Devotion – May, 14.
Good morning!!
“I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, where you were slaves. Worship no god but me. Do not make for yourselves images of anything in heaven or on earth or in the water under the earth. Do not bow down to any idol or worship it, because I am the Lord your God and I tolerate no rivals. I bring punishment on those who hate me and on their descendants down to the third and fourth generation."
Exodus 20, 2-5
God created man in His own image. He, the man, shall be like God! He gave him good gifts and talents: The music, mathematics, art, colors, dexterity and a lot more. Every person has different talents and talent combinations, so that all people together can reflect God’s nature. One alone is just a small piece of God’s nature. He created the human being as man and woman who complete each other and work together as parents. He brought order into His creation. Fish do not fly like birds! The stars have their pathway. Atoms and electrons have their structures. If there is any disorder, all this breaks down! Therefore God gave us "life orders". In His Book He ordered dealing with money and property. He ordered that life is sacred and must not be destroyed. He also organized the coexistence of people. But since Adam and Eve, the human is rebelling and wants to shift the boundaries that God has set in His wisdom and goodness. More and more new and wilder claims are being made.
But we want to hold on to God, serve Him and trust Him. We know His order is good for us! We will not bow down to new gods and will not make any compromises! We want to be fixed and not envy the freedom of our fellow men. Our God is good!
We will not condemn other people, who live different than we live. But we see that God’s blessing can not exist on sin; – That’s why we want to save our fellow human beings and help them. We have fixed standards God has given us and no meaningless orders, that are true today and totally different tomorrow. We want to be sacred to God and will please to Him. Just as our God is love, we want to love Him and glorify in our lives.
But He also is a jealous God: He jealously watches over His children, so that nothing happens to them. And He jealously takes care that they do not get tempted by any social decisions. Yes, because of His great love He watches over us!
Dear Father, Do not lead us into temptation! There are so many things that will entice and seduce us! But let us hold on to You and you ‘ll hold us. Thank You for forgiving my sin and my failures. Now I want to live for Your glory and not for my own pleasure. Because You love me and watch over me, and I want to love and honor You!