Holy?

I think it's safe to say that people in the culture I live in would equate keeping the Ten Commandments (the essence of them if not the actual Ten Commandments themselves) with holiness. Okay, maybe just with being a good person. They would recognize that they don't keep them all but that they keep most of them and that is what makes them a good person. If they think there is some sort of life after death they will think that being a good person is what earns them a better life after death.

For Christians we certainly, like the Galatians, fall into this same trap. Paul calls them foolish and says to them in Galatians 3:1-3, "who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?"

But typically, we Christians think we don't even break any of the Ten Commandments. Okay, we remember that we used to lie but we are too old for that now, right? Or sometimes I forget to rest during the week but that project for work really needed to be done.

So wherever you find yourself, here's some expansion of (not "addition to", mind you) the Ten Commandments.


(This is from our www.SummitWestClub.com campus blog, posted by our Campus Pastor, Brad O'Brien.)
This past Sunday, Pastor J.D. continued his current series ‘Presence‘. In his sermon, he challenged us to be honest with ourselves in regards to how well we measure up to the 10 Commandments. Here is the list of commandments and how he adapted them to our everyday life. He has adapted this list from Will Metzger, Tell the Truth, Appendix A.IV.

DO YOU KEEP THE TEN COMMANDMENTS?

1. You shall have no other Gods before Me: I have never put anything before God in my life. I have never loved or trusted or obeyed anything more than God. God and God alone has always been pre-eminent in my thoughts, affections, and actions.

2. You shall make no graven images of Me: I have never had any wrong conceptions about God nor worshipped Him in a way not directly proscribed by Him. I have always rejected wrong images of God and refused to redefine Him according to my liking.

3. You shall not take My name in vain: I have always held the name of God, which signifies His character, in highest respect, invoking it only with thoughtfulness and reverence. I have never used His name as a swear word. I have never been lethargic or apathetic during worship. I have never desecrated God’s name by calling myself His follower but not representing Him well. The way I talk, act, spend money, and drive give honor to the God whose name I attach to my life and whose bumper sticker I display on my car.

4. 6 days you shall do all your work… and remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy: I have always worked diligently and willingly at whatever task is set before me, seeing it as my God-given service each day, and making the most out of the time God has given me. In the 6 days of the workweek, I work hard, am not lazy, and don’t procrastinate. And I consistently remember to set apart one day weekly to worship God with others.

5. Honor your parents: I have never disobeyed nor dishonored my parents or any others in authority over me. I have always respected the authorities in my life, and given them honor and willing obedience, whether they were watching or not. This includes my parents, my teachers, traffic cops, the IRS, and my president.

6. You shall not kill: I have never murdered anyone… nor had hateful thoughts nor have taken the slightest pleasure in seeing harm done to another human being. I have never fantasized about the premature death of my spouse nor wished harm on my boss. I have always held the highest regard for any human life, and cared as much about the pain of others as I have my own.

7. You shall not commit adultery: I have never practiced sexual impurity, neither physically having sex with someone outside the bonds of marriage nor having impure thoughts about someone I’m not married to. If married, I have never flirted with or fantasized about someone who is not my spouse.

8. You shall not steal: I have never taken anything that doesn’t belong to me. This includes taking credit that didn’t belong to me, downloading illegal music, or cheating in school or on my taxes. I have never taken extra Chic-Fil-A sauce to stock my shelves at home. I do not waste my company’s time internet surfing, twittering or facebooking. I have always respected the belongings, rights and creations of others and been completely truthful and fair. I have always been willing to take only what I’ve earned.

9. You shall not lie: I have never lied nor slandered another person. I have always told the truth in every situation regarding every person I have ever known. I have never exaggerated the truth and I have kept all my covenants and agreements, whether verbal and written.

10. You shall not covet: I have never been greedy for something that wasn’t mine, nor jealous of the abilities, looks, position or possessions of others. I have rejoiced with others in what they have, glad that they have it even when I don’t. I have never complained about what God has provided for me (your car; you job; your pay), always been thankful and fully content with what I have and where I am in life, willing to share what I have with others who have less than me.

Neighbors

Do you pray for your neighbors? Regularly? Do you see your neighborhood as one of your primary places of influence and mission? If so, do you love your neighbors or just view them as a project?

These are all questions that have been on my heart for several months. Some that have been posed to me by others, some that the Holy Spirit has brought to my mind. There is a passage in Acts 17 that has been a comfort and a catalyst for me as I think about these questions.

Acts 17:22-28
²²Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. ²⁴"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ²⁵And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. ²⁶From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. ²⁷God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. ²⁸'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

There are so many things about this passage that stand out to me but the part I want to hit on here is verse 26, "From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live." I am made in the image of God who has placed me in this home at this time. Amazing!

That is a comfort to me when I think that I will never be around my neighbors because our work schedules are so different, or that the barriers are too high to really be able to build relationships with them, or that my words have fallen on deaf ears. God has put me here, now... and I am His.

It is a catalyst for me because I know that God put me here, now. I want to take full advantage of the many opportunities He gives me with my neighbors. God knows how long I will be here, but I don't. So why should I tarry?

Pray for your neighbors. Know them by name. Get to know them personally. Live life with them. Be friends with them. And share the gospel with them in words as well as action.

Mini Silent-Prayer Retreat

Mini Silent-Prayer Retreat

Meditate on God's Presence - 30 minutes
walk, sit, swing, rock
(Mt 1:23; Jn 1:14; Ps 16:11; Ps 139:7-10; Lk 10:28-42; 2 Cor 4:13-14)

Adore God - 60 minutes
create* (alpha-pages)
(Ps 29:1-2)

Confess sin to God - 30 minutes
write out specific sins
(Ex 20; 2 Tim 3:2-5; Ps 51; Ps 19:12-14; Rom 7:24-8:4)

Thank God - 60 minutes
create*, walk
(Ps 107)

Pray for Self - 30 minutes
find 2 scripture to memorize and pray for specific situations
(Ps 77:1; Jas 4:2)

Pray for Others - 45 minutes
write 2 notes to people letting them know how you've prayed for them
(Rom 8:26; Col 1:3; Lk 6:27)

Pray aloud with others at the retreat - unlimited


*Create: paint, draw, color, cut/paste, write (list, journal, poetry).

This is only a suggested guide. You can do anything during this time. The only "rule" is no talking... and try not to nap on purpose.


If you have more time, I would suggest providing more scripture, and some challenging reading on each topic as well. While I wouldn't recommend this as the best way to do a silent retreat or a prayer retreat, it was a good introduction for someone new to either concept.

Command

"The call to the cloister demanded of Luther the complete surrender of his life. But God shattered all his hopes. He showed him through the Scriptures that the following of Christ is not the achievement or merit of a select few, but the divine command to all Christians without distinction."

-The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Costly

"Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: "ye were bought at a price," and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God."

"In the depth of his misery, Luther had grasped by faith the free and unconditional forgiveness of all his sins. That experience taught him that this grace had cost him his very life, and must continue to cost him the same price day by day."

-The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Cheap

"Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate."

"Cheap grace is the grace that we bestow upon ourselves."

-The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer