This week we are looking at the 9th commandment, “You shall not give false testimony (witness) against your neighbor.” Some versions simply state, “You shall not lie.” The love command that goes with this verse is “Love is Truthful.” Please take time to catch up with our look at the 10 commandments by going to the week of March 22, 2012 and reading on through last week’s (http://purejoyinternational.blogspot.com/2012/03/love-is-loyal.html).
Here are the previous commandments we have covered. Remember the first four commandments are about how we should love God (and our spouse if married). The last six are about how we are to love our neighbors and ourselves.
1st Commandment “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:1-3).
Love Command: Love is Loyal
2nd Commandment “You shall not worship idols” (Exodus 20:4).
Love Command: Love is Faithful
3rd
Commandment “You shall not take the name of the LORD in vain” (Exodus 20:7).
Love Command: Love is Reverent
4th Commandment “Keep the Sabbath holy” (Exodus 20:8).
Love Command: Love is Intimate
5th Commandment “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12).
Love Command: Love is Respectful
6th Commandment “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13).
Love Command: Love is Harmless
7th
Commandment is “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). Love Command: Love is Reverent
4th Commandment “Keep the Sabbath holy” (Exodus 20:8).
Love Command: Love is Intimate
5th Commandment “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12).
Love Command: Love is Respectful
6th Commandment “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13).
Love Command: Love is Harmless
Love Command: Love is Pure
8th Commandment “You shall not
steal” (Exodus 20:15).
Love Command: Love is Selfless
Love Command: Love is Selfless
9th Commandment: “You shall not give false
testimony against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16).
Love Command: Love is Truthful
Love Command: Love is Truthful
WOW! If ever we needed to hear the teaching of this commandment it is today. Not giving false testimony means in its simplest form, “Don’t lie.” I just read from an internet source where a gentleman put the meaning of the 9th commandment in this way (and I quote), “Don’t tell lies, don’t spread lies, and don’t live lies.” Bouncing off of his three comments, let me say it to you this way: Don’t tell lies and don’t be confused about what a lie is. If God’s word says it is green and anyone else calls it a different color then they are lying. Anything that goes against what God tells us about Himself, you, others, and the enemy is a LIE. This week I challenge you to take just a few moments and see how you are doing regarding this commandment. Are you lying to others? Are you lying to yourself? Are you living a lie at home, at work, in ministry, etc? Are you falsely flattering people to get your way? I think it would truly shock most of us if we got totally honest about this commandment. I’m afraid we have decided for ourselves what a lie is, instead of believing by doing what God’s word tells us. I have heard it taught throughout my walk with God the way they teach a teller in a bank to tell the difference between the real bill and the counterfeit bill is they study the real bill. Therefore when the counterfeit comes along they know the difference. That has been one of the nuggets I have hidden in my nugget bag in life. Study God’s word boldly! Therefore, when the lies come, you will know the difference. I also recall my very first pastor telling me this one day, “This book (The Bible) will keep you from sin. Sin will keep you from this book (The Bible). Think about that.
Dominican News
As we pack things up for leaving the country this coming
Sunday I could not pass up sending you this last minute email I received from
Erin, the young woman who is our contact person on the field and who has worked
tirelessly with Linda (our Administrative Assistant with Pure Joy International)
to get the details of the hotels, meals, and team transportation settled before
we even leave this country. As you read her email that is just as she wrote,
you might want to get a tissue.
I Love You All! Watch for the daily blogs that will begin
next Sunday night and continue throughout the time we are out of the country.
CAN"T WAIT TO SEE YOU!!!
This time last year I was just coming out of a fog. Now that
I look back at it, I can see that it was as much a time of darkness as it was a
time of uncertainty. I was recovering from the traumatic birth of my son that
had left me hurting physically and emotionally. I suffered for months with
physical complications that took me in and out of the hospital. I noticed that
when I was in public my baby was no longer the little one and wondered when he
had grown so quickly.
He was seven months old and though I
could mark the passed time on the calendar, I seemed shocked to admit to the
reality of months lost. I was saddened that somehow I had missed out on his new
start due to my physical illness and then recovery.
The Dominican heat
had arrived and I was looking for some sort of relief, from the heat and just
from life. After a complicated process of rabbit trails and misinformation, I
finally had the baby's passport and I was ready to abandon ship. My older son's
school schedule and then our ministry's summer schedule would keep us from
traveling until the fall.
In the fall we visited our family
and a supporting church in the US for one week, and I returned to the DR
feeling like I was given a drop of water when I was dying of thirst. It helped
me survive but I needed more. I needed to be filled up spiritually. I needed a
break from my 24 hour on call to ministry and demands of my family. "God,”
I cried out, “I don't think I'm gonna make it!" I had wondered if what I
was experiencing was madness. "This must be what you feel like right
before you lose it!" I thought. But just about that time, a chatter began
amongst some missionary friends of mine in Central America. A retreat in Peru
First, I believe he wanted me to see that
though the body of Christ helps us when we are down, it is only God that can
fill us up. I was grasping at people, books and events that could help me get
back to Christ when really Christ was offering his own hand to me. I was
searching for a savior but I already knew THE Savior. I already had a saving
relationship with Christ, so I felt called to grow my relationship with Christ,
personally. I realized that if I am rebuilding I should build on Christ the
cornerstone. Pretty basic for a Christian but God was teaching me anew. Then I
realized that if I felt this desperation, frustration in life and ministry I am
sure there were others here in the DR that felt the same. When Vickie told me
there were no plans to have a retreat in the DR but asked if I would like to
help make it happen, I was delighted. By bringing Pure Joy to the DR I could be
blessed and Pure Joy could bless missionaries throughout the country.
So since September that is what I
have been doing. Rebuilding my relationship from the ground up and helping
bring Pure Joy to the DR. I am so excited that we are so close to our time
together. God is faithful to complete the work he has started in me. I am still
not perfect and don't suppose I ever will be. I am still rebuilding and seeking
God. I think it is a life long process, or so I hope. Some days we find each
other and I delight in him. Other days I allow busy-ness in life's duties and
responsibilities to distract me, then I miss him. But the fog is gone. The
Light cut through the darkness and is showing his victory in my life and God is
healing my spirit.
I am so thankful that God told me,
"Not now," because his timing is perfect. I still need to be refreshed
and I can't wait to drink sloppily from the springs. I love you all and I know
that my heart couldn't be more ready to meet this group of missionary ladies. The
Pure Joy team is amazing and I can't wait to meet them too, especially sweet
Linda. I am bursting at the seams to see what God has in store for all of us.
Love,
Erin
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