Nonnegotiables

Nonnegotiable (def) - not open to discussion or reconsideration.

Some thing are just a certain way and only a perfect holy God could make such strong directives in our lives, and He does. There is a set of God's perfect laws that are called the Ten Commandments, and they are just that "The commands of God for His People." These are not commandments that are just for super spiritual people, or people who seem to have it all together, or even commandments for leadership. These are the rules of God and must be followed. Because of Jesus, guess what, WE are His people, or as some scripture calls us, His children. 1 John 3: 2 See how great a love the Father has given us, that we would be called children of God; and in fact we are. One thing His Spirit leads His children to do is to follow His commands. Romans 8:14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father! ”Since we are His children, we have a promise that God holds Himself to and that promise is that He will love us, take care of us, and lead us. In His commands, there are no "ifs, ands, or buts." His commands just ARE!

Here are the ten commandments:

1. 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.

2. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing favor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

3. 7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

4. 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 For six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

5. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged on the land which the Lord your God gives you.

6. 13 “You shall not murder.

7. 14 “You shall not commit adultery.

8. 15 “You shall not steal.

9. 16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

10. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

You did not see any Ifs or ands or buts in any of the above verses because there are none. The above commands are just what God Commands. As followers of Jesus these are not only commands for us to think and debate about, but commands to follow or......REPENT! Thank God for His mercy and His grace and we will fail in some of these at times, but our failures don't lessen the commandment itself. His grace confirms the desire and need to follow these commandments and live by them. Nuf said.

Today's Message,

David Warren