No Other Gods – The First Commandment

No Other Gods

Exodus 20:2, 3

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.”

We must master obedience to this first commandment, for we will stumble at every subsequent commandment unless we are constantly reinforcing the primacy of this one in our souls. At issue is devotion–heartfelt love, commitment of time, dedication of possessions, and daily obedience. Apart from earnest and consistent practice of the first commandment, how will you be able to recognize when other “gods” are vying for your worship and service? How will you resist them?

Look to Jesus to teach you to love God with everything you are, all you possess, all your time, and in every relationship, role, and responsibility. Plead with Him to crowd your mind with tokens of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. Be reminded of the grace God has shown you in Jesus. Listen in silence as He speaks to you of the foolhardiness of serving any other “god” beside Him.

Jesus will fill your heart with the joy of salvation and great eagerness to be pleasing always to God, but you must nurture exclusive devotion to Him.

Suggest some ways you might more actively practice obedience to the first commandment throughout the day.

Lord, I want to nurture exclusive devotion to You, and so today…

Daily meditation in the Law of God helps us along the path of holiness, righteousness, and goodness (Rom. 7:12). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compilation of the Mosaic Law for contemporary believers, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.