Tuesday, October 18, 2011

THE STORY, Chapter 5
Exodus 19-20; 24-25; 32-34; 40
New Commands and a New Covenant
The First Four Commandments Teach Us How to Love God
 
1. “You must not have any other god but me." Exodus 20:3
2. “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." Exodus 20:4
3. “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name." Exodus 20:7
4. “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” Exodus 20:8    

Reflection 

The first 4 commandments can be summed by Jesus’ statement “the most important commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind and strength” (Matt. 22)

In the Bible the words love, believe, trust, obey are different ways to view the same thing. If you think you have one of them without the others, then you don’t have the one. They’re a package deal.   Loving God means never to use God or Jesus or Christ in a profane way, nor to swear by him, nor talk of Him in any way that diminishes His Holiness.

The most important of the four is the first. What other gods do you rely on for your “salvation?”. Identify them, apologize to God and reassert to him the first lines of the Lord’s Prayer. Then ask his help in living it.

Prayer

“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven . . . . Amen”