Exodus 20
1And God spoke all these words:
2“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3“You shall have no other gods before me.
4“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You 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 fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
13“You shall not murder.
14“You shall not commit adultery.
15“You shall not steal.
16“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
20Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
21The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
22Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.
24“‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings,£ your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you. 25If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it. 26And do not go up to my altar on steps, lest your nakedness be exposed on it.’

The Greatest Commandment
(Mark 12:28-34; Luke 10:25-28)
34When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they met together in the same place. 35One of them, an expert in the Law, tested him by asking, 36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37Jesus said to him, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38This is the greatest and most important£ commandment. 39The second is like it: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments.”

The ten commandments are broken listed on two tablets. There are two major themes contained within the 10 commandments. There are two stone tablets. Jesus taught that there were two great commandments, Love God, and love your fellow man. It is clear to anyone studying the Old Testament that everything in the Old Testament points forward to Jesus, the Messiah. This is a great example of this fact. Two commandments, listed on two stones, with some examples that we can learn from.

It is interesting to me that Jesus would take the time to break down the ten commandments into two very simple, and easy to understand commandments, but within a few years the so-called "church" could take these two commandments and expand them into 39 tenents of Christianity, which are complicated and very difficult to understand. So, were these religious experts trying to further the message of Christ, or were they trying to entrench their religious positions, between God and man? I think the answer is clear.

Every man has the ability to communicate with God, through acceptance of Christ. No minister, no priest, no holy man, no prophet, nobody's mother, no one, is required to stand between man and God, except Jesus. Jesus was the only one with the credentials to pay the price. Jesus was the only person to have the ability to pay the price. Jesus was the only one willing to pay the price. Don't complicate or reduce this incredible gift on the part of Jesus, the Messiah, to a form of religiousness with a man standing between yourself and God.

Love God. Love man.

Tablet one, tablet two.

It's that simple. The application of these two commandments will be one of the most difficult things you attempt in your life, and you will fail miserably, unless you call upon the Holy Spirit to help you succeed in this effort.

Amen, Franz Sigel Shroy