Deeper Commandments

Okey Dokey...

So as i'm sitting here enjoying my powdered donut holes, I had a thought!

...actually more like several thoughts that keep rolling around in my brain. I'm going to let you in on the excitement by telling you the biggest one...  

How much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

 Ha. Just kidding! My real thought is about something a little less...well...woodsy. ;)

Why is Christianity so hard? Why does it seem SO easy to sink into the same black hole that everyone else is in? How come the temptation of being normal is always in the back of my head?...and really, what is normal? Is normal using profanities just to sound cool? Is it wearing low cut shirts and short skirts? Is it being obnoxious and selfish? Is it being so against God and so against faith that you close yourself off into your own little box? Honestly, i think i could go on all day, but my reaction would still be the same. 

I   d  o  n  '  t   w  a  n  t   t  o   b  e   n  o  r  m  a  l   !  !  !

I just want to be me. I want to live inside the Lord and lean on Him. It's so easy to get distracted from Him...I'm ashamed to say that I am struggling with that...When I'm wholeheartedly leaning on God I am faithful and strong....but if one curve ball gets thrown into my court, i pretend to be a hero and fix it by myself, which takes my eyes off of God. If you are familiar with the ten commandments, then this will sound quite familiar...  
“You shall have not other gods before Me”  

I've been doing some thinking about this recently, and I've come to this conclusion. Yes, there are cultures with fake gods and different beliefs, but I think it goes farther than that. Typically for that commandment I would just make a note to self: "Don't ever worship fake gods. Got it!...now lets move on to a commandment i can actually apply in my life, since i don't ever want to worship anyone but my God."

This thought isn't true. It's number 1 for a reason, folks. We may not worship false gods, but we make everyday problems take the form of false gods by dwelling on them and taking them on by ourselves. 

Example :  

Sarah found out that someone at school was spreading lies about her. Instead of praying to God to give her strength and to help her to make the right decisions, she goes to school and calmly seeks out the people who started the rumors. When she tries to ask them why they started them and if they could stop and tell everyone they were lies, the other girls just laugh at her, roll their eyes, make a few nasty comments, then walk away. Sarah is left all alone to dwell on the words that were said. Once again, instead of praying, she let her mind wander to places she never thought it would go. Soon, the already bad situation had gotten worse in her head because Satan put ideas in her mind that weren't true. The farthest thing from her mind was God. She would forget about Him until the whole ordeal was over.

That is how everyday problems are turned into false idols. Anything that you obsess over that takes your mind off of God. Whether it's a friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, hobby, situation, place, thought, action, etc. ANYTHING that takes your focus away from the true, Almighty.

Oh, and heres another thought that just popped into my brain.

This is commandment number 3. It's number placement is pretty close to 1, so i would have to say it's pretty important...not that all ten aren't.

“You Shall not Take The name of the LORD your God in vain.”

If this is a commandment, then why do i hear SO many Christians take His name in vain daily? It erks me so very much! I've been to a youth group where a lot, if not most of the kids said the "omg" line (pronounced full out) every couple sentences. I'm sorry, but if you are a Christian you can't say things like that...It goes back to what i said above. Wanting to be normal so we copy the actions an words of others. Maybe you never say curse words...maybe an inappropriate word never leaves your lips....but the second you put God's name down...all of that crashes down. Next time you have the temptation to say it...or even say "omg" in a text, remember that people are always watching you. If you sink down to the level of unbelievers, how will they notice the difference in you? Curiousity comes from uniqueness...which leads to turning people over to Christ.

Have a great day, girls!

Brittany Lou<3