Category Archives: Guide

Blessed, Compassion, Contentment, Generous, Giving, Guide, Help / Serve Others, Kindness / Gentleness, Money / Finances / Wealth, Provider

Lending Money, Forgiving Debts, And Helping The Poor

What a beautiful way to take care of one another… and it it not unique to the book of Acts. This is Deuteronomy. YHWH instructs His people regarding how to help the poor and how to forgive debts. Surprisingly to most of us, He explicitly says we are not to avoid this situation by not lending money, but rather lend generously for those in need, and then forgive the debts every 7th year. Imagine how our society could be transformed if we could live more closely to how YHWH instructs us.

Keep in mind, however, this is not socialism. The government has no role in this. Further, this passage, similar to the church in Acts, is focused on brothers and sisters of faith. This is not to be overlooked. It is not because we don’t want to help strangers and non believers, but non believers can take advantage of this type of situation and wreck it through sloth, laziness, and demands for what everyone “owes” them, though they do little or no work. Surely, not all non believers are like this, but some are and this is why you cannot simply apply this form of godly living to godless people who are only thinking of themselves. The godly will take only what they need and try to repay it, even if they know it will be forgiven. The ungodly choose not to pay their debts and demand they be forgiven.

Deuteronomy 15

The Sabbatic Year

      1“At the end of every seven years you shall grant a remission of debts. 2“This is the manner of remission: every creditor shall release what he has loaned to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother, because the LORD’S remission has been proclaimed. 3“From a foreigner you may exact it, but your hand shall release whatever of yours is with your brother. 4“However, there will be no poor among you, since the LORD will surely bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, 5if only you listen obediently to the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all this commandment which I am commanding you today. 6“For the LORD your God will bless you as He has promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.

      7“If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; 8but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks. 9“Beware that there is no base thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,’ and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he may cry to the LORD against you, and it will be a sin in you. 10“You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings. 11“For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’

      12“If your kinsman, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you six years, but in the seventh year you shall set him free.13“When you set him free, you shall not send him away empty-handed. 14“You shall furnish him liberally from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you. 15“You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. 16“It shall come about if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he fares well with you; 17then you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also you shall do likewise to your maidservant.

      18“It shall not seem hard to you when you set him free, for he has given you six years with double the service of a hired man; so the LORD your God will bless you in whatever you do.

      19“You shall consecrate to the LORD your God all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock; you shall not work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20“You and your household shall eat it every year before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses. 21“But if it has any defect, such as lameness or blindness, or any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the LORD your God. 22“You shall eat it within your gates; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as a gazelle or a deer. 23“Only you shall not eat its blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water.

Do not miss that nowhere in this is YHWH telling people to lend so they may charge interest and make money themselves, thus taking advantage of the poor. The money is loaned without personal benefit to the one loaning it to someone else. It is all about helping our brothers and sisters in faith. And because they share the faith, they do not take advantage and ask for more than they need and they intend to pay it back.

Deuteronomy 23:19-20

   19“You shall not charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned at interest. 20“You may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your countrymen you shall not charge interest, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all that you undertake in the land which you are about to enter to possess.

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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.

Children, Guide, Marriage, Parenting

God’s Instruction On Family Relations Is Actually Clear

Our culture is so far off from YHWH’s design that even people who claim to follow Christ, often want to pick and choose which scripture “they agree with” and which they don’t. This is not the way. Seeking to understand scripture through study and prayer when it may not make sense to us…that is good. Recognize, though, that in these circumstances it may be you and I that need to change and not the instruction of YHWH.

As an example, many women really struggle at the concept of “wives be subject to your husbands” and want to find a way around submitting to the leadership of their husband, but then want the husband to “love your wife” and children to “be obedient to your parents”. Perhaps some men want to have wives submit, but not really love their wives the way YHWH calls them to.

Colossians 3:18-25

Family Relations

       18Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. 20Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. 21Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.

      22Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 25For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

The point is simply that we should accept all of scripture. YHWH’s design for family is wonderful. Keep in mind that the framework around this family model includes the beginning of chapter 3 as well, in which we are to each become new in Christ. This foundational to making the family model work as YHWH intends. We become more like Him and less selfish.

Do not seek to redefine YHWH’s word by trying to find “loopholes” for how we are to behave. Instead seek to transform yourself in Christ and study the word to understand it more clearly. Submit to Christ and obey His instruction, even if you don’t agree. Pray and seek discernment to increase in understanding of the scriptures.

The path to change your life to be more like YHWH desires is not always easy, but obedience is good and a primary way we truly show love for Him. (There are many scriptures where YHWH equates loving Him to obeying His commands. You can search for them if you like with a search engine.)

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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.

Government, Guide, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Obeying God, Prayer

The 10 Commandments Matter To God and They Should Also Matter To Us

Many probably forget this, but when Moses came down off the mountain(Deuteronomy 9) with the 10 commandments the first time, he found the people sinning in rebellion to YHWH. He was so angry he broke the tablets with the 10 commandments on them. It was quite a dramatic scene. Once the situation was addressed, however, YHWH must have thought it was important because He told Moses to come back so He could provide a replacement set of the commandments.

Deuteronomy 10:1-5

The Tablets Rewritten

     1“At that time the LORD said to me, ‘Cut out for yourself two tablets of stone like the former ones, and come up to Me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood for yourself. 2‘I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered, and you shall put them in the ark.’ 3“So I made an ark of acacia wood and cut out two tablets of stone like the former ones, and went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4“He wrote on the tablets, like the former writing, the Ten Commandments which the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly; and the LORD gave them to me. 5“Then I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are, as the LORD commanded me.”

The commandments are important to our Father. They are not all inclusive of all instructions He has provided, but they are an important summary and for many a good starting place. They are not obsolete. Neither YHWH nor human nature nor sin have changed in thousands of years. YHWH’s instructions are there for our benefit, not His. We should honor and respect that which our Father has provided to help guide us.

Ask yourself… Do you know what the 10 commandments are? When is the last time you reviewed them and prayed over them for the Spirit to show you what changes you need to make in your life?

Ask also… What can we do to ensure that the commandments are honored throughout our country instead of constantly being under attack by atheists. Are we as Christians, fighting as hard to protect the ten commandments and instructions of God throughout our culture as the atheists are fighting to eliminate them? Pray for guidance on how you can get involved to help.

Praying for our nation is a great spot to start… for our nation to embrace YHWH and His ways rather than reject them. Pray for the plans of the wicked to be destroyed and the righteous to be lifted up and protected.

The 10 commandments matter to YHWH and they should also matter to us.

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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, Contentment, Faith / Trusting God, Father / Yahweh, Guide, Loving / Kind, Peace / Rest, Provider, Strong in Our Weakness

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.

All Knowing, Blessed, Character of God, Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Faithful, Father / Yahweh, Guide, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Justice / Judgment, Obeying God, Prayer, Pride, Protector / Deliverer, Through Prophets

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.

Blessed, Character of God, Faith / Trusting God, Faithful, Father / Yahweh, Guide, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Justice / Judgment, Through Prophets, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

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.

Father / Yahweh, Guide, Hearing from God, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Holy, Holy / Set Apart, Idols / False Gods, Marriage, Obeying God, Protector / Deliverer, Righteous, Through Prophets, Worldliness

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.
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.

Guide, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Help / Serve Others, Jesus (hearing from God), Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Kindness / Gentleness, Love, Loving / Kind, Righteous, Suffering / Adversity

Our Pain Should Not Overwhelm Our Love For Others

Even while He was carrying His cross to His own execution, Yeshua was focused on others. He knew that His pain was happening now, but that others would experience pain later because of their rejection of YHWH. We should not miss the opportunity to see this clear expression of Yeshua’s love for His people. We should strive to live in similar manner. With help from the Spirit we too should strive to love others and be concerned for them whether or not we are also having a hard time.

Luke 23:26-32

Simon Bears the Cross

     26When they led Him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus.

      27And following Him was a large crowd of the people, and of women who were mourning and lamenting Him. 28But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29“For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ 30“Then they will begin TO SAY TO THE MOUNTAINS, ‘FALL ON US,’ AND TO THE HILLS, ‘COVER US.’ 31“For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

      32Two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Him.

Our pain should not overwhelm our love for others. This is hard. Pray to YHWH that He would help us to love others more consistently and more deeply. Pray He would help us know how to love others consistent with His word. It is not just about the happiness and comfort of others in giving them what they want. Obeying YHWH’s word helps us love Him and love others and we should not violate His instructions on the premise that we are loving others.

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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.

Fear / Reverence for God, Guide, Holy / Set Apart, Holy Spirit / Ruach HaKodesh, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Obeying God, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Prayer, Purposeful / Intentional

Yeshua Sets The Example In Submitting Fully To God’s Will

Reading in Luke 22 about Yeshua’s arrest in the garden, we see that He went voluntarily, without fighting or resisting. Yeshua was committed to obeying the will of the Father. He was to fulfill the plan YHWH had for our salvation by suffering for our sins and dying on the cross. Once again in Luke 23 we see this attitude reinforced.

Luke 23:1-7

Jesus before Pilate

     1Then the whole body of them got up and brought Him before Pilate. 2And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.” 3So Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?” And He answered him and said, “It is as you say.” 4Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” 5But they kept on insisting, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee even as far as this place.”

      6When Pilate heard it, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 7And when he learned that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem at that time.

Yeshua had been explicitly asked about paying taxes to Caesar and His answer was to pay to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. He did not tell people to avoid paying taxes. Those who wanted to destroy Yeshua lied. This should not surprise us.

Mark 12:13-17

 13Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. 14They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? 15“Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” 16They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him.

Yeshua ignores the lies and responds only to the question from Pilate, and not in a way that appears to be trying to defend Himself or get released from punishment. Even still, Pilot found no guilt. None the less, YHWH used Pilate and others to facilitate His plan. Rather than releasing the man in whom he found no guilt, Pilate sent Yeshua to Herod.

Yeshua sets the example for us to follow in submitting to the will of the Father, even when it seems not in our own perception of our best interest. YHWH’s plans are bigger than any one of us. His vision and wisdom far exceed anything we could hope to achieve. He is infinite…without limits and boundaries. We are certainly not.

Let us submit to YHWH and seek His will. Pray for the Spirit to guide us and work to develop a relationship with YHWH through time together in prayer, worship, and study of the scriptures. Ask also for the courage and conviction to submit and obey even when it is hard. In this way we become holy, which is to say set apart for YHWH’s use.

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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.