"One of the teachers of religion who was standing there listening to the discussion realized that Jesus had answered well. So he asked, 'Of all the commandments, which is the most important?' Jesus replied, 'The one that says 'Hear O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only God. And you must love Him with all your heart and soul and mind and strength.' 'The second is, 'You must love others as much as yourself.' No other commandments are greater than these." (Mark 12:28-30)tlb
Jesus explanation was both profound and simple. If we love the Lord with all we have, and love others as much as we care for ourselves, we will obey the law and break none of His commandments.
"The teacher of religious law replied, 'Well said, teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying there is only one God and no other. And I know it is important to love Him with all my heart, and all my understanding, and all my strength, and to love my neighbors as myself. This is more important than to offer all the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.'
Realizing this man's understanding, Jesus said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' " (Mark 12:32-34)nlt
How far are we from God's kingdom?
Showing posts with label commandments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commandments. Show all posts
Friday, July 1, 2011
Ten Commandments - part 2
These commandments pertain to the ways people deal with each other...
"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's." (Ex 20:12-17)rsv
I am aware that some religions divide up the last one, then combine two of the earlier into one, but there are still ten, no matter how you read it.
Respect your parents, and by inference, all your relatives.
Do not kill or hurt one anyone.
Never engage in any sex with anyone not your spouse.
Never take what is not yours.
Never lie about another human being.
Never wish for stuff that isn't yours.
Some of this is so obvious that it makes you wonder just how dense we humans can be. All your older relatives deserve your respect, even when they've done something wrong. Are you perfect? Me neither... and your family is responsible for your being here. Show them some respect.
Don't kill people. God gave each of them the same right to be here as you. I know there are times when it is unavoidable; war, self-defense, etc, but if you kill someone, that individual no longer has the ability to be forgiven for his/her wrongdoings. This is a tough one for some people, I know. If somebody tried to hurt my wife or granddaughter, I'd fight back with everything I have. Yet I know that anguish would eat me up, forever.
Sex is sex, despite what an ex-president tried to claim. Sex with anyone, even imaginary sex, is wrong unless the other person is your spouse. God intended us to be modern-day Adam and Eve couples. One man, one woman, acting as one completed person. Anything else is forbidden. Its that simple.
If something isn't yours, don't take it. Wishing for it, thinking you deserve it, figuring out ways around laws... none of these make you the owner of something that belongs to someone else. Get used to it.
Don't ever tell a lie about anybody! This is not to say you cannot tell bedtime stories or fairy tales. Just don't say anything about someone that isn't true. You shouldn't hurt their reputation, you wouldn't want them to mess-up yours.
Don't wish for things you don't have. You can get out and work to better yourself and your family, but don't base your life on outdoing your neighbor. You don't need his house, car, dog, lifestyle, bills or anything else. Wishing for your neighbor's spouse is really stupid, beside breaking two commandments, would you really want to make a life-choice based on anyone's infidelity?
God gives us these rules for a reason. He knows we are easily misled. He knows we will pay way too much attention to Satan's words at some point in our lives. Having these rules "set in stone" gives us a bit more "backbone" when that time comes.
Thank God He loves us enough to spell these things out!
OK, so you "blow it" once in a while. Do you give up? No way! God still loves you! Hit your knees, tell Him you're sorry, and strive to never mess up again. You won't be completely successful (who is?), but you have to start over.
Thank God for second chances, too.
See you soon, in Paradise.
"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you. You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's." (Ex 20:12-17)rsv
I am aware that some religions divide up the last one, then combine two of the earlier into one, but there are still ten, no matter how you read it.
Respect your parents, and by inference, all your relatives.
Do not kill or hurt one anyone.
Never engage in any sex with anyone not your spouse.
Never take what is not yours.
Never lie about another human being.
Never wish for stuff that isn't yours.
Some of this is so obvious that it makes you wonder just how dense we humans can be. All your older relatives deserve your respect, even when they've done something wrong. Are you perfect? Me neither... and your family is responsible for your being here. Show them some respect.
Don't kill people. God gave each of them the same right to be here as you. I know there are times when it is unavoidable; war, self-defense, etc, but if you kill someone, that individual no longer has the ability to be forgiven for his/her wrongdoings. This is a tough one for some people, I know. If somebody tried to hurt my wife or granddaughter, I'd fight back with everything I have. Yet I know that anguish would eat me up, forever.
Sex is sex, despite what an ex-president tried to claim. Sex with anyone, even imaginary sex, is wrong unless the other person is your spouse. God intended us to be modern-day Adam and Eve couples. One man, one woman, acting as one completed person. Anything else is forbidden. Its that simple.
If something isn't yours, don't take it. Wishing for it, thinking you deserve it, figuring out ways around laws... none of these make you the owner of something that belongs to someone else. Get used to it.
Don't ever tell a lie about anybody! This is not to say you cannot tell bedtime stories or fairy tales. Just don't say anything about someone that isn't true. You shouldn't hurt their reputation, you wouldn't want them to mess-up yours.
Don't wish for things you don't have. You can get out and work to better yourself and your family, but don't base your life on outdoing your neighbor. You don't need his house, car, dog, lifestyle, bills or anything else. Wishing for your neighbor's spouse is really stupid, beside breaking two commandments, would you really want to make a life-choice based on anyone's infidelity?
God gives us these rules for a reason. He knows we are easily misled. He knows we will pay way too much attention to Satan's words at some point in our lives. Having these rules "set in stone" gives us a bit more "backbone" when that time comes.
Thank God He loves us enough to spell these things out!
OK, so you "blow it" once in a while. Do you give up? No way! God still loves you! Hit your knees, tell Him you're sorry, and strive to never mess up again. You won't be completely successful (who is?), but you have to start over.
Thank God for second chances, too.
See you soon, in Paradise.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Beware The Dark Side
Anyone not living in a cave for the last thirty-plus years recognizes "The Dark Side" reference from the Star Wars© movies. Unfortunately, we generally fail to see the effect of the dark side on our daily lives. Very slight deviations away from the pathway to eternal life have added up over the years in such a way that we, in this country, are not aimed toward heaven at all, but at "some other destination" instead.
Our Lord has made it rather simple for us... "Jesus said unto him. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." MAT 22:37-39 (kjv)
James was inspired to express it thusly... "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." JAM 4:17 (kjv)
God made all we are, so we are to love Him with all we have. He also made everyone else, too, so we are expected to care about them as much as we care about ourselves. When you realize something is The Right Thing to Do, not doing it is a sin. Any slight "adjustments" we make away from this narrow path aims us away from God. As was said in those movies, "Beware The Dark Side!"
Our Lord has made it rather simple for us... "Jesus said unto him. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." MAT 22:37-39 (kjv)
James was inspired to express it thusly... "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." JAM 4:17 (kjv)
God made all we are, so we are to love Him with all we have. He also made everyone else, too, so we are expected to care about them as much as we care about ourselves. When you realize something is The Right Thing to Do, not doing it is a sin. Any slight "adjustments" we make away from this narrow path aims us away from God. As was said in those movies, "Beware The Dark Side!"
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