Month: March 2009

Hello Everyone,

Well, I knew this day would come… the last of the 10 Commandments, # 10. Can you  believe time has progressed so fast? I mean, it is Spring already! Whoa! I think next week I will have a summary discussion and also perhaps an idea of what topic we’ll cover next.

Recall, I asked if anyone had any suggestions. I was thinking the last 10 weeks might have stirred some thoughts. I mean, I have no problems coming up with things to talk about concerning the Bible. But I love to speak about what is on other people’s hearts too.

We’re private now… And though I have tried to lead an online Bible discussion here, I certainly want you all to bring stuff up. What more worthwhile activity is there other than understanding and comprehending what our Maker has said?  I like to search the
scriptures and arrive at the truth. You know, if an issue comes up… what does the Bible say about it? If it has not been obvious… now you know… that is my gig here; The truth, whatever may come! Okay, so the 10 Commandments have been our teacher lately. And let’s look at the last one.

Exodus 20:17
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

Basically we are not to covet. We should avoid covetousness in all its forms. Put another way, a covetous person is thinking in a way that Almighty God forbids. Don’t forget that Jesus brought God’s law to bear on our inner thoughts and desires, intentions and motives too. What we think and desire on the inside is fair game to God! And covetousness is really one of those dangerous inner sins that can manifest yucky ugly fruit on the outside.

So what is coveting? Basically it is a strong longing to have what another has. Merriam-Webster states:

intransitive verb : to feel inordinate desire for what belongs to another

Now to desire something is okay. It is normal. Desire is a trait common to all of us. Just like wanting something. My stomach is empty, I will want to eat. I desire to teach my kids good manners and I miss my friends so I want to be with them.

So when does normal wants and desires turn to coveting? Here is when we get into the dark recesses of our inner beings… we covet when we don’t have and wish we did in a self-centered way, in a greedy way, in a discontented and thankless way.

You have heard the phrase “The grass is greener on the other side.”, and it very may well be. But does it bother you? Does that grass on the other side make you look at your own grass and be disappointed with it? This is like keeping score and thinking you’re losing and
being either angry, depressed, apathetic or resentful. You think you deserve the greener grass yet you don’t have it. You don’t have it, someone else does.

Eons ago, I would have occasion to play gigs in rock and roll bands. I thought I was so cool. I felt I played pretty skillfully on the drums or bass guitar or whatever. Usually we were the opening band. We would draw a few people to watch us play. Then after we  finished and the next band was setting up, more and more people would arrive…
(attractive girls also)… and I would take notice.

Then once the headliner band played, I would hear and realize that were not very good. It was their persona that was attracting the crowds. The singer was either good looking or a circus act to watch, the drummer had a two-foot high Mohawk, the bass-player had a wall of booming top-brand amplifiers with a gazillion rack effects, and so on and so forth. It was pure image. The music (to me) was lame. I would make fun of them and pick out things to criticize about them to show how much of a poser they were. Soon I would walk away in disgust at their act.

But really I was bitter and resentful. Why? I was coveting the adoration they received from the crowd. I wanted the pretty girls to flock to see me play. I wanted to guys to see how cool I was. But they didn’t. Pretty silly of me, huh? You know, once in a while I still can
sense an urge to criticize Bruce Springsteen’s singing when I hear a certain song of his on the radio. But that thinking is really prideful, because I used to think I can sing better than him. So self- centered.

Think of some ugly fruit of covetousness… Someone who key-scratches your shiny new car. You have it, they don’t. Oh think of someone stealing something from you. They saw, they came, they took. Guys, pornography feeds your coveting of what you aren’t getting what you think you need to be content. Gals, being a little too familiar with men who aren’t your husband feeds your coveting of attention you aren’t getting what you think you need to be content. And the ever common, “If I can’t have her, you can’t have her either… boom”. Just think of this: Who wasn’t God and wanted to be?

So, how could we not covet what our neighbor has, and never long for anything they might have, but rather can be happy for them? We could possibly be this way if we were  contented with our own things. Generally speaking, a contented person is thankful. A contented person can be satisfied despite the Joneses new “his and her” Porsches.

Likewise, love is contented. A Christian knows a permanent type of contentment because they know they don’t deserve anything, but that everything they do have is a gift from God, right down to their very breath. Let us see and learn from Paul’s example:

Philippians 4:11b
…I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

Just reading the life of Paul in Acts and his epistles will indicate he had a supernatural capacity to be content. What was his secret? You’ll have to read Romans 8:28, ha!

Read it yet? How awesome is that?! Thank you Jesus!

Peace,
Jim

Good Morning!

Hope all is well with everyone. Consider sharing what’s going on with you. Don’t forget, there’s caring folk here at ASYGR. Make your prayer requests known. And also consider putting forth some questions about the faith/ Bible/ theology. We’re just about done with our 10 Commandments study…

Today we cover the 9th Commandment:

Exodus 20:16
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

What comes to mind when you read and think about this command from the Lord? For me, the word “bear” jumps out. I think of “bear one another’s burdens”, I think of “I just couldn’t bear it any longer” and I hope you all can “bear with me” for a little while longer, ha!

To bear… what does it really mean? In the context, I would suggest that Merriam’s dictionary definition # 3 is pretty suitable:

3
a: to support the weight of : SUSTAIN
b: to accept or allow oneself to be subjected to especially without giving way <couldn’t bear the pain> <I can’t bear seeing you cry>
c: to call for as suitable or essential <it bears watching>
d: to hold above, on top, or aloft
e: to admit of : ALLOW
f: ASSUME , ACCEPT

So let’s plug that in to the command to see how it reads:

You shall not [support, accept or allow] false witness against your neighbor.

The other word that jumps out at me is the word “neighbor”. Who’s your neighbor? Joe and Sally next door? Well yes, but not only them. Your neighbor happens to be anyone you are around. We all have a “sphere” in which we live. Our presence in various circumstances constitutes our “sphere”. Just think of your fellow man or woman.

You want to know how I’ve come to regard the word “neighbor”? They are anyone who I see/ take notice/ come across/ think about/ know/ work with/ and love. Don’t you think this is true too? Perhaps you have other categories of “neighbor” you’d like to share.

Let plug that in again and see how it reads:

You shall not [support, accept or allow] false witness against your [annoying co-worker]. Ha!

Now the last part that jumps out at me is the phrase “false witness”. Okay, false is opposite of truth and witness is some person in court. Oops, I mean witness is evidence, telling of something true… yoo hoo, oh Merriam…

1: attestation of a fact or event : TESTIMONY

You shall not [support, accept or allow] [untrue][attestation of facts] against your [fellow grocery shopper].

Notice an implication in this command, namely that we’ve got to already know what is true and what is false about our neighbor.

“But Jim, what if I don’t know?”

Ahh… this is where a higher principle must be deferred to:

Leviticus 19:18b
…You shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

I love how God utterly covers any and all bases real and imagined!!! Hallelujah! It always comes to love. Love, love, love, love, love!

Lying is not loving, gossip is not loving, not defending someone who is being slandered is not loving, and if we don’t know the truth from the false, then we fall back on love, not assumptions. If I love this fellow neighbor of mine, then I am going to want what’s best for them. See how this works?

And since I am pumped up on the thought of lovingkindness right now, let’s see how the 9th Commandment speaks to us in terms of love…

We shall not bear false witness because love is truthful.

It is such a blessing to know the truth. All sorts of pain (theirs and our own) can be avoided when we deal with people in truth. I know sometimes the truth hurts, but what I mean is dealing in truth is being straight up with people in a loving and kind and considerate
way. The truth is like a shining light. Truth is something solid that people can stand on. Integrity is built on truth. People are comforted by honesty. To come across a clear and honest and truthful and straight up, non-ambiguous person is a real delight! They can be counted on. I am sure you all can relate.

But probably the biggest benefit (humanly speaking) is that cultivating and living in truthfulness unburdens our own conscience. And a clear conscience, rightly informed by the word of God in truth is a treasure worth preserving at all costs.

1st John 3:21
Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.

Confidence toward Almighty God… let that sink in 😉

Peace,
Jim

Hola Amigos y Amigas,

Well, first off I want to apologize for my tardiness on this week’s discussion on the 10 Commandments. As I am certainly blessed with time at work to write, I chose to put together some stuff on last week’s 7th commandment discussion, which pushed this week’s discussion to today. Anyhow…

We’ve been looking at the 10 Commandments to see how they might teach us about God’s moral truths and how they speak to our own condition. I’ve also tried to put them in terms of love, for the commandments really are profound, more than just a “thou shall not”.

And so now let’s look at and consider the 8th commandment:

Exodus 20:15
You shall not steal.

Now stealing is acquiring someone else’s stuff dishonestly. You all know about stealing. I would guess most (if not all) of us have experienced firsthand both sides of stealing; Someone stealing something from us and Us stealing something from someone.

I’ll say it first- I have had many things stolen from me AND admittedly, I have stolen many things from others. And I know I’m not alone in this. So then, going with the assumption we all know about stealing, let’s think about it a little deeper.

I think there are various forms of stealing and I think there are various ways of stealing. There’s direct stealing and indirect stealing. There’s blatantly open stealing and subtle secret stealing. There’s informed stealing and ignorant stealing. I mean, just think about what you may learn from the news around you… A bank was robbed, a car was jacked, an adult was mugged, a child was kidnapped, a fund was embezzled, a price was fixed, a report was plagiarized, a resume was padded, a name was slandered and on and on and on. Wow!

And I think how we regard stealing initially comes from how we were raised by our parents, then how we were influenced by our peers and ultimately how our conscience comes to regard it.

Okay so, in just thinking about it…the command is so simple to understand. Don’t steal. I mean it just flat-out says it. Don’t steal. The real question is what constitutes stealing? Ohhh… ha ha. We know what stealing is, but then we ask: Are they really stealing or am I really stealing? See? There’s that apparent loophole, there’s that technicality.

Why is this? Why do we ask “Is that really stealing?”?

Watch this: If you are loving toward your fellow man, you wouldn’t steal from him/ her would you? Why not? Because you are seeking their best, not your best. You want them to have what they have and do not seek to take it. Why would no thought of stealing come to mind? Because you are contented with what you already have.

A fleshly example: This is kinda funny. My own kids are more willing to share when they have had enough. This is kind of a low-level way to look at this, but if my son has had all the cookies he could possibly eat and his belly is full of cookies, I can assure you he would have no desire to steal a single cookie off his sister’s plate. He is not greedy at that point, ha ha. He is content.

Here’s an amazing reality: In the love and assurance that comes from God, a believer can be contented while having nothing. This spiritual contentment washes away that inner thief. The apostle Paul comes to mind…

Philippians 4:11b-13
…I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

(I can’t help myself…) And what may possibly be Paul’s secret?

Acts 9:1-2
Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he (Saul) found any belonging to The Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Then…

Acts 9:19b-20
…Now for several days he (Saul) was with the disciples who were at Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

Woah! Paul was this Saul. His conversion completely changed him from the inside out! If you read acts, you’ll see God taking care of him without fail. Jesus Christ was his reason for contentment. And to complete the thought…  I would suggest well-contented folk do not go
around stealing other people’s stuff.

At this point, I wish to bring up something current to our day and age. Several years ago, I became more and more convicted in my mind that I was stealing. Yep! How? With my access to computer-related stuff, I was able to get copies of the then-latest and greatest versions of software. I got games, Windows, Office, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, you name it! I thought to myself that there was no way I was going to pay $800 for Photoshop. I thought who’s going to care if I install it on my home PC. No one’s going to miss it. I wasn’t making copies to sell like those pirates, just using it for myself. And I was a Napster fiend! Great googlie-mooglie. But you know… I got all that for free. I didn’t pay for it, but someone did.

In our digital age, getting stuff like that online and for free is so easy; we can pay no thought (or dollars) to it. Back then I thought like the herd mentality.. my little hard drive is amongst millions and millions. What I have is really insignificant. This past viewpoint of mine was a 3rd person perspective. I had to come to a 1st person perspective… I have thousands of dollars worth of stuff here, my bank account would be smaller had I paid for it out of my pocket. I wasn’t content to save my money and buy it.. I had to have right then!

Does anyone else have a story like this to share? Have you been shown something you used to do was really stealing? Please share if you are willing. Let us be content and not knowingly transgress the 8^th commandment.

Peace,
Jim

Hiya Peeps,

I first just want to thank you all for letting me conduct an online Bible study, so to speak, here on the group list. I feel at times I may be preaching to the choir, but I feel compelled to share some of my thoughts on scripture.

It’s kinda like discovering an awesome Italian café where the absolute best lasagna is served; I’ve just got to tell you about it. You may have already been there, or you may not like lasagna so much, but that lasagna is sooo good it would be a crime to not say anything to anyone about it. And no matter how many times I go and eat there, I leave the table ecstatic over learning new things each time… that the pasta noodles were hand made one week, and then learning that the wheat that the pasta is made from is imported from the Tuscany region of Italy the following week, and then learning that the farm where the wheat is grown is managed by a 6th generation farmer named Giovanni who cultivated a strain of wheat originally grown in Palestine… and so on and so forth. All this is not even mentioning the sauce… oh so divine, rich and delightful that fantasies of the heirloom tomatoes and  foot-pressed olive oil and … such recognition and appreciation of that lasagna is how I feel about God’s word. So each week, I am hoping to share the deeper things… like the fennel mingled meats… let us savor to see…

And by way of reminder, we’ve been looking at God’s word to see what we can learn about ourselves in light of His holiness. These 10 Commandments can teach us about our sins. And it should be coming clear that the law demands obedience, but all of us have disobeyed. In other words, if you really are honest with yourself, you (we all) have violated God’s law. And as this next command illustrates, there are the statements, but then there are also the spiritual standards behind the commands.

Exodus 20:14
You shall not commit adultery.

From Merriam-Webster’s dictionary:
Adultery: voluntary sexual intercourse between a married man and someone other than his wife or between a married woman and someone other than her husband;

So this is not too hard to understand… If you’re married, you are to be faithful to your spouse. The hard part is when we take it inside ourselves. Jesus explains the real standard to us during His Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 5:27-32
You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. It was also said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.” But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

So obviously this standard from Christ is elevated way beyond any external act. It goes to our thoughts and intents. Ouch! If I am honest with myself, then I must admit I have broken this command many times in my lifetime. How?

Looking at women with lustful intent. I would go so far to say most guys have violated this lofty standard Jesus set forth. I would also say guys in general have a tougher time with this because we are wired to be visually aware of our surroundings. And here in America, the culture is rife with sex appeal in media, print, Internet, the mall and everywhere in between. Not to induce a pity party, but us guys really have to guard our eyes and hearts lest we succumb to temptations to fantasize. Have you heard the phrase, “She doesn’t leave much for the imagination?” Guys are pretty good at filling in the missing pieces with our minds.

And I would say women are not immune either. Just observe when your imaginations and fantasies run wild. Romance novels, Hospital soap operas, longing for an understanding man who cherishes you while your husband is right next to you.

When we married men and women look to other sources of sexual satisfaction other than our spouse, we enter a minefield full of sin. Something is not right in the marriage when this happens. The best antidote to sexual sins I have found in my own experience is cultivating a Christ-centered life. That speaks to the spiritual side… the practical side is stop, literally put away whatever is not Christ honoring. For example, I avoid “potentially hazardous” circumstances. (My TV watching has really plummeted over the last few years) The other good thing to recognize is that Almighty God sees and knows everything you do and think. Woah!!

Going back to Jesus’ explanation, what about divorce? Jesus talks about divorce in the context of talking about adultery. Why? Well divorce where sexual immorality is not involved is illegitimate. And assuming the illegitimately divorced couple marries other people, they commit adultery in the eyes of God because the first marriage is still binding.

But you know something else? Believers, true believers are admonished to never divorce.

The Apostle Paul writes:
1st Corinthians 7:10-11 To the married I give this charge (Not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.

And if you continue to read verses 12 thru 16 you’ll see that believers may have their spouses divorce and/ or leave them. Yet, they themselves should not divorce because a believer’s holiness is a means of godly influence to their unsaved spouse and children. And if the unbelieving spouse leaves, then the marriage bond is broken and the believer is free to remarry.

In short God hates divorce. It was never His plan for people to divorce. His plan for marriage  goes way back to Adam and Eve:

Genesis 2:24:
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

And the marriage covenant remains until the husband or wife dies (Romans 7:2)

I guess that’s why they say “choose wisely”, ha!

And what of the unmarried? The Single? The Widowed?

Look back to 1st Corinthians 7:8-9:
To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

So use either self-control to manage or marriage to fulfill your passions.

Now in terms of love, what does the 7th Commandment imply? That love is pure. Pure means undefiled, without spot or blemish.

What would be a spot or blemish in our pureness of love toward others? Wrong motives. Selfish motives. Unforgiveness. Bitterness. Sins unbecoming of saints. Hypocrisy is another biggy!

Ah but don’t forget, whatever the muck the Lord finds you in, you can be washed and made clean and pure as the wind driven snow. Thanks be to God! It is absolutely true that when God transforms you, the things of the world (what the world loves) becomes more and more offensive to you, because you recognize they are in opposition to Him. Things that tied and trapped you become loosed, freeing you to love more and more like Christ loved others. You can’t really be pure on your own, but His Spirit in you makes it possible. With God, anything is possible, right??

Comments/ questions encouraged.

Peace,
Jim

Hi Gang,

First off, I must reassure you that I am drinking coffee right now… my 2nd pot of Aldi’s brand of Kona. Whether it is really Kona, I suppose I shall never know. But it is delightful nonetheless. *Sip*… ahhhh 😉 And what a nice hot drink for a snowy day!

Today I want to discuss the 6th commandment given to Moses. And when I say discuss, I suppose I mean to say that I give my estimation, what I believe to be true. And you all either add your points or your opinions or challenges or whatever…okay…

Exodus 20:13
You shall not murder.

Pretty easy huh? But get this right off the bat; the word used is murder, not kill. Not too long ago (Last Thanksgiving) I had a debate about this with one of my friends who grew up going to Catholic churches. And the Catholic versions of Bibles use the word “kill”. The word “kill” is too broad. The manner/ method/ motivation is ambiguous. However, the word “murder” is used (coming from the Hebrew) and is more specific. It involves a sense of injustice.

If the word was “kill”, then Almighty God Himself would have violated His own command many times in the Bible. But the Hebrew word is “murder”. And just as a footnote reminder… what is right and wrong is determined by God, not man’s opinion. Agreed? 😉

Jesus helps us to understand this command on a deeper level.

Matthew 5:21-22
You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment”. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, “You fool!” will be liable to the hell of fire.

When you think about murder, perhaps you think of someone who devised a plan and carried out the act. Where was that plan devised? Not at the local diner, silly! But initially in that person’s mind. What do you suppose would cause a person’s thoughts to be postal? That person may have been angry, shouting insults like “You fool! Do you think I would never find out??”

Perhaps a famous football player learned his wife was cheating on him… would he be happy? No… he would likely be super duper angry. And suppose someone was angry from childhood… bitterness, resentment, more and more leading to a seething with rage. This is not too far from “murderous” thoughts. In fact, Jesus is saying that the attitude of anger, or the seed of anger finds its ultimate culmination in murder, if left unchecked or removed by the grace of God.

This is why such 11’o-clock news bits that say “An SUV killed 3 people when it drove on the sidewalk” or “An innocent bystander was killed by an AK-47 on South Street last night” are really misstating the reality. Both an SUV and an AK-47 are inanimate objects that need an
operator… a person to make it go.

So thinking “I wish they were dead” is a serious deal to God. In fact, I would even say that anything other than righteous indignation is not good. A bitter and resentful attitude is really a cancer to the spirit. Trust me on this! If you find yourself unwilling to be forgiving towards others, you need to sit yourself down and get to the bottom of why not. In my many such “sit-downs” with myself, I realized my pride was the culprit. My ego had been wounded. Certain people were indebted to me, and I would not give them any stimulus money 😉 But in the end, I knew I had to forgive them and let it go.

Have you experience the same thing in your life? Would you like to share your story?

And this leads me to the other point to be made…

In terms of love… the 6th command is showing us that we are to be humane… compassionate, considerate, etc.

Just think of it this way… If someone deliberately hurts you, consider their standing before God. If they were able to do what they did, could they have done that in good standing before God? Probably not. Therefore, we should pray for them, that God would stir their hearts to be kind and compassionate and sensitive to others.

Jesus said
Matthew 5:44 “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”

So lastly, if all this is true, how do you think the 6th command applies to Capital punishment or on the battlefield??

Comments and questions encouraged!

Peace,
Jim