Ten?!?! Then There is Only Two More After This!

On the tenth day of Christmas
my True Love gave to me
Ten Pipers piping...

Ah Dear Reader this one is easy, the ten commandments.

1) You shall have no other gods before me;
2) Do not make an idol;
3) Do not take God's name in vain;
4) Remember the Sabbath Day;
5) Honor your father and mother;
6) Do not murder;
7) Do not commit adultery;
8) Do not steal;
9) Do not bear false witness;
10) Do not covet.
(based on Exodus 20:1-17)

Well by easy I meant that it is easy to see what might be given on the tenth day.

Did you have a hard time coming up with a New Year's resolution? We can call them "goals" for those who find resolutions defeating (I'm an old soccer player, goalie, so I am against making goals!) If you had a hard time coming up with some resolutions, (man, I would like to just narrow my potential list to one that fits on a page) check out this list above.

"No problem with these," you say? Then look at Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and how he takes some of these commandments farther than we see them here. For instance, I'm sure that you haven't murdered anyone recently but check out Jesus' words in Matthew chapter five, starting at about verse twenty:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire."

Still okay? No need to change of rearrange? Okay how about...

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

Oh wait, never mind, I know some of you are girls so this doesn't apply right? We sure couldn't swap the genders here and besides girls' lusts aren't triggered by looks they are just triggered by words. They don't wish some other hunky man was theirs just a man who says sweet understanding things to them. But that okay that's not what Jesus was talking about, lets move on.

Here's one how about:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Well if you still can't think of anything to put on a list of resolutions or goals, you could just resolve to help others get to where you are. Some of us need to change, like me, and some of us need more help than others, like me.

Yes, I know it is Christ who changes me and works his good in my life but he does it through the people He puts in our lives. You're here, at my blog, then you are in my life. So there you go, a new project for the year, help me.

I am glad for such a gift as this from my True Love, I am thankful for Him calling me to something even beyond what was written in the Law. Please don't feel crushed by the Law Dear Reader because it is not in our effort that we get there. It is through His strength, the same strength that He prayed in the Garden with, the same strength that he stood in front of Pilate with, the same strength that He could come to earth as a man with.

I have that strength when I am in Him. In him I can do all things because He gives me strength, His strength.