Hear the word of the Lord:
Mark 12:28-34
One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?"
Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
Then the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that 'he is one, and besides him there is no other'; and 'to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,' and 'to love one's neighbor as oneself,' --this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." After that no one dared to ask him any question.
Showing posts with label commandment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commandment. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Hear, O Israel ...
Hear the word of the Lord:
Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Now this is the commandment--the statutes and the ordinances--that the LORD your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children and your children's children, may fear the LORD your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long.
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Now this is the commandment--the statutes and the ordinances--that the LORD your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children and your children's children, may fear the LORD your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long.
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Eternal inheritance ...
Hear the word of the Lord:
Mark 10:17-31
As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'"
He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"
And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible."
Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age--houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions--and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."
Mark 10:17-31
As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'"
He said to him, "Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!"
And the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
They were greatly astounded and said to one another, "Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said, "For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible."
Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age--houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions--and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Making wise the simple ...
Hear the word of the Lord:
The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them;
and nothing is hid from its heat.
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;
the decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can detect their errors?
Clear me from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from the insolent;
do not let them have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalm 19
The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them;
and nothing is hid from its heat.
The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;
the decrees of the LORD are sure, making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can detect their errors?
Clear me from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from the insolent;
do not let them have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalm 19
Saturday, October 25, 2008
A choice for the day ...
There is a decision that awaits our boys. It appears to be difficult, but actually it is the path to peace,
Both within the heart of an individual, and the heart of a community.
It is a decision that we who are older have made, yet, in a way, on that we renew every day.
It is the choice to walk with God, or not.
Hear the words of Moses:
Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away.
It is not in heaven, that you should say, "Who will go up to heaven for us,
and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?"
Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us,
and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?"
No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.
See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.
If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today,
by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances,
then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.
But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them,
I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.
Choose life so that you and your descendants may live,
loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him;
for that means life to you and length of days,
so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors,
to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Deuteronomy 30:11-20 - NRSV
May your day be blessed,
Ron
Both within the heart of an individual, and the heart of a community.
It is a decision that we who are older have made, yet, in a way, on that we renew every day.
It is the choice to walk with God, or not.
Hear the words of Moses:
Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away.
It is not in heaven, that you should say, "Who will go up to heaven for us,
and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?"
Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us,
and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?"
No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.
See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity.
If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today,
by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances,
then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.
But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them,
I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.
Choose life so that you and your descendants may live,
loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him;
for that means life to you and length of days,
so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors,
to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Deuteronomy 30:11-20 - NRSV
May your day be blessed,
Ron
Friday, July 18, 2008
Not by bread alone
Today, simply a scripture. As you read these instructions of Moses to the Israelites, meditate on how they apply to your life today. The Israelites were about to make a transition from the wilderness to the land of plenty, but still there were enemies to fight and land to conquer. Consider the lessons about bread and prosperity, as well as remembrance and thankfulness contained in this passage:
Keep and live out the entire commandment that I'm commanding you today so that you'll live and prosper and enter and own the land that God promised to your ancestors. Remember every road that God led you on for those forty years in the wilderness, pushing you to your limits, testing you so that he would know what you were made of, whether you would keep his commandments or not. He put you through hard times. He made you go hungry. Then he fed you with manna, something neither you nor your parents knew anything about, so you would learn that men and women don't live by bread only; we live by every word that comes from God's mouth. Your clothes didn't wear out and your feet didn't blister those forty years. You learned deep in your heart that God disciplines you in the same ways a father disciplines his child.
So it's paramount that you keep the commandments of God, your God, walk down the roads he shows you and reverently respect him. God is about to bring you into a good land, a land with brooks and rivers, springs and lakes, streams out of the hills and through the valleys. It's a land of wheat and barley, of vines and figs and pomegranates, of olives, oil, and honey. It's land where you'll never go hungry - always food on the table and a roof over your head. It's a land where you'll get iron out of rocks and mine copper from the hills.
After a meal, satisfied, bless God, your God, for the good land he has given you.
Make sure you don't forget God, your God, by not keeping his commandments, his rules and regulations that I command you today Make sure that when you eat and are satisfied, build pleasant houses and settle in, see your herds and flocks flourish and more and more money come in, watch your standard of living going up and up - make sure you don't become so full of yourself and your things that you forget God, your God,
the God who delivered you from Egyptian slavery;
the God who led you through that huge and fearsome wilderness,
those desolate, arid badlands crawling with fiery snakes and scorpions;
the God who gave you water gushing from hard rock;
the God who gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never heard of, in order to give you a taste of the hard life, to test you so that you would be prepared to live well in the days ahead of you.
If you start thinking to yourselves, "I did all this. And all by myself. I'm rich. It's all mine!" - well, think again. Remember that God, your God, gave you the strength to produce all this wealth so as to confirm the covenant that he promised to your ancestors - as it is today.
If you forget, forget God, your God, and start taking up with other gods, serving and worshiping them, I'm on record right now as giving you firm warning: that will be the end of you; I mean it - destruction. You'll go to your doom - the same as the nations God is destroying before you; doom because you wouldn't obey the Voice of God, your God.
Deuternomy 8 (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
Grace and peace,
Ron
Keep and live out the entire commandment that I'm commanding you today so that you'll live and prosper and enter and own the land that God promised to your ancestors. Remember every road that God led you on for those forty years in the wilderness, pushing you to your limits, testing you so that he would know what you were made of, whether you would keep his commandments or not. He put you through hard times. He made you go hungry. Then he fed you with manna, something neither you nor your parents knew anything about, so you would learn that men and women don't live by bread only; we live by every word that comes from God's mouth. Your clothes didn't wear out and your feet didn't blister those forty years. You learned deep in your heart that God disciplines you in the same ways a father disciplines his child.
So it's paramount that you keep the commandments of God, your God, walk down the roads he shows you and reverently respect him. God is about to bring you into a good land, a land with brooks and rivers, springs and lakes, streams out of the hills and through the valleys. It's a land of wheat and barley, of vines and figs and pomegranates, of olives, oil, and honey. It's land where you'll never go hungry - always food on the table and a roof over your head. It's a land where you'll get iron out of rocks and mine copper from the hills.
After a meal, satisfied, bless God, your God, for the good land he has given you.
Make sure you don't forget God, your God, by not keeping his commandments, his rules and regulations that I command you today Make sure that when you eat and are satisfied, build pleasant houses and settle in, see your herds and flocks flourish and more and more money come in, watch your standard of living going up and up - make sure you don't become so full of yourself and your things that you forget God, your God,
the God who delivered you from Egyptian slavery;
the God who led you through that huge and fearsome wilderness,
those desolate, arid badlands crawling with fiery snakes and scorpions;
the God who gave you water gushing from hard rock;
the God who gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never heard of, in order to give you a taste of the hard life, to test you so that you would be prepared to live well in the days ahead of you.
If you start thinking to yourselves, "I did all this. And all by myself. I'm rich. It's all mine!" - well, think again. Remember that God, your God, gave you the strength to produce all this wealth so as to confirm the covenant that he promised to your ancestors - as it is today.
If you forget, forget God, your God, and start taking up with other gods, serving and worshiping them, I'm on record right now as giving you firm warning: that will be the end of you; I mean it - destruction. You'll go to your doom - the same as the nations God is destroying before you; doom because you wouldn't obey the Voice of God, your God.
Deuternomy 8 (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
Grace and peace,
Ron
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Making joy complete
Greg ends the week with these thoughts:
This week we have identified the joy in knowing God's power and knowing that he is mighty to save, the joy in God's forgiveness of our sins and remaking of our hearts, and the joy of God the fixer, who restores us and makes us whole. These all represent joy that is derived from what God does; God is powerful, God transforms, God restores. Today let's ask, "Is there any joy that comes from what we do?"
But to give me the power to displease you, or to set a sin before your face, which you infinitely hate, to profane Eternity, or to defile your works, is more stupendous than all these. What else could you intend by it but that I might infinitely please you? And having the power of pleasing or displeasing, might please you and myself infinitely, in being pleasing! Thus you have prepared a new fountain and torrent of joys greater than all that went before, seated us in the throne of God, made us your companions, endued us with a power more dreadful to ourselves, that we might live in sublime and incomprehensible blessedness forevermore. For the satisfaction of our goodness is the most sovereign delight of which we are capable. And that by our own actions we should be well pleasing to you, is the greatest happiness nature can contain. O you who are infinitely delightful to human beings, make me, and all humans, infinitely delightful to you. Replenish our actions with amiableness and beauty, that they may be answerable to yours, and like yours in sweetness and value. That as you in all your works are pleasing to us, we in all our works may be so to you; our own actions as they are pleasing to you being an offspring of pleasures sweeter than all.
- adapted from Thomas Traherne
Perhaps the greatest joy available to humanity is the joy of pleasing God. This joy is how God's transformation of our hearts and restoration of our souls work themselves out. This joy is the perpetual, enduring, ever-renewable joy of lives lived in God's will. This is what we are made for! What greater joy can there be than the fulfillment of doing and being what we are made for?
"As the Father has loved me,
so I have loved you.
Now remain in my love.
If you obey my commands,
you will remain in my love,
just as I have obeyed my Father's commands
and remain in his love.
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and that your joy may be complete.
- John 15:9-12
Obeying God's commands, and remaining in his love, makes our joy complete! The fact that we can please God is cause for joy, because it gives us hope of a deeper bond with him and it represents his plan for us. Joy can surprise; it can come at us from many different directions. One of the most unfiltered joys of all is the joy is living out God's call. Let's pray for joy.
O God,
God of joy
we pray that you give us your joy
Help us to rejoice in your might,
and your power to overcome our sins and circumstances
Show us joy as you wash away our sin
and form within us something new,
your kind of person
Let joy rush through us as you make us whole again
let us dance when you restore to what you made us to be
Above all, help us to multiply these joys in our lives
Grant us grace to live out these joys,
and so to attain the joy of pleasing you
may the sacrifice of our lives be a pleasing aroma to you
and let us dance and sing,
living in your light.
Amen
This week we have identified the joy in knowing God's power and knowing that he is mighty to save, the joy in God's forgiveness of our sins and remaking of our hearts, and the joy of God the fixer, who restores us and makes us whole. These all represent joy that is derived from what God does; God is powerful, God transforms, God restores. Today let's ask, "Is there any joy that comes from what we do?"
But to give me the power to displease you, or to set a sin before your face, which you infinitely hate, to profane Eternity, or to defile your works, is more stupendous than all these. What else could you intend by it but that I might infinitely please you? And having the power of pleasing or displeasing, might please you and myself infinitely, in being pleasing! Thus you have prepared a new fountain and torrent of joys greater than all that went before, seated us in the throne of God, made us your companions, endued us with a power more dreadful to ourselves, that we might live in sublime and incomprehensible blessedness forevermore. For the satisfaction of our goodness is the most sovereign delight of which we are capable. And that by our own actions we should be well pleasing to you, is the greatest happiness nature can contain. O you who are infinitely delightful to human beings, make me, and all humans, infinitely delightful to you. Replenish our actions with amiableness and beauty, that they may be answerable to yours, and like yours in sweetness and value. That as you in all your works are pleasing to us, we in all our works may be so to you; our own actions as they are pleasing to you being an offspring of pleasures sweeter than all.
- adapted from Thomas Traherne
Perhaps the greatest joy available to humanity is the joy of pleasing God. This joy is how God's transformation of our hearts and restoration of our souls work themselves out. This joy is the perpetual, enduring, ever-renewable joy of lives lived in God's will. This is what we are made for! What greater joy can there be than the fulfillment of doing and being what we are made for?
"As the Father has loved me,
so I have loved you.
Now remain in my love.
If you obey my commands,
you will remain in my love,
just as I have obeyed my Father's commands
and remain in his love.
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and that your joy may be complete.
- John 15:9-12
Obeying God's commands, and remaining in his love, makes our joy complete! The fact that we can please God is cause for joy, because it gives us hope of a deeper bond with him and it represents his plan for us. Joy can surprise; it can come at us from many different directions. One of the most unfiltered joys of all is the joy is living out God's call. Let's pray for joy.
O God,
God of joy
we pray that you give us your joy
Help us to rejoice in your might,
and your power to overcome our sins and circumstances
Show us joy as you wash away our sin
and form within us something new,
your kind of person
Let joy rush through us as you make us whole again
let us dance when you restore to what you made us to be
Above all, help us to multiply these joys in our lives
Grant us grace to live out these joys,
and so to attain the joy of pleasing you
may the sacrifice of our lives be a pleasing aroma to you
and let us dance and sing,
living in your light.
Amen
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