Follow the King

The third command is “Do not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain.” Somehow that command has been reduced to the prohibition of saying, “God d—n” or “Jesus Christ” when one is upset or unhappy. But if the name of God is Yahweh, if the Hebrew word for God is Elohim, and if the name Jesus would not be given for thousands of years—could that really be the intention of Yahweh by this third command...

If our sin is not shielded by the mercy of God, we will stand justly condemned in our guilt. We need His mercy. Jesus is our Mercy Seat.

The same God who will punish sin and is faithful to His Word became our Mediator. 

Testings reveal who and what we trust and treasure. As we learn to trust and treasure Jesus, we must teach the next generation to do the same.

Just as Yahweh tested Israel in the wilderness and in the Promised Land, we continue to be tested during times of need and times of plenty.  Are we passing or failing the test of recognizing our daily need for God, appreciating the material blessings of God, and treasuring the God of the blessings? 

Learning the biblical context and culture is crucial to understanding the original intent of the biblical authors.  From the Old Testament to the New, the dramatic storyline of Scripture teaches that the kingdom of God is still expanding little by little as the four corners of the world come under the reign of King Jesus.

"Love God" is the greatest command because God knows His love is the only perfect love we will ever experience—and we will only experience His perfect love when we express our imperfect love to Him.

The wilderness of barrenness often awakens our hearts to the place of fullness we have in Christ.

God does not command us to love Him so He receives our love. God commands us to love Him so we are open to receiving His.

Following Jesus means living like Jesus—and the longer we follow Jesus, the greater our desire to know Him will grow.