Here’s something I do you might want to consider. It comes from where Paul wrote… “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything” (2 Tim 2:7). This takes less than five minutes. Each day when I get to my study I read the following…
The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2-17, ESV)
2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 You shall not murder.
14 You shall not commit adultery.
15 You shall not steal.
16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.
Jesus’ Commands
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Matthew 22:36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Important Texts
Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God… 31 Let all bitterness & wrath & anger & clamor & slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Colossians 3:12 Put on then… compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, & patience, 13 bearing with one another &, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts… And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly… with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father thru him…
The Apostles Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting.
Amen.
7 Non-negotiable Truths & My Personal Applications:
God is love: Nothing bad ever has, or ever will, happen to me. Evil, yes. Bad, no. (1 John 4:16; 2 Corinthians 1:3-6; 12:9; Romans 8:28)
God is good: It is impossible for me or others to mess up my life past God using for His glory. (Psalm 73:1)
God is in control: God only allows into my life what is ultimately good for me. (Romans 8:28; Daniel 4:35; Isaiah 46:9-10)
God is just: Satan can only do what God allows. (Ezra 9:15; Job 1:12, 2:6)
All God’s ways are perfect: I rejoice in every circumstance by keeping a heaven theology. (Genesis 18:25)
God is trustworthy: I have great hope & peace, relying upon God alone. (Psalm 62:8; Isaiah 42:3)
God does not change: My salvation & faith in God cannot be lost. (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17-B)
Quotes
Just because we don’t see how something can be good doesn’t mean it isn’t good (Tim Keller)
In prayer God gives us everything we would have asked for if we knew everything He knows (Tim Keller)
Ron's Reflections 