My Story Exodus 20

My Story

I grew up in the church in the 1970's and 80's. I also attended a rather strict Christian school. At the time my life seemed normal to me. I didn't know anything different. My church and school were pretty much my social circle. This environment that taught dancing, rock music and anything that the church might consider "worldly" was a sin. Tt was a lot like growing up in the movie FootLoose . There were a lot of scare tactics, and talk of curses and blessings. Going from the age of the proper 50's to the  wild and free 60's this how the Christian community dealt with unruly change. It was fairly typical for my generation of Christians, and because of it  a lot of people ran from the church feeling judged and scarred. This was also the generation of Rich Mullins, Amy Grant and Michael W Smith.  Things were changing, and a lot of people didn't like it, at all! On the flip side we knew all our Bible verses and could sing the books of the Bible for you in order at the drop of a hat. However our Bible knowledge did not translate to understanding and we tended to have difficulty relating to anyone outside our circle. We were taught to judge, exclude and expect to be punished if you made a mistake.

Life and reality have a way of bursting our young idealistic bubbles. Although many of my friends left the church angry and hurt, I was left feeling confused. To me my relationship with The Church and my relationship with God were not the same thing. The Bible verses I had memorized seem to sink in past the legalism and I was left with a lot of questions. I wasn't satisfied with walking away. When I started raising my own kids I did a lot of internal fighting. God in His wisdom brought amazing people into my life that taught me grace and a life free from judgment. I was also grateful that I could take the rich Bible teaching I had been given and translate it using the guide of truth of grace. The Bible was more than words to memorize, it started to come alive. It was rough going for many years. I had to think everything through all over and pray for guidance daily. Thank God that he answer and thank God for  good counselors!

I wanted my kids to choose to love God for who He is and not an image that was handed to them. I wanted them to want to follow Him because of His love and sacrifice for them, not because they were scared of what I or the church thought of them. I prayed that I could teach them  and live in a way that would bring the least amount of scarring in their lives. I also wanted them to have the freedom to make choices and learn from them. There needed to be a balance of decision based consequences, grace, order and love. I failed a lot. Parenting is not for the faint hearted. I figured if God could bring me through it, He could bring them through it as well. It's not all on my shoulders. The best I could do was be honest about the struggle and pray!
The grace, judgment pendulum did a lot of swinging during those years. However God continues to finish the work He began.

I love these verse in Matthew that show us the spirit behind the 10 commandments. We see God explaining that it isn’t what we do, but the reason that we do it, that makes all the difference.

Matthew 5:13-20

Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

The Fulfillment of the Law
¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ¹⁹ Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Here is where I am today;

 For me the fear of the Lord should still keep us from sinning, much like the fear of my dad coming home while I am having a forbidden party at the house would have scared me as a teenager. A good Father teaches his kids to live a life that will bring good results, not bad consequences. I love my Heavenly Father and want to do things that please Him, from its an attitude of gratefulness and healthy fear for a Father that sacrificed everything to save me.

We should look different than those around us, but the difference should be in how we love people. It should not be a set of rules that we keep that causes us to be prideful because we see ourselves as better than “those sinners”. On the other hand if we choose to be indulgent in the choices we make because we are not under the law we have to examine our hearts and ask “why am I doing what am doing?” “ Does  this make my Dad happy?”

Enjoy Exodus 20

²⁰ Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

Exodus 20 New International Version (NIV)

The Ten Commandments

20 And God spoke all these words:

² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

³ “You shall have no other gods before^[a] me.

⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. ⁵ 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 parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, ⁶ but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

⁷ “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ 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 male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

¹² “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³ “You shall not murder.

¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵ “You shall not steal.

¹⁶ “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

¹⁷ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

¹⁸ When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance ¹⁹ and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

²⁰ Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”

²¹ The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

Idols and Altars

²² Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: ²³ Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.

²⁴ “‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. ²⁵ If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. ²⁶ And do not go up to my altar on steps, or your private parts may be exposed.’