Do the 10 Commandments Still Matter? (Blogging Through the Bible)

Today we are reading with Good Morning Girls in Exodus 20 where we find God giving Moses and the Israelites the 10 Commandments. God has fulfilled His promise to Moses back in Exodus 3:12 where God told Moses that he would know that God sent him to help deliver the Israelites when He brought them all back to Mount Sinai to worship Him. Remember Mount Sinai was where Moses had his "burning bush" experience with God. Moses had first experienced God here at Mount Sinai, and now the Israelites were getting ready to experience some of the mighty power of God here as well. But only because Moses had first experienced God here in this place and was obedient to the call God had placed on his life, were the Israelites now standing in this place. It's the same today with leadership positions. We can only take those we lead to God as far as we've gone with Him ourselves. That's why it is so important to continually be in the Word of God daily to learn more of Who God is and all that He has done.

So in answer to my question posed in today's blog post title...

Yes, the 10 Commandments still matter today because they point us to our need of a Savior! And until we realize this, we cannot help others see the value of the 10 Commandments.

It's no wonder the world continues to try to remove the 10 Commandments from court houses and other public places! It's because we come face-to-face with our sin in the light of the 10 Commandments.

The first four commandments are in regard to our conduct before God.

The last six commandments are in regard to our conduct with other people.

Here's another reason why the 10 Commandments still matter today:

They reflect the unchanging nature of God.

How Do the Israelites Respond to God?

The response of the Israelites is much like the response we see in the world today as more and more people try to push God out of their lives. The Israelites chose not to hear directly from God.

Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” ~Exodus 20:18-19

We'll see how this choice will affect the lives of the Israelites in the chapters ahead. Interestingly, there are more than 57 chapters in the Scriptures that speak to what happened to the Israelites during their one year encampment at Mount Sinai.

The Good News

Here's the Good News, friends! Jesus Christ fulfilled all the requirements of the Law that we cannot. He lived a perfect, sinless life. He died on the cross, taking on the sins of the world, so that through His perfect sacrifice our relationship with God could be restored. His resurrection from the grave has defeated the devil, sin, and death!

During His ministry before His death, Jesus also condensed all of the Law into two commandments:

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” ~Matthew 22:36-40

Love fulfills the Law and the commandments. Our obedience is inspired by the love of God living within us when we accept Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross and the forgiveness of our sins. We also have the power of the Holy Spirit living within us empowering us to be obedient to the will of God. The same power of the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead now lives inside us (Romans 8:11).


We have God's grace, my friends!

His empowering presence...

...living inside of us

...empowering us to be

...who He created us to be

...and to do what He has called us to do.


We need to be teaching our children the 10 Commandments so that they too can learn of their importance. You can order your own copy of Christ in the Commandments, a wonderful resource from Intoxicated on Life to begin using in your home with your children. I used this with my son in our homeschool and it was very helpful to me in helping him understand the 10 Commandments.

Has there been a time in your life when you chose not to hear directly from God?

Do you go to your friends, your spouse, or a co-worker rather than going to the Bible to get a word from God about your situation?

Are you living the moments of your life in the power of God's grace?

Here are my SOAKs for Thursday and Friday.



Thursday, January 29, 2015

Exodus 19

Scripture: Exodus 19:3-6

³ And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ⁴ ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. ⁵ Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. ⁶ And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

Observations: God tells Moses His plan for the nation of Israel.

1.     You shall be a special treasure to Me.

2.     You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests.

3.     You shall be to Me a holy nation.

The conditions on which this plan will happen depend on the response of the people.

1.     Obey My voice.

2.     Keep My covenant.

Application: God delivers us from a life of sin so that we can become His special treasure. We each have a unique place in God’s great plan of redemption as we become the hands and feet of Jesus while here on this earth. We are a kingdom of priests (1 Peter 2:9 also says we are a royal priesthood) that can now come boldly before the throne of God because of the work of Jesus Christ – not only with our own requests, but also to intercede for the needs of others. As the children of God, we are to live lives set apart from the rest of the world – meaning the way we live our lives shows others that we have surrendered to the voice of the Lord and have chosen to walk in His ways. When we live our lives this way we become part of God’s great plan of redemption for those who have yet to call on the name of Jesus Christ to be saved and forgiven of their sins.

As a royal priesthood, we need to be interceding through prayer for the lives of those who have yet to call on the name of Jesus.

Kneel: O God, our Father, my heart cries out this morning for the lost souls of this world. As the days here grow darker and darker, we know that our time here is almost over. Your Word says You will not strive forever with man. Yet, You are patient O God, in sending Your Son here again. So I pray that those of us who claim the names of Your special treasure, Your royal priesthood, and Your holy nation will be good stewards of the time we have left to reach lost souls for You, Jesus. Wake us up from complacent and comfortable lives and put a burden for the lost in our hearts and minds that will cause us to become intercessors on their behalf. In the saving name of Jesus I pray. Amen!

Friday, January 30, 2015

Exodus 20

Scripture: Exodus 20:1-17

Observations: The first four commandments refer to our relationship with God. The last six commandments refer to our relationship with people. The purpose of the Commandments is to show us the nature of God and how it is impossible for us to reach those standards. They point us to our need of a Savior Who lived a perfect, sinless life.

Application: Jesus fulfilled the Law for us. When we accept His atoning sacrifice on the cross, we have the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives empowering us to walk in obedience to God. My obedience is inspired by the power of the Holy Spirit and by my love for Jesus and what He has done for me.

Kneel: Heavenly Father, thank You for pointing me to my need of a Savior through the Commandments You gave so long ago. Thank You, Jesus, for fulfilling the requirements of the Law that I can never do in my own flesh. Help me to continually rely on the power of the Holy Spirit living within me to be who You have created me anew to be and to do all that You call me to do. In the victorious name of Jesus I pray. Amen!




I hope you'll join me here again on Monday as we look more into the book of Exodus! Have a great weekend!

Walking in His Grace, 

Laurie

I'm linking up with Courtney Joseph over at Women Living Well, home of Good Morning Girls. Click on the image below to read her Friday post and other Blogging Through the Bible posts too!

Finding Trouble in the Will of God (Blogging Through the Bible)

Yesterday's reading in Exodus 17 gave me one of many "aha" moments I've experienced since my Blogging Through the Bible journey began last year in August. One of my Sunday School teachers years ago used to comment on the "gold nuggets" he would find during his study time in the Word of God. I discovered my own "gold nugget" yesterday, and it is something that I cannot stop thinking about. Can I share it with you today and let's examine our hearts together with God's Word?

Here is my "gold nugget":

We can be in the will of God for our lives and still experience troubles.

Finding trouble in the will of God is not something one would expect - I know I never did. But Exodus 17:1 says:

"The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink."

Did you catch that? The Israelites were in the place the Lord had commanded for them to go, but trouble was waiting for them there.

But there wasn't only trouble waiting for them.

A miracle of God was waiting for them there as well.

An opportunity for God to show His glory.

Another chance for God to extend His love and grace against a murmuring people who were quick to turn to pointing fingers of blame when they should have been turning to God for their present need.

Do you find yourself today questioning where God has brought you?

The Israelites did.

How are you handling the trouble or need that is present in the place where God has commanded you to go?

I hope it is only by prayer to the One who can supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

Walking in the will of God is not without its troubles my friend. God has called me to homeschool our son, so that means we are a one-income family. Financial struggles are an on-going thorn in our flesh. BUT GOD has been faithful to meet all our NEEDS according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. As my husband and I have put God first in the giving of our tithes, talents, and time - He has been faithful over and over again to provide.

"Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." ~Matthew 6:31-33

My prayer for you today is that you find hope in God and in His Word for your present circumstances.

If you are experiencing your own troubles as you seek to walk in the will of God, please let me pray for you - you don't have to leave any details - just comment below "I would like you to pray for me.", and I promise to add you to my prayer list.

Here are my SOAKs for Tuesday and Wednesday:

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Exodus 17

Scripture: Exodus 17:1-2

The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. ² So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.”

Observations: The Israelites were traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They were in the will of God when this need arrived. Instead of remembering the mighty acts of God that He had performed on their behalf in the past and asking Him to fill this current need in their life, they choose instead to complain about their current lack of water and blame Moses once again.

Application: We can be in the will of God and still go through difficult times. James 1:2-4 tells us “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” God desires to mature us and make us complete in Him through the trials of this life.

When we look to people to fulfill needs in our lives that only God can truly fulfill we set up our relationships to fail. We must first look to God our Creator to fulfill the desires of our hearts and the needs of our lives.

Kneel: Heavenly Father, I remember the words of Jesus this morning where He tells us to take heart during the troubles we go through in this world because He has overcome the world. His words are meant to bring us peace in the midst of our troubles that are sure to come even as we walk in this world according to Your will. Help us to look first to You Father for the needs we have in this life. You have told us in Your Word that if we seek Your kingdom and Your righteousness everything else that we need will be provided by Your loving hand. Help us not to complain when we find ourselves in troubling times. Let us look instead for how You are going to move miraculously once again on our behalf as You’ve done so many times before in our past. In the powerful and mighty name of Jesus I pray. Amen!

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Exodus 18

Scripture: Exodus 18:17-22

¹⁷ So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. ¹⁸ Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself. ¹⁹ Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. ²⁰ And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. ²¹ Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. ²² And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you.”

Observations: Moses received wise counsel from his father-in-law, Jethro, in how to handle a job that was too big for him to try to handle alone. Jethro gives him 4 steps in effective delegating so that Moses can use his time and energy more wisely as a leader. These same steps can be beneficial to us today.

1.     Stand before God for the people. The first step in effective delegation is spending time in prayer before God for the people. His efforts of delegation would not work if God was not involved in it.

2.     Teach them the statutes and the laws. Moses had to teach not only the people who would help him in hearing the disputes, but he would also need to teach those who were involved in the disputes. Teaching everyone the statutes and the laws would not only help the people know God for themselves, but it could possibly end disputes before they even would need to come before Moses’ chosen helpers.

3.     Select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness. Moses efforts of effective delegation would fail unless put into the hands of men who were able, feared God, were truthful and did not covet.

4.     Every great matter they shall bring to you. To be an effective leader who delegates, Moses must realize that he is not to abandon his ultimate responsibility in oversight and leadership of the men he places in positions underneath him to help him. Great matters were to be brought to him to decide.

We are not meant to bear the burdens of ministry - or of this life - alone. Effective delegation will help us to be able to enjoy life and do better what God has called us to do. Also, when we delegate using these guidelines, those around us will live a much more peaceful life because their needs will be effectively ministered to.

Application: It is important to have friends who walk closely with God and can give me wise counsel. It is important for me to be that friend who walks closely with God and can give wise counsel from those who seek me out for guidance in their lives. If I delegate tasks in my life and ministry, then I need to follow these steps in deciding who to ask for help. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but shows how much I value the lives of those God has entrusted to me in my life and in whatever my ministry may be.

Kneel: Heavenly Father, I see in Your Word this morning the importance of walking closely with You so that I can know Your truth and plant it deep within my heart. I want to be able to help others who are in need of counsel for their lives. Should someone decide to come to me for counsel, I want to be so filled with Your Word that I can speak hope and peace into their lives as Your grace moves through me. I thank You, Father, for the wise, godly women You have placed in my life that I can go to for counsel and prayer. I pray that You would bless them and meet every need in their lives. I pray that You would guide me with these steps of effective delegation when necessary in my own life. Help me to recognize when pride is holding me back from asking for help in my own life and ministry that You have blessed me with. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray. Amen!
 

Here is our reading plan for the rest of this week:

I'll see you back here on Friday for another Blogging Through the Bible post. Until then, keep walking in His grace!

Walking in His Grace, 

Laurie

I'm linking up with Courtney Joseph over at Women Living Well, home of Good Morning Girls. Click on the image below to read her Friday post and other Blogging Through the Bible posts too!

Bread from Heaven (Blogging Through the Bible)

Here we are in Week 4 of Exodus! Today we are reading about bread from Heaven - manna provided by God to the murmuring Israelites. Isn't that a wonderful picture of the mercy of God?!

God could have rained down discipline or even judgement in response to their sin.

But instead He rained down...

...quail in the evening

...and manna in the morning!

This bread from Heaven was a picture of Jesus Christ...

...the Bread of Life

...coming down from the Father above.

We should have received death...

...but we have been given life.

The mercy of God continues.


Jesus tells us in John 6:35, "I am the Bread of Life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger."

What are you hungry for?

Is it the temporary things of this world  - or the eternal things of God?

Let's choose wisely this week and make time for the Word of God.

Here is our reading plan for this week:

Here is my SOAK for today's reading:

Monday, January 26, 2015

Exodus 16

Scripture: Exodus 16:3, 8

³ And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” ⁸ Also Moses said, “This shall be seen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the Lord hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord.”

Observations: The children of Israel were a month into their journey of leaving Egypt. The provisions they had taken with them out of Egypt were probably almost gone and so they began murmuring against Moses and Aaron. Really they were murmuring against God.

God heard their complaints and instead of raining down punishment or judgment, he extends His mercy and love. He provided the meat of quail in the evening; and manna – bread from Heaven – in the morning.

Application: God is so merciful to us! How many times have we complained during the struggles of our lives? Yet, time and time again, God is faithful to provide all that we need. He extends His mercy and love to us despite our failures.

Kneel: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love and mercy! Forgive me when I grumble and complain about my circumstances. Help me to see that what You offer is so much better than the temporary trappings of this world. Thank You, Jesus, for being the Bread of my life and for feeding me with the truth. Help me to hunger for more of You this year. Help me to make time to daily be in Your Word. Show me the things I need to lay down so that I can sit at Your feet and drink from the cup in Your hand. Lord, I not only pray this for my life, but I pray it for the lives of others who have called on Your name. Continue to bless us with Your love and mercy. In the life-giving name of Jesus I pray. Amen!

Walking in His Grace, 
Laurie


I'm linking up with Courtney Joseph over at Women Living Well, home of Good Morning Girls. Click on the image below to read her Friday post and other Blogging Through the Bible posts too!