The Ten Commandments Explained
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In this section we will look more deeply at each Commandment.
The Hebrew definition for key words is presented, along with some cultural background, if distinct. Then we look at grace from the specific Commandment’s perspective. We conclude each Commandment with a prayer consideration.
The Hebrew definition comes from, “Strong’s Concordance.” Some of the cultural background material comes from, “The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament”, by Harris, Archer and Waltke.
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First Commandment
"You shall have no other gods before Me."
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The key word we want to confirm the meaning of for this commandment is ‘before’. ‘Before’ is the compound Hebrew word al + paneh and means a marker of spatial or temporal relationship + face, appearance, presence. It appears ‘al’ is limiting ‘paneh’ from a wide range of applications, so it translates like, ‘You shall have no other gods present with me.’
In the culture of the Ancient Near East (ANE) this could communicate a higher degree of authority. Lesser rulers would need the backing of higher authorities to render decisions. By us appearing with God alone we are acknowledging His supremacy. There is no one else qualified to be present with us. We don’t need additional representation. “You have supreme authority and can fully handle anything I bring to your attention. There are no other gods that are needed in your presence.”
This also informs us how God sees us. We are competent, it is good for us to stand in God’s presence, He believes we can fully account for our actions and choices. We are made in God's image, so He knows us better than we know ourselves!
That we can stand alone before God entails a high degree of grace. It is safe to be here. As you skim through the Bible you can see this is the case. The times people experience God and angels are very safe. Good news is brought and offers to help are included. The grace in these events is a revelation of good news and functions as a hint of the future Gospel, which means ‘good news’.
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'Gospel' and 'good news' are terms from the Roman Empire's administration. Both refer to the proclamation of a new ruler and the relief he was bringing with his administration. Likewise, we are expected to allow God to exercise a new level of rulership with us, and the relief that brings with it. Increased grace.
While prayer has many hues, it has one heart to express. Thank you. Thank you for your presence. I trust you. I believe in your ability to see me through. You have shown me your resourcefulness before, and I am looking forward to it now. In my life circle we have a need. I want to discuss it with you and obtain your wisdom, so we know what to do. Please show me how and when I need to rely on you. Here’s the situation…..
Second Commandment
"You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments."
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This commandment begins with a very clear definition of a carved image: any likeness of anything anywhere. We look up the word ‘likeness’ and we see it is tmuna and means form, image, likeness. It is from the word ‘min’, which references a larger category of ‘kind’.
It’s similar in thought to the use of ‘kind’ in Genesis 1, but not the same word. We can say this use of ‘likeness’ in the Second Commandment references not making anything in the categories of the kinds of things in heaven, earth, or the waters beneath. This eliminates all possibilities.
This likeness/kind we are not to bow down to or serve. In the ANE bowing meant submitting yourself as a servant. Serving meant you were committing yourself to a lifestyle of servitude to the limited options of that image.
We currently refer to this as an addiction, where you do whatever the ‘drug’ effect requires of you. Elevating anything to the position of your god makes you needy for its ‘effect.’ This is the opposite of your role as having ‘dominion over the earth’, God’s creation purpose for people revealed in Genesis 1.
Reading through the four Gospels in the New Testament we see Jesus showing us what dominion looks like. Indeed, He even battled the fear of death and walked in authority over every aspect of His death.
God here explains that He is a jealous God. The Hebrew word for ‘jealous’ in this passage is qanna and is derived from qina, which means zeal, ardor. God points out this is a 100% relationship. He tells them there will be endless steadfast love from Him, down through their endless generations.
He tells us the standard He is measuring by. He will be long suffering and allow a few generations to deviate and to come back to their senses, repenting from their idolatry. Indeed, as we read through the Old Testament prophets of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel we see this in action. God kept sending prophets to call His people back to their exclusive relationship with Him. But they remained steadfast in their hatred of Him and were judged. After the nation returned from the Babylonian exile, they ended idolatry.
We see the effects of idolatry in Israel during generations of prophets. We see the misery they built into their own culture as they served their devastating demon masters. The prophets cried out for them to end their abuse of the poor, widows, and strangers, but they would not. God had to finally break their stubbornness to return them to gracious community living. Grace had to be a dominant force in handling the disadvantaged. How could God permit anything else?
Prayer could take many directions in combating idolatry. We fall for the ‘power of giants’ easily. Things are considered too big, too powerful. And they might be – too big, too powerful – for you. But not for Him. This prayer time is about seeing His bigness. How many ways can you celebrate His amazing ability? We need to do this UNTIL we are really at Rest in His wonders. Not just for a few minutes and then doubting again. Pray until you are transformed from doubt into trust. Jesus prayed three times in the garden, sweating and intensely troubled, until He was ready to handle the crucifixion. Let God be truly supreme for you.
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Third Commandment
"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain."
Our key words to clarify the meaning of this commandment are ‘name’ and ‘vain’. “Name’ in this passage is the Hebrew word sem. It is a proper noun of a person, place, or thing. By extension it means renown, fame. The concept of personal names in the OT often included existence, character, and reputation. As we grow in appreciating the value of God’s name we internalize more of His character. We treat His name as less vain as we mature, marveling at His treasures.
‘Vain’ is the Hebrew word saw and means worthlessness, vanity, falseness. The ANE was a cultural atmosphere of honor and shame. Everyone in your family behaved and spoke in a way that maintained your families’ honor. It was horrendous to do anything that brought shame to the families’ name. Possibly being called ‘vain’ was the worst insult possible. People committed suicide for less offensive terms.
This Commandment tells us we are functioning as members of God’s family. We are to behave and talk as ones maintaining the family honor. We are living in the families’ character, maintaining its reputation. People speak well of God’s name because of us.
In Exodus 34 God passed before Moses and declared His name. It is filled with grace: patience, mercy, forgiveness, abundance of goodness and truth. We are not to take this as meaningless but appropriate it as we pass through life’s growth stages. We increase our grace-full-ness. We are a fine wine maturing with time.
We are praying for our ability to represent Him honorably. How will we handle certain types of situations? What does my life circle need to see and experience of my grace-filled life? How will I introduce this dynamic, strengthen its vibrancy, and stand alone, if needed? What is He growing in me now?
Take the time to consider all aspects of God’s values on the specific topic. Consider all steps in your achieving your goals. An encounter is an event, with a beginning, middle and end. Communicate clearly and confidently. It’s time to represent Him truthfully. Exercise your current abilities to walk in the Spirit. Pray strategically.
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Fourth Commandment
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave, or your female slave, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
When Israel was about to enter the Promised Land Moses rehearsed all their history and God’s Law for them. In Deuteronomy 5 he repeated the Ten Commandments. However, he changed the reason for observing the 7th day Sabbath. The following is that development.
"Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male slave or your female slave, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male slave and your female slave may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day."
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We appreciate the Sabbath because it commemorates God’s creation, and what it entails. That’s a lot to consider and we can see why it needs to be weekly. We are dense and slowly come to a proper appreciation of God’s role in our lives.
As we investigate how creative God is we have a deeper level of appreciation to envelop ourselves with. He not only creates us, but also creates us for liberty! (Deuteronomy 5) We really have no clue as to how much freedom God wants us to have until Jesus shows us during His ministry. He lived in the reality of the Sabbath’s message and called us into it.
He showed the Sabbath is how grace is explained as moral law: nothing is required except to cease working! We now call this 'faith' and 'trust', the cornerstone of being still, knowing He is God, and waiting for His guidance. This is how we excel at completing our workmanship in doing the rest of the moral law.
There are several key words to look at. For the creation purpose of Sabbath observance, we have a few key words to define: remember, keep, rested, and blessed.
The Hebrew word for ‘Remember’, zakar, means remember, commemorate, consider, record, mention.
The Hebrew word for ‘Keep’, qadas, means to be holy, sacred, consecrated.
The Hebrew word for ‘Rested’, nuah, means settle, rest, wait.
The Hebrew word for ‘Blessed’, barak, means pronounce blessings, give praise, give thanks, extol.
In Exodus 20, putting the definitions in parentheses, next to the words, we have:
"Remember (remember, commemorate, consider, record, mention) the Sabbath day, to keep (to be holy, sacred, consecrate) it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave, or your female slave, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested (settle, rest, wait) on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed (pronounce blessings, give praise, give thanks, extoled) the Sabbath day and made it holy."
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For the liberty purpose of Sabbath observance, we have these key words: Observe, remember, servant, keep.
Observe – samar – to keep, watch, observe, guard
Remember -zakar – remember, commemorate, consider, record, mention.
Servant – ebed – servant, slave, attendant.
Keep – samar – to keep, watch, observe, guard
In Deuteronomy 5, putting the definitions in parentheses, next to the words, we have:
"Observe (to keep, watch, observe, guard) the Sabbath day, to keep (to keep, watch, observe, guard) it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male slave or your female slave, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male slave and your female slave may rest as well as you. You shall remember (remember, commemorate, consider, record, mention) that you were a slave (servant, slave, attendant) in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep (to keep, watch, observe, guard) the Sabbath day."
Prayer for Rest is larger than it seems. To put off labor and its roots in the brokenness of the world is really a week-long process. God is creating in your life an entrance into Edenic Sabbath observance. You have a goal this week.
It’s more than facing the challenges of the world’s brokenness. There is an Enemy who has orchestrated a cultural slavery system to keep you in check and build his meaningless treasure houses. Are you really seeing this this week? Do you get the long-term implications, keeping you in bondage? Are you wrestling out of that and into Edenic Sabbath rest?
Read the first 2 chapters of Exodus. See the rebellion in Israel against the status quo. It includes the words from Genesis 1:26-28, the creation account. Israel’s resistance fulfilled God's intended Genesis will for all of mankind.
God honored the drive for liberty in Israel's core resistance. Sense the quest to live from the same context. There is a lot to pray for and implement. Pray every step until you see clearly what your faith challenge is. How will you meaningfully exercise civil disobedience?
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Fifth Commandment
"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you."
The word ‘honor’ has a special significance in the ANE. Honor was a core cultural element. They were in the honor/shame culture. Everything needed to be done in such a way as to bring honor, instead of shame – the only other alternative, in their worldview. We see this in 2 Samuel 13, the story of Tamar, who was raped by her brother Amnon. She responded with an offer to marry him, to maintain her honor and eliminate the shame from going public in Israel. He refused.
In the culture of the Ancient Near East (ANE) honor was applied as a very strict code. Toughness, reputation, and masculinity defined ‘might makes right’ retribution. An affront to one’s honor required a swift and certain retribution. To not fight back was to lose status, reducing one’s honor. The shame was intense.
Tamar was Absalom’s brother. He counseled Tamar to remain quiet about the rape and took her into his home. Then he embodied controlled rage as he implemented a plan to overthrow his father, shortly deposed him as king, and chased David, and tried to kill him. Honor is a deeply rooted standard and involves a full sense of justice.
Can honor’s justice be gracious? Those who are doing evil against God’s people are pursued by God with the same level of passion we see in Absalom. While the motive is righteous indignation, the ‘enemy’ status is maintained until they repent, relent, or restore right relationship with Him. God wants His enemies to become His friends. (Romans 5:10)
We are called to honor God’s work of parenting us. Jesus lived so immersed in this that He always referred to God as ‘Father’. He closed His ministry with the statement that He revealed God’s name to His disciples, so they could see the glory of the true Father.
John 17:26 KJV
"And I have declared unto them thy name and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them. "
Praying to God as Father may take some working through. We grow up with the inadequacy of our fathers. We need to come to terms with a lot of unanswered heart cries. We need to affirm that the image of a true father, that is in your heart, is good. It’s right. It’s our heart’s cry for God to fulfill this. It’s time to let Him be your active father.
You will have a lot of beginning steps. This is okay. You are building a relationship. God is okay with your pace because this is part of the nature of fathers. They understand what is involved in baby steps. But as an adult you can really talk with Him. This is a beautiful part of your prayer life. The more honest you are the more deeply you will treasure it. May your joy be full, enter into His honor culture.
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Sixth Commandment
"You shall not murder."
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The word ‘murder’ is the Hebrew word rasah and means, murder, kill, slay. “You shall not murder,” is a more precise meaning than the general, “You shall not kill.” The word applies to all types of murder, which English Common Law refers to as ‘man slaughter’.
The word rasah is used 14 times in Numbers 35, a chapter that explains the management of refuge cities, where people who killed someone without premeditation could live their lives. Grace applied for unintended consequences.
There were six refuge cities in Israel. Someone who accidentally killed someone, without premeditation, could quickly run to one of these cities and live in the border. The elders from the person’s home city would review the case and confirm he qualified to be there. He would remain in it until the high priest died. Then he could return to his home city and revenge could not be exercised against him.
It is an interesting NT parallel. You have a place of safety, under the authority of the high priest, Jesus. You live in this place of safety, but if you step outside of it, you can experience revenge from the Enemy. It’s a grace-filled domain. With Jesus as our high priest, we are safe forever.
While we consider murder to be extreme, God seems to allow for a lot of mitigating circumstances. The first major sin, where Cain killed Abel, does not bring harsh judgement from God. Cain gets banished from society. And God saw murder was developing in Cain and gave him a warning.
Murder is not simply killing someone. There are circumstances to consider. A developed legal apparatus to scrutinize. It needs to be closely examined to see if measures of grace apply here.
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Prayer for the remaining 6-10 Commandments will be different, but often the same. These Commandments are about community: how to exercise love. The NT portions will come alive as you see the quest to implement these principles. Even more so when you don’t experience your expected results. The OT Prophets would tell you there is much sadness and loneliness in living in God-directed love. That it is not really about you. The people really really need it! They can’t live in liberty without it. They are still slaves.
Are you going to pray for them anyway? Are you going to let God Father you through this journey? Are you going to crystallize your resolve to be who you need to be, accomplishing His honor?
I think you see now why the Son of God needed to spend nights in prayer, even though he could see things clearly. He also needed to prepare his heart to be resolute for tomorrow’s resistance. How will I, who is feeling this way now, handle the types of resistance I am running into lately? How will I maintain my level of community love?
Seventh Commandment
"You shall not commit adultery."
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The Hebrew word naap has both the definitions of having illicit relations with someone other than your spouse and to be unfaithful to God by having illicit relations with other gods.
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The number seven is of special significance in Hebrew culture and here it is no different in this Seventh Commandment. ‘Seven’ represents completeness in the sense of coming full circle. You completed the cycle. You observe the Sabbath on the seventh day, completing the creation cycle. The next day is the first day of the week and you begin again.
You marry, have intimate relations, birth kids, and the cycle of life is complete. Likewise, you enter a covenant with God, fulfill your duties, and He honors your loyalty.
Adultery shatters trust, it destroys the peace in the relationship. It screams that you are not committed to anyone but yourself. It’s the destruction of civilization’s foundation. You stomped on the other’s heart and the response is unimaginable. You broke the cycle of life.
This is the context in which God experiences our unfaithfulness with Him. The Prophets’ writings are full of this allusion, exploring its nature in depth. It’s hard to miss the point that religious adultery is hard on God’s heart. He sent His Prophets with profound dramatic messages to get Israel out of hardness and back to tenderness.
Generation after generation of calling us home is applied. Grace is exercised prolifically. How sad Israel could not see it, could not hear it. They could have seen the Ten Commandments as developmental, entered the path of restoring full life, and come home with a tender heart. They did not. Such devastation. Israel was destroyed and exiled to Babylon to see what fulfilled rebellion against God would make them into.
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Eight Commandment
"You shall not steal."
The Hebrew word ganab means steal, to be a thief, kidnap, to deceive. The verb means “to take that which belongs to another without his consent or knowledge.” This is secretly done theft. It is considered an act of violence.
Theft’s punishment in the ANE was less severe in Israel than surrounding nations, where the death penalty was exercised. God’s Law required the return of twice the amount of what was stolen, so the person lost exactly what he hoped to gain. It’s poetic justice.
Ganab is also used figuratively, describing the wind sweeping something away (Job 21:18, 27:20). It is also used as an idiom. “To steal the heart” means “to deceive”. It’s apparent that theft is a whole mindset.
Grace is also a whole mindset. It can be done secretly. It is rewarded by God, maybe even with double the reward of what one thought would be lost but done in faith anyway.
Grace works hand in hand with the Spirit of God. Spirit is the Hebrew word ruach, and also means wind. The wind sweeps away the chaff from the threshing floor. We feel we are losing something deeply personal, but it is only an outer shell. We wind up gaining much more than we could see. We emerge with a healed heart.
We often go through challenging circumstances with our Enemies’ involvement. We might develop the application of the personal idiom that the Enemy is trying ‘to steal the heart’, but it turns out differently. We thought we were being deceived, but it turns out God was enriching us. Grace requires faith, which sees God’s goodness even when we see our world shattered. He brings us to His Kingdom’s Way, where grace reigns.
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Ninth Commandment
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
The Hebrew root ud means to repeat, do again, return. A witness is one who by reiteration affirms his testimony. A witness has first-hand knowledge of the event, is an eyewitness. A witness is consistent: this is what I saw happen. Such a person was under obligation to testify (Proverbs 29:24).
Throughout Scripture a false witness is associated with words like false, lie, worthless, emptiness, violence. A false witness is subject to the same penalty he intended to inflict on the accused (Deuteronomy 19:16-21).
We often think of harshness like this as a hardness of heart. Look at it from God’s view. Truth matters. In the ANE, community is almost everything. People need to stand up for one another. Tell the truth, stand by those falsely accused. It’s your duty to fight to make things right. Justice MUST prevail. Maintain the true community love.
Grace must be emphatically exercised. Grace matters.
Tenth Commandment
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's."
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The Hebrew word for covet is hamad. It means to covet, lust, desire, delight in. It refers to an inordinate, ungoverned, selfish desire.
Achan’s sin at Jericho, after Israel defeated the city (when God brought Israel out of Egypt), was to covet the items dedicated to the Lord. He coveted enough to steal them, leading to Israel’s lack of support from God in the next city’s battle. Israelis died in that battle. Achan needed to be purged out to reestablish proper relationship (Joshua 7).
God is taking a deep and broad view of the sin of coveting. A desire so deep that one would steal is not a surface issue. Communities were tight knit during Israel’s ANE time. Most people lived in towns with about 200 people. Most people lived hand-to-mouth, just above poverty. People constantly borrowed from one another, sometimes several people to handle hospitality to guests. It really was community living. In this context ‘covet’ was deeper than stealing. It was a depth of depravity that was hard to fathom. It’s the drive behind a deep community violation. It stands in opposition to all that grace accomplishes.
This final statement from God, this “DO NOT!” is a heart-felt cry to abandon the evil way and return to good. The final call to life is a look at the main culprit. Consider the motive that makes chaos destroy community. If you have a shred of decency left you will turn off this path and return to the God who builds the fullness-of-life story. Don’t let Achan’s sin defeat your town. Don't let Genesis' chaos prevent your Edenic community from growing mature love!
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In rounding out our prayer life on this topic we have a remaining lesson. In the Gospels the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. He responded with a pattern of a prayer outline. It’s not a rote exercise. If you pray from your heart, you will take the outline and fill it with your life. It will take on today’s quest for meaning and purpose, so you can walk with God fully. If you can’t, maybe you have more challenges to face and issues to resolve so that you are deeply surrendered to His liberty. Either way, celebrate the journey and may you stay in God’s love!
Matthew 6
9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
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Here’s my sometimes version, for your consideration.
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Father, you are wonderful! May I live in a way that shows your wonders to others.
Today is a good day for your kingdom to be alive in my life’s circle. As you do your will in heaven may we also walk in faith and see your kingdom exercised on earth. Speak to us, so we are in step with your plans. There are so many miracles needed, but you know who is ready for what and how and will exercise your wisdom accordingly. I will feast on this bread today.
You see the depths of my heart and know if there is a lack of forgiveness. Show me. Make it clear today. I know you want to hold me accountable in my relationship needs so true grace flows. I want this too.
I know the enemy has plans for me today. Temptations to draw me away from your fruitfulness. May I truly see them for what they are and be appalled by what they truly offer. Such devastation!
It’s your kingdom, your power and glory that will go on forever. I so look forward to the future as your kingdom comes. Come Lord Jesus into our needs today so we have a glimpse of the coming Kingdom. Amen!