Thou Shalt…

Achilleion Palace, Corfu, Greece, 2012- former home of Empress Elizabeth of Austria (taken my Martha Wiggins)

Achilleion Palace, Corfu, Greece, 2012- former home of Empress Elizabeth of Austria (taken my Martha Wiggins)

And he was there with Jehovah forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.”  Exodus 34:28

    How often do you read, or examine your attitude toward and your success in upholding, God’s ten commandments.  While civil law protects our societies, moral law protects our souls.  It is good to know God’s laws, and the repercussion and penalties for not following them.  Listed here are each of the ten commandments along with a scripture to  expand on its theme.  Keep God’s commandments and thou shalt reap His reward of Eternal Life.

1.  I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt not have strange gods before Me.  (“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”  Acts 4:12)

2.  Thou shalt not take the name of  the Lord thy God in vain.   (“God, furthermore, said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.”  Exodus 3:15)

3.  Remember thou keep holy the Lord’s day.  (“If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure and speaking your own word, then you will take delight in the Lord,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”  Isaiah 58:13-14)

4.  Honor thy father and thy mother.  (“Hear, my son, your father’s instruction
and do not forsake your mother’s teaching;  Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head and ornaments about your neck.”  Proverbs 1:8-9)

5.  Thou shalt not kill.  (” If, however, a man acts presumptuously toward his neighbor, so as to kill him craftily, you are to take him even from My altar, that he may die.”  Exodus 21:14)

6.  Thou shalt not commit adultery.  (“In the prophets of Jerusalem also I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies; and they strengthen the hands of evil-doers, so that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them become unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.”  Jeremiah 23:14)

7.  Thou shalt not steal.  (“Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have whereof to give to him that hath need.”  Ephesians 4:28)

8.  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.  (“A false witness shall not be unpunished; And he that uttereth lies shall not escape.”  Proverbs 19:5)

9. Thou shalt not covet thy neigbor’s wife.  (“For this ye know of a surety, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”  Ephesians 5:5)

10.  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.  (“And he said unto them, Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”  Luke 12:15)

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Lord, You Are Charity

The Last Supper, part of a four tapestry series on the Passion, ca 1520-30, Vatican Museum, taken 2012 by Martha Wiggins

The Last Supper, part of a four tapestry series on the Passion, ca 1520-30, Vatican Museum, taken 2012 by Martha Wiggins

Lord, You are Charity.

Forgive me, Lord when I am selfish and self-centered.  Forgive me when I am stingy with all you have blessed me with and do not share with those in need as much as I should.

Thank you, Lord, for the surplus of abundance you provide for me and for my loved ones.  Help us to better seek out and take care of those in need.  Help our charity to be in your name only.

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Nowhere Man In Nowhere Land

Storm Clouds, Banff National Park, Canada,2010, taken by Martha Wiggins

Storm Clouds, Banff National Park, Canada,2010, taken by Martha Wiggins

“No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”   Matthew 6:24   

      Serving two masters is really quite a balancing act.  If you attempt to do so, you will not do it well and one or the other will suffer.  If one of them happens to be God, you cannot do it at all, for God will not allow it.

     Let us say you serve two worldly masters, love and money as a simple example.  You may be able to balance it for a while, but eventually it will wear you down.  If you spend all your time working to get more money, you will have little or no time left to spend with the ones you love.  If you spend all your time in loving someone, you will probably get fired from your job for being absent all the time.  Then you will have no money to support yourself, let alone the one you love.

     Let us say one master is God and the other is a worldly master, such as vanity or pride for example.  You may serve God publicly in order to receive many accolades.  However, God commands us to serve only Him.  If we are vain and serve Him only that others might see us, we may actually see success for a time.  Others surely will reap the benefits of our service to them, yet we will reap no heavenly reward.  The sin of vanity and pride will cost us dearly.

     As Matthew so clearly states above, you cannot serve both God and mammon.  When you try to do so, you get caught in between and are in nowhere land.  You will serve neither master well.  And so you must choose which master you will serve, God or mamon.

     As an aside:  I once attended a beautiful spiritual retreat where the priest who spoke left me with a little food for thought that I have never forgotten.  You see, I love music, all kinds of music, though I do especially like music from the my high school and college days.  His bit of wisdom was that if you like the ‘oldies’ from the 60’s and 70’s, you can often turn the lyrics into hymns of prayer by imagining Jesus as the main impetus for many of the songs.  It may sound a little strange, but I have often done it.  That said, the above Bible verse makes me thing of the following Beetles song.

Songwriters: LENNON, JOHN / MCCARTNEY, PAUL

He’s a real nowhere Man,
Sitting in his Nowhere Land,
Making all his nowhere plans
For nobody.
Doesn’t have a point of view,
Knows not where he’s going to,
Isn’t he a bit like you and me?

 As I said, choose today which master you will serve, God or Mammon.  Don’t be caught in nowhere land.!

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Public vs. Private

Ruins at Corinth, Greece, 2012, taken by Martha Wiggins

Ruins at Corinth, Greece, 2012, taken by Martha Wiggins

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.  Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.  And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.  And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.  But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.  And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”  Matthew 6:1-6

Is it wrong to practice your faith in public?  Wrong to let others see you giving to the poor?  Wrong to pray out loud that others might hear?  At first glance that seems to be what the verse above from Matthew’s Gospel is saying.  With closer scrutiny we see that this is not the case at all.

Whether or not public faith displays, giving to the needy, and praying in public are right or wrong depends upon intent, upon why it is done.  Jesus warns us that if you do these things in order to be seen or praised by others, then that (being seen and whatever respect or fame it offers) will be your reward, here and now.  There will be no reward from the Father in heaven.

Therefore, the reason behind the doing makes all the difference.  In reality we need both public and private faith and prayer lives.  Unless the private interior life of the soul is healthy and righteous the public display will be just that, a display for personal gain and not for spiritual growth and knowledge.

Reaffirm and solidify your faith in private before entering the public arena each day.  Then by all means, live out your faith.  Go ahead and give to the needy letting your gift be an example for others to follow or for making others aware of a well deserved charitable organization.  Pray in public, not to get attention for being religious or spiritual, but to witness the great need for a relationship with Christ in every part of daily life.

Public vs. Private?  Both, at the right time, in the right place, and for the right reason… to share the love of Christ with all and bear witness to His saving grace in action.  Your reward, rather than immediate and fleeting, will be given you by the Father in heaven.  Your reward will be eternal.

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Labor Day Thoughts

O Lord,  You know how busy I must be this day:  If I forget You, Do Not You forget me.  (Prayer of Sir Jacob Astley before the battle of Edgehill)

     Some will be off from work for the Labor Day holiday.  Others will have to work even longer hours.  Let all of us be thankful for the jobs and earnings we and loved ones are blessed with.  Let us also be prayerful for all who have no work or reliable source of income to support themselves and their loved ones.  Let us seek in some way to ease their burdens.

     Have a great Labor Day and blessing to all of you.

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Lord, You Are Forgiveness

One of the Stations of The Cross inside the Pantheon, Rome, Italy, 2011, taken by Martha Wiggins

One of the Stations of The Cross inside the Pantheon, Rome, Italy, 2011, taken by Martha Wiggins

Lord, You are Forgiveness.

Forgive me, Lord, for all I have done to You.  My sins are the cross you bear.

Thank you, Lord, for all you have done for me.  On the cross of my sins, Your mercy and forgiveness are my salvation.

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Thus Says The Lord God

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden by Peter Wenzel, taken by Martha Wiggins, Vatican Museum, 2012

Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden by Peter Wenzel, taken by Martha Wiggins, Vatican Museum, 2012

“For thus says the Lord God: I myself will look after and tend my sheep.  As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep.  I will rescue them from every place where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark…the lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal…”  Ezekiel 34:11-12,16

     If today you feel yourself slipping into that place where everything is wrong, you want to quit, or can’t seem to find your way, call upon the Lord God to fulfill His promise.  You are His sheep, for thus says the Lord.

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The Joy Of Perfection

Bernini's Holy Spirit at Saint Peter's Basilica

Bernini’s Holy Spirit at Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy, 2011

    I have posted previously about The Imitation of Christ, a devotional written in the 15th century whose authorship is attributed to Thomas a Kempis.  Second only to the Bible as the most widely read book in the world, it is written in order to help the devout soul achieve holiness.  Many life topics are addressed in a beautifully rich way.  Today I will share two.  Read slowly… absorb. 

The Vanity of Earthly Things

It is vanity to seek perishing riches, and to trust in them.  Vanity, also, it is, to court honors, and to lift one’s self on high.  It is vanity to flow the desires of the flesh; and to desire that, for which hereafter there must be a heavy penalty.  It is vanity to wish a long life, and to take but little pains about a good life.  It is vanity to attend only to the present life, and not to look forward to the things that are to come.  It is vanity to love what is passing away with all speed, and not to be hasting thither where endless joy abideth. (I. 1.)

     The riches of this world are perishing.  You can’t take them with you.  In fact, desiring them may bring much pain and suffering in the hereafter!  Loving this life so much that you never want to leave it and never considering how to live, and not looking forward to the next life is futal and empty.  Eternal Life is where joy abideth!

True Wisdom

The highest and most useful lesson we can learn is this, to know truly and to look down upon ourselves.  To think nothing of ourselves, and always to judge well and highly of others, is great wisdom and high perfection. (I. 2.)  

         

   Just as location is everything in real estate, in life it is humility, humility, humility!  A wonderful by-product of humility is the lifting up of others over ourselves.  Persevering in thinking well and highly of others in all things and at all times is a true test of wisdom and perfection.

     Sometimes we need guidance or a road map in dealing with life, in dealing with ourselves and with others.  The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis is simple and  straightforward, great advice for all souls looking to achieve holiness.  When turned to frequently whether in need or for study and wisdom it is absorbed by our soul.  The more it is absorbed by our soul, the more we find our way on our personal path to holiness.

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Personal Prayer Journal

St Mark's Cathedral, Venice, Italy

Saint Mark’s Cathedral, Venice, Italy, 2012

     Besides my Journey Through The Stillness, I have previously mentioned that I also keep a daily prayer journal.  It is more personal.  Over the years I have come to call it my Book of Answered Prayers.  I am not saying that all of my prayers are answered exactly how I want them to be, or how I expect them to be, but having kept my journals throughout the years, I have been witness to the fact that they are answered or resolved.  At times my prayers are very specific and personal, naming names and detailing situations.  At other times they are more generic but still personal.  Today I am sharing one of the more generic pages as an example.  If you have never done prayer journaling, consider giving it a try.  It is amazing to see how God answers prayers and meets needs…

Good morning, Lord.

You are Abundant Life.  Forgive me, Lord, when through my selfishness and self-centeredness I see lack instead of abundance.  Thank you, Lord, for all that is You in my life.  Help me ever to focus on the abundance of You and not the lack according to the greed of this worldly life.

Bless, protect, and guide Turner and I, each of our children, family members and friends.  Lead us each to You and keep us ever close, beneath your wings.  Meet our needs and fulfill our desires wherever possible and according to your will.

Bless and strengthen our Nation and guide our leaders.  May the outcomes of the fall elections serve only your greater glory and bring this Nation and its people to your altar.

Bless The Church, her mission, and all who hunger for You.  Bless all for whom I have offered to pray, and especially those I may have forgotten.

Bless our home and our pets, especially Shadow right now.

Love, Martha

Aside:  I end every page with ‘bless our home and our pets’ just because.  This is also where many of the short prayers beginning ‘Lord, You are…’ come from.  To learn more about this type of prayer journaling see previous Orbital Buzz posts, “A Private Peek”, dated March 14, 2011, and “A House In Ruins”, which recently ran as a repeat on July 10, 2012.

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Trustworthy Steward

St Peter's Basilica Statuary, taken by Martha Wiggins, 2011

St Peter’s Basilica Statuary, taken by Martha Wiggins, 2011

“People should think of us as Christ’s servants, stewards entrusted with the mysteries of God.  In such a matter, what is expected of stewards is that each one should be found trustworthy.  1 Corinthians 4:1-2

     When we give someone a job to do for us, we expect the job to be done.  We don’t expect that we will have to stand watch to make sure it gets done.  A steward is one who oversees the use of and management of supplies, funds, etc.  To be a good steward is to be organized, attentive, aware, ethical, and above all, trustworthy.

     From the very beginning, God entrusted His message, His Word, to others.  Many were prophets meant to lead us or warn us.  However, Jesus was The Living Word.  He imparted it to His disciples through both His actions and His words.  To Peter he handed the Keys to the Kingdom.  Through Peter He established The Church, The Living Word on earth, in order that generations to come would have access to His Word.  He left us His living, vibrant, Word in action, His Church.  He also left us as stewards of His Word, His Church.

     Just as Jesus, just as The Church, we, His children, are The Living Word.  We are The Church.  Through our actions and our words we impart The Word to others.  We are stewards of the supplies, the funds, the Faith.  We have been entrusted with the mysteries of God.

     Do you live out your faith in a way that others can witness, in a way that others know you belong to Jesus?  Do they see you as a good steward who is attentive, ethical, and above all trustworthy with The Word?

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