Tag: spiritual life

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-21)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
The Ten Commandments by He Qi

Then God gave the people all these instructions:

“I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

“You must not have any other god but me.

“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

“You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.

“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.

“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

“You must not murder.

“You must not commit adultery.

“You must not steal.

“You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.

“You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.

And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”

“Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”

As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was. (New Living Translation)

Since relationships are important and necessary, we need a way to be in community together so that everyone can get along and thrive as human beings. It’s very helpful to have a few simple rules to live by in order for all persons to relate to each other (and God) with integrity, care, and justice.

Whenever I take my wife’s pooch to the dog park, he knows he’ll need to stick some basic rules. Although he doesn’t need the leash and is free to roam, he understands not to bark at people, or approach them and other dogs without my permission. Those expectations are for both his well-being, and others.

We are free to live our lives as creatures in God’s image. The Lord has just a few basic rules for us to live by to honor both divinity and humanity, as well as to protect others and ourselves. Most folks know them as “The Ten Commandments.”

Statue of Moses and The Ten Commandments, Lodz, Poland

The Ten Commandments (The Decalogue or The Ten Words) were given to the ancient Israelites nearly 3,500 years ago. These words have stood the test of time and continue to be understood as a universal standard of morality and relational interactions.

There are hundreds of commands in Holy Scripture – approximately 613 in the Old Testament, and 437 in the New Testament – a whopping 1,050 total commands throughout the entirety of the Bible. So, what, then, makes these Ten so special?  Why do we stick to the ten basic instructions?

The reason The Ten Commandments have endured is that they are foundational commands. Following the Ten Words in the Old Testament are a string of specific commands from God to Moses and then to the people (Exodus 21-23 and Deuteronomy 6-26). Those commands are all a fleshing-out of how to live the basic Decalogue in the Israelites’ context of entering and being in the Promised Land.

In fact, every single command of Holy Scripture can be ethically and morally tied back to The Ten Commandments in some way. Whereas many Old Testament laws were given to the Israelites in their ancient Middle Eastern socio-economic culture, The Decalogue was designed to be universal and flexible for every culture and society everywhere, for any time, and every generation.

Therefore, we need to distinguish between The Law (capital “L”) and the law (little “l”). God’s fundamental and foundational ethical Law has always existed and continues to exist – and it is encapsulated in ten short and simple commands which everyone everywhere can obey, whether they are at their jobs, at home, church, or out having fun.

In fact, these ten basic commands are so important that Jesus restated them for us in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Christ got down to the heart of the commands and let everyone know what it truly means to hold, keep, and obey The Ten Words. For example, Jesus said concerning the seventh command:

“You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, ‘You must not murder anyone. Anyone who murders another will be judged.’ But I tell you, if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be judged. If you say bad things to a brother or sister, you will be judged by the council. And if you call someone a fool, you will be in danger of the fire of hell.” (Matthew 5:21-22, NCV)

It had become easy over the centuries for people to think everything was jim-dandy if they didn’t physically kill anyone. Yet, Jesus knew that well before any person is murdered by another, anger has been nursed through bitter grudges toward another. 

The Ten Words are the very heart of God’s desire for all humanity, and this is precisely why it’s important to know and obey them in their full intent. They contain how to relate to God (Commands 1-4); and, how to relate to one another (Commands 5-10).  Jesus would later say, in response to what is the greatest command of all:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and most important command. And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.  All the law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands.” (Matthew 22:36-40, NCV)

The Heidelberg Catechism, a Reformed Confession crafted by Protestants in the sixteenth, addresses a significant issue in question-and-answer 115:

Q: Since no one in this life can obey the Ten Commandments perfectly, why does God want them preached so pointedly? 
A: First, so that the longer we live the more we may come to know our sinfulness and the more eagerly look to Christ for forgiveness of sins and righteousness. Second, so that we may never stop striving, and never stop praying to God for the grace of the Holy Spirit, to be renewed more and more after God’s image, until after this life we reach our goal: perfection.

When all is said and done, grace will have the last word. None of us will ever perfectly live-out and embody The Ten Words all the time. Yet, the grace of God in Jesus Christ does for us what we cannot do for ourselves: deliver us from the realm of sin, death, and hell.

Embrace The Ten Commandments. Know the Decalogue. Memorize the Ten Words. Understand how to relate well with God and others. Seek to practice these ten basic rule for living so that you can enjoy all the freedom of God’s big world.

Spiritual Dementia (Deuteronomy 30:1-9)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Now, once all these things happen to you, the blessing and the curse that I’m setting before you, you must call them to mind as you sit among the various nations where the Lord your God has driven you; and you must return to the Lord your God, obeying his voice, in line with all that I’m commanding you right now—you and your children—with all your mind and with all your being. 

Then the Lord your God will restore you as you were before and will have compassion on you, gathering you up from all the peoples where the Lord your God scattered you. Even if he has driven you to the far end of heaven, the Lord your God will gather you up from there; he will take you back from there. 

The Lord your God will bring you home to the land that your ancestors possessed; you will possess it again. And he will do good things for you and multiply you—making you more numerous even than your ancestors!

Then the Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants so that you love the Lord your God with all your mind and with all your being in order that you may live. 

The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you and chase you. But you will change and obey the Lord’s voice and do all his commandments that I’m commanding you right now. 

The Lord your God will help you succeed in everything you do—in your own fertility, your livestock’s offspring, and your land’s produce—everything will be great! Because the Lord will once again enjoy doing good things for you just as he enjoyed doing them for your ancestors. (Common English Bible)

The mind is a vast, glorious, and (un)explored territory. Although there is much we know about it, there’s even more we don’t know about the human mind.

The mind can be both a blessing and a curse. Anyone with depression, anxiety, or other mental disorders and diseases can tell you that, especially family members who have loved ones with dementia.

Dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life. Professionally, I visit patients with dementia nearly every day. Personally, I watched my own mother’s faculties slowly erode and decline in the last few years of her life. In her final months, my Mom rarely remembered my name, only knew me once in a while, and never recalled the conversation we had thirty seconds ago. It was difficult to watch, this woman who once cared for me, needing to be cared for.

The biblical book of Deuteronomy is the retelling of Israel’s story as they were about to enter the Promised Land. It’s a book completely dedicated to memory care. If the people were to forget who they are, they would not know what they’re supposed to be doing. The Israelites strayed from the blessings into the curses of God’s covenant life because their collective mind slowly slipped into spiritual dementia.

The mind’s need to remember is not a new issue; it’s endemic to the human condition. The constant refrain of the author of Deuteronomy is to recall and to remember where the people came from, where they are going, and why. 

Moses reiterated the covenant and the law for the people before they entered the land. It was a fresh re-hashing, nothing really new, of what God had already communicated to them. God’s people were to remember that they were once slaves in Egypt and that God had delivered to be a people for his name. They were not to forget that they had provoked the Lord in the desert – with the result of an entire generation of people being lost because they had neglected and forgotten what God told them.

Memory issues continue into the Gospels. Jesus miraculously fed a great crowd of people not once, but twice. The second time, he called his disciples to remember what had happened the first time in order to understand the second. 

In the New Testament Epistles, Paul kept reminding the Jews in the churches that they should remember the ancient covenant, and called the Gentiles to remember that they were once estranged from that very same covenant. Both Jew and Gentile together needed to collectively remember the death of Christ that united them into a new covenant community. Like them, we are to “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David.” (2 Timothy 2:8)

Like the ancient Israelites, Christians are to remember who they are and what they are about: blood-bought people of God, belonging to Christ, and given a mission to make disciples and participate with God in the redemption of all creation through remembering the poor, seeking justice, and being peacemakers in the church and the world. 

Think about where you have fallen from, and then turn back and do as you did at first. (Revelation 2:5, CEV)

There’s a difference between the disease of dementia and the church’s spiritual dementia. Folks inflicted with dementia will not recover but only worsen, whereas the church can recover its collective memory by listening again to the ancient Word of God and being constantly refreshed with the promises and covenant of God.

  • Why do you and the church exist? 
  • How do God’s words inform and influence your identity? 
  • Does the mission and practice of your church intentionally remember the risen and ascended Christ? 
  • Are disciples being formed around collective remembering of God’s covenant and promises? 
  • Are ministries, spiritual practices, and policies being established based on Christ and his commission, or on something else? 

Let’s continually work through answers to those questions so that we are not cursed but blessed, and continually built up in the faith.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.
May the Lord show you his kindness
    and have mercy on you.
May the Lord watch over you
    and give you peace. Amen.

There’s a Price to Pay (Leviticus 26:34-46)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

At that time, while it is devastated and you are in enemy territory, the land will enjoy its sabbaths. At that time, the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. During the whole time it is devastated, it will have the rest it didn’t have during the sabbaths you lived in it.

I will bring despair into the hearts of those of you who survive in enemy territory. Just the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to running, and they will run scared as if running from a sword! They will fall even when no one is chasing them! They will stumble over each other as they would before a sword, even though no one is chasing them!

You will have no power to stand before your enemies. You will disappear among the nations—the land of your enemies will devour you. Any of you who do survive will rot in enemy territory on account of their guilty deeds. And they will rot too on account of their ancestors’ guilty deeds.

But if they confess their and their ancestors’ guilt for the wrongdoing they did to me, and for their continued opposition to me—which made me oppose them, so I took them into enemy territory—or if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they make up for their guilt, then I will remember my covenant with Jacob. I will also remember my covenant with Isaac. And my covenant with Abraham.

And I will remember the land. The land will be absent of them and will be enjoying its sabbaths while it lies devastated, free of them. They will be making up for their guilty deeds for no other reason than the fact that they rejected my regulations and despised my rules. 

But despite all that, when they are in enemy territory, I will not reject them or despise them to the point of totally destroying them, breaking my covenant with them by doing so, because I am the Lord their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant with the first generation, the ones I brought out of Egypt’s land in the sight of all the nations, in order to be their God; I am the Lord.

These are the rules, regulations, and instructions between the Lord and the Israelites that he gave through Moses on Mount Sinai. (Common English Bible)

Disobedience has a price. Within God’s household, the Lord isn’t some geriatric or decrepit deity who let’s the kids run around and do whatever the heck they want. Instead, God has certain rules so that the children can grow and thrive within loving boundaries. The fences aren’t there in order to be a divine killjoy; rather, the rules and boundaries exist for the flourishing and enjoying of life.

The price of disobedience is brokenness and devastation. To continually buck our basic design as humans will eventually catch up to us. If we eat with impunity, spending copious amounts of time consuming food, we’ll one day collect a host of heart-related issues and diseases. If we drive the car and never maintain it through regular oil changes and inspections, someday it will break down, perhaps permanently.

And if we live our lives without punctuating our weeks with needed rest – and use the land as if it were an infinite resource – then everything will eventually go awry and not work or produce like it should. That’s not God being mean, as if the Lord is to blame; it’s us being stupid, not practicing our God-given wisdom.

“Because we do not rest, we lose our way.”

Wayne Muller

Everything and everyone needs rest. It’s vital to us, just as much as water to drink and air to breathe. So, if we ignore it, we’ll pay the price of our neglect.

Sabbath was built into the universal scheme of things because it’s necessary. Our bodies neither work right nor live right without regular sabbath rests. It’s not optional. Try telling your body that you’re too busy to go to the bathroom and see how that works out for you. Sooner than later, you’re going to have to submit, or there will be a hefty price to pay.

If we stray from wise ways of living, or even stubbornly refuse to obey, there’s hope; we won’t be left to wallow in our own foolishness. Grace is too big and strong for any of our puny human backsliding. The Lord is always ready and willing to receive the humble and penitent heart.

God’s expertise is in restoration; the Lord gives a new lease on life to people who could never do it themselves. In fact, from a New Testament perspective, God even goes so far as to pay the price of human waywardness with his own Son.

A loving God ensures that all of creation will have what it needs to survive and thrive. An unloving god turns a blind eye to it all. If we don’t learn to play well with the creation around us, we’ll be called into the house and not be allowed to be outside for quite some time.

We are meant to practice good self-care, be good caregivers for others, and concern ourselves with caring for all creation.

So, pay the price of caring for self, others, and the land. Accept and submit to the rhythms of life which are required to live well. You’ll be glad you did because the alternative may be something a whole lot harder.

Creator God, you made the goodness of the land, the riches of the sea and the rhythm of the seasons; as we thank you for your gracious providing may we cherish and respect this planet and its peoples, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

How To Deal with Temptation (James 1:12-16)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Eve reaching for the forbidden fruit, by S.J. Grove, 1995

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. (New International Version)

The slow slog of uphill adversity, at various times, is a common experience of us all. We must deal with circumstances we didn’t choose, and situations that are out of our control. Throw into the mix that many people have few resources, and you have a feeling of being totally overwhelmed.

In this state of being, it’s challenging to maintain solid decision-making, emotional stability, and spiritual support. We need both encouragement and warning so that we can be strengthened in faith.

The Apostle James sought to encourage and warn a small struggling church who were enduring difficult and unwanted situations. He reminded the believers that the person who perseveres under a time of trial and testing of faith is blessed. 

To be “blessed” is to have God’s stamp of approval. God approves of learning, enduring, and maturing through hardship. For such people, God has promised to give “the crown of life.” All the hard lessons we have under our belts, puts us in the position to connect with Jesus and enjoy God.

Don’t blame others

Sometimes, however, we face suffering not because of the circumstances which God brings in our lives, but because of our own unwise response to difficulty. 

Problems are compounded whenever we blame our troubles on others, and refuse to learn what God is trying to teach us. This sort of response has it’s origins in the Garden.  

Adam said to God, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12) The implication of Adam is that he would have remained innocent, if God had not put Eve in the Garden with him. 

Ever since, blame-shifting has been a staple of human behavior. Our bruised hearts and damaged egos send us desperately looking for someone else to blame when we are confronted with our own trouble. 

“There are two eras in American history: the passing of the buffalo and the passing of the buck.”

Will Rogers

Some folks can be so desperate to justify themselves, they end up saying illogical things, such as: 

  • “I wouldn’t lose my temper if my co-workers were easier to get along with, my kids behaved better, and my spouse were more considerate.” 
  • “I would be a patient person if I didn’t have so many things to do, and if the people around me weren’t so slow and incompetent!” 
  • “I would have a pure mind if there were not so many sexual images in our culture.”
  • “I wouldn’t worry about the future if I had more money, and no health problems.”
  • “My spiritual life would be much better if the pastor did a better job.”
  • “I would follow if there were some decent leadership around here.”
  • “I could never forgive that person [or God].”
  • “My neighbor is an incredible cook; I can’t lose weight with such good food.”
  • “I’ll never be happy, as long as that person is in my life.”

So, I ask us, “What will it take?”…

  1. To stop making excuses? 
  2. To quit blame-shifting onto others? 
  3. To trust God and step out in faith?
  4. To cease worrying about what other people think and start doing what God thinks? 
  5. To look at faith as a dynamic relationship with the Lord, instead of just a static thing you possess? 
  6. To read Holy Scripture as if your life depended on it? 
  7. To minister with initiative and confidence? 
  8. To be humble, do justice, and act with mercy? 
  9. To spiritually grow?
  10. To truly enjoy life?

Don’t blame God

It seems that to err is human; to blame it on the divine is even more human.

God cannot be tempted; it’s not an option. God hates sin and disobedience; the Lord has no appeal for it, at all. It’s a moral impossibility for God to even consider attempting to do evil. Therefore, since God cannot be tempted by evil, God cannot tempt people toward evil.

Then why in the Sam Hill would we ever blame anything on God? Because it’s a cheap easy (and pathetic) way of absolving ourselves from responsibility for our own unwise choices, words, and actions. 

Certainly, God tests us, in order to improve our character, and to bring us toward greater spiritual maturity. Yet, God never forces us to make bad, immoral, or evil choices. God may have brought the trial and testing into our lives; but how we respond to it is up to us.

Take responsibility for yourself

The real culprit behind temptation is one’s own personal and strong desire. It’s the intense motive to have-to-do-it, have-to-say-it, and have-to-have-it, which are at the root of temptation. 

We all have legitimate needs, wants, and desires for love, security, companionship, and to make a difference in the world. Yet we may seek illegitimate means to satisfy those needs. We are lured to the hook by the enticing bait of temptation, and if we bite, that’s on us. Our own temptations lure us to satisfy our legitimate needs in illegitimate ways. 

And when we get ourselves in a pickle because of following our own temptations, the internal push to blame others and/or God becomes strong. It doesn’t help that blame-shifting feels good; it gets the monkey off my back – at least for a time. 

But like a bad addiction, blame-shifting needs to occur in a bigger dose, after a shorter duration of time. Before you know it, we’re caught in a destructive cycle. The temptation has enticed us and we have taken the bait.  Like a fish-eyed follower of evil, we succumb to the lust for ambition, revenge, sex, power, fame, or money.

Know the consequences of blaming others

Temptation, like a smooth operator, comes along and gives a slick pitch about how our troubles can be managed or taken away through blaming others, even God. Then, all of sudden, like a star-struck fan seeking to be satisfied, we take the bait and go to bed with the idea. 

We let sin’s temptation have its way with us. Now, it’s inside us. Like a fetus, the small sin grows within. Eventually, this pregnancy will come to full term. But instead of giving birth to life, there is the terrible agony of death.

Conclusion

Everyone struggles in some way with some sort of temptation. We don’t all wrestle with the same demons, but we’re all tempted in some manner. However, the cycle of guilt and separation from God can be broken. The glory of the gospel is that it breaks the power of sin.

So, hear the good news: 

Don’t let anyone fool you by using senseless arguments [blame-shifting]. These arguments may sound wise, but they are only human teachings. They come from the powers of this world and not from Christ… Christ has taken away your selfish desires… God let Christ make you alive when he forgave all our sins.

God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying. He took them away and nailed them to the cross. There Christ defeated all powers and forces… Now the forces of the universe don’t have any power over you….

Kill every selfish desire. Don’t be immoral or indecent or have evil thoughts. Don’t be greedy, which is the same as worshiping idols….  You must quit being angry, hateful, and evil. You must no longer say insulting or cruel things about others. And stop lying to each other. You have given up your old way of life with its habits….

God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient. Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you. Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.

Let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful. Let the message about Christ completely fill your lives, while you use all your wisdom to teach and instruct each other. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him. (Colossians 2:8-3:17, CEV)

Amen.