Time with Jesus - 7 Dec 2013
Hi all,
Here-under are comments on the 10
Commandments which I found on a Jewish website. They are well worth reading.
Bear in mind we are not redeemed from the law itself. These Commandments are valid for Christians and Jews.We are redeemed from the CURSE of the Law. The curse is the penalty we would have had to pay for breaking it. Jesus paid that in full. If we love the Lord we will try and live under the commandments. Not because we have to; because we want to please him.
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THE 10 COMMANDMENTS
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COMMENTS FROM A JEWISH SOURCE
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1
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"I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage.
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At Sinai, God proclaimed to the people of Israel: "I
am the Lord your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt...." Would
it not have been more appropriate for God to say, "I am God... who
created the heavens and the earth"? At Sinai we forged a covenant with God
in which we pledged to surpass all bounds of nature and convention in our
commitment to Him, and He pledged to supersede all laws of nature and convention
in His providence over us.
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2.
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"You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for
yourself a graven image, nor any manner of likeness of anything that is in
heaven above, that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
earth. You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them. For I the Lord your God
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children of
the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto
the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments.
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There is nothing more bizarre: God tells us He despises idols -- and He
wants us to despise them, as well. He says, "Don't even think of making
idols. If idols come to your hands, burn them, destroy them, and uproot them.
Give your lives rather than give any credence to those idols." Then, in
the innermost chamber of His temple, the place He calls "Holy of
Holies," there He tells us to make two golden figurines with wings, one
a male, the other a female. And when we would be at odds with God and He with
us, these two would face away from one another, back to back. But when the
two of us would be in harmony, the temple priests would open the curtains and
show us the two figurines entwined in embrace. And they would say, "See
how cherished you are by your God." Meaning that one angel represented
us and the other God. We must say that it is not images in and of themselves
that He wishes us to despise. After all, wouldn't that just make us into
another type of idolater -- idolizing the smashing of idols? So when He tells
us, "Make two golden angels," we do that, too. Whatever He says.
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3.
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"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the
Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes His name in vain.
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In one of the narrow lanes of Jerusalem stands a large, synagogue. For a
hundred years, a marble plaque affixed to its north wall has borne the
legend: "For everlasting remembrance in the House of God. This
synagogue has been erected by the generosity of a donor, whose name shall
remain hidden & concealed."
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4.
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"Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. 6 days you
shall labour and do all your work; but the 7th day is a Sabbath
unto the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any manner of work -- you,
your son, daughter, man-servant, maid-servant, cattle, & stranger that is
within your gates. In 6 days the Lord made heaven & earth, sea & all
that in them is, & rested on the 7th; wherefore the Lord
blessed the Sabbath Day, & hallowed it.
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In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) For
six days God created. “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very
good; it was evening and it was morning, the sixth day. The heavens and the
earth were completed, and all their host. God completed on the 6th
day His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His
work which He had done. “God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it;
because in it He rested from all his work which God had created, to make.”
(Genesis 1:31–2:3) To convey God’s instructions
regarding the making of the Sanctuary and the observance of Shabbat, “Moses
gathered together the entire community of the Children of Israel.” in doing
so, “Moses instituted for all generations that Jews should gather in their
synagogues to read from the Torah on Shabbat”—as Jews throughout the world do
to this very day.
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5.
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"Honour your father and mother, so that your days may be long upon
the land which the Lord your God gives you.
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The 10 Commandments were given on two tablets with five commandments on
each tablet. The first tablet was reserved for those laws that deal with a person's
relationship with God, while the second tablet deals with the laws governing
human interaction.
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6.
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"You shall not murder.
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Euthanasia, capital punishment, abortion, "assisted suicide."
Should we look to God's instructions or should we obey our own inner gods?
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7.
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"You shall not commit adultery.
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You have strayed from your moral vision. You have betrayed your dream!
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8.
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"You shall not steal.
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“You can’t fool God, and you can’t fool other people. The only one you
can fool is yourself. And what is the achievement of fooling a fool?”
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9.
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"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
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Our sages have taught us that while the testimony of a single witness is
not sufficient to obligate a person, it is sufficient for a vow to be taken.
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10.
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"You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet
your neighbour’s wife, his manservant, his maid-servant, his ox, his ass, nor
anything that is your neighbour’s."
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In Hebrew, the word employed for “anything” and “everything” is
identical, “Kol.” Hence, the verse can also be translated as, "You shall
not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife,
nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, and everything
that belongs to your neighbour." By concluding the verse with these
words, the Torah is not just instructing us not to covet, but also helping us
achieve this difficult state of consciousness.
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Shalom
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
Time with Jesus – 7 Dec 2013
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Matt 10:8
Freely you received, Freely give |
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©
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These
devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright
protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it
is for non-commercial Christian purposes
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©
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INTRODUCTION
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DAILY
LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES
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CORRECTION
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There
is an English proverb that states, “Children should be seen and not heard”.
Most of those who are 45 plus are probably familiar with it. Our parents
quoted it and on occasions, when we were growing up, enforced it. It doesn’t
seem to be observed any longer. In most homes we visit, children barge into
the room where adults are talking. These children then interrupt the
conversation. In the end, the only thing to do is leave and go home. Now it’s
no concern of ours what others allow in their own homes. That’s entirely up
to them. Unfortunately, allowing children to interrupt is another symptom in
the general lack of discipline in society today; particularly among school
children!
The
teaching profession in some societies has been seriously affected by bad
behaviour in schools. Good teachers have left the profession, due to
children’s rudeness; in some case through intimidation. In the main, this has
come about by a distortion of this proverb. It has been revised to be,
“Children should be seen and not hurt!” Obviously there is a difference
between abuse and discipline. But the fact is, if children are not brought up
with defined boundaries, they are unloved!
Freedom
has nothing to do with indiscipline. No one in South Africa is permitted to
drive on the wrong side of the road. No one is permitted to steal or murder.
These laws are in place for the benefit of society in general. We are not
free to ignore them. Men are not permitted to use the women’s toilets and
vice versa. If you park a vehicle in a “no parking” zone, you will be dealt
with in terms of the law. To say you do not agree with the law will not
exonerate you.
The
Bible is very clear about anti-social behaviour. It’s a definite No-No. God
gave us 10 Commandments not 10 Suggestions. The Bible is also very clear
about disciplining children. Read the following Scriptures: - Prov. 22:15, Prov.10:13, Prov.23:13-14, Prov.26:3,
Prov.29:15. For the sake of space and clarity, the following more or
less sums them all up. 15 Folly is
bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far
away. Prov. 22:15 TNIV
The
Lord has told us what to do. But we have freedom of choice, so we are not
compelled to obey. There are always consequences to disobedience. Adam lost
the Kingdom for disobeying one command. The same applies to us. It follows
that if we obey Him, we will be rewarded. If we don’t, we won’t! He tells us
what to do because He loves His children. He disciplines us in order to
correct us that we may grow into mature men and women of God. But He will not
discipline those who are not His children. He calls such people “bastards”
and says they are illegitimate. The only question remaining is, “Are you sure
you are His child?”
Jim & Phyllida
Strickland
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11 As
you know, we count as blessed those who have
persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what
the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
James 5:11 TNIV
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If you’ve been corrected, please know that you are blessed.
You must have the answer right, for you to pass the test.
Two plus two is four we know. But if you say it’s seven;
You might have a problem with entrance into heaven.
If you are a baby and have never been to school,
You won’t be affected by this mathematics rule.
But, if you’ve sat in classes and dreamed your life away,
God will be demanding about the things you say!
If it’s purely laziness, heaven’s not your place.
You won’t stand the pressure of the things you’ll have to face!
Heaven’s not a hospital for lazy, idle, saints.
That is not the picture, the Holy Bible paints.
We will all be busy, with lots of work to do.
That’s why the Lord is training folk, the likes of me and you.
Training will be difficult, in this world and the next.
Do not curl your lip up and say this makes you vexed.
The Lord will surely test you. If you don’t get it right,
You will have to start again. It’s possible He might,
Use the rod of discipline, to change your attitude.
Know that it will sting a bit, for a short interlude.
He does this ’cause He loves you. You really mustn’t fail,
Or He will send His discipline to gently warm your tail!
But if you are compliant and want to get along,
He’ll build your endurance and make you firm and strong.
This will mould your character and reinforce your hope,
Shame will never bother you. His love will help you cope!
Discipline is painful. That’s what He intended.
He will carry on with it until the problem’s mended.
When you’ve learned the lesson you’ll experience His peace.
The related discipline, incredibly will cease,
‘til there’s another lesson the Lord wants you to learn.
Then you must acquire it, or His discipline will burn!
It isn’t any easier, when we become mature.
There’s only one solution; learn quickly or endure,
Another round of discipline. But keep this fact in mind.
If there is no discipline, it’s possible you’ll find,
That you are illegitimate and not His child at all! Heb. 12:8 NLT
The only way to find this out is on His Name to call.
Jim Strickland
Written
7th December 2012
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3 More
than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing
that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces
hope, 5 and hope does not put
us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the
Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5 ESV
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11 No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening--it's
painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for
those who are trained in this way.
Hebrews 12:11 NLT
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2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way,
consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your
endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So
let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect
and complete, needing nothing.
James 1:2-4 NLT
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12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and
temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has
promised to those who love Him.
James 1:12 NLT
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9 Each
time He said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness."
So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so
that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That's why
I take pleasure in my weaknesses and in the insults, hardships, persecutions,
and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I
am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NLT
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