MEDITATIONS FROM THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD

"You shall have no other gods before Me."

Exodus 20:3

Since the LORD God is our Maker and Redeemer, we should have no other gods before or beside Him. He is the only true God; and we should "fear, love, and trust in Him above all things" (Martin Luther's SMALL CATECHISM). We are to remember that God is the Almighty Creator, and honor Him as such! We should obey His commandments and avoid all that displeases Him. Because the LORD God is our Maker and also our Redeemer, we should love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind, and gladly live our lives for Him (cf. Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Matthew 22:37; 2 Corinthians 5:15). Since God has so wonderfully made us and provided for all our needs, and since He has through Christ's sufferings, death, and resurrection, redeemed us from our sins and the eternal punishment we justly deserve, we should also trust in Him with all our heart and commit our entire lives to His care and keeping.

Have we done this? We must all admit our utter failure; for every time we sin against any commandment of the LORD, we fail also to "fear, love, and trust in God above all things." We place ourselves and other persons and things before the loving God who gave us life in our mother's womb and everlasting life in Christ Jesus, our Savior!

LORD God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be merciful to us and forgive us for our failure to "fear, love, and trust in You above all things" We ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, God the Son and our Savior, who shed His blood for us upon the cross at Calvary to redeem us. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1994 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

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