A
HI Laodicea, would you like to talk about King David and how he kept the commandments?
What lessons the life of King David shows us?
How God's mercy and grace and love overcomes our human ignorance?
I think we should strive to follow God's commandments, but more than that we should understand WHY God gave them to us in the first place.
Jesus came to tell us that its not enough to have an outward obedience to the commandments, it is more important to see the inward purpose.
Servants serve their masters, Slaves only obey orders. God wants us to be His children.
Personally I want to be able to call Jesus my friend and Jesus tells us His friends understand the WHY behind the orders.
God entrusts us with so many blessings.
When we understand what it means when Jesus says "I will have mercy not sacrifice" then we will see that things that have been label "commandments" are not "set in stone" in that the priest PROFANE the Sabbath to circumcise a male child on the eight day even if it is Sabbath day. Jesus did WORK on the Sabbath.
therefore the rules and "laws" would be outwardly broken, however God sees the HEART of a person and knows that they are seeking to please GOD and not themselves.
If I were to explain it to a child, I would tell them a story because that was how best I learnt it.
A mother gives her child $2 for lunch and stern instruction NOT to lose it or use it for anything else but lunch. At the same time she has been teaching Him about Jesus and compassion.
As the child walks to school, he sees a homeless person missing a leg and hungry. Instead of using the money for his lunch, he gives it to the man.
Should the mother punish the child for disobeying her or should she fall on her knees and thank God that the child's heart was open and loving enough to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit?
I know the Sabbath is a hot button topic for some people.
I'm find if people want to follow an altered form of Jewish customs and pretend to keep the Sabbath rituals, minus the animal sacrifice, temple rituals, Aaron priesthood, etc. To me its the same as people who keep the rituals and customs surround Easter and Christmas.
they are manmade traditions that remind people of GOD.
As long as the message GOD intends to give is not lost in the rituals and the outward show. its fine.
However, when pride and hypocrisy enters the hearts of the people who keep the outward show. then there is a problem because they have lost sight of the inward purity and do not display the fruits of walking with the HOLY Spirit.
Galatians 5
[SUP]19 [/SUP]Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,[SUP][c][/SUP] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, [SUP]20 [/SUP]idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, [SUP]21 [/SUP]envy, murders,[SUP][d][/SUP] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
[SUP]22 [/SUP]But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [SUP]23 [/SUP]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. [SUP]24 [/SUP]And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [SUP]25 [/SUP]If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. [SUP]26 [/SUP]Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
What lessons the life of King David shows us?
How God's mercy and grace and love overcomes our human ignorance?
I think we should strive to follow God's commandments, but more than that we should understand WHY God gave them to us in the first place.
Jesus came to tell us that its not enough to have an outward obedience to the commandments, it is more important to see the inward purpose.
Servants serve their masters, Slaves only obey orders. God wants us to be His children.
Personally I want to be able to call Jesus my friend and Jesus tells us His friends understand the WHY behind the orders.
God entrusts us with so many blessings.
When we understand what it means when Jesus says "I will have mercy not sacrifice" then we will see that things that have been label "commandments" are not "set in stone" in that the priest PROFANE the Sabbath to circumcise a male child on the eight day even if it is Sabbath day. Jesus did WORK on the Sabbath.
therefore the rules and "laws" would be outwardly broken, however God sees the HEART of a person and knows that they are seeking to please GOD and not themselves.
If I were to explain it to a child, I would tell them a story because that was how best I learnt it.
A mother gives her child $2 for lunch and stern instruction NOT to lose it or use it for anything else but lunch. At the same time she has been teaching Him about Jesus and compassion.
As the child walks to school, he sees a homeless person missing a leg and hungry. Instead of using the money for his lunch, he gives it to the man.
Should the mother punish the child for disobeying her or should she fall on her knees and thank God that the child's heart was open and loving enough to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit?
I know the Sabbath is a hot button topic for some people.
I'm find if people want to follow an altered form of Jewish customs and pretend to keep the Sabbath rituals, minus the animal sacrifice, temple rituals, Aaron priesthood, etc. To me its the same as people who keep the rituals and customs surround Easter and Christmas.
they are manmade traditions that remind people of GOD.
As long as the message GOD intends to give is not lost in the rituals and the outward show. its fine.
However, when pride and hypocrisy enters the hearts of the people who keep the outward show. then there is a problem because they have lost sight of the inward purity and do not display the fruits of walking with the HOLY Spirit.
Galatians 5
[SUP]19 [/SUP]Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery,[SUP][c][/SUP] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, [SUP]20 [/SUP]idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, [SUP]21 [/SUP]envy, murders,[SUP][d][/SUP] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
[SUP]22 [/SUP]But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [SUP]23 [/SUP]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. [SUP]24 [/SUP]And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [SUP]25 [/SUP]If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. [SUP]26 [/SUP]Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
