10 Commands: "Mine, Mine, Mine"

Intro:
I was trained from childhood to want what other people have. If my brother had the exact Matchbox car I wanted there was going to be a fight. Of course the “exact” car I wanted was the one he had! Forget that there were 25 other cars lying on the floor, I had to have the one he had. There’s going to be a battle in our house tonight!

Greed and coveting are in the heart from birth. One of the marks of being human is to be discontent and wanting what other people have. Almost 40 years later I am still trying to trust God with my greedy heart.

One of my top 5 cartoons growing up starred Daffy Duck and illustrates coveting in action. It has that famous line, “Mine, mine mine, down, down down.”

Here’s a summary in 2 forms. You can read the really long and boring paragraph below or you can watch the cartoon! I vote for the cartoon!!!

Video:
Daffy: Mine Mine Mine

Paragraph:
After taking that infamous "wrong toin" at Albuquerque, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck wind up in Bagdad instead of Pismo Beach. There they come upon a treasure cave guarded by a scimitar-wielding giant ("Hassan chop!"), but this doesn't stop Daffy from trying to plunder the cave's limitless supply of gold and jewels. Bugs is forced to save Daffy's life by posing as the Genie of the Lamp, but Daffy ("I'm rich! I'm wealthy! I'm comfortably well off!") ultimately allows his greed to become his undoing when the real Genie shows up.

Looney Tunes had such a gift of capturing real issues and making them funny!

Read: Deuteronomy 5:6, 16-21; James 4:1-4
6 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

16 “Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
17 “You must not murder.
18 “You must not commit adultery.
19 “You must not steal.
20 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
21 “You must not covet your neighbor’s wife. You must not covet your neighbor’s house or land, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.

James 4:1-4
1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? 2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. 3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

New Living Translation

Think:
We must not covet. That is pretty clear. I am not to want other people’s stuff. I am not to be jealous of what others have. God would not have made this a commandment if our hearts were not prone to it!

It might be easier if we lived on a secluded island. Our marketing culture sells greed to us every day. One can hardly read the Sunday paper or watch TV without being bombarded with ads for things that I must have! A new car, new house, new body, more money, better clothes, nicer kids, a better vacation spot …. the list is endless. We are trained in greed. We compare our vacation with our friends to make sure we are winning. If not, we brood and mope. We spend money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like!

Pay close attention to verse 21 above. This is not a random list. There is an order to the list. As if it was not enough for God to command his people to not covet, he goes to great lengths to define what he is talking about.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s:
1. Wife
2. House
3. Land
4. Servants
5. Animals
6. Anything

This list moves from center to edge. It moves from the bedroom to the furthest reaches of this neighbor’s property. From the most important relationship (his wife) to the least important (animals). We see what God holds dear, namely marriage, and what we are to therefore protect most. I am not to want ANYTHING that my neighbor has, starting with his wife. That is God’s command.

James tells us how to spot coveting and greed in our lives. If you see quarreling and fighting among children, church members, husband and wife, friends and neighbors there is probably some link to greed and coveting. When we see quarreling we are invited to pay attention. There might be some greed and jealousy involved. Your “Mine, mine, mine” might be coming into conflict with my “Mine, mine, mine”.

Do:
Being content can be difficult. How is your content meter today? Are you at peace with who you are, where you are and what you have? Are you content in your marriage? Are you content with your job, car, church, friends, income level, vacation plans, etc.? Do you KNOW that God controls those things in your life? Do you know that you are where you are and have what you have by the hand of God? God will never leave you nor forsake you so be content with what you have (Hebrews 13:5). If you have Him you have all you need?

“Father, help me to trust you with what I have. Help me to see You today and be satisfied with You alone. Help me to focus on Jesus. Help me to focus on the glory I will have in heaven (Col. 3:4). God I am very rich. Help me to be content with what I have and live in today not in the future. I choose to trust you. Be glorified.

In Jesus name, amen.”

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10 Commands: Liar, Liar!

Intro:
In the movie “Liar, Liar”, Fletcher (Jim Carrey) is a particularly career-focused lawyer and divorced father. He has a habit of giving priority to his job, breaking promises to be with his young son Max, and then lying to both Max and his ex-wife Audrey about the real reason he missed the get-together. Fletcher lets Max down once too often, missing his birthday party, and has to deal with the consequences of a wish Max makes while blowing out the candles on his cake that actually comes true. The wish is that Fletcher cannot tell a lie for an entire day. Fletcher soon has several embarrassing instances where he blurts out exactly what he is thinking and figures out that he is unable to lie or even withhold a true answer. (from imbd.com)

The movie's funny as you feel for this guy forced to tell the truth! Consider this excerpt:

Cop: You know why I pulled you over?
Fletcher: Depends on how long you were following me!
Cop: Why don't we just take it from the top?
Fletcher: Here goes: I sped. I followed too
closely. I ran a stop sign. I almost hit a Chevy. I sped some more. I failed to yield at a crosswalk. I changed lanes at the intersection. I changed lanes without signaling while running a red light and *speeding*!
Cop: Is that all?
Fletcher: No... I have unpaid parking tickets.
Cop: [groans]
Fletcher: ... be gentle.

That is funny but also instructive! The movie is funny because we have trouble picturing ourselves actually being that honest? Let that sink in! The reason the movie is uneasily funny ….. we cannot picture ourselves ever having to do that!

Think of the last time you were pulled over by a cop. I'm sure you sounded like Fletcher! Right?

Lying is not just speaking untruth, it is also withholding truth. Hmmmm. Liar, liar?

Read: Deuteronomy 5:6, 16-21; Revelation 22:12-15
6 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

16 “Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
17 “You must not murder.
18 “You must not commit adultery.
19 “You must not steal.
20 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
21 “You must not covet your neighbor’s wife. You must not covet your neighbor’s house or land, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor. (New Living Translation)

Revelation 22:12-15
12"Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.
13"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
14Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.
15Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. (NASB)

Think:
This command is very Old Testamentish (made that word up!). God had something very clear in mind when he gave this command. In those days, someone could be brought to court, tried, convicted and stoned to death on the testimony of 2 or 3 neighbors. Think of that, 2 people in your company that do not like you and you get executed! You do not just lose your job, you could lose your life! That’s what is at stake in this command.

God was warning his people that they are not to lie for personal gain. They were not to take advantage of others by lying. They were not to advance on the loss of others.

In the NT we find that truth is paramount. Jesus is called the Way, the TRUTH and the Life. We are told that He is full of “grace and truth”. He did not lie. He did not make things up. He reported the truth and did not seek to gain personal approval or advancement by lying.

He expects the same from those that call themselves Christ followers. Our lives are to be marked by honesty. We are to live in the light. We are to be honest about our relationship with Jesus. We are to be honest about our weaknesses (accountability). We are not to seek personal gain or advancement by lying. It is so easy to exaggerate your skills and abilities in front of the right people to get a job or get another person in trouble.

We are not to “practice lying” (Rev. 22:15). Did you notice what else is in the list above besides lying? It is a pretty brutal list: People with impure minds (what is meant by “dogs”), sorcerers (those that practice magical arts), those that are immoral (Greek word: pornos where we get the word pornography), murders, idolaters. If you are honest with yourself you would not put lying with this list! Lying might go along with impatience or even anger but not sorcery and murder.

Those that love and practice lying will be left outside the gates of heaven (Rev. 22:15). It is not that Jesus cannot forgive liars …. He has forgiven me! It is that those who practice lying prove that they have never had their hearts changed! They are not born from above, they are not new creatures in Christ.

Do:
Do you love and practice lying? Do you exaggerate? Do you embellish stories so people will like you? Time to be honest with yourself. If you practice lying you may not know Jesus.

What would it look like to play “Liar, Liar” today? Make a commitment to pay attention to EVERYTHING you say today. Try not to lie or exaggerate at all. See if you do not surprise yourself with the human propensity to lie. This is not a license to be mean and say harmful things to others. Be tactful and kind to others. This is about being honest with you and about how you represent yourself to others.

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10 Commands: Stop! Thief!

Intro:
I am a thief. I steal things all the time. Though I do not pry through any window, a thief I remain.

Have you ever stolen something? When I was ten I stole a candy bar from the local 7-11. I didn’t have enough money for the candy so I stuck it in my pocket and left the store with it. I felt pretty bad about it then and thinking about it now still brings up some feelings of shame.

We all have some story like that. We all “lifted” something in our younger years, even if it was only a younger brother’s toy we wanted!

But we are not only focusing on stuff here. I am not talking about breaking into houses. I am talking about something more subtle. You see, you can steal a person’s stuff but you can also steal a person’s time, reputation and blessing.

Consider:
Have you ever been late for a meeting? Have you ever given less than your “all” at work? You have stolen someone else’s time.

Have you ever gossiped about someone? Have you ever failed to stand up for someone? You have stolen their reputation.

Have you ever withheld love from someone? You have stolen someone’s blessing.

Like me, you just might be a thief without ever breaking into someone else's house.

Read: Deuteronomy 5:6, 16-19; Romans 13:7-10
6 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

16 “Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
17 “You must not murder.
18 “You must not commit adultery.
19 “You must not steal.

Romans 13:7-10
7 Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority. 8 Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. 9 For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

New Living Translation

Think:
This command is really simple. Do not steal. Do not take what is not yours. That’s it.

The word “steal” is klepto. Do you recognize the word? Klepto is the root word from which we get the word kleptomaniac. Kleptomania (Greek: κλέπτειν "to steal") is the condition of not being able to resist the urge to collect or hoard things. Kleptomania was first officially recognized in the US as a mental disorder in the 1960s in the case of the state of California v. Douglas Jones.
Most of us are not kleptomaniacs but all of us are thieves at some level. All of us do not use our time and resources to the max. We do not always give it our all.

Look again at the verses from Romans. What kind of things does Paul include that we are to not withhold from others?

Taxes (v.7) Have you considered stealing in light of taxes or money?

Respect (v.7) Have you considered stealing in light of not respecting someone’s time?

Honor (v.7) Have you considered stealing in light of not honoring someone’s name or reputation?
Love (v.8) Have you considered stealing in light of withholding love from others?

Do:
Can you identify with any of these areas? Has God brought anything to mind that needs to be confessed? Anything that needs to be put right? Make a plan to deal with it. Be ruthless with yourself. If God is convicting you on an issue deal with it. Make a plan.

How are you at home? Do you have someone elses stuff in your garage?

How are you at work? Are you giving your all?

How are you with guarding the reputation of others? Are you careful with your tongue?

How are you with loving others? Are you withholding love from someone?

How are you allowing God to use your gifts? Where are you serving others?

Make a plan to stop stealing today! :)

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10 Commands: Adultery Flood

Intro:
Sex is awesome. Rivers are awesome. Rivers are good when they stay within their banks. *Sex is good when it stays within its boundaries. *Sex outside of God’s plan is not good: it ruins lives, ruins marriages, ruins reputations, ruins children, ruins testimonies for Christ. The flood of *adultery ruins everything in its wake.

Is there an *adultery flood in the church? Do you know anyone that has taken the plunge and made a mess of their lives? It’s like hearing about folks that have cancer. Seems I hear about more of those every day. Same with *adultery. It is sad.

Do you remember the images from the flooding of Banda Aceh in 2005? The devastation and loss of lives was astounding … over 300,000 folks died in a matter of hours. What we fail to see is the number of lives that are lost in just a matter of hours with *adultery too. Study the picture above. Study the “before” picture first. Look at the buildings, the yards, and the homes. It is a city. People feel safe and enjoy life there in Banda Aceh. It is an awesome beach city bustling with children in the sun. Now study the “after” picture. Look at the devastation and loss. It is amazing.

I am arguing that this is exactly what happens to spouses and kids in the aftermath of *adultery. I am saying that this is what happens to the body of Christ and the reputation of Christ when we allow this river to overflow its banks. The *adultery flood is devastating.

Read: Deuteronomy 5:6, 16-21; Matthew 5:27-29
6 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
16 “Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
17 “You must not .
18 “You must not commit *adultery.
19 “You must not steal.
20 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
21 “You must not covet your neighbor’s wife. You must not covet your neighbor’s house or land, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.

Matthew 5:27-29
27 “You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit *adultery.’ 28 But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with has already committed *adultery with her in his heart. 29 So if your eye—even your good eye—causes you to , gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Think:
I looked up the word *adultery. It means *adultery! It means to have *sexual relations with someone that is not your spouse. There is not much room for playing with this definition. Unless you are the president of the USA (a la the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal) you do not get to redefine “sex”.

God views the covenant between a husband and wife so highly he created boundaries around it. Like a river, God placed banks around marriage and commanded the couple to keep *sex to themselves … for a lifetime. Our *culture says this is boring. God says this is required.

Why does God do this? Why the demands of fidelity? 2 Main reasons:
*The covenant between a husband and wife mirror the relationship between God and his people. Marriage pictures God’s perfect, faithful love toward his people.
*To protect and provide for his people. God gets a bad rap for being a kill joy. In truth, he knows what is best for us and commands us to trust him. By maintaining purity in our marriage bonds we protect ourselves from shame, brokenness, disease and *death. By maintaining purity in our marriages we provide the opportunity for real love and relationship.

Note to those who have not had an affair but are tempted to judge those who have: be careful! You can fall into the same sin (1 Cor. 10:12-13; Gal. 6:1). You might have already committed the same sin in your heart (Mt. 5:28)!

Do:
How are the “banks” on your marriage river? Are you guarding the covenant you have with your spouse? What are you doing to stay close to your spouse? I’ve heard of several couples that are hardly intimate any more! That is so sad. What are you doing about that? Talk it out with your spouse.

Sadly many marriages have been reduced to “married singles”. Does that describe your marriage?

Are you in an accountability relationship with someone (of the same gender)? Is there someone that you have invited to ask you tough questions? Someone you will not lie to? One thing is clear, accountability cannot help you if you do not want help! Be honest. Keep the bigger picture.

Have you allowed your river to overflow the banks? Have you crossed the line? If so, there is forgiveness from God. If you will turn from your sin, God will forgive you. You need to confess your sin to your spouse and work through the process. You cannot control the consequences. There will be pain and some devastation but you can make it through it.

Listen to the song #28, Slow Fade in the DevoLink Worship Center below.

*this blog deletes certain words. We must use the "*" to make the word stay on the screen. Sorry.

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.

Weekend Worship

Intro:
Monday we will continue our devos on the 10 Commands with the next command: Do not commit *adultery.

Let's spend time this weekend worshiping God and preparing our hearts to worship him on Sunday.

Can you stop right here and pray with me?

"Father, we come before you in the name of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you for giving me another day to live. Let me life this day in your power. Live your life through me. Have your way Lord.

Search me O Lord. Try me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is a harmful way in me and lead me in the everlasting way. I confess my sin to you. There are many places I fall short. Please forgive me (take time to examine your life).

God there are many things I need today (take time to share things with God).

I put my life in your hands. Show me what it looks like when you show up today. I will look to see you and join you there.

In Jesus name, amen!"

Read: Psalm 139
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!

7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!

19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you ers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I those who you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Think:
Did any portion of this Psalm speak to you as you read it? Stop and meditate on it. Think through it and what God wants you to do with it.

Do:
Let's spend time in the DevoLink Worship Center this morning. Listen to the songs listed below. Close your eyes. Pay attention to the words. Worship the Lord.

*#11 Made Me Glad - Hillsongs
*#16 I Give You My Heart - Hillsongs
*#38 Lord When Thou Ascended - Apostolos Hill

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10 Commands: Managing Tension

Intro:
Sometimes it is hard to be human. We can be so full of ourselves it is only a matter of time before we have tension with others. People at work, people in the neighborhood, people at church, people in our homes. No matter where you look, if you are around other people, you are going to run into fights and quarrels (James 4).

How do you handle this tension with others? Some of us are turtles who like to pull our heads in and be safe. Others are owls who want to fix problems. Still others are sharks who attack and control. Are you one of these? A mix?

This 5th command calls us to not murder each other. If you are like me, you sit there and think, “This does not apply to me, I’ve never murdered anyone nor will I ever murder anyone. Next command please.”

That may be well and good but murder might not be defined as you think. We might have broken this command without realizing it.

Read: Deuteronomy 5:6-7, 16-21; Matthew 5:21-24
6 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
7 “You must not have any other god but me.
16 “Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
17 “You must not murder.
18 “You must not commit adultery.
19 “You must not steal.
20 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
21 “You must not covet your neighbor’s wife. You must not covet your neighbor’s house or land, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.

Matthew 5:21-24
21 “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ 22 But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.
23 “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, 24 leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.

Think:
When God's people entered the promised land they were to operate differently than the nations. They were given a set of commands that would dictate how society should function.

The "horitontal commands" that deal with how we relate to others are important to understand correctly. Really they are about treating others the way we want to be treated.

Today, the comand we are looking at is related to murder as we said. Murder is not the same as killing. There is a distinct difference. Some struggle to understand the difference and reach wrong opinions about capital punishment and the right of governments to execute convicted felons.

The word for murder used here in Deuteronomy is not in doubt. The word makes clear that this refers to pre-meditated and intentional murder. It speaks of someone that takes time to plot and plan the death of another. They were not to do this. Justice had a process and it needed to be followed. They were not to take things into their own hands.

In the NT Jesus takes it further. He addresses murder in the heart. He said that we can be guity of this command by being angry or harboring hatred toward someone. That is a game changer.

Tension leads to anger, anger can make us guilty of "murder". Kind of sounds like Yoda from Star Wars! When we are angry with someone and that anger is allowed to fester we have gone too far. We need to take that to God.

God wants our lives marked by grace and forgiveness. We are commanded to release people when they hurt us. We are to be reconciled with others. We are supposed to take reconciliation so seriously that we make things right with others when they have a problem with us (Matthew 5:23). That includes us turtles!

Do:
Can you come to grips with this command? Can you confess that you are guilty of murder as defined by Jesus? It is a hard place to get to. We like to think we are OK.

How are you managing tension with others?

Is there anyone that is angry with you? Anyone that does not like you for whatever reason? Are you willing to go and work it out with them?

Is there anyone that you are angry with? God wants you to forgive them. Will you trust him with that? Will you be reconciled with them?

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.

10 Commands: Honor Parents

Intro:
We live in a society that accepts rebellion in the teen years as “normal”. I do not accept that. I do not believe that that has to be the case and I am concerned that we might actually encourage rebellion by embracing this type of thinking.

Much of the “grunge” music of the 90’s mirrored the anger of teens. Kurt Cobain captured this in his song, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. The music reflects the spirit of some kids toward their parents. The anger is seen not just in the words but in the music.

Some might ask, “well isn’t it ok for these kids to express themselves? Isn’t this normal?” Again, I say no. It is bad for the parent’s marriage and it is bad for the family and it is bad for the child.

Just how important is the role of dad and mom?

Read: Deuteronomy 5:6-7, 16-21; Ephesians 6:1-4
6 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
7 “You must not have any other god but me.
16 “Honor your father and mother, as the LORD your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
17 “You must not murder.
18 “You must not commit adultery.
19 “You must not steal.
20 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.
21 “You must not covet your neighbor’s wife. You must not covet your neighbor’s house or land, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.

Ephesians 6:1-4
1 Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. 2 “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: 3 If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”

Think:
Just how important is the role of dad and mom? The importance of and respect due to parents is seen in several ways in this passage. It is seen in:
*It’s Placement: God placed this command as the first of the “horizontal” commands. This is significant and not to be missed. Right after God tells Israel how they are to relate to him he tells them how to relate to parents.

*It’s Power: parents occupy a very special place in God’s economy. He tells the children to “honor” (kavod) their parents. Kavod means weighty presence, importance, greatness, glory. It is not the word I expected to find as I studied for today’s DevoLink. This special Hebrew word is often used of God’s glory. God is said to have kavod. He has a weight to him that demands respect. It stands for that reputation for greatness that God alone deserves. Yet he uses that word to convey the role parents have with their children. Parents have kavod with their kids. Kids are commanded to respect the weightiness and glory of the role of parent. That’s heavy!

*It’s Promise: that the kids may do well. Literally that they would be filled with blessing, well-being, joy, good feelings and more. Interesting that these feelings do not come from demanding rights and being free but from honoring parents! That’s backwards to how many rebelling teens think!

Final note: the requirement to honor parents is NOT related to how good the parents are but related to their role. God does not qualify his statement. It does not say, “Honor your father and mother if they are good parents and you like them. Honor them because they provide well for you”. This is important as you think about your role with your children and their need to honor you in the process.

Do:
Were you aware of the significant role you play as a parent?

Do you expect your children to obey you? Do you expect “first time obedience” from your kids? Are you willing to embrace God’s word regarding discipling children? Are you willing to spank them if necessary? Never spank them in anger. Your kids will hardly ever respect you if you do not spank them. Foolishness is bound up in the hears of a child but the rod will drive it far from them.

Do you embrace the “rebellion is normal” philosophy? If so, can you see from the above passage that that is NOT an acceptable way to think? What can you do to change your thinking?

As a grown child, how do you continue to show honor to your parents? Do you have a plan in place to help take care of them in their elder years?

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.

10 Commands: All you need is Love

Intro:
I dig getting notes from my kids. Often one of my girls will draw me a picture and let me know that they love me. Yesterday my daughter drew a picture of a golf course with me hitting a ball into the hole. Two things struck me (besides the fact she thinks I can hit a golf ball at all!). She drew herself playing next to me. It was really cute! She also wrote “I love you dad” on the back of the paper.

Those things thrill dads and moms. Those things thrill gods, at least the God of the Bible … the God that would rather die than live without us. He longs to hear us say “I love you Dad!”. That is a weird concept to think through. Why would this perfect God want us to love him and what does that look like?

When Jesus summarized these first 4 commands he summarized it by saying: LOVE.

Read: Deuteronomy 5:6-12; Mark 12:28-31
6 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
7 “You must not have any other god but me.
8 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind, or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 9 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 10 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.
11 “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.

Mark 12:28-31
28 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. 30 And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

New Living Translation

Think:
Our last 4 devos on the 10 Commandments dealt with the “first tablet of the Law” or the first 4 commands. These commands are all about our vertical relationship with God. The final 6 commands are all about our horizontal relationships with others.

When Jesus was asked to pick his favorite command ... he didn’t! He avoided the temptation to choose one over the other! (This is instructive for us that have memorized John 3:16 but have no clue what John 3:17 says!) Instead, he summarizes the message of the 10 commands into 1 driving model: LOVE. Really it is love in 2 directions, love toward God (vertical) and love toward others (horizontal – Mk. 12:30, 31).

In other words, the entire deal is about loving God and loving others. We are to love God with our emotions (heart), our soul (personality), our thinking (mind) and our efforts (strength). We cannot have compartmentalized lives! We are called to love God sacrificially. The Greek word used here is agape. We are not called to love God as a buddy or as a peer or in romantic love. We are to agape love God sacrificially.

If we compare the first 4 commands with these 4 areas we see some interesting things:

Command #1: No other gods = love God with all your heart – if he captures your heart you will not look to other things to satisfy your needs. He will be enough.

Command #2: No idols = love God with all your soul – your soul is the part of you that houses the personality, the will. It is the part that looks for meaning and purpose. It is therefore the part that makes idols if you search for meaning outside of God.

Command #3: Don’t use His name thoughtlessly = love God with all your mind – what you put into your mind will come out in your life.

Command #4: Rest from work = love God with all your strength

Think through the comparisons. They are deeper then we can cover here. Bottom line, God wants us, indeed commands us to love him.

Do:
Take your temperature. What is your love like for God today? Be honest. Jesus said if we are forgiven much we will love God much. To what extent are you conscious of how much you needed to be forgiven to be right with God? The answer to that question will show up in your love for God.

The book of Revelation talks about Christians whose love for God went cold. He gave them a formula to fix it:
Remember the height from which you have fallen
Repent back to God and away from sin
Redo the things you did at first – get back to that love relationship when you reflected on God’s sacrifice and love for you shown in Jesus Christ on the cross. Redo what you did in the beginning. Read his word to MEET with him not to check a box. Pray but also listen. Be with God's people in celebration and accountability.

Pretty simple, just takes a lifetime to live it out!

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.

10 Commands: Work 6 but Rest

Intro:
Most of us live for the weekend. It is ingrained in us from school. There is nothing like coming home on a Friday after class and playing without the responsibility of homework.

As we get older, we learn that work is still not that much fun and so we continue the pattern of living for the weekend. Everybody’s working for the weekend. We even have a restaurant dedicated to our celebration of the weekend: TGiF.

In the OT the folks did not work 5 days. They did not live by alarm clocks. They knew nothing of 9-5. They worked 6 days, got up with the sun and quit when it was dark. If they lived for anything they lived for a day to rest.

Read: Deuteronomy 5:6-15
6 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
7 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 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 fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 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.
New International Version

Think:
I am not qualified to talk about the Sabbath. I am not sure I fully understand it. What is clear is the following:
*Work 6 days
*Work as hard as you want – wear yourself out
*Set apart one day as a day of rest
*The Sabbath rest is based on pattern and principle. The pattern is that God rested. He wasn’t tired! He rested and reflected on his labor. The principle is that he can do more with your 6 days of labor than you can with all 7 on your own! We can trust the Lord with the outcome of our labor.
*This day of rest set apart the Jews from the rest of the world – that is the gist of verse 15. God had proven he could take care of them. If they trusted him he would take care of them and they would rest.
*There has to be health benefits to this. The stress is killing us! Rest might do us good.

Do:
How well do you rest? Do you set aside 1 whole day where you will not advance your career or money making opportunities? Do you trust God that he can do more with your 6 days than you can with all 7? Do you believe that God can make you the top performer in your company by working less? Are you willing to PLAN your week so you can rest?

This is the reason DevoLink is written 6 days only. I want a rest from the writing. I want the opportunity to be with my family on Saturday night.

This day of rest does not exclude us from showing mercy toward others. This is not “No work” day! This is a day to not advance our interests in money making adventures. This is a day to trust the Lord. This is a day to reflect on God’s word. This is a day to rest and reflect. This is a day to recreate yourself.

Go throw a frisbee. Go help a friend move. Go and enjoy the lake, ocean, mountain, whatever. Go and enjoy God’s creation. Go play softball. Do all these things but make sure you rest your stress. Relax. Reflect. It will do you good and allow God freedom to show himself to you!

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.

10 Commands: Sticks and Stones

Intro:
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” The guy that made that statement up either skipped junior high school or is an idiot!

Do you remember jr. high? I do ... with pain! Sticks and stones do break bones but bones heal. Words break hearts and those take a lot longer to heal … if they ever do.

It seems in jr. high people loved to make fun of each other’s names. I heard of a lady named Myrtlegene Grundlebutt. True name. Can you imagine her experience in school?

We do not like it when people make fun of our names. Your name represents YOU. It is the address to your soul. It is the access to you. It is your web address. It is what makes you turn in a crowd. It is your NAME.

If we zit-filled, pre-people, jr. highers protect our names from abuse, how much more would a holy God be offended and guard HIS name from misuse?

Read: Deuteronomy 5:6-11
6 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
7 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 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 fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

New International Version

Think:
What does it mean to take God’s name in vain? How do we misuse it?

The Hebrew word lashshaw means: “emptiness”, “vanity”, and “falsehood”. The command literally reads: “You shall not lift up the name of the Lord your God lashshaw (vainly, in an empty manner, with falsehood). The word in this form appears only 5 other times in the OT. All in Jeremiah. The word is used of people trying to accomplish some form of action that is “in vain” because the outcome is already decided. Consider just one example:

What are you doing, O devastated one? Why dress yourself in scarlet and put on
jewels of gold? Why shade your eyes with paint? You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers despise you; they seek your life.
Jeremiah 4:30

In this example, no matter what Israel did she was not going to win over the other nations. Israel had gone too far and was going to be judged. No way around it. So, her attempts at controlling the situation were lashshaw since the matter was already decided.

So, how do we take the name of the Lord “in vain”? How do we use the name of the Lord in an empty manner?

*To use the name of the Lord loosely and without reverence. This is where the “no cussing” policy comes from.
*To use his name repeatedly in prayer believing that the repetition will actually have some effect is to use his name in an empty manner.
*To use God’s name in prayer without thinking.
*To sing worship songs without thinking through the words or who we are singing to can be a form of using the Lord’s name vainly.
*To throw his name around with our friends without thinking about what it means.
*To attach the name of the Lord to any venture (no matter how noble) that he is not leading or blessing is to use his name in vain. To treat him like a genie in a bottle or pixie dust.
*Using WWJD bracelets as a sales tool to ingratiate yourself to others … or any other means of attaching God wrongly to our sales / marketing efforts that he is not truly a part of!

You can tell that this hits a lot closer to home then making sure we do not say OMG or any other disrespectful way our culture misuses God’s glorious name.

The offender of will not be excused (v. 11b)!

Do:
Are you careful with the Name of your God? Do you approach him with reverence and awe? Does he command your respect? How big is your view of God?

Have you attached God’s name to things without thinking through the consequences of doing so? Are you guilty of using God’s name in an empty way?

Have you sung songs or prayed without thought of whom you are addressing?

Take some time to reflect, thank God for grace and forgiveness and ask him to help you protect his name.

Sticks and stones may break bones but words really can hurt you!

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.

Weekend: Forgiven! Ahhhh!!!

Intro:
As usual, we will put our devo on the 10 Commands on hold and look at a psalm this weekend.

I chose Psalm 32 because of its deep message of forgiveness.

After looking at the first couple of commands it becomes apparent that God is wholly other and worthy of respect and worship. It also becomes apparent that we worship him lackadaisically at times. The gap between who he is and who we are is filled by Jesus Christ. The means of having that gap filled on my behalf is being forgiven by acknowledging my sin to God.

This is exactly what David experiences here in Psalm 32.

Read: Psalm 32
1 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
Selah
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD "— and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.
9 Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.
10 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him.
11 Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Think:
This is David’s song of release after confessing his adultery and cover up. The first part of the psalm reminds us of the consequences that come for God’s people that step out of his will and sin.

A casual observer might not have noticed anything different about David. He carried on kingdom responsibilities for the months following his sin. He was operating with a “spirit of deceit” (v.2). Yet something was different on the inside. A part of him was under the weight of God. A part of him was crushed.

He had physical problems: he was wasting away and without strength (v. 3, 4).

He had psych problems: he was groaning and guilty (v. 3, 5).

He also had spiritual problems: he was aware that God’s hand was crushing him (v. 4). God was directing the consequences.

“When times are good rejoice, when times are bad consider for the One who made the one made the other.” If times are bad consider what the Lord might be doing in it.

What makes this Psalm so wonderful is the view. We get to see David after he has confessed, made restitution and enjoyed the happiness of forgiveness. How happy we are when we are forgiven (v.1). How happy to be forgiven and released from the guilt (v.4).

There is much more in this psalm that cannot be mined here. Let us close with this admonition: don’t wait to get right with God! David waited and he paid a price. In reflection he realized he was acting like a stubborn horse that required a bit and bridle to make it mind (v. 9). Keep short accounts with God!

Do:
Have you experienced the joy of being forgiven? Have you known the happiness of forgiveness from guilt? Have you experienced the happiness of release by knowing that the only One that can condemn you offers your forgiveness?

Will you come to God willingly and confess your sins? Will you do it before the pressure of physical and psychological consequences drive you there?

Take time in silent reflection. Search your heart before the Lord. Better yet, ask him to search it for you! Do not make anything up but see if the Lord is speaking to you about an area that needs to be confessed.

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.

10 Commands: American Idols

Intro:
I remember the first time I heard of the show American Idol. Besides thinking the concept was dumb, I was a little offended by the name. Not sure if it was the bold declaration of making people idols we are to adore (aka worship – and surely that has happened with some of the finalists) or what. Turns out the show is fun to watch, especially the try-outs which are just plain embarrassing and very funny sometimes.

It is easy to identify the idols of foreign cultures. A little Buddha statue with an apple in front of his big tummy comes to mind. Those were rampant in the “Little Saigon” section of Orange County, CA and can be found in some Chinese restaurants throughout the country.

What are our American idols? We definitely worship people and the things they have. You have to think of worship as, “ascribing worth to something”. So, anything I give more worth to than God is an idol … by definition. So, what has more worth in my life than God does? That is an idol.

Martin Luther said, “The human heart is an idol-making factory.” He got it. There is a natural tendency to ascribe more worth (worship) to things in creation than the Creator. We need to examine our idol-making factory to see what we are producing!

Read: Deuteronomy 5:6-10
6 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
7 "You shall have no other gods before me.
8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 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 fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

New International Version

Think:
Notice how far God goes to make sure we do not give ourselves an “out” when it comes to making idols (v.8). It wasn’t enough to say you cannot make an idol out of “anything”, the command goes on to list all the realms of creation (heaven - a reference to the sky where planets and birds dwell – earth and sea). That pretty much covers it.

We are not to “bow down to them or worship them”. Clearly the idea of “bowing down” is to place ourselves under something or someone in worship. To show a kind of worshipful awe. This would not be the same as temporarily bowing before a person of dignity (a queen or president) but might include the worth we sometimes show to sports athletes or musicians (Hannah Montana, et al).

The reason: God is jealous (v.9). Some people are offended by this without good reason. What would my love toward my wife look like if she were gloating over another guy and it had no effect on me? If my wife could flirt with someone else and it not make me jealous that would say a lot about my love! God’s love for us is such that he wants us to love him back and exclusively.

Those that pursue idols “hate” God (v.9) and bring punishment on their children for 3-4 generations which includes great grandpa to grandson. Another way of looking at it is my choices have the ability to impact 3 more generations (my son’s son’s son). Wow, think through the impact of your life!

But those that shun idols “love” God (v.10) and bring blessing on their kids for 1,000 generations. The simple return for loving God is off the charts! The image of 1,000 generations is really a picture of full and complete blessing. The number is almost unfathomable and reveals the heart of a God that desires to bless. 4 generations vs. 1,000 means hope for idolaters. We are not judged so long that we cannot return and have hope for our families!

Do:
What do you give “worth” to? What makes you most excited in life? Are you a sports nut? Are you a “car enthusiast”? Are you into guns? Are you passionate about causes protecting animals? Are you into yourself? Are you addicted to anything (alcohol, drugs, sex, etc.)?

Think through the impact of this worthship. It goes all the way to your child’s child’s child. What kind of legacy are you leaving? What would your family say you most value? What would God say you most value? There are people yet unborn looking to you today.

Ask God to search your “idol-making factory” and see if there is something there that gets too much worth. If he reveals something, repent and start over with Him!

There is a 2 minute “Jiminy Glick in Lalawood” video that illustrates how superficial we are when it comes to Hollywood. Jiminy is Martin Short in a 400 lbs. body suit. I provide a link here for you with the warning that it is sarcasticly funny but has some PG-13 elements to it (not unlike what you watch on a regular basis anyway!) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpbTo-3RiJU

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.

10 Commands: First things first

Intro:
“First things first” is the 3rd principle of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. For Stephen Covey it represents the art of personal management. “First things first” is the ability to be effective by knowing what is most important and choosing it over other things that might distract.

In the 10 Commandments we are introduced to the “first things first” principle in Command #1. For Christians to be effective in walking with God they need to know what is most important and choose it over things which might distract.

Read: Deuteronomy 5:6-21
6 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
7 "You shall have no other gods before me.
8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 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 fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 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.
16 "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.
17 "You shall not murder.
18 "You shall not commit adultery.
19 "You shall not steal.
20 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
21 "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

New International Version

Think:
God’s people are commanded to have no other god’s before their Creator and Redeemer. The idea is that they were not to have another god before the face of God. In other words, there were not to introduce other gods into their temples or into their worship and think these gods were providing any value.

Think of the context for this passage. God’s people left a land of gods and are heading into another land of gods. The Egyptians created gods for everything. Many scholars say that the 10 plagues God inflicted on Egypt for not allowing Israel to leave were directly related to their gods. The plague of frogs ….. tied to their worship of frogs.

Note that the challenge is not to replace God but to add to him! To not make first things first. To be distracted by other things!

Why did God’s people introduce other gods to their worship? There are several reasons. Consider their:
1. Desire to get ahead quicker. If they thought certain gods provided the locals with better money or water or grain or fertility they would add these gods to the temple worship.
2. Desire to avoid pain. If they thought certain gods had power to harm them they would add these gods to the temple worship.
3. Desire for pleasure. If they thought certain gods had the power to allow sexual expression they would add them to the temple worship.

It is in this context that God commands them not to put other gods before his face. He knew their desire to be like the nations around them. He knew their lust for power and pleasure at any cost. And so he reminds them of who he is, what he has done for them (v.6) and what he expects (v.7).

Do:
How ordered is your life? Do you have first things first? Does it help to remember who God is? He is the one who made you and the one who bought you from slavery.

Remember, the challenge is not to replace God but to add to him! To not make first things first. To be distracted by other things!

Do you place money, alcohol or sex before God in priority? So often we run to these things to bring comfort. Have you ever considered that that might be putting another god before the face of your Creator and Redeemer? These things might have their place and need to be managed within biblical boundaries but all of these things need to be managed in relation to God’s primary place in our lives.

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.

10 Commands: Life Priorities

Intro:
The 10 Commandments have been a source of pain for American culture in recent days. In our scientific, overly educated culture we have somehow found God to a liability. We allow someone to have religious views as long as they keep them to themselves. We are not allowed to talk about religion and politics. We tolerate everything except intolerance. Claiming to be wise we have became fools.

This was made clear in a case over the 10 Commandments being displayed in Alabama. If I remember the details, a judge had the Commandments on display in the courthouse rotunda. Someone got upset. The ACLU got involved. A battle ensued. The Commandments are gone.

So, what is wrong with these commands? Why are people afraid to display them in America? There are many things here that we need to hear today! Consider just some of them:
*Keeping God first
*Honoring parents – which is the bedrock of all respect for authority
*Purity in marriage
*Not stealing
*Valuing others highly

I think we would be helped to return to these values in America today!

Read: Deuteronomy 5:6-21
6 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
7 "You shall have no other gods before [a] me.
8 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 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 fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
11 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
12 "Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. 15 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.
16 "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.
17 "You shall not murder.
18 "You shall not commit adultery.
19 "You shall not steal.
20 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
21 "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
New International Version

Think:
Have you ever considered the structure of the 10 Commandments? Have you ever thought through why we refer to “two tablets” of the law?

Some of the commands deal with our relationship with God and some deal with our relationships with each other. The first 4 deal with God and the last 6 deal with others.

When Jesus was on earth he summarized the 10 commandments into 2: Love God and love others. It will do us well to remember that as we work through the 10 commands. There really are only 2 of them.

Look back at the 10 commands above. What do you notice structurally? Which one is the longest? Shortest? Why do you think that is the case? What does that tell you about God or about that particular command?

Do:
Have you broken any of the 10 Commands in your lifetime? Have you ever failed to love God or others? Has this driven you to God in repentance?

Take your temperature today: How is your love for God? What is your temperature? Do you have a fever for him? Ask God to increase your love for him today. Seek to honor him with your life.

How is your love for others? Is there anyone at home, work, the neighborhood or at church that you have trouble loving? Can you name them? Ask God for help in this.

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.

10 Commands: The Author

Intro:
Can you name each of the 9 planets in our galaxy? Can you name each of the 10 Commandments? Try it! See if you can come up with 8 of the 10.

In my home we have the 3 rules. Really they are the three most important decisions you will make in your life. I tell my kids that it does not matter where they work. It does not matter if they go to college or not. It does not matter where they live. It does not matter how much money they make. In fact, most of the things we think are so very important do not amount to much in the big picture.

As I said, in my home there are 3 things that will shape my kids more than anything else:
1. What they do with Jesus
2. How they respond to us in the teen years
3. Who they marry

That’s it! Those are the only things that matter and boy do they matter. Let me expand one of those just a little. What they do with Jesus is much more than “praying a prayer of salvation”. It is learning to love Jesus and love others. It is journeying with the Savior. It is living the great adventure of walking with the Lord.

Why do I give my kids these “rules”? Why does God give us 10 Commands? Is it to punish? No! It is out of love. It is from knowing better and wanting the best for our kids.

Read: Deuteronomy 5:1-6
1 Moses summoned all Israel and said:
Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. 5 (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: 6 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

New International Version

Think:
Study verse 6. Take a few minutes and break those words down a piece at a time. What does this verse tell you about God?

These are the verses that come right before the 10 Commandments. This is God telling something about Himself. What do we learn?

He is a POWERFUL GOD
“I am the Lord”. This is the God that reveled Himself to Adam and Noah and Moses. He is the God who destroyed Egypt with a series of plagues. He is a powerful God. He is the God of creation; a maker of planets and poplar trees. He is the God of miracles; a God of staffs and swarms. He is the God of power; a king over floods and fights. He is the God of grace; a father of forgiveness and faithfulness. He is the Lord.

He is a PERSONAL GOD.
“I am the Lord YOUR God.” This is not some random, impersonal force …. this is the Lord their God. It is the God that allowed them to carry his name and reputation. This is the God that bore their embarrassing defiance. This is the God that rescues them time and again. This is the God that wants to protect and provide for them. This is the God that is willing to die for them.

He is a PRACTICAL GOD
The God “who brought you out of Egypt.” This is the God of rescue and redemption. Lost at sea, He is the rescue boat. Lost in slavery, He is the purchase price of freedom. He is the God who pays the price to buy his people back. He is the God picks up the tab. He knows our deepest need. He is the practical God.

So, as you look at the 10 Commandments, remember the God who gave them to His people. He is the Powerful God that is Personal and Practical.

Do:
Reflect on how you view the 10 Commandments? Do they seem burdensome? Does knowing they come from a gracious God change any perceptions you have?

Someone once said the 10 Commandments are given by God to protect and provide the best for us. Do you agree with that?

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.

10 Commands: Listen, Learn. Live it Out

Intro:
I do not get to see too many of the late night talk shows. Besides Letterman’s Top 10 there is not much I am interested in that late at night. However, I did happen to catch one show I have never forgotten.

Jay Leno, host of The Tonight Show, did a "man-on-the-street" type interview in which he asked some folks questions about the Bible. "Can you name one of the Ten Commandments?" he asked two college-age women. One replied, "Freedom of speech?" Mr. Leno said to the other, "Complete this sentence: Let him who is without sin..." Her response was, "have a good time?" Jay Leno then turned to a young man and asked, "Who, according to the Bible, was eaten by a whale?" The confident answer was, "Pinocchio." On another occasion he asked a mid-aged woman to name one of the commandments. She replied, “You can’t do …. anything?”

This commentary of America is as sad as it is funny. Where have we gone wrong? How did we get off the tracks?

The next few weeks we will explore the 10 commands of God. These were the distinguishing marks of the followers of YHWH. The way they treated their relationship with God and others was to tell the world they were different. They might as well have been Jay Leno's responders! There is little evidence they listened, learned and lived out what God told them.

Read: Deuteronomy 5:1-6
1 Moses summoned all Israel and said:
Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. 5 (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: 6 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

New International Version

Think:
I believe we want to obey God. I believe we know that obeying Him brings the greatest return in life. Yet, why do we so often fail in this regard? Habits of the mind and habits of the hands seem to go unopposed.

So, how do we change? Where do we begin? We begin where God did. We learn the secret on how to grow from God’s word. Moses says, “Hear ….learn….follow” (v.1).

I like the words, Listen, Learn and Live it out. The order is important. You have to listen in order to learn and you have to learn to obey. Think of Israel in the desert? Could you mark them as followers of the Lord? Did they obey Him? Not a chance. So where did they break down? Where was the problem?

Well, if they were not “living it out” then they were either not listening, not learning or both.

So, what does listening involve? Paying attention, expectation, desire, stillness. Have you ever listened to someone talk but not really heard them? Have you ever mentally drifted on a long conference call only to get asked a question and not be prepared? Somewhere the Israelites were not listening. They might have been distracted, they might have cared less (desire), they might have low expectations … regardless, the material was not getting in their ears.

Not only was God's word not getting in their ears, it was not getting in their hearts either! It gets to the heart through memorizing, meditating and modeling. When we listen we need to work with that material. Listening leads to learning. The oft-repeated statement of the Old Testament is “Do not forget”. God pleads with his people to remember. It’s kind of sad that such a patient Dad had such punk kids!

Not only was God's word not getting in their hearts it was not getting in their live either! We should notbe surprised. It is very difficult to walk out what you do not know. And you don't know what you have not learned. And you have not learned what you have not listened to.

Listen .... Learn .... Live it out!

Do:
How are your listening skills? How well do you pay attention? How easily distracted? How about listening to God? Do you slow down and listen to his word? Do you pause in prayer to hear him?

What do you do with what you hear? Do you memorize Scripture? Do you meditate on what you hear from God’s word? What about the Easter sermon you heard yesterday? Have you reflected on what your pastor said?

Do you have a mentor? Is there a person that is showing you what it looks like to follow after the Lord? If not, pray that God will show on to you.

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.

Surprised by the Resurrection

Intro:
Happy Easter!

Have you ever been surprised by the visit of a friend? Have you ever actually been shocked at a surprise birthday party? That doesn’t happen that often, we usually sniff those a mile away! Have you ever been surprised by a gift? Have you ever been surprised by God?

I wasn’t supposed to be the Bible Teacher at that summer camp. I worked hard to get out of it. I was scared to death. I’d never taught in front of hundreds of kids before. No way! But God was at work. He surprised us in many wonderful ways that summer. In 10 weeks of camp 700+ kids made professions of faith in Jesus. It was crazy. The camp hadn’t seen that kind of God movement in over 10 years! We were all surprised!

The surprises weren't over at that camp .... I met Deborah! This awesome woman and I became friends and now she is my wife! That was a great surprise!

Today we look at the actual first folks that discovered Jesus raised from the dead. The material is familiar so be careful when reading it. You might want to read it out loud.

Read: Matthew 28:1-10
Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4For fear of him, the guards shook, and became like dead men. 5The angel answered the women, “Don’t be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus, who has been crucified. 6He is not here, for he has risen, just like he said. Come, see the place where the Lord was lying. 7Go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead, and behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there you will see him.’ Behold, I have told you.”
8They departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring his disciples word. 9As they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!”
They came and took hold of his feet, and worshiped him.
10Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Go tell my brothers that they should go into Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Think:
Have you ever noticed that we tend to hear what we expect to hear? We tend to hear only in categories that we expect to hear on. For months Jesus warned the disciples that he would be killed and raised from the dead but they couldn’t hear it (v.6). He even told them that he would rise after 3 days. They wouldn’t hear it.

On the 3rd day some women visited the tomb early in the morning. Why were they going to the tomb? Was it to see if the resurrection had happened? No. The Gospel of Mark tells us they were going to the tomb with spices to “anoint the body of Jesus”. There was no expectation of finding Jesus alive. In fact, there was no expectation of finding anything out of the ordinary.

What they got was the shock of their lives. They got surprised. Angels, earthquakes, an empty tomb, the declaration of Jesus being alive ….. they were surprised! Overwhelmed, they run off to tell the others. As if this day did not have enough shock, they run right into their risen Jesus (v. 9). Surprise!

How they responded to Him tells a lot. They fell down, grabbed his feet and worshiped him. That is a weird response. They didn’t barrage him with questions? They didn’t demand proof. They didn’t fist bump him. They fell down. They grabbed his feet and they worshiped him.

These women would never have worshiped Jesus if they did not believe he was God. Jews worship God only. It is a point of national pride for them. Interestingly, Jesus accepted their worship. There is no evidence that he tried to stop them. He could never and would never have done that if he were not God.

The resurrection is God’s ultimate statement on the person of Jesus Christ. He was God in the flesh. He is God raised. He is the God that surprises us with life.

Do:
Have you ever been surprised by God? Have you ever met Him in places you didn’t expect? From a prostitute downtown to a praying Christian at home, God has the right and the desire to surprise. He is alive. He wants to surprise us. The question is, can we hear Him? Do we expect Him to act? Surprise us Lord!

How in awe are you of Jesus? This Easter we celebrate the greatest act of love in history. What will your worship look like? I pray that you will not be distracted by the clothes people wear at church or how good the music is or whether the pastor’s tie was nice, etc. Get dresses and good clothes for your kids this Easter but do not allow that to take time away from your worship of this risen King.

We’d be better off praying and worshiping the Lord at home than rushing off to the mall to get clothes to wear to church. We’d be better off in rags then getting all fancied up, going to church and sharing a big meal together but never being surprised by Jesus.

As they went to tell others, behold Jesus met them (v.9). When you go to church on Sunday look for Him. He’ll be with you where you least expect Him ... at your bedside, in the car, at church …. Be surprised!

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.

Jesus IS the Resurrection

Intro:
Have you ever known someone to rise from the dead? We’ve all heard stories of deathbed experiences … you know the “white light” stories?

I was at the bedside of my dad as he died of cancer. That was a terrible thing. But also a wonderful thing. In the final seconds of his life, this former agnostic, now Christian, used his final strenth to raise himself up in his bed. He looked at the door as if ready to leave. Barely above a whisper he said, "I am going home ..." He raised his arms toward heaven, said again, I am going ho ....." and fell back into his bed. He was gone.

If I was the resurrection I would have brought him back to life right then. I would have healed him. I am not the resurrection and the life. For that one day I wish I was. I do not possess the power to give life to anyone. But I know the One who does!

Lazarus apparently was a nice guy that died before his time. He was dead and people wanted him back! Oh to live such a life that people will miss you when you are gone and the pastor doesn’t have to lie at your funeral! :)

Lazarus was dead 4 days before he was raised again. It is an amazing story and a miracle. But what is even more amazing is what Jesus said to Martha before he raised Lazarus.

Read: John 11:17-27
17 So when Jesus came, he found that he had been in the tomb four days already. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia away. 19 Many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. 20 Then when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary stayed in the house. 21 Therefore Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. 22 Even now I know that, whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. 26 Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, who comes into the world.”

Think:
Jesus is the Resurrection. He isn’t simply able to raise the dead. He isn’t simply going to be resurrected. He is the Resurrection. He owns the resurrection. He is the very cause of new life from the dead. He is the cause and we are the effect.

JESUS is the resurrection
He IS the resurrection
He is THE resurrection
He is the RESURRECTION

JESUS: The Christ, God’s Son (v.27). Not some random guy but the great I AM.

IS: Jesus owns this (“to be” verb). The resurrection and Jesus are inseparable. Just like a math equation: Jesus = the resurrection & the resurrection = Jesus. The resurrection is not an event as Martha alluded to but a Person (v.24).

THE: Not just “a” resurrection but “the” resurrection of the dead. This is the hope the Old Testament folks looked forward to. This is the hope for dead people.

RESURRECTION: He sustains his own even in death. The promise of the resurrection is that believers in Jesus will never die eternally (v.26). If we believe in Jesus we will never die … even if we die physically. Jesus did not have to raise Lazarus. He already had him covered. He raised him to prove he was the Resurrection. He has my dad as well.

Do:
Take time to worship your risen Resurrection today. He is alive and life itself.

Do you know Jesus today? Have you ever believed in him and found the life He gives? It is not just a resurrection after we die, it is a resurrection every single day. Someone once said, "If you are born once you die twice but if you are born twice you only die once." Have you been born 2x? If you are reading this then you have been born once through your mom. If you believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior then you have been born twice! For more information on how to know Jesus read the link on the home page "Begin a relationship with Jesus".

Please listen to the words of “Lord When Thou Ascended” in the DevoLink Worship Center below.

DevoLink: Devotions to help you Link with God.