I Am the LORD Your God

Exodus 20:2-4- I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth... 

After Israel was set free and began what was supposed to be only a short trek in the wilderness to the land that God had promised them, He met with Moses on Mt. Sinai to give them a set of instructions. I mentioned yesterday that there are conditions. Just like there are conditions in everything in life: work for pay; obey the rules and stay out of jail; read the instructions before assembling...

When we receive Christ these instructions are meant for us as well. We cannot accept the Lord then figure we can live any way we desire because we did what was "necessary" for our salvation. We receive a set of instructions ourselves. In faith we adhere to these instructions and God will become our protector, provider and friend in time of need.

There are ten commandments just as applicable today as back then. They should be the foundation of our lives. They will lead us to a life that is good, better than we can do on our own. But this also takes faith. What does God require of us? What will He do for us if we keep these rules? Is it even possible to keep them all? Are any of us guilty of breaking even just one? I'm going to go over these commandments over the next few days. I can't say I haven't broken any myself. But that's the redemptive power of Christ in our lives. He is willing to forgive those who humbly come to Him and wish to receive from Him.

I'm sure we all know what the first commandment is: First and foremost should be our love of our Heavenly Father. No other gods...nothing...not family, job, activities. Does the thought of God permeate your day? Do you talk with Him or hear Him speak to you? This should be normal for those walking with Him. It's something so special. He created us for communing with Him. If we desire to be with Him He desires to bless us in the things we enjoy...as long as they are not taking His rightful first place.

He created us and knows us each by name and knows our every need even before we do. We know how hard it is to remember every person's name when we meet them. How hard is it to remember the one Name that matters? Imagine Him knowing all our names! I wonder how He must feel when we ignore His presence or speak His name occasionally...or speak His name frequently in the wrong way... 

He tell us He is jealous after us. The Hebrew definition of this word means "to excite to jealous anger or to cause jealousy; zealous." For us jealousy is not a flattering word. But to God it's good. His desire is for us to follow Him rather than be caught up in a life that the devil controls. God or the devil? Seems a pretty cut and dried decision. Zealous means "marked by fervent partisanship for a person, cause, or ideal." Partisanship...adhering to one cause or person. If we adhere to God He will adhere to us. Abide in Me and I will abide in you (John 15:7). If we consider Him our one, true God, He will consider us His priceless treasure, that object of His affection. Each one of us...

Webster's defines jealousy as "intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness; vigilant in guarding a possession." God guards His possession. His rivalry in our lives is with the enemy, the devil, who doesn't want us to be devoted to one person or thing. We are stricken or held  captive to sin when we follow Satan. To God, sin is sin, at any level. There's no such thing as a little sin opposed to a major one. To those who love Him, however, He is ever guarding us as His treasured possession. Are you His treasured possession?

God desires to show His mercy to those who love and are devoted to Him and who heed His commandments. He only wishes the best for us and keeping our minds focused on Him is the first step to having a God who chooses to give us His best. If only we could grasp that concept. That's what faith is. People use the phrase "keep the faith" but I wonder how many think of God when they say that?

Days are coming when faith in God may be the only thing left. I'm thankful today that I have a foothold on my faith and it is being built (yet not perfect) so that when I need it most I don't have to go through a crash course in it! I'll know Who to turn to immediately and not flounder looking for a way to have faith. There is a Way. You just need to know Him. Day to day experiences now provide the opportunities to learn faith. Our God is jealous after us...He wants to provide that strong foundation for our faith by being our first priority.

Exodus 20:5,6 - ...you shall not bow down to them [idols] nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 

Your Instructions

Saul was a man who persecuted the Jews.  But God saw beyond that.  He saw who this man could be. So He met with Saul on the road to Damascus, blinded him and Saul knew, despite his blindness, that it was He who spoke to him.  Saul fell to the ground and called out to God:

...trembling and astonished [he] said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?"  Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."  Acts 9:6 

We saw yesterday that there is a time when God calls us to arise and go forth with Him, even leaping the mountains.  We are to do this with blind trust and faith, acknowledging that God has His best interests in us and knows what we are capable of doing.  It is His love for us that causes Him to reach out for us.  It's His desire to take us to places we've never been.

Scripture tell us not to fear, that God knows what we need before we even ask.  He has already equipped us.  And if He knows all about us, why should we struggle with doubt?  Well, admittedly, for me it's still not easy.  But here, today, God is telling us to "arise and go."  Go where?  Do what?  How? When we have arrived at our destination we will be told what to do.  That's blind trust. What would we do if we knew ahead of time?  We might worry more, believing we couldn't possibly do that or believing God must have chosen the wrong person.  We might want to adjust the instructions to suit what we think might be the best way to handle the situation.  Oh, how we sometimes struggle with the greatness of God. How our human nature and stubbornness, pride, even ignorance, can stand in the way of our glorious God and His immutable ways.  God is never wrong.  Let's just know this with every fiber of our being.

Yes, we need to be instructed through God's word through study of Scripture, sitting at the feet of Jesus. What we know will be helpful to God when He calls us to go somewhere and then be given instructions. The Word that we put into our hearts will be called forth by the power of the Holy Spirit; God's instructions will be clear and He will be able to accomplish much through us as long as we are willing to go and be obedient.  Jesus gave us this promise and encouragement when He said:

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will be your teacher in all things and will put you in mind of everything I have said to you.  [And] these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. (John 14:6  and John 16:4a)

Lord God, it can be a struggle sometimes to allow You to do the work You so desire in us.  Continue to teach us through Your Word.  Let that be the beginning of our instruction.  Proverbs tells us "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge."  Instruct us first how to fear and revere You as Almighty God.  We are already equipped and all you want us to do is arise and go to do Your will.  Thank You, Lord, that You have perfect plans for us.  Let us be obedient to Your desires.  Remove any doubt and fear that might hinder our work for You.