OUR DAILY BREAD : BEWARE OF WHAT YOU WANT

[cimi]

July 7
Wednesday


BEWARE OF
WHAT YOU
WANT

READ:
Exodus 20:1-17
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You shall not covet.
__Exodus 20:17
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Sometimes I wonder why God didn't list the Ten Commandments in reverse order, since the 10th commandment correlates to the first sin--desire for a piece of fruit; it was the desire for knowledge that Satan told her would make her like god (Gen. 3:5). Eve's covetousness caused her to violate both first and tenth commands that God later gave to Moses.

When we don't covet, we pretty much eliminate our reasons to disobey the other commands. Wanting what isn't ours causes us to lie, steal, commit adultery,murder, and refuse to honor our parents. We refuse to rest because we can't get what we want in 6 days of work. We misuse God's name when we use it to justify something that we want to do. We make gods out of wealth and relationships because we don't want to have to put all our trust in God.

I have a hard time coming up with sins that don't involve some form of covetousness. Yet because it's the last in the list, we tend to think of it as being the least important. But it's not. When we stop sin while it is still in our hearts and heads, we avoid making others the victim of our sin, and we avoid many of the serious consequences os sin.
__Julie Ackerman Link
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`````````````````When you covet someone else's things,````````````
````````````````Thinking that they're better than your own,``````````
``````````````````Just remember that God's gifts to you````````````
```````````````Were designed for you and you alone. _Hess`````````
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Contentment is realizing that God
has already given me all I need.

************Today's Bible Reading __ Exodus 20:1-17**************

1 And God spoke all these
words, saying:

2 "I am the LORD your God,
who bought you out of the
land of Egypt, out of the
house of bondage.

3 "You shall not make for
yourself a carved image--
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; 5 you shall not bow
down to them nor serve
them....

7 "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.

8 "Remember the Sabbath
day, to keep it holy. 9 Six
days you shall labor and do
all your work, 10 but the
seventh day is the Sabbath
of the LORD your God....

12 "Honor your father and
your mother, that your days
may be long upon the land
which the LORD your God is
giving you.

13 "You shall not murder.

14 "You shall not commit
adultery.

15 "You shall not steal.

16 "You shall not bear false
witness against your
neighbor.

17 "You shall not covet your
neighbor's house; you shall
not covet your neighbor's
wife, nor his male servant,
nor his female servant, nor
his ox, nor his donkey, nor
anything that is your
neighbor's."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

These instructions for life are comprehensive. The first four
commandments are vertical in nature, dealing with our relationship
with our God. The remaining six commandments are horizontal in
nature, dealing with our relationships with one another. In every
command, however, we are to seek the good of the other ahead of
ourselves. __BILL CROWDER