. As a starting point, we can use the 10 commandments. The first four are about our relationship with God and the next 6 are about our relationship with each other. This is not an all inclusive list, but it is a good place to start and to a health check on our relationship with God and others. We focus today on our relationship with others.

Deuteronomy 5:16-21 (the last six commandments)

    16‘Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the LORD your God gives you.

      17‘You shall not murder.

      18‘You shall not commit adultery.

      19‘You shall not steal.

      20‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

      21‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field or his male servant or his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’

Let us first observe that loving God comes first, before loving others. This is true in the order in which the commandments were given by God and also the order in which Jesus spoke about them… love God and love one another… the order is important.

Honor your father and your mother. God has commanded us to honor our parents. In particular this is important for children when they are in the care of their parents before they grow in wisdom and relationship with the Lord. Their parents are there to protect and provide for and guide them. Even as adults we should honor father and mother. Children do not need to agree with parents in order to honor them.

You shall not murder. Too often this is mistranslated as “do not kill”. There is a difference between killing (e.g. in self defense) and murder. God’s people were often called to defend their nation in battle or to take the promised land at God’s command. God Himself provided a legal system in which some offenses are punishable by death. These are not the same as murder even though people die. On the other hand, abortion is the taking of an innocent life… it is murder. This will be tough for many to accept and internalize. However, keep in mind that Christ has died for our sins and so we can be forgiven.

You shall not commit adultery. Sadly, this should be obvious to anyone who loves their spouse, but our culture seems to be less and less concerned with calling out this sin. It is almost accepted as not ideal or flattering, but commonplace. It really should be considered a terrible offense and not lessened in significance just because so many fail in this area. It rips apart marriage, which is intended as a very close, personal bond between a man and a woman for life. It rips apart and damages families and children. It is very destructive on our society and culture.

You shall not steal. We do not love others by taking what is theirs. That is extremely selfish and hurtful.

Thou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Do not lie to get someone else in trouble. Speak the truth and treat people honestly and with integrity.

You shall not covet. Coveting is an everyday part of our lives. For America, and much of the world, it is the new favorite national pastime. Marketing constantly tries to make us covet what others have so we go buy it. People go deep into debt buying things they don’t need and can’t afford (e.g. houses, cars, clothes, phones, anything and everything) because they covet. People hate others and resent others because they covet. Do not let this sin sneak into your life because it is so accepted in our culture. Look for it and ask for God’s help for you to be content rather than coveting.

Think you are scoring well? Let’s take a look at how Jesus told us to judge against these commandments.

Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28

      21“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22“But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.

      27“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY’; 28but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Jesus shows us how high God’s standards are. We don’t get to redefine them so they are easy just because we fail. They are the righteous standard and good reference point to measure our progress in becoming more like Christ and less like the world. It should be clear by now that we all truly need the grace of Christ’s offer of forgiveness through grace by faith based on His death on the cross for us. None of us can meet God’s holy standard.

Consider this a health check on your relationship with God and others. Do you love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Do you love others as yourself? Most of us would admit we have further to go to live up to this standard… and we need God’s help to get there. Ask for Him to help you love Him more. Then look to understand more about how to demonstrate love for God through your decisions and attitudes of submission and obedience to Him.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Grace / Forgiveness, Guide, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Idols / False Gods, Justice / Judgment, Love, Obeying God, Righteousness / Serving God, Sin

You Shall Love the Lord Your God With All Your Heart

The ten commandments do not represent the sum total of God’s law or instruction for His people. However. He saw fit to focus on these 10 as He addressed the people. Much more detail was shared with the people through Moses and is available for us to study and learn in scripture. The point is, that learning and obeying these 10 commandments is not sufficient but it is a good place to start.

Some immediately want to say that this is out of date, “Didn’t Jesus say to love God and love others was all we need to do?”

Matthew 22:34-40

     34But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Context is important. This is not a new commandment replacing the others. Jesus lived obeying the law of Moses and quoting from it in His teaching. He explicitly said He did not come to change the law.

Matthew 5:17-19

      17“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19“Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

What Jesus is essentially saying is that He can summarize God’s instruction down to loving God and loving one another. However, we don’t get to define what that means on our terms. All too often people today define that as accepting sin and encouraging people that they do not have to repent of sin to be in right relationship with God. God already defined what it means to love God and love one another. As a starting point, we can use the 10 commandments. The first four are about our relationship with God and the next 6 are about our relationship with each other. This is not an all inclusive list, but it is a good place to start and to a health check on our relationship with God and others. We focus today on our relationship with God.

Deuteronomy 5:6-15 (the first four commandments)

      6‘I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

      7‘You shall have no other gods before Me.

      8‘You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 9‘You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 10but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

      11‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

      12‘Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. 13‘Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15‘You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your Go

You shall have no other gods before Him. This is not just limited to pagan worship of false gods. This includes also anything we put our primary loyalty or devotion to instead of God. The best way to measure that is looking at how you spend your time, money, and talent. Love of money is common. Career or power/prestige. Even something as simple as sports can take the place in your heart and life where God should be. Even a relationship with a spouse or children should not replace God as your primary focus. Don’t assume you are putting God first. Prove it to yourself. Where is the evidence, or fruit of Him being first in your life? Complacency is an enabler on the path to hell and separation with God. We should be pursuing a relationship with God like we pursued with our spouse while we were dating with intent to marry. We wanted to be with them, know them, learn about what is important to them. Do we do this with God?

You shall not make an idol to worship. Do not make even a graven image of God to worship. Worship God Himself. It is too easy for us as people to get focused on the image instead of God. This makes Him angry. He makes a point here to say how He shows “lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” Loving God and obeying His commandments go together. If you love Him, you obey Him. If you refuse to obey Him, you do not love Him, despite what your feelings tell you. You could say you love your spouse, but do you really if you ignore their desires and wants or even reject them directly? God promises to show lovingkindness to those who obey Him, not to those who don’t. We are not worthy of His love and He does not owe it to us just for existing. That is not how love really works.

You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain. This includes not misusing His name. Today it is shameful that people who may claim to follow Christ use the words we use to refer to “Jesus” and “God” as if they are curse words to be uttered carelessly. I recognize these are not the actual names of God but that is not the point. This extends to also how we talk about God. How we talk about someone, their reputation, also reflects on their “name”.  Someone may have a “good name” or a “bad name” based on reputation. All too often many who claim to follow Christ speak poorly of our Lord or change what it is the Bible documents from what He taught and what He followed (e.g. Old Testament). People frequently blame God when something goes wrong but give Him no credit when things go well. We are called to rejoice always… to trust Him when things are tough and when things are going well. Our complaints and blaming of God reflects more our sour heart than any failing on God’s part.

Observe the Sabbath day. God set one day apart in seven. He set apart by the Hebrew calendar what we now consider Fri at sunset until Sat at sunset.  This is the seventh day of the week and it is to be holy, set aside even during harvest and busy times when we have seemingly important stuff to do. There are other Sabbath’s also associated with the holy days God instructs us to obey as well. All too often today, Sabbath is completely ignored. (I am not focused in this discussion on those who celebrate Sabbath on Sundays vs. Saturdays. Their hearts are obedient toward God in seeking to obey Sabbath.)

Don’t just assume you are doing everything well. Consider this a health check on your relationship with God. Do you love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? Most of us would admit we have further to go to live up to this standard… and we need God’s help to get there. Ask for Him to help you love Him more. Then look to understand more about how to demonstrate love for God through your decisions and attitudes of submission and obedience to Him.

Continue with related article, You Shall Love Your Neighbor As Yourself, focused on the last 6 of the 10 commandments.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.