(lent) 10

10.

the atomic number of neon. what would we do without neon? for one, Las Vegas would be a lot less enticing.

number of cents in a dime.

the $10 dollar bill has a picture of Alexander Hamilton on it, a man who was ineligible to be President but was a founding statesman and notoriously lost a duel with then Vice President Aaron Burr, which took Hamilton's life.

a triple-double in basketball consists of three of the following: 10+ points, 10+ assists, 10+ rebounds &/or 10+ blocks.

name of the monumental album by Pearl Jam which helped launch 'grunge music' into the mainstream in 1991-1992.

number, in soccer, typically reserved for the best, most respected player.

interstate highway, which runs across the country, from California to Florida.


in Old Testament / Jewish tradition:
number of plagues.
number of days of repentance (beginning on Rosh Hashanah and ending on Yom Kippur.)
number of martyrs.
number of Lost Tribes of Israel.
number of generations between Adam and Noah.
number of generations between Noah and Abraham.


number of commandments God gave to Moses after the exodus from Egypt.

but Jesus trumped that when he said what some call the Jesus creed, the most important commandment (based on the Shema found in Deuteronomy 6)

²⁸One of the religion scholars came up. Hearing the lively exchanges of question and answer and seeing how sharp Jesus was in his answers, he put in his question: "Which is most important of all the commandments?"

^29-31Jesus said, "The first in importance is, 'Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these."

^32-33The religion scholar said, "A wonderful answer, Teacher! So lucid and accurate—that God is one and there is no other. And loving him with all passion and intelligence and energy, and loving others as well as you love yourself. Why, that's better than all offerings and sacrifices put together!"

³⁴When Jesus realized how insightful he was, he said, "You're almost there, right on the border of God's kingdom."

After that, no one else dared ask a question.

Mark 12:28-34

Love God. Love People. Love Self.

now prove it.