Pedestal Topper

Exodus 20:1-7

Verse 2  “You shall have no other gods before me.”

    Yesterday we were talking about how when the scroll of the law was found, King Josiah repented about his sins and the sins of God’s people.  Obeying the Law is a way of living a surrendered life but we can’t obey something we aren’t familiar with.  We are going to spend a couple of days looking at the first 4 commandments as we make sure we are familiar with them so we can obey in a surrendered way.

    Commandment number one is as basic as it gets.  In fact, this is like a stabilizing rod holding the rest in line.  When God is number one in our lives everything else falls into place.  That may sound cliché, but the truth is that putting God in the top place in our lives helps us see the rest of life with a clarity that false gods can’t give.  And if we are honest with ourselves, we know how hard it is to keep this commandment.  It is virtually impossible as we find ourselves fighting to keep “me, myself and I” from usurping the throne.

    In second place on our list is one that is similar to the first except it speaks specifically to a physical item to be worshiped.  God is so serious about this one that He says He will lay the sins of the people who disobey this on their children’s lives for three to four generations.

    The third commandment refers to how we speak about Him – with our words and our actions.

    What do these three have in common?  They are all about making God supreme in your life.  It is like a set of stairs.  First we are told to make Him the only God we have.  Like any of these commandants, this isn’t a once and done formula.  To fully obey any and all of the Law, one must be making the choice moment by moment not to have any gods other than the one true God.  It is moment by moment surrendering to His will instead of our own.  It is the moment by moment choice not to look at any item – living or made of stone – with worship in your heart.  As a Christian we bear His name and so anything we do that doesn’t reflect Him is proof that He has slipped from the throne of our life.  We have stopped worshiping Him and started worshiping ourselves.  And that is the moment we step out of pure praise.

Making It Personal

    Do you find it hard to make the conscience decision every moment to make God your only God?  What is the most common god vying for top place?  What makes that more desirable than God?

Making It Personal Kids

    What does it mean to for God to be the only God?  What other things could become a god?  What is the difference between God and gods?

Closing Prayer

    Dear Father, please help us see the importance of the first step of making You the supreme God.  May our desire to worship drive us to keep putting You in the top spot in our lives.  Please reveal to us the things that are vying for Your place in our hearts.  In Jesus’ name, amen.