God Means It

        In my bible time this past week the message that spoke to me is, God means what he says. Now, this may seem an obvious statement. But consider your every day actions, the little things you do without thought or consideration, the things on autopilot. Perhaps, it’s holding onto the extra quarter the cashier gives you by mistake. It could be the cigarette butt you throw out your car window. Or (as in my case) it isn’t using your turn signal. I was driving to work in the wee hours of the cold, snowy morning, there was only one other car on the road approximately a quarter mile behind me. Unbeknownst to me it was a police car. I was in a right turn lane, the type with a curb so turning right was the only option, after making my turn it was only about thirty seconds later that the red and blue lights of the police car began flashing. Fortunately, I received a warning and not a ticket.

        Initially, I was bit indignant. There were no other cars on the road, there was no other way to turn. Yet, as I spent time with my bible, I got the strong feeling that God was saying; it doesn’t matter how many cars there were, using your turn signal is the law. It doesn’t matter what our current culture says about things, it matters what God says about them.

        This week New York legalized pre-birth abortion, it made my jaw drop in disbelief and my stomach churn in revolt. How did we come to this? So many questions come to my mind. Why would someone choose to carry a child to term only to kill it before delivery? How does this align with a state which does not have capital punishment for murderers? I am outraged for the sake of the child naturally. But at the same time my heart breaks for the people that have made this legal and the people that will make such a horrific choice. How will they ever stand before God?

        We are a fickle nation. Someone who kills a pregnant woman is charged with two murders, but it isn’t murder to abort the same child? There is no longer a line in the sand so to speak. The line has been blurred, right and wrong no longer exist in our current culture. It is a sad state of affairs. The contradictions that we see are mind boggling.

        I believe God established right and wrong for our good. Following the ten commandments is an outline for a happy, healthy life. When we step over those lines, we find ourselves in dire circumstances. Adultery leads to broken families. Coveting what others have leads to jealousy and potentially theft or even murder. Do I even need to say how killing causes damage to everyone around it?

        The laws God established are a curb that keeps us on the right path. We must stop looking at it as a form of slavery and see it for the great blessing it is. In case you aren’t familiar with the ten commandments they can be found in Exodus chapter 20 but allow me to paraphrase for you; You shall have no other gods or idols before the Lord. You shall not use the Lord’s name in vain. You shall respect the Sabbath as a holy day set aside for God. Honor your parents. Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not give false testimony against your neighbor. Do not covet anything of your neighbor’s.

        So, back to where I began; God means what He says. And the things He says, He says in His great love for us to be able to live our best lives. I will continue to pray for our world and for the people who corrupt it to come to know the saving love of Jesus Christ so they will repent of their wrongdoing and change their ways. I pray for myself to recognize my own blurred lines and repent as well.

        Ephesians 1:3,4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realm with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.”