The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) weren't given to Moses just for God to lay out His supreme authority. God is God whether we choose to acknowledge Him or not. I think that He gave us those commandments to keep us as we give our children rules to keep them safe.

1. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," and 2. "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image...Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them..." -- The Lord is not made by man's hands, but He is our Creator. He is our loving Father, our Protector and Provider. Putting anything before Him roadblocks that protection and provision--just as I cannot keep my children under my wing unless they allow me to.

3. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain..." -- Works of vanity ultimately destroy our integrity, which in turn leaves us with an emptiness that we are ever-searching to fill.

4. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." -- A day of rest God provided for His people, to be renewed both physically and spiritually. Without this our bodies and souls deteriorate quickly.

5. "Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land..." -- Denying the position God gave our parents eventually damages our own hearts and destroys the strength of family in future generations.

6. "Thou shalt not kill," 7. "Thou shalt not commit adultery," 8. "Thou shalt not steal," 9. "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor," and 10. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet they neighbor's wife..." -- All of these acts emotionally damage us, they create mental torment, they cause us to deny our own self-worth, and they destroy relationships.

His love is so great that He wanted to protect us from all the disastrous "side effects" that sin carries on this earth, not to mention eternally. Yet the greatest commandments of all, by which the others are fulfilled:

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matt 22:37-40)

Catastrophe in Haiti

For such a catastrophe to occur in an already desperately impoverished area is so beyond my ability to even grasp the depths of the situation. I have, however, read some of the e-mails, blogs, tweets, etc. of Christian musicians & organizations that have been down there and continue to go through this with the Haitian people. I cannot encourage prayer enough for all those affected by this earthquake. I heard Michael W. Smith (Christian musician) on the radio a little while ago and he said: "Ten dollars is like a thousand bucks down there. We are pretty much rich compared to them." Families have been sleeping outside in the dirt for fear of another intense aftershock.

These people, these children who have so little already, have lost so much more. I am urging anyone who has a few extra dollars to take it and put it to work for God's kingdom--donate now to help bring emergency supplies, food, shelter, etc. to the affected areas. K-LOVE (http://klove.com/promodetails.aspx?i=5521) has a number of organizations listed that are in Haiti and bringing emergency supplies to the people now.

Below is an e-mail from Mark Stuart, lead singer of Audio Adrenaline, who's been in Haiti through this experience (taken from The Hands and Feet Project website):

Hi everyone....
Our internet is working finally. So I'm sending this to a few of you....
Everyone here is ok, but we are all very scared. The buildings held up great, but there are several houses right around us that have collapsed. Also, Hotel Cyvadier had major damage, while the brand new three story "peace of mind" hotel was demolished. Francine, one of our teenage nannies was in afternoon school and escaped while the building was collapsing around her because she was sitting by the door...however many of her classmates died yesterday. Many houses and and buildings have collapsed in Jacmel including the hospital. I know most of the news there is coming from PAP, but there is substantial loss of life here on the south coast. We need prayer for wisdom and strength. Its very chaotic here. We were able to buy diesel this morning and hopefully get more propane for cooking tomorrow. Last night was crazy...slept on the dirt in the center of the village...away from the buildings. Tonight we may venture back indoors, but that is yet to be decided. We go in and out to get necessities. The Haitian people are numb and sad to say very used to death, but this has created what seems to be a hypnotic state. I've never been in a situation were you feel SO helpless, fearful, and small. The tremors are coming again as i type this. Whoa!!!
Mark

Many of the websites listed also have current updates on what is going on and how they are able to get through this and help those in need.

K-LOVE How to Help Haiti site: http://klove.com/promodetails.aspx?i=5521

Another Good Read

Just finished reading Joshua and I feel so accomplished. Not just because I've made it through another book of the Bible in my journey, but because I've become that much more knowledgeable of the Lord--of His desires for us (to have all the good He has to offer), of His great strength and love that will carry us through what seem to be the toughest of battles.

Plus, one of my favorite scriptures is in the last chapter: "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Josh 24:15). I just want to shout everytime I hear it.

Every part of this scripture has such significance to me and the world in which we live.

• "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose this day whom ye will serve..." If it doesn't seem good to you to serve Jesus, then don't. But make that choice. The Lord wants your whole heart. No lukewarm, riding the fence.

• "...whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood..." is like turning back to where God has brought you from, forgetting all that He has done. He brought us up and out from wherever we were for a reason. Choose Him and fulfill all that He has called you to.

• "...or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell..." Don't be moved by all that comes at you from every direction. Society will have you worship this, that, and everything in between. It can never replace the one true God, no matter how much Satan tries.

Make the choice and stand...don't turn back or falter under pressure. The Lord has more than enough strength to carry you when your feet just don't feel like they can anymore.

As for me and my house, we WILL serve the Lord. Amen!