Posted on

Day Five: “Full Circle”

Deuteronomy 5:6-7 (NIV)
6 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
7 “You shall have no other gods before me.

Deuteronomy 5:21 (NIV)
21 “You shall not covet…anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

“The climax of the Decalogue takes us to the heart of the matter, to the source of so much of what the previous commandments have prohibited…The inclusion of coveting shows that covenant loyalty in Israel went far deeper than external conformity to statute law. The God who claimed the people’s love also claimed the rest of their affections and desires. Thus the commandments come full circle. To break the tenth is to break the first. For covetousness means setting our hearts and affections on things that then take the place of God.” (Wright, UBCS)2

As our desires and worship are so closely tied, we are blessed to live within the circle of God’s loving boundaries that hold our hearts close to him. As we conclude the 10 Loving Words series that has blessed us so much, may our church continue to grow in devotion to the Lord our God, who brought us out of slavery and spoke over us these words of freedom.

Prayer: Lord, hold our hearts close to you and continue to form us as your people. Help us to grow in worship and desire for you and to glorify your name as we live within the blessing of your loving words to us.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “Soli Deo Gloria” by Darlene Zschech (click here).

-CWR

FacebooktwittermailFacebooktwittermail
Posted on

Day Four: “Transformed Desires”

Let’s proclaim these passages out loud:

Galations 5:13, 16, 22-24 (NIV)
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

“Yahweh liberated his son Israel, and he wants his son to live in freedom…These freedoms are achieved, however, only if the souls of Israel are free, free from evil desires and fixed on true riches…To be true sons, we need another Pentecost beyond Sinai, when the Spirit writes on human hearts.”

As those with the Spirit, we are truly free from the slavery of sin. Where the fruit of coveting is a life of grasping to fulfill misplaced desires, the fruit of the Spirit is a life of generous love. As we walk by the Spirit, God changes our desires to want what God wants, and to live chasing after that.

Prayer: Lord, thank you that your Spirit sets us free from our old desires. Help us to walk with the Spirit and bear the fruit of new desires to serve and love one another.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “Holding Nothing Back” by Jesus Culture (click here).

-CWR

FacebooktwittermailFacebooktwittermail
Posted on

Day Three: “Desire More”

Philipians 3:7-11  (NIV)
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him…10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

“There is a kind of discontent that is pleasing to God. This is the discontent of wanting all of God. The Bible describes this as hungering and thirsting after righteousness (Matthew 5:6), as the soul panting, fainting, and thirsting after God (Psalm 42:1, 2; 63:1), and as “straining forward to what lies ahead”(Philippians 3:13).” (Fernando, Preaching the Word)

God made us to desire good things. Desire is good. But rather than desire what we see other people have around us, we are called to want the only thing worthy of our desire – to know Christ more.

Prayer: Lord, I rejoice today as I consider the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. Fill my heart with desire to know Christ more, to be found in him each moment, and to become more like him.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “Build my Life” by Housefires (click here).

-CWR

FacebooktwittermailFacebooktwittermail
Posted on

Day Two: “The Secret”

Philipians 4:12-13  (NIV)
12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

“Scripture presents contentment as a spiritual secret. It is one dimension of happiness, which is itself the fruit of a relationship…Knowing the love of Christ is the one and only source from which true contentment ever flows…Look at Paul, a contented man if ever there was one. From prison he wrote, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content…” (Packer, Keeping the Ten Commandments)

It is not our situation that most affects how content we are. We all know people with plenty who are unhappy. It is not the situation, but who we go through it with that is the secret. In Christ we have found the treasure worth more than anything. Let’s pray today for ourselves and for a brother or sister God puts on your heart to experience Christ with them in every situation.

Prayer: Lord, thank you that in Christ we have all we need. Please strengthen and encourage us in the midst of our present situation today with the love of Christ.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “God, You’re So Good” by Passion (click here).

-CWR

FacebooktwittermailFacebooktwittermail
Posted on

Day One: “Value Contentment”

Deuteronomy 5:21 (NIV)
21 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Matthew 6:19 (NIV)
19 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“Put positively, ‘you shall not covet … anything that is your neighbor’s’ is a call to contentment with one’s lot. The contentment that the tenth commandment prescribes is the supreme safeguard against temptations to break commandments five to nine. The discontented man…sees other people as tools to use in order to feed his greed, but the contented man is as free…to concentrate on treating his neighbor rightly.” (Packer, Keeping the Ten Commandments)

We live in a world where desire for earthly treasure causes brokenness and destruction as people take from one another.  But this call to contentment sets the foundation for us to turn and live differently, and to bless others.

Prayer: Lord, search my heart and turn any desire for earthly treasure heavenward today. Help your people to live lives that are marked by contentment so we can keep your commands and point others to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship to “From Everlasting (Psalm 90)” by Sovereign Grace Music (click here).

-CWR

FacebooktwittermailFacebooktwittermail
Posted on

Day 5: Value Truth

John 14:6a NTFE
6 “I am the way,” replied Jesus, “and the truth and the life!

John 14:16-17, 20-21 NIV
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

John 14 speaks about a profound truth. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. When we value Jesus, we value truth. The more Jesus is in our life, the more truth we have in our minds, in our hearts, and in our daily living. This is possible because the Spirit of truth lives in us. Through the Holy Spirit, we have union with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. In this union, we are given spiritual understanding, knowing oneness and love with our triune God.

Prayer: Jesus, you are the way, the truth, and the life. Lead us deeper in knowing you more. Through the Spirit, may we grasp our union with you and know how much you love us. May this overflow from us. For your praise and glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship and sing to “In Over My Head” by Jenn Johnson (click here).

-AS

FacebooktwittermailFacebooktwittermail
Posted on

Day 4: Witnesses to the Truth

Deuteronomy 5:20 NIV
20 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

Colossians 3:9-10 NIV
9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

“Like the others, The Ninth Word is about Jesus, the true and faithful Witness. He speaks the truth during his life, arousing his enemies’ murderous rage. He speaks the truth to skeptical Pilate. As Witness, he summons us as witnesses who answer truthfully about the hope within us, the living Hope that is Jesus himself.”  (Peter J. Leithart. The Ten Commandments: A Guide to the Perfect Law of Liberty.)

We’re called to be witnesses to the truth and to give truthful testimony of who God is and who we are in Jesus Christ. The “new self” we put on is truthful and we are continually renewed as the image of our Creator. We are continually renewed in our call to bear his image to this world.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, may we be faithful witnesses to who you are. May we be living testimonies, shining the truth of your rescue and transformation in us. May we faithfully bear your image to this world. May many come to know you through the witness of our churches. All for your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship and sing to “Center” by Bethel Music, Abbie Gamboa (click here).

-AS

FacebooktwittermailFacebooktwittermail
Posted on

Day 3: Truth Sets Us Free and We Stay Free

John 8:31b-32, 34, 36 NTFE, NLT
“If you remain in my word,” he said, “you will truly be my disciples. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 

34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

John 4:23 NIV
23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

“John 8 shows that the problem goes deeper than careless speech. Jesus calls the devil ‘a liar and the father of lies.’ Behind the lies we tell are often lies we believe: ‘I must protect my image,’ ‘I cannot admit that I was wrong,’ ‘If people knew the truth about me, they would reject me,’ or ‘I can’t trust God with the consequences if the truth comes out.’ Lies promise protection and control, but they eventually enslave us.” (Adapted from P. Cory’s message write-up.)

God sent his Son to shine the light of his truth to expose the lies and deceptions of this world. Through Jesus, we are set free from the slavery of sin and are now children of the light. We are free indeed to live in God’s truth and to worship him.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, you have set us free. We are freed to worship you in the Spirit and in truth. May your words remain in us and take deep root, so we can stay free and live in the freedom you have given us through your life, death, and resurrection. May we shine the light of Christ to this world. For your praise and glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship and sing to “Psalm 139” by Shane and Shane (click here).

-AS

FacebooktwittermailFacebooktwittermail
Posted on

Day 2: Truth In Love

Ephesians 4:15-16 NTFE
15 Instead, we must speak the truth in love, and so grow up in everything into him—that is, into the Messiah, who is the head. 16 He supplies the growth that the whole body needs, linked as it is and held together by every joint which supports it, with each member doing its own proper work. Then the body builds itself up in love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

“The believers’ conduct, teaching, and declaration of unity must be grounded in the all-surpassing love of God in Christ. The promise is that as believers speak the truth in love, they will ‘grow’ into more faithful disciples and, together, into a more faithful church…The emphasis on unity here in Eph 4, echoes the insistence on the oneness of Christ’s body, one new humanity created by Christ’s reconciling work on the cross.”  (Lynn H. Cohick. The Letter to the Ephesians.)

We are to know God both in his truth and in his love. And we are to know and view one another both in God’s truth and in God’s love. As the church speaks the truth in love, the church will grow and be built up.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, may we know you in truth. Pour your love on us through the Holy Spirit. May we be speakers of truth in love to build up your church. As your people, may we display who you are to this world. For your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship and sing to “The Church” by Bethel Music, Jenn Johnson (click here).

– AS

FacebooktwittermailFacebooktwittermail
Posted on

Day 1: Truth from the Heart

Let us read these verses out loud:

Psalm 15:1-5 NIV
A psalm of David.
 
1 LORD, who may dwell in your sacred tent?
    Who may live on your holy mountain?
2 The one whose walk is blameless,
    who does what is righteous,
    who speaks the truth from their heart;
3 whose tongue utters no slander,
    who does no wrong to a neighbor,
    and casts no slur on others;
4 who despises a vile person
    but honors those who fear the LORD;
who keeps an oath even when it hurts,
    and does not change their mind;
5 who lends money to the poor without interest;
    who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
    will never be shaken.

Psalm 51:6 NIV
6 You desire truth in the inward being;
    therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

God desires truth to abide deep within our hearts and to speak truth from out of that heart. God blessed and transformed us from the inside out through his son, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit living within us is the Spirit of truth and he guides us to live in truthfulness every day. The gospel we have received is the gospel of truth and we share this with others.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we ask for a profound understanding of the gospel truth within our inmost being. Help us to live in all the blessings and healings we have “already” received in the here and now. May we live out this truth daily. May we share the gospel truth with others sincerely and genuinely from our hearts. For your praise and glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s worship and sing to “So Be It” by Elevation Worship, Tiffany Hudson & Chris Brown (click here).

-AS

FacebooktwittermailFacebooktwittermail