So often we focus only on the commandments given to Moses we overlook the other commandments God gives us across the Bible to different other people. The devil deceives us saying “It doesn’t say commandment so you don’t have to obey it”. But when we don’t have a choice but to obey it, it becomes a command. As we go through a few of them, let us live up to it.
Do not judge others. In Mathew we read that God will judge us with the same measure with which we judged others. So often we pass judgment on others so easily. In Romans 2:1-4, Paul tells us that we are no better than the other person. We do the same sins. But it becomes more prominent when someone else does it and we easily condemn them. When God can forgive and accept us though we have sinned beyond measure, why can’t we forgive and accept our fellow beings and strive to have the character of God. God taught me this lesson recently. I always used to drive my dad’s car. When I drove I never used to allow anyone cross the road, I would just honk my way through, and get angry of anyone tried to even cross the road. I used to feel that I was on the upper hand-driving a car- while others were walking. I was getting used to this kind of life. Then came the day when my husband and I moved to another country and we did not have a car then. We had to walk most of the time. Though most of the cars stopped for pedestrians there were a few which did not .There were cars which used to zoom past without allowing us to cross the road, and I used to think ‘these people are driving a car and we are walking and they don’t have the courtesy to wait for us to cross and they are such rash drivers’. God reminded the many times I zoomed when I used to drive. Only then I realized how pedestrians feel. This is what we do so many times. This may not sound spiritual but small incidences like this teach us life’s lesson.
Do not worry. Jesus has said in very plain words in Phi 4:6 “Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.” Worrying causes many diseases. So why worry when God wants to give you anything you ask Him in His name? Though we can say that God is the one who has brought us this far, we worry about small things. I have heard people say “what will happen if my car fails?” Isn’t it easier to think that nothing will happen to my car, than think something is going to go wrong with it? Many people live in the ‘what if’ world. Sometimes ‘Worry, worry, worry’ is all we can do. As the song goes “why worry when you can pray”, our only solution to problems, needs and questions is prayer. Nahum 1:7 says “The LORD is good; he protects his people in times of trouble; he takes care of those who turn to him”. We worry if God is going to protect us. We just need to turn to him for his protection.
Do not stay angry all day. Paul tells in Ephesians 4:26, 27 “Be angry, and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the Devil". Paul means to tell us to be angry for the right things but we should not sin with our anger. We curse, use abusive words, hold bitterness and do not forgive in our anger. Some of us don’t speak to our spouse or children or friends for days together because of our anger. Paul urges us to solve our conflicts before we go to bed. Our anger, sorrow should be over in the night for a brand new day, new morning, and new mercies.
Be Holy. God said in 1 Peter 1:16 "Be holy because I am holy". We need to lead a holy life. No one is perfect. Jesus came for sinners. If we say we are perfect we say we don’t want him. But ultimately we need God. He is the reason for our existence. Paul very clearly tells in his letter to the Church of Galatia (chapter 5), about the qualities we should not have to inherit the kingdom of God. Even if we have one of such character we are not qualified to be in His kingdom because it makes us unholy. We may not commit murder, we may not commit adultery, but we commit sins which we feel is too small to be counted. Sin has no place in the sight of God. Sin is sin. There is no “big sin” or “small sin”. So often we take it for granted saying that it is human nature. Sometimes we say ‘it is genetic, we can’t change’. Remember, God is our strength. He will give us the grace to change. We have to surrender to him and tell Him “God I can not do it on my own, you need to help me, you need to take away my negative thinking, my rage, hatred, selfishness and replace it with love, kindness, self-less-ness, patience, peace, joy and goodness” .
Forgive. Un-forgiveness hinders our prayer life (Mark 11:25). We need to forgive anyone who has wronged us, before we come to pray. Mat 6:15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done”. We are sinners too. Don’t we want God to forgive us our sins? We say the Lord’s Prayer from memory and don’t mean what we pray. We say” Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”. But do we forgive those who sin against us? Mathew 18:23-35 talks about the king forgiving the slave but the slave did not forgive his debtor. So the king takes away the slave’s blessing and puts him in prison. God will do the same to us if we don’t forgive like how He forgave us. We will lose our blessings. We need to forgive from the bottom of our hearts. If we hold to un-forgiveness, are we at peace? The devil has an upper hand when we are tormented by not forgiving (2Corinthians 2:10, 11). We are making the devil happy by not forgiving. Do we want to do that? Jesus says we need to forgive seventy times seven. (Mathew 18:21).Now don’t calculate that. It just means that we should forgive always without a count.
Love. God showed us his love giving us His only son to die for us. When the love of God flows through us, forgiveness, self-denial, care, kindness, patience and acceptance of fellow-men follows. Love your neighbors, your enemies, and your wife. Love the way God loved us. Above all, love God.
Do not judge others. In Mathew we read that God will judge us with the same measure with which we judged others. So often we pass judgment on others so easily. In Romans 2:1-4, Paul tells us that we are no better than the other person. We do the same sins. But it becomes more prominent when someone else does it and we easily condemn them. When God can forgive and accept us though we have sinned beyond measure, why can’t we forgive and accept our fellow beings and strive to have the character of God. God taught me this lesson recently. I always used to drive my dad’s car. When I drove I never used to allow anyone cross the road, I would just honk my way through, and get angry of anyone tried to even cross the road. I used to feel that I was on the upper hand-driving a car- while others were walking. I was getting used to this kind of life. Then came the day when my husband and I moved to another country and we did not have a car then. We had to walk most of the time. Though most of the cars stopped for pedestrians there were a few which did not .There were cars which used to zoom past without allowing us to cross the road, and I used to think ‘these people are driving a car and we are walking and they don’t have the courtesy to wait for us to cross and they are such rash drivers’. God reminded the many times I zoomed when I used to drive. Only then I realized how pedestrians feel. This is what we do so many times. This may not sound spiritual but small incidences like this teach us life’s lesson.
Do not worry. Jesus has said in very plain words in Phi 4:6 “Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.” Worrying causes many diseases. So why worry when God wants to give you anything you ask Him in His name? Though we can say that God is the one who has brought us this far, we worry about small things. I have heard people say “what will happen if my car fails?” Isn’t it easier to think that nothing will happen to my car, than think something is going to go wrong with it? Many people live in the ‘what if’ world. Sometimes ‘Worry, worry, worry’ is all we can do. As the song goes “why worry when you can pray”, our only solution to problems, needs and questions is prayer. Nahum 1:7 says “The LORD is good; he protects his people in times of trouble; he takes care of those who turn to him”. We worry if God is going to protect us. We just need to turn to him for his protection.
Do not stay angry all day. Paul tells in Ephesians 4:26, 27 “Be angry, and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the Devil". Paul means to tell us to be angry for the right things but we should not sin with our anger. We curse, use abusive words, hold bitterness and do not forgive in our anger. Some of us don’t speak to our spouse or children or friends for days together because of our anger. Paul urges us to solve our conflicts before we go to bed. Our anger, sorrow should be over in the night for a brand new day, new morning, and new mercies.
Be Holy. God said in 1 Peter 1:16 "Be holy because I am holy". We need to lead a holy life. No one is perfect. Jesus came for sinners. If we say we are perfect we say we don’t want him. But ultimately we need God. He is the reason for our existence. Paul very clearly tells in his letter to the Church of Galatia (chapter 5), about the qualities we should not have to inherit the kingdom of God. Even if we have one of such character we are not qualified to be in His kingdom because it makes us unholy. We may not commit murder, we may not commit adultery, but we commit sins which we feel is too small to be counted. Sin has no place in the sight of God. Sin is sin. There is no “big sin” or “small sin”. So often we take it for granted saying that it is human nature. Sometimes we say ‘it is genetic, we can’t change’. Remember, God is our strength. He will give us the grace to change. We have to surrender to him and tell Him “God I can not do it on my own, you need to help me, you need to take away my negative thinking, my rage, hatred, selfishness and replace it with love, kindness, self-less-ness, patience, peace, joy and goodness” .
Forgive. Un-forgiveness hinders our prayer life (Mark 11:25). We need to forgive anyone who has wronged us, before we come to pray. Mat 6:15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done”. We are sinners too. Don’t we want God to forgive us our sins? We say the Lord’s Prayer from memory and don’t mean what we pray. We say” Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”. But do we forgive those who sin against us? Mathew 18:23-35 talks about the king forgiving the slave but the slave did not forgive his debtor. So the king takes away the slave’s blessing and puts him in prison. God will do the same to us if we don’t forgive like how He forgave us. We will lose our blessings. We need to forgive from the bottom of our hearts. If we hold to un-forgiveness, are we at peace? The devil has an upper hand when we are tormented by not forgiving (2Corinthians 2:10, 11). We are making the devil happy by not forgiving. Do we want to do that? Jesus says we need to forgive seventy times seven. (Mathew 18:21).Now don’t calculate that. It just means that we should forgive always without a count.
Love. God showed us his love giving us His only son to die for us. When the love of God flows through us, forgiveness, self-denial, care, kindness, patience and acceptance of fellow-men follows. Love your neighbors, your enemies, and your wife. Love the way God loved us. Above all, love God.
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