Precepts for Living: Intentionally False Testimony

Never lie when you testify about your neighbor.

To testify is to provide evidence of the reality, the actuality, of something.   

To lie is to knowingly provide evidence of something with intent to deceive.  Lying is seen as a fundamental rejection of reality, a disruption of community, and spiritual corruption.

What’s in a Name?

 Why are names important?  

How often to you encounter names like Judas or Jezebel?  Or how about Ninel (Lenin spelled backward), Semaj (James spelled backward), Derfla (Alfred spelled backward).  

Usually names are chosen to inspire and encourage, but now it seems as if names are an afterthought created by picking up a spilled Scrabble board.

In this Biblical lesson, we look at the greatest name of all and WHY this name is so great. Isaiah 42:1-12 speaks of a coming “servant” who would represent God. Stop and think about that for a moment.  A human being on this earth who represents God. In this context the word represent means to show, express, display, bring to mind.  It may also refer to symbolize, serve as a type or embodiment of. It may also refer to being the representative of the authority of another. This word arises from ancient words prae and esse, referring to before and to be respectively.

This suffering servant’s mission was to represent God and God’s name to humanity accurately, and to bring honor and glory to God’s name. Let’s discover how Isaiah said this suffering servant would do that.

Precepts for Living: Household Destruction

Never desire to take your neighbor's household away from him.

A household is a group of two or more people living together in the same dwelling and sharing common food or other essential arrangements for living.

To desire to take all or part of a near by one’s (neighbor’s) household is to seek to remove his essential arrangements for living. 

To remove such an essential arrangement is akin to destruction (the action of causing so much damage to something that it no longer exists or cannot be repaired) or murder (the destruction of life by a person that is not legally justified or excusable).

Precepts for Living: Contentment

Be content with what you have within reality.

To be content is to rest, or be satisfied. 

To be satisfied with life is another concept of the word content.  

Look about you at life and notice how many people in the world are NOT content.  They constantly rush about looking for new things, experiences, or knowledge that they feel brings them life.  But with such a constant effort they seldom, or if ever, take the time to rest and be satisfied with life.

The Greatest Need

A need is something that is essential or required for survival, stability, or functioning. It's a deficiency that, if not met, causes clear negative outcomes like dysfunction or death. 

Need can also refer to a lack of something useful or required, or a situation requiring relief or supply. 

Have you ever undertaken a Do It Yourself project (DIY) that ended up costing more time, energy, money and stress than if you had a professional do the job?  Sometimes DIY projects are a bad idea.  

EL Roi, the All Seeing Eye of God

No! Not the Jetson's son, Elroy.  The Hebrew phrase El Roi was spoken by Hagar the Egyptian slave of Sarah.  

Let's look at this passage in Genesis 16:

Abram’s wife, Sarai, had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. Sarai said to Abram ... go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family.” ...Sarai, took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband, Abram, as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years. ...she became pregnant. ... her mistress became contemptible to her. ...Sarai mistreated her so much that Hagar ran away from her.