Testing

Exodus 20

Then God spoke all these words, saying:

"I AM the LORD your GOD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

You shall have no other gods before Me.

You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your GOD, am a jealous GOD, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate ME, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love ME and keep MY commandments.

You shall not take the name of the LORD your GOD in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes HIS name in vain.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your GOD; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LROD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your GOD gives you.

You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

Repeated again for the next generation in Deuteronomy 5

Moses repeated the Ten Commandments exactly, word for word.

verse 8: "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth."

"...or any likeness..."

I was wrong to steal the picture and use it on my facebook profile. I was wrong to justify it in my own mind that we are to reflect Christ. Yes, I need to remember that Christ sees everything and knows everything...and to watch my words. But, it is wrong to pretend to be Christ in any form. The "Heaven is for Real" book is wonderful, and powerful, and God is using their test and trials in amazing ways.

Yes, I am tired of the sweet, syrupy hymns about Jesus. Jesus is not pale and enemic. And if He wanted us to know what He looks like, He would have made it known. The way He appears in the future in the Book of Revelation is of a Perfect Man with snow white hair. And we will recognize Him. (see Revelation 1:12-20)

I want to remember what our Pastor pointed out in the Abraham story in Genesis 22:1

"Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham..."

Abraham was not told he was being tested. We are. And we will be tested, too.

Throughout the story of Moses, in the book of Exodus, God gives Moses many signs, words of encouragement, warnings that things will not go smoothly with Pharoah, but God tells Moses that He will turn the cursings to blessings when "...under compulsion he will let them go, and under compulsion he will drive them out of his land." (Exodus 6:1)

This is so encouraging to me today as our country is facing such tests. I hope and pray that God use them to turn us back to Him. And that our Christian leaders, lean on God, stand up for what is right, and when they are attacked by the press or by the nutjobs, or by the far right or far left, that they remember WHO is in control.

I confess that I have been confused by some of the candidates. One old man seems so bitter, strange, isolationistic and yet has this almost messiahistic following---yet he is evil in that he is against Israel, and anti-Christian, and anti-anything having to do with God and God's standards. I pray God reveal this man's evil in the light of day so that Christians are not confused. And I pray God keep me from apathy, and indifference. And help me focus on what is important.