Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Living clear

Monday, March 9, 2009

Deuteronomy 9:7-8
Moses speaks to the Israelites: "From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious against the Lord. At Horeb you aroused the Lord's wrath so that he was angry enough to destroy you."

Luke 6:36-38
Jesus speaks to the Israelites: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."

Moses pleaded with God not to destroy his people, and God relented.

Jesus died so that the people would not be destroyed.

There is no doubt about God's mercy.

Moses returned from the mountain with God's Ten Commandments*, which show me how to shape my relationships with God and others.

Jesus promises that in his love God will bless me as I bless others. Mercy, acceptance, patience, forgiveness and generosity mark God's long-term relationship with me. Jesus insists those be the high marks of my life with others.

Every day I need the burst of energy I get from God's love. How can I live without it? How could I even begin to fulfill the "greatest" commandment: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself? This symbiosis - of God filling me up as I empty myself into the lives of others - gives my life structure, purpose and joy.

Moses and Jesus both knew firsthand of the failings God hated in his children. They chose not to condemn the people and begged God not to destroy them. I follow in their footsteps each time I give instead of take, forgive instead of seek revenge.

No matter how ugly and nasty and selfish someone might be toward me, there is no other way to be.

We your people, Lord, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

*In case it's been awhile, here is the text of the Ten Commandments from Deuteronomy 5:

1. You shall have no other gods before me.

2. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

4. Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

5. Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me (Moses).

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Living clear

Monday, March 9, 2009