In the Old Testament, man was expected to live by a set of rules. Do this. Don’t do that.
I am the Lord, your God.
Thou shall bring no false idols before me.
Do not take the name of the Lord in vain.
Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.
Honor thy father and thy mother.
Thou shall not kill/murder†.
Thou shall not commit adultery.
Thou shall not steal††.
Thou shall not bear false witness against your neighbor
Thou shall not covet‡ your neighbor’s wife (or anything that belongs to your neighbor).
With those rules becoming such that even the “thought” of doing them meant man was indeed committing the sin, God set forth a new covenant; that of Jesus Christ living inside of man giving strength to overcome sin and God providing grace.
Grace is unmerited favor. In the area of grace, we are given favor by God that we cannot earn, we do not work for, and we don’t deserve. In this favor, God wants us to “seek His will” for our lives and live out His Word, the Bible. And we do this by looking to Christ Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
The scripture says that the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the Lord therefore we know from that, God has us and our future in mind. When I see my little 14 month old grandson learning so much and so quickly, I think about what his future holds. Who will he be? What will he do? How will his upbringing affect his future? Will he have an abundance of gifts? Talents? Ideas? How can I impact this? What will be my role in his life going forward?
I pray every day for his little life. Sometimes when I’m with him, I breath a prayer to the Father on his behalf and he has no idea that I have consulted the Father in Heaven for Him . I ask God for wisdom for him. I want opportunity and financial gain as well as “favor with the people” in which he spends time. But most of all, I want Him to know Jesus, who gives that “unmerited favor”. By putting our faith in Christ, we receive this wonderful grace from God through our trust in His son.
While we certainly want to use the 10 Commandments as rules to guide our lives, we now live under God’s grace as we trust Christ. In that grace, we call out to God through Christ and live our lives to please the father and seek His will for our future. So, while my grandson is learning, I want him to experience all he can, learn all he is capable, but ultimately, give his life to Christ so he can experience his steps being “ordered by the Lord”.
Josie
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