Fri.’s Devo - The First Commandment

Read Ex. 20:1-3 These are the commandments God spoke audibly to the people. They have been named “The Ten Commandments”. Before he gave them to the people he reminded them of who he was just in case they forgot later. He is the god who miraculously brought them out of Egypt - the house of bondage. We have all been in this house and these commandments are how to stay out of it. Number One: have no other gods. Every culture of their day had multiple gods - one for every different need they had. The children of Israel were to be the first nation that just had one, all-sufficient god. In our culture we are still the only religion that has only one god. It sounds easy, but if we are truthful, it is hard not to worship wealth, youth, beauty, intellect, our spouse, our children, celebrities, spiritual leaders, politicians. When we look to anything other than God to meet our needs, we are putting another god before God. We idolize healthy bodies, olympians, musicians, etc. and wish we were like them. God creatively crafted our bodies, our DNA, and our days to fulfill our destiny. Simon of Cyrene was the man who carried the cross for Jesus. Everything in his life was orchestrated for that one moment in time when he would be at the right place at the right time to fulfill that task of carrying the Lord’s cross. It is a privilege that we all can do- carry Jesus’ cross. The thing about having no gods other than Jehovah God is that it is not always the most appealing or self-serving. It requires a death. Lord, show us the gods that we put before you and help us to get rid of them.