ONE HEARTBEAT AWAY - PART 53

                                           ONE HEARTBEAT  AWAY - 

   PART 53

(Mark Cahill's Book)

As I talked with a guy one day, I gave him this example:  "If you were staying on the thirtieth floor of a hotel, would you go out on the 
balcony if it were just  slab of concrete -but no railings?  Would you put your child out there? 

Of course you wouldn't.  It would be too dangerous.  But once you put some good 
strong railings on the balcony, would you 
go out there?  Would you go out there with 
your child?

Sure! Not only would most of us go out there 
we would even lean on the railings, while we were out there!  Why would we do this?  Once 
you have a boundary, you have all the freedom you want inside that boundary. You can have lunch out there if you want. Boundaries provide freedom.

One time in Myrtle Beach, I was talking with 
two eighteen-year-olds.  They told me they 
would never become Christians. I asked them why. They said it would take all the fun out of 
life. 

I looked them in the eye and said, 
" Today there is a zero-per-cent chance 
that I am going to get someone pregnant. There is a zero-per-cent chance that I am going to get Aids. There is a zero-per-cent chance that I am going to get a DUI today. You know there are some pretty good benefits to becoming a Christian."

Both young men's jaws dropped. They told me they had never thought about that before. They thought they could do whatever they wanted to, but they didn't
realize that they would be slaves to the consequences of their choices.

God gives us laws and rules to go by. When we stay within these boundaries we are the freeist people in the world. When we step outside these 
boundaries, it is like stepping over the railings and trying to walk away from the edge of the thirtieth-floor balcony. What happens next isn't punishment. It is just a consequence of being rebellious and short-sighted.

An interesting study by John Hagee, 
says that 97% of Americans "believe in" the Ten Commandments, but only 5% can name 3 or more.

We read before that the Law can tell
 us everything we need to know to guide our lives toward heaven, and we have found that the Law is The Ten Commandments. 

So, let us take a look at these commandments that so many people believe in, but so few know much about. 

Let's use the list in Exodus 20:1-17 to see how we are going to stack up next to God's standard for human behaviour when we stand before Him. 

First Commandment

And God spake all these words saying: "I am the Lord, your God, which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. 
(Exodus 20: 1-3).

The first Commandment means that God should be the focal point of a your affections. Your relationship with Him should be the most important part of your life. 

A perfect example
 is the rich young 
ruler Matthew tells        
us about in the New 
Testament.

And behold, one came and said unto Him, " Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I might have eternal life?"

And He said unto him, "why callest thou Me good? There is none good , but One, and that is God: but if thou would enter into life, keep the Commandments."  He saith unto Him, "Which?"   Jesus said to him "thou shalt do no murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Honor thy father and thy mother, and thou shall love thy  neighbour as thyself. "

The young man saith unto Him, "All these things have I kept from my youth up, what lack I yet?"

Jesus said unto him, "If thou will be perfect, go and sell all that thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow Me."

But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful for he had great possessions.

Then said Jesus unto His disciples, 
"verily I say unto you that a rich man will hardly enter the kingdom of heaven. 
And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. 
( Matthew 19: 16-24).

It is interesting to see how Jesus talked with the rich young ruler, using the Ten Commandments as a srarting point, in a discussion of "what shall I do to inherit eternal life? "  and with those Commandments He was able to show the man his self-righteousness.

This is an amazing story. The rich young man couldn't get past the First Commandment.  He did have another god before the God of the universe, and it was his money.

We will all worship something, whether we are atheists, agnostics or believers in some religion, we are all worshippers.

Where do you turn your heart and your mind to gain meaning, fulfilment, control, protection and significance in your life?  What has your affection?  What do you meditate upon?  When you lay your head on your pillow at night, what do you think about?  Who or what is your God?

Now ask yourself this question:  
"Have I broken the First of the Ten Commandments?"



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