~The Challenge~

Over the last ten days we have been discussing the ten commandments laid out in Exodus 20.  I want to summarize something very important in this post, one I hope all of you will read and ponder.

Through going over these commandments, all of us have seen areas we have failed in.  Failed by doing, or by not doing something.  But, through all of this we may never reach the heart of the issue. Where will you spend your eternity? How can you know?

I personally do not know all of you who are reading this now.  But I honestly care about you and where you will spend eternity. I am pretty sure if I ask you if you would sell one of your eyes for a million dollars, you would say no. Why is that?

That is because your eye is precious to you. How much more precious is your soul?

One of the standards God has set for us are the Ten Commandments.  By looking at these we can see our true sin.  Have you ever told a lie?  Have you ever dishonored your parents?  The Bible says that whoever breaks one of his commandments is guilty of the whole (James 2:10). We are wretched sinners, and all deserve hell and damnation before God.

Nothing we can do will reconcile us to Him, neither will any amount of worship or promising you will never do it again. If you are in a court of law and you have stolen millions of dollars, you might appeal to the judge saying, “But judge, I promise I will never steal again, ever!” If you do that, he may feel compassionate towards you, but still, a just judge, had to sentence you according to what you have done.

Since we have established there is nothing we can do on our own to attain salvation, we need to look at Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. When He died on the cross, He took our sins upon Himself so that we could reconcile ourselves to God.

Mouthing a prayer and saying you are saved will not save you.  There are two things you must do to know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.  Repent and Trust.

Trusting in Jesus Christ includes faith. Believing in Him and what He has done on the Cross.

The other part is that you need genuine repentance. You are sorry you have broken God’s law and want forgiveness since there is absolutely nothing you can do on your own. If you then truly believe that Jesus died for your sins and is the Lord of your life, you will become a true born again Christian.

So let me challenge you all today.  If you have not already, repent, and trust in the Lord.  Through that, you will find the True Light, Jesus Christ, and make Him your Lord and Savior.

If you have any questions, the Dedicated Christian team will be happy to help in any way the Lord enables us.  Please email us at dedicatedchristians@gmail.com.

God Bless,
Matthew

"You shall not covet!"

Now, God was very specific when he wrote this commandment. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."

Now, if you are a human being, then you must be something that you want that someone else has. I have this problem constantly, and it's a difficult commandment to overcome. Here are a few pictures of the things I covet constantly.

The saying is true "The grass is greener on the other side"

Awesome cars~

Rich people with a ton a money.

Huge houses...

And more beautiful grass.

However I don't only covet tangible items. I also covet how people look or act. I wish I had muscles like the guy next to me in the gym. I wish I had the faith that Ray Comfort and Living Waters have. I wish for a lot of stuff but this commandment tells us not to.

Now, I'm not saying we can't wish for stuff...but don't wish you had something that someone else has. God will give it to you if He wants you to have it. But don't covet stuff in a way where you are doing it "religiously" ... meaning, don't constantly covet other people's things, everyday minute of your day.

The main purpose of life is to live for Jesus. We don't need anything else, we just need Him. That's it. Everything else will be destroyed later anyway! :-)

God bless!!
Josiah

You shall not lie.

“You shall not bare false witness against your neighbor.” Ex. 20:16

You probably have never been to court and false testified against your neighbor. So you should be in the clear on this commandment, right? Wrong! Basically, God was saying “Don’t lie!” Now, I know that you have lied, and if you say you haven’t, well, you just did.

In Colossians, Paul says that we have died to the world and are alive in Christ; we have put on the new man. We once walked in sin, but now we are saved in Jesus.

Col. 3:1-17 “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.

 8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

Here is something else to think about: Isaac Newton said that “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." That is the same with the actions that that we do, there a consequences for everything, either good, or bad.

The next time you are tempted to lie, remember what Christ wants you to do.

Matt  

Thou Shalt Not Steal

Thou shalt not steal. Exodus 20:13

I love it when God is short and sweet.  I don't really think there are any hidden meanings here, it's just what it says it is, no need to explain, so I won't. I'll just tell a story.  

I was chatting with my boss recently, we were talking about the retail business.  He said something that struck me.  "Show me someone who's worked in retail for over 5 years and I'll show you someone who's stolen, at least one, whether it's an entertainment center or a little jelly candy".  

By the world's standards, that's probably true.  As Christians, we should have a reputation of being honest, totally and immovably.  Working at a store everyday, I have to say, I've been tempted.  It's not like I want to go steal some high ticket item.  It's more like, "Ok, I just grabbed a water from the cooler, I have to remember to pay for it before I leave today".  It would just be so much easier to forget and leave, owing the store only ninety-nine cents, but still owing none the less.  Recently, we had a stealing indecent, where an expensive item was being taken on a continual basis.  Because of my reputation, I passed scrutiny and continue to work there as a respected employee.  Others were not so fortunate.

I don't know how or in what situations you're tempted in this, if at all, but just know, stealing is a sin, no matter how big or small the item is.  Being an upright person above reproach is just another way to show the world the light of Christ.

-Victoria 

          

You Shall not Commit Adultery

Exodus 20:14 states this:

"You shall not commit adultery."

Now I would guess most of you have not committed adultery during your lives.  But there are probably some of you who have never heard this verse in Matthew 5:27-28.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

This verse should jolt us all.  If we have so much as looked with lust at the opposite sex, we have committed adultery of the heart.  You may not think it is such a bad thing, but since we have broken God's law, it is.

It seems like something that cannot be controlled to an extent, but it can.  You should do things like quote scripture.  Todd Friel gave an analogy once that when we have a bad thought, one thing we can do is instead of the thought, picture Jesus hanging on the cross.  On the cross with blood pouring down His sides, paying for your sin.

There are some verses that talk about this concept I would like to share with you.  They are pretty self-explanatory, so I will post them without commentary.

"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." ~ Romans 13:14

"Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.  Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation." ~ 1 Peter 2:11-12

"Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life." ~ Proverbs 4:23

There is one more verse I would like to leave you all with today.  1 Corinthians 9:24-27:

"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?  Run in such a way that you may win.  Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.  Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified."

You can do anything with Christ, friend.  Strive for the goal!

Matthew

Thou Shalt Not Kill

My first thought when I read my commandment that I needed to write on was “Um, how do I relate with this?!” I’ve never murdered anyone!

However, my brother kindly reminded me of 1 John 3:15 “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.”

Have you ever hated any one? There have been a few times in my life where I have felt like lighting was going to strike me dead because I told myself that I hated someone.

So what is hate? What if I hate someone and I don’t realize I’m doing it? That would mean I am a murderer. The Webster’s Elementary School Dictionary’s definition of hate is: To dislike intently;detest; also, to dislike greatly; as, to hate to write. Hate, the general term, implies extreme aversion, especially with enmity or malice; detest suggests violent or intense antipathy¹ or dislike.

Two Latin words² for hatred are odium and invidia. Odium means hatred, dislike, displeasure, insolence. Invidia means envy, jealousy, ill-will; unpopularity.
I’m sure we have all felt envy and dislike at many moments of our lives. That means we have all hated; which means we are all murderers; which means that we are all guilty of the sixth commandment.

“ Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” Psalm 45:7 (KJV)

Hang on a second, David is clearly saying that God hates. Wouldn’t that make God a murderer? Nope. God is perfect and holy in all things. He hates with a righteous anger. He doesn’t hate people, He hates sin: two totally different things.

“For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.
Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? and am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?
I hate them with perfect hatred: I count them mine enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139: 20-24 (KJV)

In this Psalm David is saying that he hates whom God hates, with a perfect hatred. Did you know that perfect means complete-finished? Complete means (Again, I quote from the Webster’s Elementary School Dictionary): 1.Filled up; with no part lacking; completed; 2.Perfectly equipped or skilled; Syn. Entire, perfect, whole. One of the Latin forms³ of complete is iustus: just, fair; lawful, right; regular, proper.

So David is saying that his hatred is the “right” kind of hatred. He hate’s whom God hates, he loves whom God loves. Does that make David a murderer? In the last two verses in the above passage, David is asking God a parallel of this question. “If this is wrong, show me, and re-direct my thinking.”- is basically what he is saying.

Passing on the question of whether David was right in his hate or not, the point is is that we have all disobeyed the sixth commandment. Most likely we have disobeyed every other commandment on the list. We’ve failed. Before the Jesus came, the only way we could fix this is by taking an animal to the temple to atone for our sins. Unfortunately not everyone is Jewish, so what hope is there for us?

Hope came in the body of Jesus Christ. He took our sins, our hate, our envy, our lies, our jealousy, our doubt, our fear, our shame and put it on Himself when He was crucified. When we accept that fact, that freedom, that gift; it doesn’t matter who we have hated in the past, what matters is that we love them now. Even if they hate us instead. When our own strength falls short, we can put our failures at the feet of Jesus. He will pick up where we have left off… and carry us with Him.

Tirzah


1- Antipathy (Webster’s Elementary School Dictionary): Opposition or disagreement in feeling; aversion, repugnance.
2,3- Definitions from Collins’ Latin Concise Dictionary

Honor Your Parents

"Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Deuteronomy 5:16 KJV

Commandment #5, you're probably very familiar with this one.  Between Sunday school and VBS this one is pretty much hammered in good Christian kids' heads.  It's time for a fresh perspective.  Mostly, this verse is taken to mean "obey" you parents and while this is part of it, especially when you're a child, the Lord specifically uses the word "honor" here.  I am so glad I got to write about this commandment because I've been on a quest to find out what it means to honor a person.  To honor someone means to put them before you, to respect them, to put you, and how you feel, and what you want aside, and make a place for them.  So as a teen, young adult, or even full adult, we need to honor our parents, to pay them the respect they are due.  And if we do, God promises us a long and fruitful life.


As a young teenager, I may have obeyed my parents, but in my heart it was far from honor  no matter how good it looked on the outside.  Honor is a heart thing that comes out in your attitude.  I'm 19 years old now, and my parents don't "command" me or "make" me do things, they respect my age, but that doesn't mean I disregard their wisdom, or dishonor them by rebelling against the rules of the household that I still live under.

Honor your parents, if you're just doing what they tell you it's not enough, pray for a heart that is humble and willing to subject yourself to those in authority over you.  

-Victoria       

Keep the Sabbath Holy

Ex. 20:8-11 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. in it you shall do no work: you, nor your son nor your daughter, nor your male servent, nor your female servent, nor your cattle nor your stranger who is within your gates. for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and al the is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the lord blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it."

 In today’s world, it seems that Sunday has become another day for work. Businesses are now open on Sundays; people skip out on church to do yard work, and so on. Our culture has declined from the “Good Ol’ Days” in “Mayberry” where the people understood that the Sunday was a day to be reverent and spend in worship, both corporately and privately. In the 1800’s, church was an all-day event. You would arrive in the morning, get a break a noon for lunch and then came back to church and were there until dark. It was not an extra day to split wood, make hey or hunt, it was a day that the family was to rest and go to church.

God gave us 6 days to work and 1 to be set aside for worship of Him. Can’t we spare 1 day not to work? Can’t the choirs wait? Of course, this is not an excuse to not work. We are to be like Christ, doing our work on the 6 other days Christ made and then resting on the 7^th.   2 Thess. 3:10 says “For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”

This Sunday, remember that it is a day of rest and worship.

Matt

Don't Take the Name of the Lord in Vain!

Thou Shalt Not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain:

Deuteronomy 5:11 "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain."(KJV)

From the past few posts (and probably some of the future posts), I think that one (of the many common themes) is that these laws almost always seem "easy to keep" but Satan has a way of deceiving us. He makes it seem like we can do these things and break these commandments in a way that seems "okay", but is compromising our conscience and breaking Gods law. This commandment is no different!

When I started writing this post, me and my pride had me thinking that I had kept this commandment pretty well. I mean, I had never sworn or anything! But the more I thought about it the more I realized that swearing might not be exactly what this verse is talking about. Have I ever said things like, "God Bless You" (or something like that) when I don't really mean it? Do I ever talk about God in a way that is bringing me more glory than it will Him? I have always thought of this commandment as "do not swear", but I realize that it is saying more than just that! The new meaning that it has for me is it is also saying is that the Lords name is Holy and Sacred, and should NEVER be misused because of how holy and powerful it is!

The first thing that came to my mind when I started to write this post was a video I had seen a long time ago. It was about a man who's name was Sean and how when things where going wrong around him, people would say, "Oh, Sean!" and he would run to them and say, "What?"! the people would say, "I don't want you." and walk away. All through out his day, that kept on happening, and he got super frustrated! The "moral" of the story was that when you say the Lord's name, you are "calling" Him!

As many of you know (or have discovered by reading my blog) is that music is a big part of my life. So of course, I have to incorporate a song into this post. I was listening to the radio this morning and I heard a song called "Your Name". It would be too long to put it in this post, so I decided to just put the chorus in it. It goes like this:


Your name is a strong and mighty tower
Your name is a shelter like no other
Your name, let the nations sing it louder
'Cause nothing has the power to save
But Your Name


Thank's for reading!

God Bless,
Gracie

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

"You shall not make for yourself an idol"

“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments." ~ Exodus 20 4-6

The second commandment talks about worshipping other gods, and replacing the One True God. The word "idol" is seen in different lights. One way is in the terms of a famous person, such as in the popular show, American Idol. But the other way goes back to what Josiah said about the first commandment. Things such as television, music, internet, and even food... All of these can be things you put above God. Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary has several definitions of the word idol. I will post one of them:


"[An idol is] Any thing on which we set our affections; that to which we indulge an excessive and sinful attachment.


Little children, keep yourselves from idols. 1 John 5.


An idol is any thing which usurps the place of God in the hearts of [H]is rational creatures."

The last sentence is especially true. An idol is anything that usurps the place of God in the hearts of His rational creatures.

Look at the verse that is at the beginning of Exodus 20.

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery..."

The Lord is GOD! How dare we put things above Him in our lives? If we put anything above God, it is like saying that object is more important that He is in our lives.

"You shall not make for yourself an idol."

Matthew

"You shall have no other gods before Me."

I believe this commandment has a lot of arms and legs to it. First of all, God is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5), and He hates it when His creation follow false gods. Think about when the Israelites followed other gods instead of the One who saved them? Or King Solomon when he started worshipping other gods instead of the One who gave him wisdom!

The word "god" has several different meanings.

1.  The creator and ruler of the universe and source of all moral authority; the supreme being.

2. A superhuman being or spirit worshiped as having power over nature or human fortunes; a deity.

3. An image, idol, animal, or other object worshiped as divine or symbolizing a god

4. Used as a conventional personification of fate

• - he dialed the number and, the gods relenting, got through at once

5. An adored, admired, or influential person

• - he has little time for the fashion victims for whom he is a god

6.  A thing accorded the supreme importance appropriate to a god

               - don't make money your god

Now, for the second "arm and leg" look at the definition #6. The example they gave I thought was very interesting; "Don't make money your god." It's true, do you love something or feel more passionate about something other than God? If you live for food, games, TV, money or something like that then you may be putting that in higher importance than God.

I myself have had many problems with this in my life, and I have put worldly and man-made objects and entertainment before God.

Don't put other things in the place of God, instead, follow the Lord full-heartily, and believe that He is the only One to make you Whole!

God bless,

Josiah

The Ten Commandments

The Dedicated Christians team is working on writing TEN blog posts all about the ten commandments and what we think about them, and how they relate to us. This marathon of blog posts will begin next week on Sunday, the 24th!

Thank you so much for reading, and please, don't forget to write us at dedicatedchristians@gmail.com with questions or comments!!

God bless,
Josiah