How to Live out the Ten Commandments (Part 6 of Commandment Series)

This is the last post in the Commandment Series.  Click here to go to the first post. 

In yesterday's post, I shared how God made the Commandments personal to me.  By asking me those ten questions, it caused me to truly ponder my commitment to God. Last night, I was sharing those questions with my mom and she pointed out something beautiful.  She noticed that the questions all started with "will you....?" instead of "have you...?"  If God would have asked me those same questions with 'have you' most of my answers would have been 'no'.

'No, I haven't chosen only you.'

'No, I haven't carried your name with confidence.'

 'No, I haven't lived with contentment and gratefulness in my heart.'


God is all about new beginnings.  He knows our sin.  He understands our deficiencies.  He is not a God who delights in highlighting where we fall short.  He is a God of profound grace and inexhaustible love.  He doesn't want us to live out our days with regret.  He desires life for our souls.

Life with God is about moving forward into new life.  It is about stepping into the freedom He offers.
Being in relationship with God is about saying, 'yes' to him and not dwelling on all the times we have said 'no'.  What a gracious God we serve!

As I mentioned in my last post, after saying, 'yes' to God, I found myself asking the question, 'how?'
How can I live out my 'vows' to God?  This is what came to me:
(Again, you will find the answer broken down to correlate with each of the commandments. I have combined a couple of them.)

Commandment 1

 Live with the security that you belong to God. Do not put in question you place in God's heart.  You are His and nothing can separate you from His love.  Nothing.

Commandment 2 and 4

Nurture the relationship with God and grow in understanding/experience of who He is through worship, rest, prayer, reading the Word, and connecting with others.

Commandment 3

Carry the name of the Lord and believe that you have authority and power to act in spreading/living out the gospel message.

Commandment 5, 6 and 7

 Love others deeply and faithfully.  Be consistent with your relationships.  Always pursue reconciliation.

Commandment 8

Provide for your family honestly. Work hard and diligently.

Commandment 9

Make every word you speak count. Keep confidences. Don't engage in any type of falsehood.

Commandment 10

Be content with what you have.  Rejoice with others and their accomplishments. Be grateful always.


I hope you were blessed this week by taking a closer look at the God found in the Ten Commandments.  I want to thank those of you who encouraged me along the way and shared some of these posts with your friends, that meant so much to me!  I also want to thank those of you who simply stopped by to read. I hope you were encouraged in your faith journey.

Come back next week to read more posts about seeing God in unexpected places!

Blessings!

The Ten Questions God Asked Me (Part 5 of Commandment Series)

A couple of weeks ago I was having a difficult time going to sleep.  There was a stirring within me, a tugging of sorts on my heart.  I started to think about some of the thoughts I wanted to share with you on the blog about the Commandments and found myself asking myself the question: 'how have the commandments really changed me?'  I have carried this message within me for almost six years, 'what does my life have to show for it?'  I speak of revelation and transformation, but what has it done in my heart?

I dont' know why the Lord has chosen the Ten Commandments as the backdrop for revealing Himself to me, but He has.  As I wrestled with those questions that night, the Lord met me once again.  This time, it was an incredible personal encounter.  He asked me ten questions.  Ten questions that I couldn't avoid answering.  I want to share them with you because, I believe God desires an answer from you too.

If you have followed all my posts on the Commandment series, you will see how each statement and question correlates with the flow of the Commandments and God's character traits within the Law.


The Ten Questions in the Commandments

  I have set you free and am calling you into a life of freedom.

1. I have chosen you as my very own. I have set myself apart for you. Will you choose me?

2. Are you committed to only me?

3. Will you carry my name?

4. Will you come away with me and commune with me? Will you be in relationship with me?

5. I knew you in the womb.  I gave you life through your parents. Will you honor them?

6. Will you show kindness to your brother even if he wrongs you?

7. When you leave your family and unite with your life partner, will you be faithful?

8. Will you provide for your family honestly, not taking from others to supply for your needs or the needs of those you care for?

9. Will you be truthful in all that you say with those in  your community? Can others trust you?

10.Will you be content with the resources and blessings I have given? Will you live out your days with gratefulness in your heart?

If you say 'Yes', you will be like a tree planted by the waters whose fruit never fails.  I will establish you and your children for all generations. 

As the presence of God filled my heart and His commitment to me was made more real to me, I couldn't help but cry.  God's grace toward me truly melts my heart.  I can't talk about it or write about it without crying.  It is such a humbling experience.  Looking at the questions I wrote down, I didn't want to give God a quick answer.  I wanted to think about what I was committing to.  I wanted to soak in what I felt God was trying to tell me.

In meditating on what was in front of me, I started to see a beautiful pattern emerge from the Law through these questions.  I saw a shape of an hour glass of sorts. Something like this:

Do you see how the Commandments follow a progression? A story?  God saves us from the world (redemption) and invites us into a close relationship with him (Commandments 1-4).  Commandment 5 then brings us to our own unique beginning here on earth.  It highlights the parent child relationship.  From there, we enter into a relationship with our brother (Note the parallel between the Cain and Able story and the 6th commandment), and then we branch out from our families of origin and pick our own spouse (Commandment 7).  We then move on to have children and providing for our families (Commandment 8).  Commandments 8-10 deal with how we establish ourselves within a community with honor and an esteemed status. 

When I saw the comprehensive nature of the Law, the detail, and depth, I couldn't help but worship.  I went through each question that God posed to me and I said, 'yes.'  How could I not give myself to a God who has given me so much?  

I finally was able to get back to sleep after processing all the things I just shared with you.  Before I drifted off to sleep though, I found myself whispering the question, "how can I keep my commitment to you, Lord?"  Tomorrow, I will share some of my thoughts on how we can live out our vows to God.  

Thanks for stopping in this week and reading my blog! 

Blessings!

The Role of the Commandments in the New Testament (Part 4 of Commandment Series)

I hope you were blessed by yesterday's post and were able to see how beautifully God reveals Himself in the Commandments.  Every time I stop and ponder the depth of revelation present in the Law, I am humbled by God's fierce commitment to make Himself known to us.

The Old Testament presentation of the Law is one of revelation.  Many stories in the Old Testament  show God's presence as an overwhelming force that sends most people cowering away in fear.  After God spoke the Ten Commandments to Israel, the people asked Moses to speak to them instead of God.    They preferred to have a man interact with them rather than a divine Being who was far beyond what they could comprehend in their sinful nature.

The Law (God's very essence) created a enormous divide between divinity and flesh.  Man's sinful nature in the presence of Yahweh created a sense of impending doom instead of closeness.  It highlighted the contrast between that which was whole and that which was broken.  It revealed how far humanity had drifted from the day God breathed His likeness and image into them.

Even though God revealed Himself in a mighty way through the Ten Commandments, He desired to give more to His people.  He longed for restoration.  God was not satisfied hiding behind a veil.  He wanted every willing heart to have access to His presence.  It was not enough to have a select number of priest serve as intermediaries.  He desired intimate connection with each one of His children.

Jesus came to bridge the space that exists between revelation and restoration.   He fulfilled the Law in that He was able to live out in human flesh, a life of complete trust and submission to the Father's will.   He showed humanity that trusting God's character (which we see revealed in the Law) restores the heart to God and bears rich fruit.

Once Christ fulfilled His mission here on Earth, He gave the Holy Spirit to help us achieve true heart transformation.  In my opinion, the Ten Commandments did change at the cross.  Because of Jesus and now the Holy Spirit, we have direct access to the Father.  Once the veil was torn, we no longer need to stand at a  distance.  The very presence of God is now written on our hearts.  The Living God dwells within us! The Commandments are no longer only about revelation, they are also about transformation. The Holy Spirit can now, in a way like never before, guide sinful hearts into a path of transformation and ultimately sanctification.

Let me show you how this plays out using the Ten Commandments as the framework. I have included God's character attributes for each of the commandments in parentheses (if you missed my previous post on how God's character is revealed in the law, click here)

Commandment #1 (Holy) 

When I choose God as my one and only God, I become His inheritance. 

Commandment #2 (Jealous): 

When I worship only God, I become His possession. 

Commandment #3(Sovereign): 

When I carry the name of the Lord with confidence and power, I become fruitful. 

Commandment #4 (Creator): 

When I remember the Sabbath day and allow God 

to be a creative force in my life, I become a worshiper.

Commandment #5 (Life): 

When I trust God as my Life giver and honor the parents

 He gave to me, I become obedient.

Commandment #6 (Judge): 

When I trust God as my Judge when someone has wronged me, I become merciful.

Commandment #7 (Faithful):

 When I trust in God's faithfulness to me within my marriage relationship, I become faithful. 

Commandment #8( Provider): 

When I trust God as my Provider in all areas of my life, I become generous.

Commandment #9 (Protector): 

When I trust God as my Protector, I become free. 

Commandment #10 (Blessing-giver): 

When I trust God as my Blessing-giver, I become grateful. 

I hope you can see how the Ten Commandments seamlessly flow from the Old Testament into the New.  The Law is truly eternal and unchanging because God's character is eternal and unchanging. I don't keep the Law for salvation sake.  The Law in and of itself can not save anyone.   When I try to keep the commandments in my own strength, I am missing the true essence of God.  I keep the Commandments by trusting the God I see in them. As I surrender my heart to the Spirit's transformative work in my life the fruit will grow naturally.   

 When I hear or read heated debates about grace vs. law, I think to myself, "You are both right. It's about grace. It's about Law. They are not polar opposites.  They weave together creating a beautiful picture of God." 

My post tomorrow will include a set of vows using the Ten Commandments as the backdrop. They are an invitation to enter into a trust relationship with God.  I'm excited to share them with you and hope that it will deepen your experience with our great God.

Blessings!

The Ten Character Traits Found in the Commandments (Part 3 of Commandment Series)

{This is post #3 in the series on Ten Commandments. If you haven't read the previous post, be sure to check it out before jumping into this one.  Yesterday's post sets the foundation for understanding how the Ten Commandments are a revelation of God's character.}

The Commandments, at first glance, seem fairly straightforward.  "Thou shalt not... (fill in the blank with what you should not do)".  It's easy to assume there is nothing more than a set of rules. When I first was studying the significance of the Law, I asked myself the question: "Why shouldn't I do these things?"  The answer that came to me was, 'Because of who I AM.  As my child you have no need to steal, lie, or covet because of who I AM to you.'  At first I didn't completely understand what this meant.  It wasn't until I studied further that this started to make more sense to me.  

A breakthrough came when I stumbled upon (thanks to my preacher man husband) another way the commandments can read in the original Hebrew.  In simple terms, the "not's" of the commandments are in essence "eternal no's". Another way of saying "Thou shalt not..." is "You will never..."

When I plugged in 'You will never...' to each of the commandments and then asked the question why? The character traits of God poured out freely and clearly.  Here's what I found: 

The Ten Commandments

You will never have other god because  I AM Holy 

(God is set apart from other gods.  There is none like Him. 

This commandment captures the unique nature of God. )

You will never make for yourself a graven image because I AM Jealous

(God is jealous for his people. He is committed to us. 

 His presence will always receive and partake of our worship to Him. 

This commandment reminds us of the exclusive

 relationship between worshipers and their God)

You will never take my name in vain because I AM Sovereign 

(God's name has authority to make things happen.  

The literal meaning of the word 'take' is 'to carry/to bear'. 

 Carrying the name of God means that we live a life of power and confidence

 in the authority of this name. Bearing the name of the Lord in vain means

 that we do not trust God to act on our behalf with power and authority.

Consequently, we end up living lives with little fruit. )

Remember the Sabbath Day because I AM Creator

(This commandment gives us the reason for remembering the Sabbath day.  We are to remember because God created the world.  In Deuteronomy's account of the commandments, the reason for remembering the Sabbath is because God brought freedom from slavery.  In both accounts (creation and deliverance) the message is the same: God creates rest and freedom and invites us to partake of both. If we live in our own self-sufficiency without God's creative power in our lives, we can not truly keep a Sabbath unto the Lord.)

  

Honor your father and your mother because I AM Life

(God gave us life through our parents.  He knew us from the womb.  

Our days were set before Him even before we took our first breath.  

When we honor our parents, the Giver of Life promises to extend our days.  )

You will never kill because I AM your Judge

(When someone wrongs us, it is not our job to seek vindication for ourselves.  

Jesus takes this commandment further and extends it to our feelings toward our brother. 

 In our broken relationships with others, God stands as the judge.)

You will never commit adultery because I AM your Faithful Friend

(God can supply for every single one of our needs.  

In the areas where our  marriages lack, God can fill the gap.  

He is faithful and will never leave our side.)

You will never steal because I AM your Provider

(As God's people we never have to resort to stealing because 

God is our ultimate provider.  The Bible tells us that our heavenly Father 

will supply our food, clothing, and shelter.)

You will never lie because I AM your Protector

(Lying is a protection mechanism we use to protect ourselves from unwanted consequences. 

This commandment reminds us that God's truth is our shield and protection.)

You will never covet because I AM your Blessing Giver

(God is the giver of all good things.  He chooses how He will bless, when He will bless, 

and who He will bless. This commandment reminds us 
that we must trust God as the giver of blessing and 
not resent our neighbor for what God has chosen to give to them.)

At core of the commandments is trust.  Will we trust God to be the 'I AM' in every aspect of our lives?  Or will we choose to do things for ourselves using our strength and understanding?  The Law is much more than a set of rules.  There is a God at the heart of it that is calling us to trust Him to be everything for us.

This understanding of the commandments has been so helpful to me.  Whenever I find myself looking at someones life and wishing I had it all together like them, I know I'm coveting their blessings.  My heart's prayer is to ask the Lord to help me trust Him as my Blessing Giver.  I don't get down on myself for having broken a commandment.  I simply repent and meditate on who God wants to be for me and strive by His grace to trust Him more in this area of my life.  This perspective has truly been life changing for me.  

There is so much to unpack but I have to settle on giving you an overview for now.  If you are interested in the Scripture texts that discuss each of God's character traits, email me and I will send them your way.  Also, if you have questions, let me know!

My next post will talk about the Ten Commandments purpose/place in the New Testament.  When Jesus died on the cross, did the Law change?  I know this is a hot button for many Christians and I don't claim to have all the answers.  What I do have is my experience and how I have come to understand the spirit of the Law.  Stay with me as we continue this conversation on the Ten Commandments!  

A Breathtaking Revelation in the Commandments (Part 2 of Commandment Series)

This is post #2 in my series on the Ten Commandments. 

 If you missed the first one, you can read it here. 

{I am not a theologian.  I am simply a follower, a woman, who has a heart that is continually yearning for more of God.  What I share with you regarding certain aspects of Scripture, I do with the full knowledge of my limitation in the ability to capture the essence of God.  It is only because of grace that I even attempt to give words to the stirrings in my heart regarding the Ten Commandments. Thank you for coming on this journey with me.} 

 With that said, let's get started!

How is the Character of God Revealed in the Ten Commandments?

The answer to this question is found within the details of one of the greatest stories in the Bible. It is the story of Israel and their deliverance from bondage.  For hundreds of years, the chosen people of God were enslaved under the oppressive yoke of Egypt.   The God of Israel, the One that chose them and set them apart as a peculiar people, had predominantly remained silent during their time of slavery.

Although, seemingly distant, God was far from disinterested in the heartache of His people.  I'm not sure why God chose to wait 400 years before stepping in on their behalf.   It's possible, I suppose, it took that amount of time for a whole nation to unify their prayers before God and ask for deliverance.  To be honest though, God's silence is the hardest thing for me to understand.  The mystery of human prayers and how they can cause an Almighty God to act or not, is beyond me. Whatever the reason for God's silence, the important thing to note for our purposes is that when the sons of Israel prayed, God  listened. 

"...And the sons of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. So God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the sons of Israel, and God took notice of them."

Exodus 2:23-25 (NASB)

God decided He would use Moses to set Israel free.  He was an unlikely man for the task, but God knew he possessed the heart needed to accomplish the mission. When Moses encountered God at the burning bush, God communicated four powerful messages.  

•  I have called you [Moses] to deliver the people of Israel.

•  You don't have to do this alone. I will be with you through it all.

•  You will know it was I who sent you on this task when you return with the people and worship on this mountain (Mount Sinai which is also known as Mount Horeb and the Mountain of God).

•  When the people ask you who has sent you on this assignment, you will tell them that 'I AM' is His name.  

The last two statements is where we find the first clues that God is about to reveal Himself like never before. They also set the stage for seeing how the character of God is revealed in the Ten Commandments.   Let me briefly unpack the last one and then we will move on to the other. 

The Significance of the Name 'I AM' 

The name, 'I AM' {Yahweh} is used for the first time during the burning bush encounter in Exodus 3.  God had revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob but never with the name Yahweh (Exodus 6:3).  This name is literally translated as 'He is or He exists'.  It is a description of who He is, the Self-Existing One.  

The word Yahweh reveals the fullness of God's nature.  The entire essence of God, all of His attributes are embodied in this name.  The name Yahweh also implies that the nature of God will be revealed through His actions toward His people.  

I found this quote and stood in wonder at the depth of this name... 

“The letters of the name of God in Hebrew… are infrequently pronounced Yahweh. But in truth they are inutterable…. This word {YHWH} is the sound of breathing. The holiest name in the world, the Name of Creator, is the sound of your own breathing. That these letters are unpronounceable is no accident. Just as it is no accident that they are also the root letters of the Hebrew verb ‘to be’… God’s name is name of Being itself.” ~Rabbi Lawrence Kushner

The fact that this name, Yahweh, is presented for the first time in Exodus is significant.  God appears to communicate the idea that He desires to establish His eternal presence among His people for all generations.  

"This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations." Exodus 3:15 (NASB)

What a gift! Especially to a nation who was enslaved  for hundreds of years under the care of a silent and apparently absent God.  It is with this name, Yahweh, and all that this name implies, that Moses goes and delivers Israel.  

The Significance of Mount Sinai

During the encounter at the burning bush, God told Moses that confirmation of his calling and God's presence would come when Moses brought the entire nation to worship at Mount Sinai.  Once out of Egypt, it was obvious where Moses was to lead the people.  He was to take them to worship in the very place where he first encountered God.   I can only imagine what Moses was thinking as he approached the mountain.  I'm sure he remembered these words: 

"And He [God] said, “Certainly I will be with you, and this shall be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.” Exodus 3:12 (NASB)

It is at the foot of this mountain where it all comes together.  The Bible says that Moses went up to God and the Lord called to him from the mountain.  He told Moses that He wanted to arrange a meeting with Israel.  Moses was given instructions on how to prepare the people.  Can you imagine what it would have felt like to get ready to meet God?  I don't think Israel understood the magnitude of what they were about to experience.   For the last few hundred years, they were surrounded by foreign gods.  Their frame of reference was no where near capturing the grandiose nature of Yahweh, a name they had never heard.    I truly wonder what they expected to see and hear? The Bible simply says this: 

"And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain." Exodus 19:17 (NASB)

God descended on Mount Sinai with smoke and fire filling it with His presence.  His opening words to the congregation, after four hundred years of silence, were this: 

“ I am the Lord [YHWH] your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." Exodus 20:2 (NASB)

The use of the word 'LORD or Yahweh' in the opening statement of the Ten Commandments communicates the idea that the very essence of God is being given to His people.  It is an introduction of sorts between two parties who are about to enter into a significant relationship with each other. The Ten Commandments is the framework God uses to introduce His very nature to Israel.  By stating that He, the I AM, brought them out of slavery establishes the first character trait of God.  

         I AM your Redeemer.

The overarching theme of the Ten Commandments is redemption.  They are in essence an invitation to enter into a relationship with the One who has redeemed.  All subsequent characteristics found in each of the commandments  flow from this theme.  In short, every commandment highlights a character trait of God.  Each one is a declaration of who He is and who He is vowing Himself to be for His people.  

In my next post I will write about the ten character traits found in the Law and how they can impact your faith journey with God.  I'm excited to share them with you! If at any point you have questions or need clarification on anything that I'm sharing, shoot me an email or comment. I love to receive feedback and share in your spiritual journey! 

A Heavy Burden (Part 1 of Commandment Series)

A few years ago I almost walked away from the church.  I was tired of the the religious grind.  Ironically, all I learned growing up in the church seemed irrelevant and disconnected to the daily realities of having a dynamic relationship with Christ.   The truths I was taught were critical to spiritual health, left me feeling empty and disappointed.  I wanted so much more then what my church was "selling."  My heart longed for freedom but instead was shrinking into a confined space of death. 

The heaviest burden I was carrying during this time was related to the Ten Commandments.  I grew up in a church that emphasized the Law and prided itself in being one of the only Christian churches who kept ALL the Commandments. Our very name, Seventh Day Adventists, communicates the essence of what we believe.  We observe, the seventh day Sabbath (the fourth commandment) and we expectantly await the second coming of Christ.  The Law is intertwined into every fiber of our denomination.  If you toss aside the Commandments, it's really hard to remain a Seventh Day Adventist. 

So here I was, a Seventh day Adventist pastor's wife who is struggling with a foundational teaching of the church, who, if I was being honest, desperately wanted to walk away, and who was reading scripture like this one,

"Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.  For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law , were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.  But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code." Romans 7:4-6 (ESV)

  

and crying.   I could not reconcile the discrepancy between what my church taught (the Law brings life and is essential to a vibrant relationship with Christ) and the deadness I felt in my heart regarding that very truth. 

I knew I had arrived at a crossroads. I needed to make a decision. I either had to walk away or take another look at the Ten Commandments and see if I had missed something.  More out of cowardice than anything, I chose the latter.  I knelt down by my bed and opened the Bible.  I decided to go to Psalm 119 since the whole chapter is dedicated to the Law of God.  I read all of it.  There was one verse though that wouldn't let me go.

"I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on your statues." Psalm 119:48 (ESV)

There were a couple of thoughts that came to me.  First, I realized that I did not feel towards the Law what David felt towards the Law. The way he talked about it left me wondering what he was seeing that I was missing.  And second, the posture of lifting your hands toward something indicates worship.  Why would David worship tablets of stone?  It was this question that led me to the conclusion that David wasn't worshiping the actual commandments, but rather was lifting is hands toward the God who wrote them. 

This realization led me to pray from the deepest part of my heart.  Lord, you know my struggle.  You know my heart.  David saw and felt things regarding your Law that I don't see or feel.  He somehow managed to find you within those tablets of stone. If you are in the Law, Lord, I want to see you there.  If somehow things have changed and the Law is no longer relevant for my life, please reveal it to me.  As hard as it would be to walk away from the church I grew up with and now serve, I will do it because I want you more.  Amen.

To this day, I don't know why God chose to answer my prayer the way He did.  He poured out so much of Himself to me that even now, as I write, my breath literally catches in my throat. I am humbled with what I received that day.   What happened in the hours following that prayer has fundamentally changed the way I see the Ten Commandments.  Since that night six and a half years ago, I've had the honor of  speaking to hundreds of people in various Christian settings on how God is revealed in the Law.

Over the next few weeks, I want to share pieces of what I learned that night and in the years following that encounter.  I thought it appropriate to use this blog as a platform for this message as the Ten Commandments is typically not a teaching where you would expect to find God.  I'm excited to share this with you.  I hope you will find blessing, see grace, and experience the God I found hidden within tablets of stone.