Focal Passages: Exodus 20:1-4, 7-8, 12-17; 24:4-8
When my father confronted my childhood disobedience I would often say, “I forgot.” Unfortunately, he was always willing to refresh my memory as discipline was delivered. In the Old Testament Israel often struggled with forgetting. As God handed down the Ten Commandments He began by reminding the children of Israel of His work in delivering them. People who have been delivered by God’s power must strive to maintain lives of singular devotion to Him.
We all know that talk is cheap and people can claim to be anything they think someone else will believe. I once knew a man who tried to convince everyone he had been a Navy Seal, an ATF agent and a special informant for the local police department. While one claim might have been believable, the continued stacking of outlandish tales with a life that contradicted them proved the man to be the president of the local liar’s club. Is your testimony believable? Are you talking the talk AND walking the walk?
When the children of Israel had received the Law they offered sacrifices to God and beheld the consuming fire of His glory (Exodus 24). Sadly their mountaintop experience soon faded. In his book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, Donald Whitney tells the story of a childhood birthday party that was highlighted by him buying each partygoer a ticket to the local high school basketball game. His dream of having fun watching the game with his friends collapsed as they all ran off, each in his own direction. They forgot who bought their tickets and who they were supposed to be celebrating. Selfish is the enemy of worship. Do we celebrate Jesus in corporate worship and private devotion, or seek to indulge ourselves? When the Israelites should have been demonstrating lives of worship to the God who redeemed them, they turned aside to do as their flesh desired. How often do we fail to show consistent obedience to God and opt for “me time?”