The 2 Commandments to Rule Them All

Whether you are Christian, Jewish or Muslim you should be familiar with the story of Moses. At age 80 he was summoned by God, Moses and the Israelites made their way to Mt. Sinai. God told Moses to tell the people of Israel to get ready to receive his word. Moses told them to bathe and clean themselves and their clothes. On the 3rd morning there was a rumbling earthquake and those who were still asleep were awoken. Everyone moved out of their tents and looked toward the mountain. The peak was covered by clouds and was not visible from ground level and the sound of trumpets could be heard and it was getting louder.

At this point Moses went up the mountain once more to hear from God. God told Moses to warn the people of Israel not to come up the mountain as it was a special place and God himself was there. Moses warned the people not to climb or touch the mountain and he returned to God, this time he stayed for a long period (40 days and 40 nights). God told Moses that he will give him the 10 Commandments and also explained that each of these commandments will be equally important.

God then gave unto Moses the 10 Commandments:

1. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
3. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
4. Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labour and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
5. Honour your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour.
10. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbour’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.

These commandments are pretty self-explanatory and easy to understand and these are the most important rules as given to Moses by God. Are these the only rules we were given by God? No, they are not… After God commanded Moses and the Israelites to leave Mt. Sinai, He gave Moses even more Laws that should be followed. These include the following:

1. Law of Leprosy – Leviticus 13
2. Law of Bodily discharges – Leviticus 15
3. Sanctity of Blood – Leviticus 17
4. Law of Sexual Morality – Leviticus 18 (This addresses the issue of Beastiality and Homosexuality)
5. Moral and Ceremonial Laws – Leviticus 19
6. Penalties for breaking the Laws – Leviticus 20

The penalties for breaking these laws given unto Moses by God Himself was usually very severe and in most cases punished by Death, “…the people of the land shall stone him with stones…”.

In the New Testament of the Bible, Jesus tells us that we need obey only 2 rules. On one occasion an expert in the Laws of God tested Jesus. “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”, he asked. “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”, he continued. Jesus answered, “Love God with all your heart, soul and mind and love your neighbour as you love yourself” (Luke 10:25 - 27).

Many people today still do not understand Jesus’ answer. If God gave us all these Commandments and Laws how can we inherit eternal life by following what Jesus said. Jesus’ answer to the “Law Expert” sums up all of the 10 Commandments into 1 easy sentence. To explain, if you love God with all your mind, soul and body then Commandments 1 – 4 is automatically taken care of. God will be first in your life, you will not worship any idols and will only worship God, you will not misuse God’s name and surely you will observe the Sabbath as God has intended.

When you love your neighbour as you love yourself you will surely honour your mother and father as you want to be honoured by your children, you will not kill your neighbour, you would not cheat on your wife, you will not steal from your neighbour, you will not falsely accuse him and surely would not sleep with his husband or wife. Jesus never said that his commandments supersede those of God but the 2 laws Jesus mentioned just covers the 10 Commandments as given by God.

So how do we inherit eternal life? Love God with all your heart, mind and soul and love your neighbour as you love God with all your heart, mind and soul and love your neighbour as you love yourself and believe that Jesus was sent to die on the cross for our sins to be washed away(this will be covered in a future article).

Can Faith Really Move Mountains

“Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” - Matthew 17:20

I read an article on another website today with a headline “Can Faith Really Move Mountains?”. The author was trying to explain that you need to read the entire Matthew 17 an understand the context of the text. To give you a background if you are not familiar with the text, in Matthew 10, Jesus gave his disciples the authority to cast out evil spirits from others. A father approached the disciples to cast out a demon from his daughter and they could not manage. Jesus then chastises them for their lack of faith and says that this is the only reason why they could not defeat the demon and explains to them that if you had the faith of a mustard seed you could move mountains.

Reading this within context still doesn’t answer the question, “Can Faith Really Move Mountains?”. The answer is simple, yes faith can really move mountains. I am sure most have read “The Secret” or “Mind Power in the 21st Century”. In these books the authors teach us the power of the mind to achieve our dreams. There are several techniques like visualization and seeding, affirmations and many more to help you believe that you have already achieved this success. This is a way of programming your mind to believe that you have and can achieve whatever feat you are trying to achieve to create the confidence to do so. The main principles of these texts are the same… “Ask, Believe and Receive”.

To break it down quickly, the steps are as follows:

1. You need to ask, in this step you need to identify what it is you want or want to achieve (usually the easiest step).

2. The second step is to use techniques to “convince” yourself that you have already achieved success or your goal (this is where -belief or faith comes in).

3. Lastly you need to be open to receive your bounty.

No going back to Matthew 17:20 and the question at hand, “Can Faith Really Move Mountains?”. Nowhere in the text does it say that the mountain will get up and move on its own. I believe, in context, what Jesus was telling his disciples is that should you believe that the mountain can be moved then God will make the way known to you. Look at our world today, do we or have we not moved mountains of dirt? If we want to build a new freeway or a new building we move mountains of dirt to do so and this is proof that faith can move mountains.

In conclusion, I believe that faith can move mountains, not by itself but God will give you the way if you believe. Anything is possible if you have faith and a belief that it can be done.