The Seventh - Tenth Commandments

The Seventh Commandment

“Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
EXODUS 20:14

God commands us not to commit adultery. Jesus said if we lust after anyone, we commit adultery with them in our hearts (MATT. 5:28). Lust is strongly desiring a person or thing more than we desire God.

I’m guilty of lusting after another person, and only through trusting in God I can overcome all of my misplaced desires.

The Eighth Commandment

“Thou shalt not steal.”
EXODUS 20:15

God commands us not to steal. The value of the object we stole or “borrowed without asking” doesn’t matter. Whether it was a piece of fine art, or a paper clip, it still makes us a thief.

The Ten Commandments give us God‘s standard. Even if I take a penny from the richest man in the world, I need to repent. Without Jesus I would never meet this standard.

The Ninth Commandment

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
EXODUS 20:16

God commands us not to lie. In God’s eyes, there is never any reason or situation where it is best to lie. In the same way we only need to commit one murder to be a murderer, we only need to lie once, to be a liar. It doesn’t matter how “small” the lie is or how long it has been since we lied, God demands restitution.

I have lied many times, and each time nothing good has resulted from my lies.

The Tenth Commandment

“Thou shalt not covet…”
EXODUS 20:17

God commands us not to desire another person’s things. Not their house, not their spouse, nor their wealth, nor any thing that is theirs.

This commandment is very difficult to keep. The main point of advertising is to make us want what someone else has. I must pray diligently for God to make me content with what I have.

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
ROMANS 3:19, 20

This study has really challenged me. I have given examples of how someone who has been raised a Christian, in this case myself, can fail to meet these laws. Even if I was somehow able keep all but one of the commandments, the bible says it would be same as if I had broken them all (JAMES 2:10). I also recognize that time doesn’t forgive either, even if you live completely sinless for 70 years or more, you’ll be just as guilty now as you were the last time you sinned.

But the law can’t save; it just tells us we are guilty. The bible says the law is a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ (GAL. 3:24) and as Christians we are no longer under the law (ROM. 6:14). Jesus gave only two commandments in MARK 12:30, 31: “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”

“For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.”
ROMANS 2:13

The Third - Sixth Commandments

The Third Commandment

“Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain…”
EXODUS 20:7

God commands us not to use His name without reverence. When we use His name without some form of respectful fear, let alone as a curse word, we are using His name vainly.

Though I haven’t used God’s name as a curse word, I have used His name for frivolous requests, without even considering the fact I was talking to the creator of the universe.

The Forth Commandment

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
EXODUS 20:8

God commands us to set aside one day a week to reflect on Him. On that day, we should forget our worries and “Be still and know that I am God…” (PSALMS 46:10). Now someone’s way of being still may look like work to us, but that is between them and God.

I haven’t kept this one either. Forgetting God on Sunday, by going to church out of habit, not to worship Him.

The Fifth Commandment

“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”
EXODUS 20:12

God commands us to respect our parents so that we may have a long life. This is said to be the only commandment with promise. If we honor our father and mother, we’ll have a long life.

I’ve been guilty of disrespecting my parents, by being argumentative, not doing my chores or even just by doing them half-heartedly.

The Sixth Commandment

“Thou shalt not kill.”
EXODUS 20:13

God commands us not to murder. We think we would be safe from this one, but Jesus says if we are angry with someone for no reason, we are in danger of the judgment (MATT. 5:21, 22) and the bible says whoever hates another person is a murderer (1 JOHN 3:15).

Who can say they have kept this commandment. I certainly can’t. I have been angry at many people for no reason. I can say it makes me human, but God says it makes me a murderer.

"One man's bold step has shaken the world."

Hussain Andaryas said the publicity surrounding the Abdul Rahman case has resulted in a surge of interest in Christianity among Afghans.

Sunday, Afghan officials said that Rahman would likely be released soon while the case against him was examined further. Reports have said variously, that this is due to lack of evidence or doubts about Rahman’s sanity.

Andaryas said he understood from well-placed sources inside Afghanistan that Mr. Rahman is not insane. And of the possibility that Kabul may declare him mentally unfit to stand trial, he said it is simply a matter of politics, a convenient way to “get rid of shame.”

Andaryas runs a collection of Christian websites in Afghanistan's Dari-Persian tongue as well as daily radio programs and a weekly television program.

He is in daily contact with individuals in his homeland, and has been reporting for several years about the risks faced by Afghan Christians -- all converts from Islam and thus considered apostates worthy of death, according to Islamic law (shari'a).

He said the websites normally drew about 300 unique visitors every month, but since the Rahman story emerged had attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors.

The number of emails received also has risen enormously, and 13 people are now tasked with responding to them.

The majority of emails are negative and many are abusive, coming from Muslims who felt that Rahman and other apostates -- including Andaryas himself -- should be severely punished. But there also are many messages of support.

And then there are emails coming from Afghans wanting to know more about Christianity, asking where they can get a Bible in the Dari or Pashto language, or sharing the news that they had become believers in Jesus Christ.

Among the most stirring messages are those from Afghan Muslims marveling about a faith for which a man was willing to die and wanting to study the Bible further.

"I strongly believe God is using this situation for His glory," Andaryas said
"One man's bold step has shaken the world."

Read the article - here

Afghan Court Drops Case Against Christian

An Afghan court on Sunday dismissed a case against a man who converted from Islam to Christianity because of a lack of evidence and he will be released soon, officials said...

Read the rest of the article - here

What a wonderful answer to all our prayers!

I read this update on Unconformed.

The Ten Commandments

“…I did not know sin, but by the law…”
ROMANS 7:7

PSALM 19:7 says “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul.” According to this verse, the Ten Commandments are perfect and converts men’s souls from their sin.

Therefore the Ten Commandments are very important in evangelism. Paul says that if it wasn’t for the law, he wouldn’t have even known what sin was.

I find it interesting that the law, as important as it must be, isn’t preached very often. Maybe because it makes us uncomfortable, makes us look at the dark side we don’t want anyone to know about.

We should feel uncomfortable, we have all done wrong; we have all broken the commandments. Conscience means “with knowledge”, and everything we do, is done with our knowledge. When we are convicted by God’s law of what is wrong, we can only stand there speechless. There isn’t anything we can say against God’s perfect law, in no way can we justify ourselves.

The First Commandment

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me”
EXODUS 20:3

God commands us to put Him first in our lives. Jesus said we should love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength (MARK 12:30). To the point that our love for our parents, siblings, spouse, and even our own lives should seem like hatred when compared to the love we have for God (LUKE 14:26).

No one can say they’ve kept the first commandment. It’s impossible to do without God’s help. I don’t naturally love God or put him first in my life. Until I trusted in Jesus, I despised Him, even if it was subconscious.

The Second Commandment

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them…”
EXODUS 20:4,5

God commands us to not form our own god or worship any of His creation. This is similar to the first commandment, but different in that God tells us not to make a graven image and call it God. Graven means both, to engrave something, and to fix in the mind. So, a graven image can be an engraved, or carved, piece of stone, wood, ect., or an idea of what God does or is like, that we form in our head.

I am guilty of breaking this commandment too. Thinking God is like this, or that, allowing my imagination to form what I thought God should be, not what he is. We know what God is like from the bible and no place else.

Afghan Man Facing Death for Conversion

Afghani Abdul Rahman, 41, is facing the death penalty for violating an Islamic law that states you can’t convert from Islam to any other religion.
Mr. Rahman converted to Christianity while working for a Christian aid agency at the end of the 1980s and told the judge he had no regrets.

Mr. Rahman’s charges may get dropped on a claim of insanity. Though no journalists have been allowed to interview him, Zalmai, the chief prosecutor in the case said, “He doesn’t speak like normal people… We are delaying the next hearing for him to be examined by doctors to establish his sanity.”

Analysts in Kabul suggest that the Western-backed government of President Hamid Karzai is seeking to avoid the case producing a conviction.

The U.S., Italy and Germany, all donors towards Afghanistan’s reconstruction and contributors to the international force of 30,000 foreign troops based in the country, have criticized Afghanistan's charges against Mr. Rahman.

Something I would like to point out; Mr. Rahman is facing this sentence alone*.

This is a great encouragement for me. Though it is unlikely I will ever face death for my Christian belief in America, I am often the “odd one out” when it comes to many of the people I‘m around.

Being different is hard. With God’s help I can live the way He wants me to… Even unto death.

Please pray for Mr. Rahman, that God may be glorified.

*When I say alone, I mean the way humans view alone. Jesus is always with the Christian.

The Comets

“The heavens declare the glory of God…”
PSALM 19:1

Comets are balls of ice and dirt that usually orbit the sun in elliptical paths. They spend most of their time far away from the sun, but occasionally they come very close to it. Every time a comet comes near the sun, some of its icy material is blasted away by solar radiation. Because of this, comets can orbit the sun for only so long (around 100,000 years at most) before they run out of material.

Secular astronomers believe the solar system is 4.5 billion (4,500,000,000) years old. This conflicts with how long a comet is supposed to last (secular scientists believe comets are “left overs” from the big bang).

The number of comets we see, indicates that our solar system is less than 100,000 years old. To get around this problem, secular astronomers invented the idea of an “Oort cloud.” A supposed reservoir of icy masses orbiting far away from the sun. The idea is that occasionally, an icy mass falls into the inner solar system to become a “new” comet.

It is interesting that there is currently no evidence of an Oort cloud, and no reason to believe in one if we accept the creation account in Genesis.

“He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh…”
PSALM 2:4

Food for thought: Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine…”

An article in The Birmingham News, titled Laughter: Prescription for health, said, the latest medical evidence reveals that, “At some point during laughter, your body issues a prescription from the pharmacy in your brain.”

Proverbs is believed to have been written around 800 B.C., 2,800 years ago.

Blogger update

Though Blogger Support doesn't say anything about it, I think they have successfully fixed the problem. Study.Quiet is back on and all seems well.

Thanks to all of you who prayed for Blogger Support.

FYI: Blog Problems!

If you haven't already noticed, Blogger is having problems. Namely, some blogs can't be viewed.

Study.Quiet is one that's affected. Her blog has been temporally reduced to elegant wallpaper.
It's nice, but I'd rather see what Study.Quiet has to say.

Here is what Blogger says about the problems:

Blogger Status

Saturday, March 18, 2006

A clarification about the filer we restored yesterday: This machine is indeed up and functioning again, so the affected blogs are no longer entirely inaccessible. However, it is still not in great shape and we are in the process of moving all the data off of it and on to better machines. So over the next few days there may still be lingering and intermittent problems for some blogs. This includes the "forbidden" errors we're all getting tired of, as well as occasional publishing errors, or incompletely published pages. If you get an error viewing a blog, refreshing the page once or twice should clear it. For publishing problems, simply wait a few minutes and republish, and that should take care of it. Thanks for your patience while we work on clearing all this up.
Posted by Graham at 08:22 PST

Because no person truly understands computers (I believe they're not from this planet), I think we should all seriously pray for the technicians working to fix the problem, pray that their minds will be sharp, their fingers quick, and their takeout filling.

For more on Blogger's Status- click here

P.S. Although I tried to make this post humorous, please pray for Blogger Support.

P.P.S. If you don't believe computers are from another planet; open the view window in your toolbar and click on source. Try this on several web pages and see.

The Spiral Galaxies

“And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD…”
PSALM 89:5

A galaxy is an enormous (only about 588,000,000,000,000 [trillion] miles in size) assembly of stars, interstellar gas and dust. Our galaxy is called the Milky Way; it has over 100 billion (100,000,000,000) stars. Some galaxies are round or elliptical or even irregular in shape. But some of the most beautiful galaxies are spiral galaxies.

Spiral galaxies rotate slowly. The inner regions of the galaxy rotate faster than the outer, this means the galaxy is constantly becoming more and more twisted up as the spiral becomes tighter.

After a few hundred million years, the galaxy would be wound so tightly that the spiral would no longer be recognizable. According to the top evolutionary scenario, galaxies are supposed to be billions of years old. Yet there are a lot of spiral galaxies we can see. This suggests that they’re not as old as the secular scientists say. Which is consistent with the bible.

Spiral galaxies are just another problem for evolutionists and not a problem for those who believe what the bible says.

Food for thought: Ecclesiastes 1:6 “The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.”

The writer of Ecclesiastes says the wind travels in circuits. Our modern meteorologists and aerologists are just now discovering this.

Remember, Ecclesiastes is believed to have been written around 1000 B.C.

Brain Games

This is my daily devotion for today. It reminded me of the Rebelution’s post on Scripture memorization. Enjoy.

Brain Games

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” ROMANS 12:2

A saying among scientists who study the human brain is “Use it before you lose it.” We have the power to help keep our brain fit and working well. Dr. Lawrence Katz, a neurologist at Duke University, urges people to perform daily mental exercises such as brushing your teeth with the no dominant hand or taking a new route to work to help stimulate the brain and keep it healthy. The goal is to replace unthinking routine with fresh awareness and new focus.

There’s a lesson here for us as followers of Jesus Christ. Even the most valuable spiritual disciplines of bible reading and prayer can become so habitual that our minds are not fully engaged.

To avoid slipping into a spiritual rut, why not add Scripture memory to your daily devotional time? It’s a mental effort designed to produce spiritual change. The psalmist wrote, “Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (PSALM 119:11). Paul said, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (ROMANS 12:2).

It’s more than a brain game to memorize and meditate on the powerful word of God. ----David Mcasland

We must read Scripture every day
And meditate on what God said
To fight temptation from the world
And live a life that’s Spirit-led. ----Sper

Let God’s Word fill your memory, rule your heart, and guide your feet.

Regenerate our Culture launched!

The Magnetic Fields of the Planets

“By the word of the LORD were the heavens made…”
PSALM 33:6

Many of the planets of the solar system have strong magnetic fields, which are caused by electrical currents. These currents decay with time. Every year earth’s magnetic field, like all magnetic fields, gets weaker and weaker.

If the solar system was billions of years old, the magnetic fields of the planets should be very weak by now. Yet they are not. The outer planets, in particular, have very strong magnetic fields.

The secular scientist’s favorite explanation is the magnetic fields are reversing. There isn’t any evidence of this.
The most reasonable explanation is that the planets are only a few thousand years old, as the bible teaches.

Food for thought: Ecclesiastes 1:7 “All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.”

The writer of Ecclesiastes describes the water cycle… something that wasn’t known until Galileo in 1630.

In the water cycle, water is evaporated from the oceans and becomes clouds. Clouds rain or snow water onto the mountains. That water flows into rivers, which travel back to the oceans. Starting the process all over again.

Ecclesiastes is believed to have been written around 1000 B.C., 2,500 years before Galileo.

Regenerate Our Culture

Regenerate Our Culture is an organization with the goal of regenerating our nation’s worldview away from the post-modernism holding it and back to the Christian worldview it was first built on.

Edmund Burke famously said “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” - and this is the root of much of the evil in our culture today.

This can only be changed if Christians begin to speak out strongly for the Biblical worldview. Leadership includes dedicated bloggers such as AgentTim Online and Spunky Junior. If we truly want to change our culture, Christian bloggers need to begin working together for their common goal. In order to truly regenerate the culture for Christ, we’re going to have to team up.

Join now - Regenerate Our Culture.com

The Age of the Universe

“The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his
glory.”

PSALM 97:6

The bible even touches on the age of the universe. The bible tells us the world was created in 6 days. We know from the genealogies recorded in the bible, that the fall happened around 6,000 years ago.

Despite the bible’s reputation, many scientists and most textbooks teach that the bible is wrong. They say the earth is billions and billions of years old and usually hold to the Big Bang Theory. The big bang theory attempts to explain the origin of the universe without God. Those who believe this theory, usually assume it is true and interpret the evidence to match their belief. The evolutionists say the earth is about 4.5 billion years old.

The Recession of the Moon

As the moon orbits the earth, its gravity pulls on the earth’s oceans, causing tides. The tides actually pull forward on the moon, which causes the moon to gradually spiral outward. Because of this, the moon moves about one and a half inches away from the earth every year. That means the moon would have been closer to the earth in the past.

Based on the biblical timescale, this “spiraling away” of the moon isn’t a problem. Six thousand years ago, the moon would have been 800 feet closer. That is a minor change, considering the moon is now a quarter of a million (250,000) miles away.

Using the evolutionary timescale, there’s a problem. In this case, the moon would be touching the earth only 1.4 billion years ago. This suggests the moon can’t possibly be as old as secular astronomers claim.

Because of this problem, the secular scientists create other explanations for why they‘re right. Such as, maybe the moon hasn’t always moved away at the same rate, adding another assumption to their theory, which is full of assumptions. The simplest explanation is that the moon hasn’t been around for that long. Perfectly consistent with the biblical view of a young earth.

Food for thought: Leviticus 15:13 “… and bathe his flesh in running water”
God told the Israelites to wash infected flesh in running water. For centuries people washed their hands in a bowl water, spreading infection rapidly.

It wasn’t until the invention of the microscope and the work of Pasteur and Koch in the 1800’s, that doctors began washing under running water.

Leviticus is believed to be written around 1490 B.C. The difference between Pasteur and Koch and Leviticus is about 3000 years.

P.S. I have been reading a book called Accelerated
Distance Learning by Brad Voeller.

Has anyone heard of/used the Accelerated Distance Learning Method or been
to one of Brad Voeller’s seminars?

The Universe is Expanding

“It is he… that stretcheth out the heavens…”
ISAIAH 40:22

Here Isaiah says the heavens are being stretched. That is a strange thing to say. The heavens don’t look like they're being stretched. The night sky appears the same size today as it did yesterday. But, science has now shown that the universe is expanding as Isaiah said it was.

For many centuries scientists would have laughed at the idea that the universe was expanding, considering it nonsense. Even Einstein tried to create a mysterious, undetectable force to counteract the expansion of the universe that was predicted in one of his theories.

In the 1920’s, scientists said it appeared that the galaxies were moving apart. Around 700 B.C. Isaiah said it was a fact that the heavens were being stretched. That is only a 2,500 year difference.

Food for Thought: Psalm 8:8 (KJV) “… whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.”

Matthew Maury, a U.S. Naval officer, set out to locate these “paths of the seas.” He found that the oceans do have paths which flow through them. He became known as the “pathfinder of the seas“.

The Earth Floats in Space

“He… hangeth the earth on nothing.”
JOB 26:7 (KJV)

This verse sounds like God hung the earth on empty space in the same way we would hang a Christmas ornament on a tree. Although stated in a poetic way, it certainly indicates the earth floats in space.

Throughout the ages, secular scientists and pagan religious thinkers have said the earth is held up by everything from the gods to large elephants, turtles, and snakes. None of these theories are now considered science or truth.

Until now, no one could see the earth floating through space. Remember, Job lived 3,500 years ago. He couldn’t have objectively seen the earth “hangeth on nothing.”

Food for Thought: Proverbs 6:6,8 “Go to the ant… gathered her food in the harvest.”

Life’s Nature Library “The Insects” (p. 163) says of Proverbs 6: “One of the entomological puzzles of the last century concerned this observation by Solomon. There was no evidence that ants actually harvested grain. In 1871, however, a British naturalist showed that Solomon had been right after all…”