Devotional - September 6, 2023

Scripture: Exodus 20: 1-2 And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

I'd like to begin by thanking you all for some time off.  It was much needed.  Also, a big thank you goes out to Rev. Clyde Powell for stepping in and providing devotionals while I was away.  I am a big fan of devotionals.  They briefly address a topic and then leave us to ponder it.  Personal time with God is necessary.  It is during our devotions, our time of meditation, that we can express our hearts to God and devotionals are an invitation to do just that.  I thought we would take a few months and meditate on the Law, the Ten Commandments which are sometimes called the Decalogue, or the Mosaic Law.  It is important to see when it is presented to us in the Bible.  It is in the book of Exodus, not Genesis.  In Genesis, God is made known through the revelation of God's name and the ways in which God relates to God's creation.  In doing so, we learn something about God's character.  Before God gives instruction, God gives us time to get to know the Instructor.  God has been there for the people of God through thick and thin.  Yet, God continued to be faithful.  When you stop and think about it, God has been a Savior from the beginning.  It gives a little more light to the statement, it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2: 8-9).  God is and has always been a God of grace.  In reading all that precedes today's text, we know that God wants to work with us, not in spite of us.  God invites us into the creative process of making and maintaining our world.  In order to do so, we need to know how to do it.  How do we work with God?  The Ten Commandments guide us in this process.  Interestingly, the first command is not stated outright, it is to be inferred.  It is embedded in the opening statement we have today.  In essence, God says, because I have done all that I have done for you.  Things you could have never done yourselves.  Out of gratitude, do these things for Me.  I have freed you from the slavery where you were bound in Egypt.  Now live freely and joyfully in My Kingdom with Me (Ps 100: 1-5).  Jesus often gave parables inviting people to live in His Kingdom with Him.  The Ten Commandments are a part of God's invitation to the Israelites, and us, into God's Kingdom, but it begins in the heart, our attitude.  Afterall, the Kingdom resides in our hearts and flows out into our lives, our communities (Luke 17: 20-21).  Today's text tells us how to receive it.  We receive it with thankfulness and gratitude for what God has done for us (Romans 5:8). 

Let us pray, Holy God we are grateful for Your faithfulness and grace in our lives.  We give thanks for Your saving ways.  Be with our loved ones, we ask Your blessing upon them in accordance with their needs.  And bless our church, so we can be the people you call us to be.  In Jesus name, Amen.

God's peace,

Pastor Brian