Jesus Throws Out The Ten Commandments!
Yes, you read it correctly. I did say that Jesus threw out the ten commandments.
We all know about Moses and the stone tablets with the commandments, and, for some of us, we see Christianity as being a long list of do's and don'ts.
Jesus got Himself into all kinds of trouble as He went round teaching a new way to live. He said that it's not good enough for us to play lip service and be seen to be doing the right things, we have to live them out in our every day. It's really no good at all if we turn up to a church service once a week for all to see, and then, during the rest of the week we live a life contrary to the way Jesus taught.
Did you know that Jesus simplified the ten comnandmrmts and condensed them to just two? Well He did, and if only we kept just these two, it would follow that we would desire that our hearts would be filled with the nine gifts of Christmas; the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
In Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said that we should,
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself."
There have been so many wars and battles in the name of religion since the world began. We must never mix up religion and faith. True faith, not just the Christian faith, teaches us to live in harmony with each other, not to harm each other.
It doesn't take a genius to work out that if we kept those two commandments we'd be in a much nicer place, not only in the world, but we'd also be content with our lives.
So as we move to half way through January already, I urge you to join me to:
Keep the two commandments
Receive and fill our hearts and minds with the good gifts we have been freely offered:-
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness,
Goodness,
Faithfulness,
Gentleness,
Self-control
We have nothing to lose in trying but we have everything to gain.