The path of righteousness is defined by God’s law. If we want to be in God’s grace then we need to understand His will and obey Him.

“I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways. I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word.” Psalm 119:15-16

So today let’s do what the Psalm says; let’s carefully reflect on the commandments of God and let’s consider the changes we may need to make to give greater glory to God.

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17)

And God spoke all these words:

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

“You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:1-6

Let’s reflect on this:

In today society we are conditioned to think that success is all about status, money, authority, position and power.  We may think that the quest for success is defined by how high we can climb a career ladder and in the process we may forget about God as we foolishly pursue a life dedicated to the idol called MONEY.

God wants to be included in all things, in our work, in our relationships, in our joys, in our sorrows. He is a jealous God that wants to have a rightful place of honour in our lives; He deserves and wants to be first. He wants our trust and our reverence and He wants to help us to become the people He desires us to be, but if we choose to idolize other things and esteem them more than our relationship with God, God will allow it, but by doing this we will have chosen other gods and we will have failed to honour God’s law.

So let’s ask ourselves some hard questions.

Are we giving God the highest place of honour in our lives?

Are we focused on pleasing Him daily? Do we acknowledge His presence by praying to Him daily? Do we walk with Him continuously asking for His guidance in everything that we do, being mindful of our need for His grace to succeed?

Are we selflessly pursuing a path that will please God or are we selfishly focused on pleasing ourselves, building up a false image of ourselves and serving false gods?

Exodus 20:7

“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”

Let’s reflect on this:

When I was a little girl and I heard someone using the name of Jesus in a way that sounded profane I used to say quietly “praise be His Name!” Have you heard the expression “wisdom comes from the mouths of babes”?

May the Name of Our Lord Jesus be used with reverence and honour always!

Exodus 20: 8-11 

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Let’s reflect on this:

I remember when the government authorized the stores to be open on Sunday’s. I realized it was a reflection of a society where ‘materialism’ was eclipsing the need to honour God. In fact, I would be a hypocrite if I said I have never shopped on a Sunday. I’m sorry Lord! I will try harder to make the Sabbath day more holy and more reverent as You are so deserving!

The Churches could be more full on Sunday too! I grieve the many years when I did not attend. I lost sight of the miracle of the Eucharist and I fell off the path of righteousness. But God in His infinite mercy came to find His lost sheep and now I am present on Sunday’s.

For ten years I taught little children about Jesus as I prepared them for their first Sacraments and there was often a little dilemna. Hockey was scheduled on Sunday mornings. So I asked the children what do you think Jesus would want you to do? And you know what, they understood that they needed to find a way to honour God and not let their team down. They discovered the opportunity to go to Mass on Saturday evenings and in this way please God.

LOVE IS A CHOICE…There will always be conflicting priorities and God allows our love to be tested.

Exodus 20: 12

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”

Let’s reflect on this:

We learn so much about who we ultimately become in our early life as children. That’s why I do believe that the family is where we learn to love or to not love, to forgive or to hold a grudge, to share or to not share. Many people come from broken families where spouses are divorced and children may be caught in a hostile, argumentative environment. Some people were raised in abusive environments where a parent may have been verbally or physically abusive and in these instances you may wonder ‘how do you honour your father and mother’?   My answer is ‘pray for them and ask God for the grace to forgive them just as you want God to forgive you’ and in this way we will fulfill God’s law.

Exodus 20: 13

“You shall not murder.”

Let’s reflect on this:

Ok, you may think that’s easy, never killed anyone…but have you ever killed someone’s spirit? Have you ever said something that caused someone to feel less confident. God wills for us to help one another, not hurt one another…and words can really hurt and sometimes we kill people with our words and/or with our lack of compassion.

Exodus 20: 14

“You shall not commit adultery.”

Let’s reflect on this:

Jesus challenges us to not just be faithful to our partners, but to be people of dignity that do not look lustfully at one another. Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:26-27

Exodus 20: 15

“You shall not steal.”

Let’s reflect on this:

Most of us don’t go into stores to steal the merchandize, but the digital revolution has made it very easy to steal intellectual property. I wish Google would invent a ‘copyright free’ picture database because I am concerned that I may sometimes be using photos with restrictions. If so Lord have mercy on me, as it is not my intent. Many people have no issue downloading movies or music illegally online, but it is still stealing and it is hurting people trying to make a living in the entertainment industry.

Exodus 20: 16

“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.”

Let’s reflect on this:

I hate, hate, hate gossiping and so does God! Did you hear about what happened to ‘so and so’? Let’s stop it!

Exodus 20: 17

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Let’s reflect on this: 

Have you ever heard the expression ‘keeping up with the Jones’? It is a common expression in North America that encourages a materialistic culture. If my neighbour has a bright red shiny car, then maybe I want one too! Why? My car has a bit of rust at the moment, I don’t really care because it still gets me where I need to go.

“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12

None of us can embrace God’s law of love without grace. We don’t just wake up with the ability to walk on the path of righteousness. We must give God our hand and invite Him to walk with us, to teach us and to guide us and to protect us from evil, to fill us with holy inspiration and give us the desire to help one another to prosper and grow.

MAKING EVERYDAY REMEMBRANCE DAY!

I am posting this on November 11th, when we remember so many brave men and women who fought for our freedom.  I have found that the best way to kill the power of temptation in my life is to meditate on the Passion of Christ and make everyday remembrance day.

Everyday I walk with Jesus to Calvary where I look intently upon my Saviour suffering for me and everyday I fall in love anew with Him! Our relationship has become deeply personal. If Jesus can allow Himself to be crucified for me, then I will give Him everything, however little that may be…but I will strive to give Him everything as I pray for His mercy upon all. Please join Christians all over the world who are stopping everyday at 3pm, the time Our Lord Jesus died for us to remember Him dying for us and to thank Him for His infinite sacrifice as we pray that God sends His Spirit upon this broken, sinful world.  Let us pray so that we can be reconciled to God and can discover the true path of righteousness as we obey God’s law of love.