PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS
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One of the hardest truths for the modern mind to grasp seems to be the concept of absolute truth, truth that does not depend on the perspective of the observer but that is true no matter what. As a people we have struggled to accept that we are not the originators of all things, that there is in fact one outside of our influence who defines the very nature of truth.
In the message of the first commandment, the God of Israel spoke absolute truth to all people. The Lord God Almighty made it known that there is only one Creator, one Lord, one provider of life and truth, and we are not him.
Let us listen carefully to the message of this first command:
1 And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 You shall have no other gods before me.”
(Exodus 20:1-3 NIV11)
The God Who Speaks
The first line of this passage points us to the nature of our Lord. The God of creation is not a silent, distant, out-of-touch and unreachable deity. He is not the Great Spirit who observes humanity as a passive and unapproachable force. The Lord is not the many-faced god of pluralism, showing himself to mankind in as many forms as there are people to observe him.
The Lord God of Israel, the I AM, is the God who speaks. The Lord communicates to his creation. He shows us his nature and character in his Word, in his actions, in his creative works, in the leadership and movement of His Holy Spirit. The Lord has spoken to us most specifically through the message and example provided by the Immanuel, God with us, Jesus Christ.
It is essential that the child of God know that the Lord listens. God is present in your life and wants to hear from you. He listens to more than your words, he listens to your heart. He knows you more than you know yourself and yet still wants to be in relationship with you.
The Lord does more than simply hear our prayers and receive our worship. The Lord is active in his communications with each of us. The Lord speaks to us in many ways but we are often too busy and too preoccupied with our wants to really stop and hear the movement of the Spirit in our hearts and minds. The Lord is always at work in us, but we often miss his hand because we are too busy seeking to impose our will on all things.
We have a God who speaks. Let us not lose sight of this truth.
Specifics
In this command, the pluralism and atheism so rampant in our world smashes against the rocks of the God who speaks. The Lord defines his own nature, his own name, his own covenant relationship with whomever he chooses.
We, the works of his hands, do not define the Lord. We do not get to mold the Lord into a god that suits our agenda and our desires. We might wish that all religions and all faiths could be held without conflict and tension because they all supposedly point to the same spiritual forces. This would make us feel better about those who do not share the perspective of the biblical God, but it simply cannot be done.
YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME!
The command makes it clear that there is no room for you and me to alter the nature of the Lord, or to redefine his standards of right and wrong. There is one God and all other competitors are nothing but the wind.
If we want to hold onto the message of the Ten Commandments, we must hold onto the truth of the first. There is only one God and he is the self-revealed God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the I AM. He is the truth, the way, and the life.
Let us wrestle with this truth today. Let us hold it out in front of our eyes and allow the absolute truth of the one true God help us see what it means to belong to the God who Speaks.
In Christ,
Ryan Laden
PASTOR RYAN LADEN
Works at MTN. CHURCH
Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church
Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Studied at Baylor University
Studied at Texas Tech University
Went to Castle Hills First Baptist
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