~May Your Light Shine :D~

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Just wanted to share something I learnt doing Quiet Time yesterday...

Remember one of my posts which mentioned that God's rules were meant to give us freedom and not chain us up? Well the following is about the Ten Commandments.

Everyone knows the 10 commandments right? Taken out of Exodus 20/Deuteronomy 5 -
''God spoke all these words, saying: I am God your Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, from the place of slavery. Do not have any other gods before Me. Do not represent [such] gods by any carved statue or picture of anything in the heaven above, on the earth below, or in the water below the land. Do not bow down to [such gods] or worship them. I am God your Lord, a God who demands exclusive worship. Where My enemies are concerned, I keep in mind the sin of the fathers for [their] descendants, to the third and fourth [generation]. But for those who love Me and keep My commandments, I show love for thousands [of generations]. Do not take the name of God your Lord in vain. God will not allow the one who takes His name in vain to go unpunished. Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. You can work during the six weekdays and do all your tasks. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God your Lord. Do not do anything that constitutes work. [This includes] you, your son, your daughter, your slave, your maid, your animal, and the foreigner in your gates. It was during the six weekdays that God made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. God therefore blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and mother. You will then live long on the land that God your Lord is giving you. Do not commit murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not testify as a false witness against your neighbor. Do not be envious of your neighbor's house. Do not be envious of your neighbor's wife, his slave, his maid, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that is your neighbor's."

Although the 10 commandments were written during the Old Testament, it applied during the New Testament and it still applies now. As Christians, we ought to emulate Christ and show our love for God by obeying His laws. Every rule that God gave us, reflect what it means to be like God in the sphere of our existence as well as guarantees our personal safety and prosperity. For example:

We are not to commit adultery - God is a faithful God and is loyal to His covenants and promises
Lying is wrong - God is a God of truth and cannot lie.
If He were here, He would not covet, because He is a self-contained entity and needs nothing; so we should not covet, because He is always with us, ready to supply our needs.
God made us, hence He knows that sexual promiscuity, unfaithfulness and homosexuality will cause severe medical problems and long warned us against it.
Loving our neighbour and not coveting his prosperity keeps us from experiencing self-inflicted, eroded relationships. Ever noticed how jealousy can lead to disastrous consequences?
Misunderstandings always occur when at least one party is not being totally honest. Truth-telling builds trust.

Our God is a God of love, thus His laws are meant to protect us. Being a Christian does not necessarily mean that your life would be smooth sailing, but obeying God will definitely reap eternal rewards!

Lydea blogged at 3:02 PM

May your light shine...
in the darkness...