Sunday 26 Jan 2014

Sunday Reading: Exodus 20:1-6

Key Verse: Exodus 20:6
but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Devotion:
God gave the commandments to Moses so that he would in turn give them to all mankind, specifically though, to the people of Israel at that time. They are not just a simple set of rules to follow but a deep and meaningful contract between us and God. Just looking at the first two should make us stop and think about how we do live our lives!

God’s words to Moses start with (paraphrased) “I am God, your God. I am the one who brought you out of slavery in Egypt!” That is followed by these first two commandments reminding us that God is our God and we need to be reverent toward Him; we need to fear Him. This is the same God that created the whole world, the whole universe, that planted us on this planet so that we could grow up to know Him in person. He did not just do this because He was bored and wanted something to play with which is how some would look at Him.

God created us and loved what He created. Even though we do go astray and break His heart at times, He still loves us and wants us to realise that. He did not say that He was a jealous God to cause any strife but rather to show us that His love for us goes deeper than just the words. God does not want us contaminated by evil and does not want us ruining our lives… but we do from time to time…

If we are willing to take on these commandments and to keep them in our hearts just as He keeps us in His heart, then we will find that our lives do take on a whole new meaning. If we have a goal in life then we aim toward that and our spirits are raised as we get closer. When we have rules and are able to keep them we feel a whole lot better than when we break them. But when we break them God wants to show us mercy and forgiveness so that we can get back on track toward our goals as quickly as possible. God wants us to have a joyful and peaceful life with Him.

Points to Ponder:
Do you remember the commandments?

Do you follow them in your life?