Other peoples’ stuff

You shall not steal. (Exodus 20: 15 NIV)
My notes on Snell’s presentation on the eighth commandment says this:  Not just taking…also waste, negligence, violence, indifference.  Plundering the earth.  We are responsible for looking after God’s created world.  If we honor others, we honor their possession.  Remember poor.  Give.  Do not steal.  Give like Jesus. [...]

The Foundation of All Human Relationships, Part II

You shall not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)
When I wrote about my notes for the fifth commandments and entitled the post “The Foundation of Human Relationships”, I hadn’t looked ahead to my notes of Snell’s comments on adultery:     Let God be a part of the most fundamental of human relationships.  Our bodies don’t belong to us, [...]

Let it Go

You shall not murder. (Exodus 20:13, NIV)
From the previous commandment, we see that we must strive to honor all people. My margin notes from Snell’s video regarding the sixth commandment say this:   All human life is valuable. Resentment leads to hate which leads to murder. When we destroy life, we destroy God’s creation.  I am [...]

The Foundation of All Human Relationships

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12 NIV)
My notes from Snell:  A key to life.  Honor = to respect.  To give weight to something.  To focus on other.  To become open to other.  To give respect gives blessing.
It [...]

Disconnect to Connect

8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your [...]

Misrepresenting God

You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. (Exodus 20:7, NIV)
In reviewing my margin notes of Snell’s explanation of the third commandment, I remember how surprised I was at his interpretation:
Not merely refraining from bad language. Do not misrepresent God [...]

Having Access to God

Continued from yesterday–
The second commandment obviously flows from the first:
4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a [...]

No Authority in the World

In the last few posts, I’ve been writing about how reading God’s word frequently and eagerly teaches us obedience to God.  What exactly does that mean?  What are we to obey?   The world may laugh when I say that the Ten Commandments provide a complete pattern for the way of life we should live as [...]

The Abundant Life: Psalm 1:3

He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.  Whatever he does prospers.  Psalm 1:3  (NIV)
Embracing the scriptures in a holistic way — that is, through both the mind and the emotions — has bountiful consequences, as we can see from [...]

What a Delight: Psalm 1:2

Psalm 1:2
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
To continue from yesterday, we certainly run the risk of falling into a sinful lifestyle if we follow the ways of ungodly people.  The best way to defend against this is to take up frequent embrace [...]