Basic instructions

I was in only in kindergarten, yet, all these years later, I can still see her standing in front of the classroom ever so gently looking down at our table and saying, “This is how you do it…” As we cut out the identified shapes, our teacher explained to the class the proper way of holding the scissors, how to pass them to other students, and how to safely walk with them to put them away. Forming a fist around the closed blades with the handle exposed as our teacher had instructed, one of the students asked, “Why do we have to hold it this way?” Tenderly she replied, “It is for your safety and the safety of others…”

Teachers need to be equipped for it all. Trusted educators, who not only pass on knowledge and truth but also correct a fault with patience and instruction. Communication is one of the most important roles of a teacher, nonetheless, handing forward the benefits of faith, hope and love is the greatest gift a teacher can give. My kindergarten teacher had done this remarkably well as her first priority was to keep us all safe while we were learning new skills.

The same way teachers mold and shape us, filling us with important life lessons from an early age that will stick with us throughout our entire lives, we can turn to the Bible for those lessons from God. Someone once told me we can interpret “B.I.B.L.E.” as our “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.” I love this because it reminds me that, like my kindergarten teacher, the Lord’s intention is to protect us and keep us safe, while teaching us to navigate life.

“This is how you do it,” flows like a mighty river through God’s written word. “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.” So Moses arose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up to the mountain of God. {Exodus 24:12-13]

God spoke to Moses high on the mountain, where He was able to give him a higher and wider level of view and understanding. After the climb, “Moses remained there on the mountain with the LORD forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the LORD wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets…” [Exodus 34:28] Set in stone a vital foundation of basic instructions for our protection and the protection of others was written by “the finger of God”… [Exodus 8:19–20]

• The 10 Commandments [Deuteronomy 5:6-21]
• “You Shall Have No Other Gods Before Me” [ Deuteronomy 5:7]
• “You Shall Not Make for Yourself an Idol” ([Deuteronomy 5:8]
• “You Shall Not Make Wrongful Use of the Name of the LORD Your God” [Deuteronomy 5:11]
• “Observe the Sabbath Day and Keep It Holy” [Deuteronomy 5:12]
• “Honor Your Father and Your Mother” [Deuteronomy 5:16]
• “You Shall Not Murder” [Deuteronomy 5:17]
• “You Shall Not Commit Adultery” [Deuteronomy 5:18]
• “You Shall Not Steal” [Deuteronomy 5:19]
• “You Shall Not Bear False Witness Against Your Neighbor” [Deuteronomy 5:20]
• “You Shall Not Covet … Anything That Belongs to Your Neighbor” [ Deuteronomy 5:21]

These 10 Commandments from God are as timeless and powerful today as the day they were first put in writing. Basic instructions filled with faith, hope, love and sense. Extraordinarily beneficial in teaching us how to live better, healthier, protected and productive lives for our own good and the good of others. There is a reason and a purpose that you and I were created, great plans for us to grow and flourish. It is no secret that life will always have its challenges, yet, at the same time those challenges can make us better if we seek the intimacy in direction and guidance from the One who created us. Life’s greatest reward is knowing that our Creator is by our side all the way. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit, One God, Creator of all things, Omnipotence (all-powerful,) Omniscience (all-knowing,) Omnipresence (all-present,) is closer then the breath we breathe; if only we want Him to be.

“‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” [Matthew 22:36-39]

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” [Proverbs 22:6]

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations.” [Deuteronomy 7:9]

A teacher is not so much responsible for what our students know, but more so for the seeds we plant to help them grow.

Father in the Name of Jesus, by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit, be with us, direct our path, fill us with the riches of Your grace, transform our mind with a healthy balance that is good for our body and soul. Guide us with Your gracious love, that we may press forward to being all that You created us to be. In Your Holy Name we pray… Amen

Sweet blessings always,

Deanna Danielle

Deannadanielle.com

The views of the author do not necessarily reflect the views of MCA

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