GOD SAID
Thou shall have no other Gods before me.
The world is full of people these days that put other things before God. It can be their possessions, power, prominence, money or many other things that cloud there view of what is truly important in life. Our fallen world is full of false lures that give many people an empty sense of security.
Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image.
Do we build or carve out meaningless images of worthless idols? God is the one and only. He is and always will be !!
Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
We are exposed to so many different type of people in a normal day that sometimes is it amazing how we are so day and night different. Although I don’t hear it as much as I used to, people still take the name of the Lord in vain. I don’t know if they are just unaware of the way they speak or they just don’t care.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Every Sunday morning on the way to church you can see people riding bicycles, shopping, eating out, working in the yard doing all sorts of things. Most of them however do not involve worshiping the Lord. There was a span in my life as to where I was away from the Lord, but he drew me back in. If I don’t get my Sunday and Wednesday worship time my week just don’t go as well. The Lord has a way of drawing people back to him. Trouble is, sometimes people have to go thru a lot on unnecessary pain and suffering before they realize that there way is just not working.
Honor thy father and thy mother.
In this lost world with a lot of totally lost people, how many times have we witnessed dishonor toward a mother and father from their own children. Sometimes it makes you want to ring there neck yourself. It starts at home!!! I don’t think a home filled with a lot of cussing, talking down, fussing and fighting is going to create a positive environment for any child. They act and learn on what they see at home, and if they learn disrespect at home they will give it back to you. Then probably pass it on down to their own kids. The 10 people on the FBI’S most wanted list probably wouldn’t be on the list if they were first wanted at home as children.
Thou shall not kill.
First off all , what about all of the thousands of unborn children that are killed at the abortion clinics around the world. One of the largest being in Houston, Texas. I can’t even begin to imagine how broken hearted our heavenly Father is about this. Murder may be legal in the eyes of the people who work at and go to the abortion clinics, but not in the eyes of the Lord. Do people honestly think that there will not be a price to pay for this?? You cannot turn on the television set without hearing about at least one murder a day, turn the channel and you will hear more.
Thou shall not commit adultery.
Well you have to stay married long enough first. Which in some cases a couple of days will qualify. People don’t make a firm God filled commitment anymore. Grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, right?? Not always, the grass may be dead especially if God is not involved. Funny thing is that everything God is involved in seems to flourish. Sometimes you have to stand back and look at other people to see how God is working in their lives. In some cases people learn after it’s to late. God and Love work hand in hand, you can’t have one without the other.
Thou shall not steal.
Crime is rampant, everywhere. There is not a town to big or small to be affected. People will rob and steal from you anywhere and anytime. They will shoot you for a dollar and shoot you cause you don’t have a dollar. The lawless thugs that are to lazy to work and earn there own way are everywhere. And somehow the environment we create in this country of letting people get away with everything does not one bit of good. Our government chooses to pay people not to work so we can work to pay them. Enough of that, I could go on for days about the current so called government.
Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Why is it that the human race cannot keep there mouth shut when they need to. Especially when the news that you spread will in someway hurt or discredit someone in some way. They cannot hold the news in!!
Words can be so hurtful and damaging to people and once they leave the lips it’s to late to take them back. We should be honest and creditable to our neighbor, and that is everyone.
Thou shall not covet thy neighbors house, thy neighbors wife or anything that is thy neighbors.
It could be called, keeping up with the Jones. Our neighbor gets a new car, we want a new car. Why do we want what other people have. We should be content with what God has blessed us with not what other people get. If you crave what other people have and give in, you will more than likely end up hopelessly in debt worrying about all of the things your neighbor has. Do you want the debt that comes along with it. Probably not!!! Thy shall not covet anything that someone else has, it will probably cause you much pain for the desires of others.

Do we live our lives with the humble dependence on God, knowing our lives could change in a monents notice ????

image reference; llerrah.com

G.Z.





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FAITH

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Faith in God does not make troubles disappear; it makes troubles appear less frightening because it puts them in the right perspective.Don't expect everyone to react favorably when you share something as dynamic as your Faith in Christ. Some people will be jealous,afraid,or threatened. Expect some negative reactions and remember that you must be more concerned about serving God than about the reaction of other people.

Many Christians become furstrated and defeated because their needs,wants expectations and demands are not immediately met when they believe in God. They become impatient and want to quit. Stand firm in courage and Faith and continue to believe. Material things should be among the least satisfying of rewards. Our best and greatest rewards await us in eternity.

Do you remember how you felt when you were very young and your birthday was approaching? Always excited and anxious. You knew that you would receive a gift or maybe even a surprise. Birthdays combine assurance and anticipation and so does Faith. When we believe that God will fulfill his promises even though we don't see those promises materializing yet, we demonstrate true Faith. We cannot have everything we pray for as if by magic, but with Faith , we can have everything we need to serve him. The attitude of trust and confidence that the Bible calls Belief or Faith is not something we can obtain without help. Faith is a gift from God. Faith is not stored away like money in the bank.Growing in Faith is a constant process of daily renewing our trust in Jesus.

Our Faith must go beyond what we believe, it must become a big part of what we do, resulting in spirtual maturity. Salvation does not depend on good deeds, but it will result in good deeds.

Trust God in every situation. There are eternal reasons for temporary trails, so be thankful that your destiny is in Gods hands, not human hands.

image reference; nestlings.wordpress.com

G.Z.

PAIN/SUFFERING

Every person sooner or later in the course of a lifetime will go through deep stinging pain and suffering. It can come at any point in ones life. When we go through these painful times they seem to be branded into our mind. There is something about going through those difficult times that always stay in our mind, they never go away. Losing someone in life is the hardest, deepest time of suffering that i think a person can go thru.

If we try to save our physical life from death, pain,or

discomfort, we may risk losing our true eternal life.If we protect ourselves from pain, we begin to die spiritually and emotionally.

Our lives turn inward, and we lose our intended purpose. When we give our lives in service to Christ, however, we discover the real purpose of living. My mother went into the hospital when i was 2 years old, even though i don't remember this, the pain started for me at a very young age. When i was 9 years old my mother passed away. I remember this event and the days to follow like it was yesterday. I had a tremendous amount of pain, suffering and loss and didn't know how to handle it. My aunts and grandmothers took me to church each and every Sunday, still i was lost. I had a great void in my life. When i was 18 years old my father passed away. Needless to say the part of my life that wasn't already crumbled quickly did so. Going from bad to worse is putting it mildly. I always had God in my heart, the problem is i wasn't listening to the things that were being told to me. People tend to find ways to deal with there pain and suffering that almost always make things much worse.

Sudden storms can appear over the surrounding mountains of our lives with little or no warning, stirring the waters into massive waves. When we truly understand who God is, however, we realize that he controls both the storms of nature and the storms of the troubled heart. We should never discount his power even in troubled times. He is always there waiting on us. he never gets weary. He knows more about pain and suffering than any of us.

Lord we know that you are always there in our pain and suffering, and sometimes we try to deal with it on our own. Help us not to continue to make that mistake.

image reference; avani-mehta.com

G.Z.