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Ten Commandments for Success

INTRODUCTION

The Vain Quest \ True Fulfillment \ Why Listen to Moses \ Is Success Predetermined? \ It's as Easy to Succeed as to Fail \ Overview \ A Final Thought

If you're like a lot of people, the name "Moses" conjures up the image of a bearded Charlton Heston thundering down a mountain with stone tablets in his hands or a frenetic prophet pounding his staff on the ground to trouble the Egyptians with another plague. Ten Commandments for Success will shake loose false notions about the most gifted law giver in the history of mankind and reveal opportunities for successful endeavor in every aspect of our lives.

Most people are familiar with the Ten Commandments but few have studied the life of the man who wrote them down. Ten Commandments for Success distills the wisdom of God lived out in the life of Moses and presents it in contemporary language that will be easy to understand.

The Vain Quest
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Bookstores are filled with self-help books, each claiming to be superior to the last one. Why does the public devour these books? Because a subconscious spiritual vacuum in the heart keeps pressing for something intangible yet unobtained. Most seek after more money, status, recognition, leisure and ease but these do not fill that vacuum.

Have you ever exclaimed, "Now there is a successful person!" What kind of person were you looking at? Most likely someone who is wealthy, powerful, or famous. Without realizing it, most of us have accepted a definition of success based on easily-seen externals.

The battlefield in the struggle for success is the mind. The enemy subtly wages war by shaping people's definition of success, compelling them to use an unrealistic and non-spiritual standard that can never bring contentment. A heart focused solely on money, power, and fame is never satisfied. These desires unleash an insatiable drive. How many people are millionaires? Fewer than one percent of the population. How many will achieve so-called power or fame? Perhaps 10,000. In a nation of 250 million, that's only five out of every 100,000 people, yet popular magazines create the fantasy that success "just happens" and the multi-billion-dollar lottery industry feeds on the lust for life on Easy Street.

True Fulfillment
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Moses, under the guidance of God, lived a life from which divine principles for prosperity can be derived. I believe the real value of the Ten Commandments for Success is not that they hold the key to wealth, power, and fame but that they foster spiritual growth by developing character. By applying these principles, the real you--your eternal essence--will grow to be more effective. External measures of wealth, power, and fame can be measured but spiritual development cannot. Only you know that when it's occurring.

My understanding of the Ten Commandments for Success took years to develop. The believer's spiritual walk is a journey for life, not for a few days. No matter how successful you are in the externals, without spiritual development you'll never find lasting peace or contentment.

Why Listen to Moses?
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Why should anyone study the life of Moses? First, because he was a success in his undertakings; second, because everyone needs a mentor to point the way toward the right decisions; third, because his life is an example of what God can do for one who truly abandons all earthly pursuits for spiritual ones. Are you willing to be taught? Moses was. I'm convinced that God chose this man not only because of his natural abilities but also because of his humility.

"But I'm no Moses," you say. That's right. You're not, and neither am I. But that doesn't matter. Moses didn't possess all of the Ten Commandments for Success at once. He learned them one at a time as God worked in his life. So can you.

Is Success Predetermined?
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Why does success occasionally appear to "just happen"? Are some born to success while others are destined to fail? No, success or failure are never predetermined. Despite the handicaps of poverty, inferior education, and mental or physical abuse, spiritual development is possible for anyone. It is God's will for your life. Anyone, given the proper tools, recognizing the spiritual nature of success, and having the determination to succeed, can develop the qualities to guarantee it.

It's as Easy to Succeed as to Fail
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If this book offered you a way to earn an additional million dollars in your lifetime, would you read it? I believe this book offers you something more valuable than money--the tools to change. Will Ten Commandments for Success bring you more material success? I think so. Will it make you a happier, more contented person? Yes.

The message of this book will not translate into success unless you transform it into spiritual wisdom--the ability to use knowledge, gifts, and talents correctly. Underlying these Moses principles is one basic guiding principle, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

OVERVIEW
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Each of the Ten Commandments for Success begins with a definition, a passage of Scripture (NKJV), or a Scripture paraphrase that focuses on one of Moses' experiences. These stories are chronological but readers need not study them in that order.

Moses' life is most easily understood by breaking it into three phases: (1) as a young man in Egypt, (2) as a sheepherder for forty years in Midian, and (3) as a changed man following the Burning Bush experience. Commandments one and two occur in Egypt; three and four were learned in Midian; five and six were imparted at the Burning Bush; seven, eight, and nine were put into practice during the years following the Burning Bush experience; and the tenth commandment spanned Moses' entire lifetime.

I suggest you begin by thoughtfully considering your own development in each of the Ten Commandments for Success. Then pick out a particular commandment in which you'd like to experience growth. Think how crises, blessings, and states of growth throughout your life have affected your application and development of that commandment. Write your observations and thoughts in a journal. After reflecting upon the chapter, consider how you might develop further by applying its suggestions. Honestly consider whether you might have some of the problems listed in the chapter.

Do this for as many of the commandments as you feel is necessary. Take your time. Later you can go back to reflect upon the commandments you've missed. Remember, the order in which you study the commandments isn't important.

Don't forget about your journal. I'm sure that in the future you'll find it to be a great encouragement.

No two spiritual journeys are the same. Avoid comparing yourself to others because this usually creates pessimism. As you'll find out when you read this book, even Moses struggled in his spiritual walk. Ten Commandments for Success will teach you how to build on your strengths and grow in areas that need development.

A Final Thought
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I'd encourage you to begin your journey with prayer. Here is an example you might find helpful:

Dear Lord, help me on our journey together toward growth in You. Lead me into the specific Burning Bush experience You have for me. Change me. I'm willing. Transform me more and more into the kind of person You want me to be. Amen.

Copyright 2000, Gesher, Robert I. Winer, M.D.

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