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LOVE GOD & LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR

Matthew 22:37-40
"37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

As we have studied over the last few days, we recognize our lives and our society is better when we use the Ten Commandments to guide us and help us. God gave His Commandments to Moses and the Israelites who were recently freed from slavery in Egypt. They needed guidance then and we need guidance now! The Ten Commandments serves three functions for you and me:
+A curb; gives us boundaries, helps keep us safe. 
+A mirror; it shows us what our sin is
+A ruler; it's a guide, and a measure for us

The Ten Commandments are rigorous and challenging for us to maintain. In reality we can't keep them. Thankfully, Jesus came to save us and complete what we could never do ourselves. While His grace saves us, we need to also understand that we are responsible for what we do and don't do. In today's verses we read Jesus's own summary of the Ten Commandments, from Matthew, chapter twenty-two, verses thirty-seven through forty; "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt LOVE thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang ALL the LAW and the prophets." Jesus's summary is the two tables in two short and snappy sentences. If we can remember this and strive to live up to this standard; litrally everything will be better. This is God's plan for you and me.

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