Ten Commandments: Our Response

Chuckle: "To keep your marriage brimming with love in the loving cup, Whenever you're wrong, admit it. Whenever you are right, shut up." --Ogden Nash

Quote: "God created the world out of nothing, and as long as we are nothing, he can make something out of us." --Martin Luther

Then the Lord told Moses, "Go down and prepare the people for my visit. Purify them today and tomorrow, and have them wash their clothing. Be sure they are ready on the third day, for I will come down upon Mount Sinai as all the people watch" (Exodus 19:10 NLT).

God's commandments are a gift of love in an uncertain and dangerous world. He revealed his true character by giving us a covenant to live by. So, how should we respond to this amazing gift? We should prepare ourselves to hear Him. The Lord made an issue out of preparing the people to experience His presence and receive His commands. In other words, this encounter with God was going to require something of them -- an attitude that says, "OK God, I'm ready to listen to you." We need to get the clutter out of our lives: unconfessed sin, worry, possessions, pleasures, and responsibilities. In return for His love, we need to study, listen, learn, and obey.

One day a single friend asked a father, "Why do you love your children?" The father thought for a moment, but the only answer he could come up with was "because they are mine." The children had no need to do anything to prove themselves to this father. He took them just as they were. So it is with God's love for us. He loves us as we are, and it is his love that motivates us to trust and obey him in return.

Our response to God's unspeakable love is shown through our worship. When we meet God for worship, public or private, we should set aside the preoccupations and cares of everyday life, and use the precious time God gives us to prepare our hearts to meet Him, hear Him, and experience Him. We can do this by allowing Him to purify our hearts. "If we confess our sins (to him), he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9 NIV).

To worship God is to give back to Him the very best of all He has given us. Right now, there at your computer, have you given your life to Him through faith in Jesus Christ? If so, are you preparing your heart for the next encounter with our Lord? Before attending public worship, do you spend time in prayer asking God to prepare your heart and mind for worship? I pray that you know Christ as Savior and Lord, and I also pray you will experience His presence, hear Him speak, and find His joy on this special day that he has made (Psalm 118:24).

Love, Jerry & Dotse