While I was attending Emmanuel Community Church in Gardena, CA some years ago, my pastor, Pastor Frederick Holmes, asked me a question. He asked, “What do you want from life?” Without hesitation I answered, “I want my life to count.” That short conversation became a defining moment in my life wherein I had put into words the theme of my own existence, the thing that makes me “tick,” my heart’s desire.

It didn’t take much thought after those first six words to realize that my life could only have lasting worth as I bonded my desire for myself with God’s desires for me. I figure it this way: If I am following the Lord daily, whatever I do will be His desire for me to do, and the outcome will have lasting value that matters in the grand scheme of things. The ultimate result? My life will have counted. Vineyard’s praise song, Cry of my Heart, reflects what I mean. The chorus simply says:

It is the cry of my heart to follow You,

It is the cry of my heart to be close to You,

It is the cry of my heart to follow,

All of the days of my life.

What is your heart’s desire? Is it something God would have for you? Is it something that, if fulfilled, you could proudly lay at Jesus’ feet as an offering to Him? With the preceding thoughts in mind, The Psalmist’s prayer is also mine for you today: “May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, and fulfill all your purpose” Psalm 20:4 (NKJ).

___________________________

©2016 Sharon Norris Elliott. Feel free to forward this devotion in its entirety, including this copyright line. Leave comments, ask questions, read past devotions, or subscribe to receive these devotions daily in your e-mail at www.sanewriter.wordpress.com. Also, periodically check in at www.LifeThatMatters.net to see what’s going on in the ministry.

Links you won’t want to miss: 

• Watch The Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network’s new internet TV show Life That Matters with Sharon Norris Elliott from any internet-connected device at HSBN.tv. (Stream current show or view past episodes anytime!)
• Pick up a copies of Sharon’s books for yourself and as gifts for your family members and friends!
  • Why I Get Into Trouble link to our eStore: https://www.createspace.com/5131814
  • Boomerangs to Arrows: A Godly Guide for Launching Young Adult Children available from Judson Press (http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=17387),

Boomerangs Videolink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JH_gbinMk

• Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame from New Hope Publishers (http://www.newhopedigital.com/2010/08/power-suit/)

In the novel Animal Farm by George Orwell, the animals decide to stage a mutiny against the humans and take over the farm because the humans treated them so badly. They came up with “7 Rules of the Farm” by which they all would live. However, some of the animals were not able to remember all the rules, so the animal-leaders reduced those rules to two that were the most important.

Jesus has done that for us when it comes to our Ten Commandments. Exodus chapter 20 lists The Big Ten:

1. You shall have no other gods before me. (vs. 3)
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image…you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. (vss. 4 – 5)
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. (vs. 7)
4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. (vs. 8)
5. Honor your father and your mother. (vs. 12)
6. You shall not murder. (vs. 13)
7. You shall not commit adultery. (vs. 14)
8. You shall not steal. (vs. 15)
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (vs. 16)
10. You shall not covet…anything that is your neighbor’s. (vs.17)

Now this is a very concise list; there’s nothing hard at all about understanding it. In fact, when you think about it, God has made following Him pretty simple by breaking things down for us into these 10 simple rules. Still, by Jesus’ day, the Pharisees had made things so complicated that they thought it was a good idea to question Jesus about which Commandment was the greatest. Jesus answered them by saying:

“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 22:37-40 (NKJ).

Jesus broke the ten down to two, making following God even easier. You see, first, if we love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, we won’t have any other gods before us, we won’t make graven images of Him, we won’t take His name in vain, and we’ll remember to keep His Sabbaths holy. In other words, our entire being will want to do nothing else but glorify Him. This, after all, is what we were created for in the first place, as it is written in Ecclesiastes 12:13, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man” (KJV).

Second, if we love our neighbors as ourselves, we will honor our parents, and we won’t murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, or covet.

With this reminder about the Ten Commandments (or the Two Commandments), it’s probably a good idea to check ourselves on the how-are-we-doing-as-believers meter. Let’s go down the list of Commandments and ask ourselves the hard questions relating to each. For example, ask, “Are there other gods in my life that I have placed as more important than the God of heaven? To what am I bowing my knees? How have I honored by father and mother (or their memory) today? From whom have I stolen? (Bootleg CD’s count here.) Etc.

By obeying the two, we obey the ten. Let’s get with it.

___________________________

©2016 Sharon Norris Elliott. Feel free to forward this devotion in its entirety, including this copyright line. Leave comments, ask questions, read past devotions, or subscribe to receive these devotions daily in your e-mail at www.sanewriter.wordpress.com. Also, periodically check in at www.LifeThatMatters.net to see what’s going on in the ministry.

Links you won’t want to miss: 

• Watch The Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network’s new internet TV show Life That Matters with Sharon Norris Elliott from any internet-connected device at HSBN.tv. (Stream current show or view past episodes anytime!)
•            
• Pick up a copies of Sharon’s books for yourself and as gifts for your family members and friends!
  • Why I Get Into Trouble link to our eStore: https://www.createspace.com/5131814
  • Boomerangs to Arrows: A Godly Guide for Launching Young Adult Children available from Judson Press (http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=17387),

Boomerangs Videolink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JH_gbinMk

• Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame from New Hope Publishers (http://www.newhopedigital.com/2010/08/power-suit/)

One of the toughest things I have to do as a high school teacher is watch students fail. No matter how much I go over the material, insist that they actually do all of the reading and assignments, and warn against procrastination, some students simply don’t believe “fat meat is greasy.” Inevitably the end of the semester comes and enough things have been done incorrectly to warrant the failing grade. Through the tears comes the predictable question, “But what about the work I passed?” The answer: The work that needed to be successfully completed was not a surprise. It was all on the syllabus given out and explained the first day of class. The work you did not pass tainted the work you did pass. To pass the class, you needed to pass it all.

It’s a comfort to me as a teacher to see that the great Teacher faced the same question. In Matthew chapter 19, a man came to Jesus wondering what was necessary to “pass the class.” The guy asked, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” Jesus answered, “…if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” Matthew 19:16-17 (NKJ). The syllabus was clear, “Keep the commandments.” This guy came back just as my students do at the end of the semester, “He said to Him, ‘Which ones?’” Matthew 19:18a (NKJ).

What a silly question. What did the guy think Jesus meant when He said, “Keep the commandments”? Jesus meant, “Keep all of the commandments.” As you read on through verse 22, Jesus enumerated some of the commandments to him and the guy started to make the argument that he had “passed” in those classes. But when Jesus got to the issue of coveting, there was nothing more for guy to say. He failed in that area and he realized that his fail there had tainted his pass in the other areas. He walked away with a failing grade because he did not intend to get that one right.

James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (NIV). It’s time to stop making excuses for our sins and shortcomings. We can obey God’s word, and God has given us the syllabus to follow – the Bible – whereby we can successfully get it done. He’s also given us the means. Romans 8:3-4 states, “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (NKJ).

We’re required to do it all. Thankfully for us, even though “doing it all” is impossible, Jesus’ righteousness has been credited to our account. As far as God’s concerned, we fulfill the requirements of the Law because He sees Jesus’ righteousness when He looks at us. Now, with Jesus as our Savior and the Holy Ghost as our power, we can live our lives day-to-day in obedience to the Spirit of God. The law of God is written in our hearts. We pass.

___________________________

©2016 Sharon Norris Elliott. Feel free to forward this devotion in its entirety, including this copyright line. Leave comments, ask questions, read past devotions, or subscribe to receive these devotions daily in your e-mail at www.sanewriter.wordpress.com. Also, periodically check in at www.LifeThatMatters.net to see what’s going on in the ministry.

Links you won’t want to miss: 

• Watch The Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network’s new internet TV show Life That Matters with Sharon Norris Elliott from any internet-connected device at HSBN.tv. (Stream current show or view past episodes anytime!)
• Pick up a copies of Sharon’s books for yourself and as gifts for your family members and friends!
  • Why I Get Into Trouble link to our eStore: https://www.createspace.com/5131814
  • Boomerangs to Arrows: A Godly Guide for Launching Young Adult Children available from Judson Press (http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=17387),

Boomerangs Videolink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JH_gbinMk

• Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame from New Hope Publishers (http://www.newhopedigital.com/2010/08/power-suit/)

One of the toughest things I have to do as a high school teacher is watch students fail. No matter how much I go over the material, insist that they actually do all of the reading and assignments, and warn against procrastination, some students simply don’t believe “fat meat is greasy.” Inevitably the end of the semester comes and enough things have been done incorrectly to warrant the failing grade. Through the tears comes the predictable question, “But what about the work I passed?” The answer: The work that needed to be successfully completed was not a surprise. It was all on the syllabus given out and explained the first day of class. The work you did not pass tainted the work you did pass. To pass the class, you needed to pass it all.

It’s a comfort to me as a teacher to see that the great Teacher faced the same question. In Matthew chapter 19, a man came to Jesus wondering what was necessary to “pass the class.” The guy asked, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” Jesus answered, “…if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” Matthew 19:16-17 (NKJ). The syllabus was clear, “Keep the commandments.” This guy came back just as my students do at the end of the semester, “He said to Him, ‘Which ones?’” Matthew 19:18a (NKJ).

What a silly question. What did the guy think Jesus meant when He said, “Keep the commandments”? Jesus meant, “Keep all of the commandments.” As you read on through verse 22, Jesus enumerated some of the commandments to him and the guy started to make the argument that he had “passed” in those classes. But when Jesus got to the issue of coveting, there was nothing more for guy to say. He failed in that area and he realized that his fail there had tainted his pass in the other areas. He walked away with a failing grade because he did not intend to get that one right.

James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (NIV). It’s time to stop making excuses for our sins and shortcomings. We can obey God’s word, and God has given us the syllabus to follow – the Bible – whereby we can successfully get it done. He’s also given us the means. Romans 8:3-4 states, “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (NKJ).

We’re required to do it all. Thankfully for us, even though “doing it all” is impossible, Jesus’ righteousness has been credited to our account. As far as God’s concerned, we fulfill the requirements of the Law because He sees Jesus’ righteousness when He looks at us. Now, with Jesus as our Savior and the Holy Ghost as our power, we can live our lives day-to-day in obedience to the Spirit of God. The law of God is written in our hearts. We pass.

___________________________

©2016 Sharon Norris Elliott. Feel free to forward this devotion in its entirety, including this copyright line. Leave comments, ask questions, read past devotions, or subscribe to receive these devotions daily in your e-mail at www.sanewriter.wordpress.com. Also, periodically check in at www.LifeThatMatters.net to see what’s going on in the ministry.

Links you won’t want to miss: 

• Watch The Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network’s new internet TV show Life That Matters with Sharon Norris Elliott from any internet-connected device at HSBN.tv. (Stream current show or view past episodes anytime!)
• Pick up a copies of Sharon’s books for yourself and as gifts for your family members and friends!
  • Why I Get Into Trouble link to our eStore: https://www.createspace.com/5131814
  • Boomerangs to Arrows: A Godly Guide for Launching Young Adult Children available from Judson Press (http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=17387),

Boomerangs Videolink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JH_gbinMk

• Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame from New Hope Publishers (http://www.newhopedigital.com/2010/08/power-suit/)