The Fourth Commandment (Exodus 20:8-11)
Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy… Six days you shall labor and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord….
by M. Noel
As we think about the Sabbath day, we first need to ask ourselves a few questions.
1. What is the Sabbath day?
2. What does Sabbath mean to us Christians?
3. What do we mean by keeping it holy?
When I was in boarding school during high school, I lived with a Seventh Day Adventist family. The mother was a convert and the father was Roman Catholic. It has been said that the converts to a religion adhere more strictly to the teachings of the religion than those who born in it. This was so true of this converted mother. Yet she needed to make some compromise in order to please her husband
The mother and her children spent most of Saturday in church, worship and praise in the mornings, a break for lunch, and more worship and praise in the afternoon. Boarders were not compelled to attend worship services, but were restricted from participating in any activities that were not of a religious nature. As Anglicans, we the Boarders worshipped on Sundays and our church activities were not on Saturdays, therefore we usually joined the family in their Saturday church activities.
So what about the father? He was not a churchgoer; neither to the SDA or the RC and his Saturday behavior and activities were not different from that of other days. So we were thankful that because of the father, we had a hot meal for lunch on Saturdays. The meal was cooked on Friday, refrigerated and then heated up for the midday meal on Saturday, unlike others in the religion who did not believe that they should turn on the stove on their Sabbath.
Let me attempt to answer the first question above. As Christians we have been taught that because of the death and resurrection of Christ we have been given new commandments, the first being that we now worship on Sunday in celebration of that resurrection gift from God. A second new commandment has been freedom to discern what give us the greater good, turning on a stove on our Sabbath in order to commune with our family and friends or to follow the rigidity of “no work on the Sabbath.”
Yes, I feel that we have gone too far with the secular freedom we have allowed on the Sabbath. When the stores began opening on Sundays, I vowed that I would not do any shopping on Sundays, but then it started as an act of necessity, then it became an act of convenience and now it has become more regular than I am proud of. I am not as far gone as those who say - well once I’ve spent my 30 minutes in church on Saturday night, then my duty to God is fulfilled and I’ve freed up Sundays for golfing, fishing, going to the beach or barbequing with friends and family.
An older friend once said to me that once when she and her husband were thinking of buying a car, her salesman called on a Sunday to say that they had a very good deal for only that day. The woman told the salesman thanks but she was sorry because they don’t transact business on Sundays. On Monday the car salesman called to say that the dealer had agreed to extend the deal for them onto Monday. I pray that I may be able to withstand temptations and be able to revere the Sabbath.
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The Third Commandment: “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God” by Pastor Amy
Exodus 20:7
(NIV) "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
(NRSV) “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.”
(KJV)“Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”
(THE MESSAGE) “No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter; God won't put up with the irreverent use of his name.”
SUNDAY 6/10 - “What’s In a Name?”
The Jewish people were so intent on following this commandment perfectly, and so afraid of accidentally misusing the Lord’s name, that they actually refused to speak or write it… ever. It was too holy to be put in human speech or words. They considered the Lord’s “name” to be Yahweh (or YHWH – incidentally, this is where the name “Jehovah” (JHVH) for God comes from in some older translations), which literally means “I am who I am.” When Moses encountered this living God in the burning bush, and God called him to deliver the people of Israel from slavery, Moses asked, “who shall I say sent me?” And God said “I am who I am!” or “I will be who I will be.” In other words, nothing defines God except God! God is the source of identity, beyond our names and understanding of God, and no matter what we call God, we can never quite get it right. In some ways, we are always misusing God’s name if we think that we have finally wrapped our minds around who God is. And yet the God whose name is unknowable and unspeakable and utterly holy becomes flesh in the named person of Jesus; the God who is beyond us turns out to have a face and a voice and a body. That is grace.
Prayer Point Lord, we give you thanks that although you are holy and beyond us and impossible for us to wrap our minds around, you draw near to us and in the person of Jesus Christ wrap your arms around us. Help us to speak your gracious name with the reverence it deserves.
MONDAY 6/11 – “The Power of Naming.”
When I think about God’s name I can’t help but think about what a powerful influence a “name” has in a person’s life. Think about how your parents chose a name for you. Where did it come from? How did they choose it? Does anyone else share your name in your family? What does your name mean? This shapes your identity, your understanding of your self, how it is that people know you. Some say that your name can affect the job you have later in life! When we name anything, we are defining it. Think about how we name someone a “problem child” or a “good worker” or “caring person.” Our naming has power. We name God too. We call God “our savior,” “my Lord,” “Creator,” “provider,” “friend,” “shepherd,” “Holy Spirit,” “teacher,” and many others. What we call God defines our relationship. There is a Christian prayer practice called Centering Prayer, and the first step is to think of a “name” that you have for God. It might be any of the ones I listed above, or something else that captures the nature of the relationship you have with God. The next step is to simply sit in silence, listening for God; when you become distracted, gently say that “name” and let is center you, quiet you, and take away the distractions so you can continue to listen to God’s voice. What power God’s name has in our lives!
TUESDAY 6/12 – “Speaking with Purpose”
The third commandment instructs us to be careful in our use of God’s name; it should not be spoken “in vain” or “irreverently.” To speak God’s name casually is to treat God casually. To speak God’s name in vain is to understand our relationship with him to meaningless. It makes me wonder how much thought we put into our words, our conversations, what we say. Are there times when we are too casual in our use of God’s name, and perhaps even in our use of other words? Do we treat people or relationships with the respect and meaning they deserve, or merely “casually” or “in vain?” I wonder if one of the biggest problems of our society is that we are too casual about things that don’t deserve such treatment: work, sex, relationships, commitments, words. How many times have we hurt people by our casual comments or the casual manner in which we have treated them? The third commandment reminds us to speak with purpose and meaning, and to not throw away words as though they did not matter. God’s name is the ultimate word and relationship that should not be used in vain, but there are others that deserve respect too. Perhaps if we gave more thought to the purpose in which we used God’s name, we might give more thought to our other words too.
Prayer PointLord, teach us to think before we speak and to speak with care and purpose so that our words would glorify you.
WEDNESDAY 6/13 – “the Culture of Titles”
I have a friend from the South who grew up always calling adults with the titles “Miss/Mr. (insert first name).” Another friend always had to call adults by their last name, and never their first name. In many African and Caribbean countries, all adult women are called “Aunt” or “Auntie.” In some churches, all members are called “brother” or “sister.” I grew up calling the adults I knew by their first name. What’s interesting is that the titles we give people reflects the values of the culture. The America, west-coast culture in which I lived valued relationships that were personal and familiar. The African culture emphasizes how connected we all are and how we should treat each other—like family. The culture of the South values formality and etiquette. What’s even more interesting is that I tend to feel like a different person, depending on what title is given to me. “Miss Amy” feels like a different person than “Mrs. Rohler” who feels like a different person than “Pastor Amy” who seems much different that “Aunt Amy” who maybe completely different than simply “Amy.” Am I actually a different person, or does the title simply reflect the values present in the relationship? Obviously, it’s the latter (or I’m schizophrenic!) Again, this third commandment encourages us to give serious thought to why, when, how and where we use titles for God and for others. What values are we upholding by the use of certain titles? What culture are we emphasizing, and is it from God or from the world? Think about how you begin your prayers or how you address God. I almost always say “Holy & Gracious God.” Why? Because I want to emphasize that God is both holy (completely different than us and beyond us) and also gracious (reaches out to us, saves us, closes the gap/distance between us).
THURSDAY 6/14 – “The Consequences of Misuse”
What we often find so serious and perhaps even frightening about this commandment is the same thing the Jewish people found: the consequences of the misuse of God’s name. Depending on what translation you use, the punishment for breaking this commandment seems like anything from mildly stern (“will not hold guiltless”) to unbearably severe (“will not acquit”). As a child, I used to worry that I might accidentally say “O My God” or say God’s name without the reverence it deserves, and then what might happen to me? Is breaking this commandment a sin that is unforgivable if God will not acquit it? In a word, no. It’s important to realize that probably the most common “wrongful use” of God’s name in this culture was using God’s name for the purpose of swearing an oath or a vow (it was especially common in non-Israelite cultures to swear by the name of the local deity or god). If the person broke their vow, what does it say about the God whose name they swore by? God’s word and actions are always true and steadfast. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says “do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool… and do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let you’re your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, no’ anything more than this comes from the evil one” (Matthew 5:33-37). In essence, there are no excuses for this kind of wrongful use of God’s name – it is not an accidental or inadvertent use, but an intentional use of God’s name for a wrong purpose. Instead, we should just do what we say we are going to do, and not bring God’s name into it. It is not an unforgivable sin, but is certainly one that we have committed with purpose and intention, and in this way, God cannot hold us guiltless of committing it.
Prayer Point Lord, thank you for being such a forgiving God who does not count our sins against us, but as far as the east is from the west so far have you removed our transgressions from us. Help us to live our lives with good intentions, with respect to your ways and purposes, and to accomplish what we say we will.
FRIDAY 6/15 – “Taking God for Granted”
When we are blessed or feeling content or have everything we need, it’s so easy to take these things for granted. It’s easy to take our spouse for granted, or our friendships, or family. It’s easy to think that enough food or a home or a job are a just “given.” When we take something for granted, we just assume that the wonderful gifts and love they give us are ours by RIGHT. We treat them as something we own or deserve, as opposed to something that should be treated with gratitude. We treat them “in vain.” When we purposefully try to not take the Lord’s name in vain, it helps us to not to do this with other things in our lives too.
Prayer Point Lord, help us to treat all the good gifts of life—your love, the love of family and friends, simple things like food and home—with the gratitude they deserve.
SATURDAY 6/16 – “God’s Name and Our Whole Lives”
Everyone loves to relax on the weekend, to take a break and to “vacate” their normal, everyday responsibilities of work or school. This is mostly a good thing because we do need meaningful rest and time to reflect on our everyday lives. The problem is that we can sometimes assume that we can take a break from faith too; that we get a vacation from God. This is another way that we can take the Lord (and his name!) in vain. We make wrongful use of our relationship if we do not devote our whole lives to God’s grace, if we keep a part of our self from God’s care. God wants everything we are to belong to God.
Prayer Point Lord, everything we are and have and cherish belongs to you; there is nothing in who we are that you do not know and already love. Help us to hold nothing back; help us to never take a rest from you. Help us to never treat our relationship with you in vain.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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The Second Commandment—“You shall not make any idols” by Pastor Adam
SUNDAY 5/27—The idolatry of Church
Okay so the title is all meant for shock value and to grab your attention. But when it comes to a discussion of idols, things that we create to worship other than God, how can you not also think of places of worship like churches? And if we are honest churches are full of idols, but we might like to call them preferences or tastes, but they often become idols. Music, sermon styles, sanctuary spaces, and prayers all of which are good things we do to worship God, can be twisted into becoming idols. Any time we refuse to participate in the worship happening around us, we have turned our own preferences into idols, and those idols have turned us away from God. I am not saying we should not have preferences. After all, if it were up to me worship would be mostly classical music, silent prayers, 5 minute sermons with the occasional barbershop song thrown into the mix. But worship of God is not about me and my preferences, it is about the people of God coming together, joining hearts and minds, voices and souls, in praise to our God.
Prayer: Lord there is worship happening all around us, but we are blind to it. Open our eyes that we may see the visions of truth you have for me.
MONDAY 5/28—The idolatry of the day off
Okay, so perhaps most who are reading this are beginning their work week and wondering why I would talk about days off now. If you want to, go ahead and read this one on your day off. But many pastors take Monday off and I do as well. The fourth commandment, you shall take a Sabbath and keep it holy, is a great commandment to uphold, and one often overlooked, but included in a day of rest has never been a time of rest from God. Days off can so easily become days in which I only do what I want to do. And while there is comfort in that thought, it is still rather self-centered. Renewal of our bodies, minds and hearts comes when we cease our daily routines on a regular basis and substitute them with time for God. What this looks like can be as unique as the individual for God meets us in so many different ways. Just remember that God meets us in our rest as well as in our action.
Prayer: You are our best thought by day or by night, waking or sleeping your presence is our light.
TUESDAY 5/29—The idolatry of work.
Most of us spend most of our time at work. This is not idolatry in and of itself, in fact God commanded Adam and Eve to be workers. God wants us to be productive participants in our world and that means we have to work. But what happens too often is that we shut down our faith while at work, and pick it up again when we go to church or are in the privacy of our own homes. I am not calling for all of us to become radically outspoken Christians in our work places, but I am asking for each of us to regularly take time during the work day to remind yourself that you belong to God first more than you belong to your boss, or your company, or that project you are trying to finish before the deadline. You still have to finish your work and you still have to try to love that annoying co-worker, but joy springs forth in your soul when you realize that your job is not the last word about who you are, that God’s love for you is the last word about who you are.
Prayer: God help us to glimpse the extra-ordinary movement of your hands in the midst of our ordinary everyday routines of work.
WEDNESDAY 5/30—The Idolatry of the Bible
Oh here I go again with another “shock and awe” title. But just like we can find our worship preferences turned into idols so too can we find our very scripture turning us away from God rather than toward God. While this may seem surprising at first, if you think about it, you will see what I mean. Jesus was great at pointing out to the religious leaders of his day how they worshipped their scriptures more than they did God. Whenever the laws and rules of faith replace faith itself, we have idolatry. The rules, commandment, and laws are designed to bring us and others into relationship with God and to keep us from harm. They set boundaries around the faithful, but they do not define what this dynamic relationship with God is. Our Bible is divided into two testaments, which means that the Bible testifies about or witnesses to God, but in and of itself it is not God. And “Biblolatry” arises when we use scriptures to keep people out of the church or away from God, when we use it as a weapon of judgment or when we fail to be in a personal relationship with God because we spend too much time trying to live up to the rules. The letter of the law is much different than the spirit of it. And the Spirit of God is constantly trying to bring humanity closer to each other and to God.
Prayer: May we read our Bibles in such a way that we are inspired to live out the great commandment and empowered to act on the great commission.
THURSDAY 5/31—The Idolatry of Money
Easy one right? It is so obvious that you cannot worship God and money. That, in the words of Jesus, you will either love the one and hate the other, or be totally devoted to one and despise the other. Except it’s much easier to say than to do. We live in a world in which the economy controls our lives much more than relationships—either with God or each other. We are defined by what we own—or what we owe. Yet God gives us a way out from this trap; money can actually be used to bring us closer to God and to put God at the center of our lives and identity. It’s called generosity. Or giving. Or tithing. You can even call it an “investment” in God’s kingdom, if you wish. When we give away our money (a very strange “use” of one’s money, at least economically), we put it in its rightful place; we de-center it from our lives; we take away its power.
Prayer: Lord, help me to be generous in giving away my money and help me to use my money to glorify you.
In Jesus name, Amen.
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Commandment #1 ~ “Do not worship any other God” by J. Adeyemi
SUNDAY 5/20
Imagine giving birth to a cute baby. The joy that fills the heart of the mother, the pride she takes in knowing that the baby is her own flesh and blood. Then the baby grows up and one day says to the mother “you are not my mother, I hate you. I like Tom’s mom better and would only listen to what she has to say”. Imagine the thoughts that would run through the mind of the mother or the debt of betrayal that she would feel. I am quite sure that the mother would be so disappointed and hurt that the wound might never heal. The illustration above is how many people treat God. God called us forth from things that were not seen and fashioned us in his very own image. We grow up and forget our first love. What pain and sorrow God must feel when each of us decides to worship other Gods than the God that saved our souls from death.
Prayer Point: God, you have made me in your own image, enable me through your blood to worship you alone.
MONDAY 5/21 "Using our time and career to worship God."
Many Christians know and obey the first commandment to a certain extent. I think of the father that works so much, he cannot even make it to church on Sundays. I know of a sister that will rather read the wall street journal instead of attending a church service. Yes, things that take up our time of worshiping the only true God can be gods themselves unto us. When we allow such things as time, money, property, career or any other such things to rob us of spending quality time worshiping God almighty, then we are worshiping those things instead.
Prayer Point: Jehovah Jirah, please provide me with such things in my lives that would not demand the time I need to worship you. Give me what I need and let it always point me towards you.
TUESDAY 5/22 "Worship of the creation instead of the creator"
I do not worship any idol that is man-made says a friend to me once. I worship God through the things that he made. Yes, the friend was speaking of worshiping the sun. The sun that God the father called into being to separate day from night. Many people believe that if they worship God’s creation, they are worshiping the creator as well. But, the creator and the creation are not the same. God made it clear, “Do not worship any other God” and he defines it further in the second commandment which we would discuss next week.
Prayer Point: Father God, you have called all things into being, help me to worship you alone and not share your glory with things that you have created.
WEDNESDAY 5/23 "Carved images, Pendants, lucky charms etc."
A few years ago a friend of mine would kiss his cross pendant whenever he gets into trouble, trusting that the pendant would miraculously save him. Another friend of mine would say “Voodoo gods” is a way to the father, just like Jesus. Some people use a specific pen they title “lucky pen” on all their exams, believing that the pen would bring them good luck. Many times, instead of putting our faith and hope in the almighty God, we start to believe that power comes from man-made items. When we believe that these things are the source of our blessings or that they have the power to change our situations, we are worshiping them. I think of many idols (carved images) that are often made of wood. The wood or the artistic creation itself is not the god, but the spirit that resides inside the carved image that people worship. People worship it because they believe that it has the power to do and undo situations in their lives. The same way our pens and pendants are not gods, but we often make them gods when we place our trust in them.
Prayer Point: Heavenly father, help me to put my trust in you and believe in you for my life, my current situations and my future.
THURSDAY 5/24 "The spirit of atheism"
“I do not worship any gods; in fact, I do not believe there is a god”. Many atheists will tell you that there is no god. Where the Spirit of the Lord is absent, the spirit of the Anti-Christ resides. Think about it for a second. A glass can either be filled with water (a substance) or it can be filled with air (the lack of substance); regardless, something is going to fill the glass cup. People are controlled by the lies of the Devil telling them that there is no God. Unaware of the lack of substance that fills their souls; these people are in bondage to the devil because the spirit of Satan is at work in them.
Prayer Point: Almighty God, set me free from the evil spirit that says that there is no God. Fill me with your spirit so that my alliance will be to you alone.
FRIDAY 5/25 “One or the other”
The bible teaches that we should worship God alone. In other words, you either praise God or you rebel against him. You cannot worship two Gods. When we fall short of anything that God requires of us, that is when we sin, we are not glorifying God. In anything that we do, whether it is in singing, going to work, washing dishes, we can use it to glorify God. God can be worshiped when we use everything and anything that is around us to the glory of his name. If we can use a musical instrument like the tambourine in the right way to worship God, then the lack of use or the wrong use of it will not worship God.
Prayer Point: God, help us to worship you in all situations with anything and everything that is around us.
SATURDAY 5/26 “Do not worship any other god”
God has made it clear in the commandment. Now is the time to examine what we believe and to seek God’s face for forgiveness and his embrace.
Prayer point: Lord God, thank you for all you have done for me. You have created me in your own image; let me be the person that you have called me to be. Forgive me for all the sins that I have committed against you. Forgive me for putting other gods before you even though many times I do not know it. Open my eyes to see the desires of your heart and to follow in all your ways. Break the chains of bondage that Satan and his demons have over my life and raise a standard against them. Free me and clean me with the blood of your son Jesus Christ. Continue to work in me so that I can worship you, the one and only true God.
In Jesus name, Amen
