Day 91

"And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.'”
Leviticus 19:1-2

So here we are at day 91. After spending a summer focused on the 10 Commandments, we now find ourselves asking the question, "What happens now?" The commandments we’ve explored have shown us that they are far more than a collection of individual dos and don’ts. We’ve seen that they are meant to not only show us a better way to live, but to empower us to live in the freedom that God provides through our new life in Christ.

What happens now that the 91 days are over? Are we to simply turn the page and move on to other spiritual endeavors? I believe the answer to that question lies in the verses above from Leviticus. In this passage, God instructs His people to be holy, just as He is holy. This seems like an impossibility given that God is holy, perfect, and righteous and we are not. Living out the 10 commandments can seem equally as impossible when we examine each one of them to the degree to which we have this summer.

These past 91 days have impressed on my heart the importance of a faith in God that is lived out in the real world and not merely as an academic exercise. The 10 Commandments are surely meant to be studied, but also to be active in our lives. This is only possible through a relationship with God and the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us. That’s what the giving of the 10 Commandments was all about in the first place; God establishing a sacred relationship with His people at Mount Sinai. In Exodus 19 we read, “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These words of God are that of a special covenant relationship between Him and the nation of Israel that we have the ability to enter into thousands of years later as the church. We are the people of God, and as such we have an amazing calling on our lives both individually and as the church.

So what happens now? After exploring the depths of the 10 Commandments, my hope is that each of us will live out these commandments not out of obligation, but rather a desire to be holy, as our God is holy. Now is the time for us to be the people of God and to follow after Him. May you enter this fall season in the knowledge of God, in the love that only God can provide, in the salvation that is through faith in Jesus Christ, and in a growing relationship with the God who has freed you!

May this website and the many contributions to it continue to bless, challenge, and inspire you as you enter day 92 and beyond!

PRAY: This is a portion of a prayer from Psalm 119, taken from verses 33 -37: “Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.”

Day 90

“'The truth is, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked and go wherever you wanted to. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will direct you and take you where you don’t want to go.' Jesus said this to let him know what kind of death he would die to glorify God. Then Jesus told him 'Follow me.' Peter turned around and saw the disciple Jesus loved following them . . . Peter asked Jesus 'What about him Lord?' Jesus replied, 'If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?'” John 21:18-23

Let’s talk about a more subtle and insidious form of coveting. I am not particularly materialistic. I suppose that might be tested more if I didn’t live in a land of abundance. I am also not boasting, I was just made that way, not needing much in the way of material possessions. Therefore, I had to stop and think about this commandment, because I know I suffer, as Rob preached, from distractions that take my eyes off of Christ. So, here is what I’ve discovered. I covet traits, lifestyles, talents, and God’s walk with other people.

I have spent the last 13 years wishing I was a better mother. It’s not that I’m an awful mother, but it doesn’t come naturally to me. I love children as young people. I love the way their minds work and how they see the world, what makes them laugh and what makes them cry. I am loathe to have to train and discipline them. I can’t even do that for myself. I envy my friends who are naturals at it. Their children know when mom says "stop," she means "stop." Mine think it’s time to pause, and resume.

I also envy organized people, disciplined people, talented writers, people who exercise daily and those who know Hebrew. I am not being facetious. These are the things I covet and in the case of organized, disciplined people who exercise daily, I feel irritated with them for having it all together and not letting life or other people interfere with their plans. My irritation comes close to raca (commandment # 6).

And so Jesus, who had just fed the disciples a fish breakfast, has this interesting conversation with Peter as they walk along the shore. Jesus has just given Peter instructions to care for His sheep. He caps it off by informing Peter that as life unfolds he too will be crucified. They are tough words to hear. Jesus knowing this adds an emphatic, “Follow Me."

How do we know those are tough words for Peter? How do we know they have unsettled him? What is Peter’s reaction to “Follow Me?" He does not respond directly to Jesus about this news. Instead he turns around and looks at John who is walking behind them, and he asks Jesus, “What about him?”

Chamad.

Maybe this is a stretch, but I got to thinking about all the things that interfere with our walk with God, and what God is doing in other people’s lives may be high on the list.

We could imagine that Peter’s question about John’s fate is based in concern for John, that he, too, might be headed for a martyr’s death. How many of them would “follow” Jesus this way? But the response Jesus gives to Peter’s question tells us otherwise. Jesus can still read hearts and He knows Peter is, as Rob might say, distracted by John. What about him?

“If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?" What is it to you what I do with anyone else? Follow me.

Jesus has used these words on me. Again, I am not being facetious. More than once this conversation between Peter and Jesus has rung in my ears when I have tried to walk obediently with God, feeling sometimes like I’m on a dangerous precipice and I look around and say “What about them?”

If we strive to walk with obediently with God it can be difficult to look around and see fellow believers who are living fully attached to the world unburdened by what God has called us to. We might be envious of their relative indifference to scripture. Or swinging the other way, we might covet the deep relationship a friend or mentor has with Christ, or that he/she can “hear” God speak. If we become preoccupied or irritated with what we see others doing on their journey with God, we may as well be coveting their goat or maidservant. Our journey is hindered by coveting something He never intended to give us -- someone else’s journey.

Jesus gently rebuked Peter (you’ve got to feel for him) and He will gently rebuke us if we are looking at others instead of Him. We should welcome this rebuke. The antidote to the problem of coveting what someone else has is delighting in what we have. We have access to the King of the Universe who knows us, loves us and wants to unleash our true selves so we can walk unencumbered in this world. I know if I can let him do that in me, it won’t bother me so much that I’m not organized or disciplined, or that I'm ignorant in Hebrew.

Father: Would you gently rebuke us when we start coveting what others have, materially, emotionally, and spiritually? Help us to become like Paul who became content in all circumstances. Amen.

Day 89

"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake. If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Matthew 7: 9-11

Coveting is a meaningless waste of our time and energy that steals from God the divine direction and plans he has for our lives. I learned this the hard way . . .

In the wake of 9/11 the economy stalled and I lost the marketing director position I’d held for nearly 10 years. It was a huge blow . . . to my pocketbook and my ego. One minute I was "somebody." The next I was on the street with thousands of other equally qualified, equally experienced marketing professionals. I felt my "identity" slip away as I disappeared among the masses.

At the time, I failed to recognize God’s hand in this event, to see that this was his way of thwarting the false god I served and returning my focus to him.

Instead, I determined with a vengeance to "hit the ground running." Two short weeks later, I was one of four people selected from hundreds of resumes to interview with the new chairman of a local humanitarian organization. As he shared his dreams for what he hoped to accomplish, I caught his vision and ran with it. The air buzzed with excitement as we traded thoughts and ideas. The synergy between us was palpable, so tangible I could almost taste it, so real I felt I could hold it in my hand.

The interview lasted three hours. As I left him that afternoon, he told me I was a "perfect fit" for the job. He said the last step in my becoming their new marketing director was a short interview with the public relations chair, which he would schedule for the following afternoon. I was elated, and spent the rest of the day envisioning the things I could do, the difference I could make in other people’s lives. I wanted, no, I coveted, that job, like nothing else before it, and I gave little thought to where God was in my plans.

I never heard from the chairman again . . .

My phone calls, e-mails, a letter, all went unanswered. I was stunned to think I’d so grossly misjudged our time together. More than that, I was angry with God. "Why?!" I asked. "Why did you dangle this opportunity in front of me, the perfect opportunity, only to take it away again?" It was weeks before I could put my anger aside and bring myself to start the job hunt anew.

A month or so later, curiosity struck and I visited the organization’s web site. I saw that they had hired a new marketing director – and that his work was on a junior level. "It had to have been about the money," I thought. "He hired someone less experienced because he thought I’d want too much."

Six months passed and I was still without a job. I ventured a second time to the organization’s web site and saw that the marketing director position was once again open. So strongly did I believe that the job was destined to be mine all along that I swallowed my pride and wrote to the chairman, expressing my continued interest and noting that if money was the issue, I’d appreciate the opportunity to discuss that with him. Again, he did not respond.

Several more despairing months of unemployment passed during which I alternately raged at God and humbly begged his forgiveness. One day I finally came to a place where I said, "Whatever your will is, Lord. That’s the place I want to be, the only place I want to be." A few days later, I received not one, but two job offers. I accepted them both.

God designed one job to give me unique experience and insight that he later used to benefit another Christian I met along the way. That was an incredible blessing in itself.

I still hold the second job. It’s not the "glamour job" I once had, the perks are few and the pay is half as much. But it has allowed me to be there for my family in ways I previously hadn’t been. It also has given me opportunities to venture down new avenues, to contribute in meaningful new ways at work – but never so much as to again steal my focus from God.

The Sunday after I received the two job offers, my daughter was sick so I stayed home from church. That gave me a rare opportunity to actually read the Sunday paper. And there on the front page, above the fold, was a photo of the chairman and, in big, bold headlines, the story of his demise. I learned that the board of directors had ousted him (and his newly-hired staff) for misappropriating funds and making critical decisions without the board’s approval. The deadline they’d given him to leave office was the very day I was to start the first of my new jobs. As the reality of this sunk in, I hung my head and wept in humility and gratitude for the incredible mercy God had shown me.

God doesn’t always let us know why he chooses the paths for us he does, why he sometimes withholds from us when he does. This time, in his grace, he gave me a window in. I understood, in a heartbeat, that his desire all along had been to prosper and not harm me; to protect me. I was awed by the magnificent depth of his love.

I’m still prone at times to coveting, to seeking after things I think I need or should have that I don’t. When I find myself in that place, I remember this chapter of my life and know that no matter how it appears to me, no matter what it is I think I’m "missing," God’s got it completely under control.

Pray: Father, we praise you and thank you for your love, your patience, your compassion in our lives. Help us, Lord, to trust that you alone know what we really need and are able to provide it.

Day 88

“ . . . You still lack one thing . . ." Luke 18:22

We've been studying the ten commandments. Great. I remember as a young person telling someone about the church I was going to. She asked, as if verifying whether the place was really a church, “Do they believe in the Ten Commandments?” (Just the way she said it, I could tell the initials were capitalized.) In my usual nonplussed manner, I stammered an answer in the affirmative.

The Ten Commandments. The Big Ones. Keep'em and you're "in like Flynn," home free, heading for the Big Town. That's what Jesus told the Rich Young Ruler (or the RYR, as I like to call him) in Luke 18. So that must be God's Gold Standard, right?

Are we kidding? Don't kill each other? Don't take anyone else's stuff? And while you're at it, don't take anyone else's spouse either. Pretty please? That's the benchmark???

In his brilliant book, An Unstoppable Force, Erwin McManus says:

The Ten Commandments are the lowest possible standard of humane living . . . Why don't we get it? Anything below these standards is choosing to live like an animal, a barbarian. The Ten Commandments don't call us to the extraordinary spiritual life; they call us to stop dehumanizing one another. The law is the
minimum of what it means to be human.

If we try to “live up to” the Ten Commandments, we're throwing in the towel. We're bottom feeding. It's the equivalent of the “wrong question” that Rev. Greer several weeks ago said is often asked by dating couples: “How far can we go?” Instead, it's, “How much can we get away with and still get into heaven?”

The RYR tried that approach. Even though he claimed to have followed all the commandments (a lie, thus breaking the 9th commandment, too) he was told by Jesus that he had to do one more teensy little thing. Not much, really. Just give away everything he owned. (Incidentally, although most believe that command was for the RYR alone, Jesus asks it of all of us. Nothing we have is ours. He wants everything from us. Anything less is beneath His true standard.)

That's why Jesus had to expound on the commandments so often. So that we would know that keeping the letter of the law was not sufficient. Not even close. And that's why we've looked at them this summer. So we can try to understand what God is really asking of us. Once we're cool with them being out of reach, needing and asking for Christ's forgiveness and help, we can get on with trying to live their true meaning through His power and grace.

Pray: Merciful God, forgive me for being satisfied living here in the dregs at the bottom of life's barrel. You have so much more for me. By the power of your Son Jesus, I pray that I would live, not just above the level of the animals, but closer to the level of the heavenly beings, honoring you and reflecting your glory. Amen.

Day 87

“ . . . For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, 'Do not covet.'” Romans 7:7

The 10th commandment actually came up at our small group discussion not too long ago. As we talked about it, we wondered if it could be extended beyond its literal reading of coveting things that belong to other people. Can you covet things that no one owns? In other words, when I'm flipping through the Best Buy sale flyer, am I breaking the 10th commandment if I desire that new digital TV or high powered laptop even though it doesn't belong to my neighbor or anyone else . . . yet?

I'll propose my answer. Yes, I think that mindset definitely qualifies as coveting.

First of all, who's to say that my desire for those technical goodies doesn't have its genesis in a knowledge that some of my neighbors have them? Second, it can become an “inordinate desire," according to the definition Rob shared from the dictionary. Such a desire can promote the object to an importance greater than its real value, even to that of an idol. It distracts me from my relationship with Christ. It could also put me in debt, depriving my family of things of greater importance. Finally, there's the sense that the money spent on such items is money that cannot be used in service to God, giving to those in greater need, for example.

The good news is that there are ways to avoid this kind of temptation. First, throw out (or better yet, recycle) catalogs as soon as you receive them. Period. No compromise. If you don't know you need something, what are you looking through those things for? Second, don't go shopping unless it's for something you know that you need. Recreational shopping is asking for trouble. Again, if you don't need it, what are you shopping for? Why go looking for things to need?

Finally, turn off the TV. Advertising is designed with the help of psychologists who know how to create false needs in their viewers for the sole purpose of separating them from their money. Don't fall for their tricks. Don't become like the guy in the attached video. He put himself in a situation where he became ”remotely controlled." Ever feel that way?

To paraphrase Paul's statement above: “I would not have known what I was missing if the advertisements had not said, This will make you happy.”

Pray: Oh, God, how often I have tried to use stuff to fill the hole in me that was intended to be filled only by you. Discipline me to know my needs from wants and to behave accordingly. Forgive me for coveting what belongs to the world and has no place in the life of a follower of Jesus. Only you can fill my need, not trinkets. Amen.

Video:

Day 86

“You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.”
James 4:2

The 10th is the low man on the commandment totem pole. It may have something to do with bad PR, being last in line, or whatever. When asked to recite the Big Ten, this is the one I'm most likely to forget. When Jesus recites some of the commandments to the rich young ruler, he leaves this one out, among a few others. Ironically, when the original schedule for 91of10 was sent to me, it was left out there, too.

I think the reason I tend to forget it is because I find it nearly (completely?) impossible to obey. The other thing is that it's the one commandment that has no upside if you disobey it. With stealing, at least you get something for yourself. Murder eliminates a perceived problem and lets the perpetrator get his aggressions out. Lying is very convenient when I'm caught in a difficult situation. Adultery . . . well, you get the point. Covet stinks in every way. All it gives you is a sick, depressed feeling because you're obsessing over something someone else has and you don't. Yuck.

The 10th commandment is also a “gateway sin." It often leads directly to theft, adultery, and murder and indirectly leads to all the rest! And as Rob said in his message, it draws us away from Jesus and His wonderful Gospel of reconciliation.

In spite of the fact that we seem perfectly content to live with this sin (when was the last time you confessed it?) it could be one of the most important to keep. But as one commenter said in a response last week, what are we going to do about it?

Any thoughts? Please feel free to share them.

Prayer: Dear God, even when I forget about this commandment, you don't. Save me from covetousness that only leads to more and more sin and away from you. I have Jesus. What more could I possibly desire? Amen.

Day 85

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet unto the nations." Jeremiah 1:5

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret to being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Phillipians 4: 11-13

With "Do not covet" we come to the final week of 91of10.com. As I reflect on this, I can’t help but think that God’s first commandment and his last are spiritual bookends, the beginning and the end, the two commandments that hold all the others in place.

Think about this: God’s first commandment calls us to have no other gods before him, his last, not to covet - meaning, as Rob said on Sunday, from the Hebrew translation - not to desire, nor desire to take pleasure in the preciousness of what belongs to others . . . for the sake of the whole, for the sake of the entire body of Christ. And isn't it in the desire of those other things that we could come to commit the sins forbidden in the other eight commandments?

If we truly achieve that, if we truly come to a place where we "do not covet" what others have, in any sense of the word, doesn’t it really mean that we’ve come to a place where we've fully accepted that the life God gave us, with all its ups and downs, positives and negatives, valleys and mountains, is the life He chose for us, the one He designed knowing that if we would only surrender to it, to Him, that it would be the very life that would help us to become more like Him; that it would be the life that teaches us to draw our strength, our purpose from Him, and not from ourselves? And that in having accomplished that, we would have come, finally, to a place where we would not have any other gods before Him; where we would no longer desire any other gods but Him?

And in the end, isn’t that what we really are about, as Christians? That total surrender? Aren’t we really about becoming more and more like Him, so that like Him, we can, in turn, impart the knowledge of His love to others, who hopefully, will come to the same realization, and to that same lack of covetousness in their own lives? That they, too, would come to a place where they would no longer have any gods before Him?

Pray: Father, help us have a change of heart, a change of attitude; help us desire only what you would have for us in our lives, that we would trust your hand in our lives, and know that no matter what, your design is in it. Help us to trust you completely, to know that you knew us, loved us, before we were even formed in our mother's womb, and that you have a plan, a purpose, to prosper us, to grow us in you. You, alone, are holy.

Commandment #10 (Sermon)

91 of 10 Commandment #10 (Stream) (Download)
August 23, 2009 Speaker: Rob Strong

Day 84

Acts 6:11-13 “Then they secretly instigated men who said, ‘We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God’. And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and they set up false witnesses who said, ‘This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law”.


On Sunday Rob highlighted the ancient Jewish legal system which required the testimony of two men to convict someone of breaking the law. He also pointed out the grave consequences of falsely testifying against someone. Yet, the Jewish leaders of Christ’s day arranged false witnesses against Christ in order to keep their institution and power intact when threatened by the truth Christ was proclaiming. The use of false witnessing led to the crucifixion of Jesus. His murder at the hands of the rulers in Jerusalem was soon followed by the stoning of a devoted follower, also brought about by the bearing of false witness.

One of the most beautiful accounts of Scripture occurs after a group of angry Jewish men from all over the world, who were hanging out at the Synagogue of Freed Slaves (how interesting), became offended by Stephen. Apparently they were in dispute with Stephen about something, but couldn’t make their case as well as Stephen who overwhelmed their intellect with Spirit-filled wisdom. Bring out the trump card - False Witness. These angry men were able to convince some men to falsely testify about what Stephen was saying. In short time Stephen was brought before the council and charged with blasphemy, a crime punishable by death.

Stephen’s defense was to recite a long eloquent review of Jewish history. He finished up by turning the tables and accusing the very leaders he stood before of the crime of executing the long awaited messiah. His words bear true witness and sting “You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you! Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One – the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered.”

Now here’s the problem. Stephen is now testifying in court about their act of murder, but he does so alone. He is one man testifying to the truth and according to Jewish law you need a second. But wait, as he finished this accusation he looks up to heaven and sees one of the most magnificent sights recorded in Scripture. And he tells everyone what he sees “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!” There was a second man standing with him testifying to this crime committed by the Jewish leaders. Shortly after this Stephen is stoned to death.

So, this is the thing. We may not always be testifying in a legal procedure, but day in and day out we testify either truthfully or falsely. Jesus stands with those testifying truthfully. In fact, we usually hear about Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father, but that is not what Stephen reports. Jesus is standing and witnessing with Stephen. He is also watching a great injustice being perpetrated upon Stephen. How often do you suppose Jesus stands up to witness injustice in this world and to stand with those on the receiving end?

I don’t know about you, but of all of the commandments, this is the one I want God to put pressure on me about. I don’t want to offhandedly report untruths, or malign someone’s character (like politicians and celebrities). I am tired of hearing myself say things I’m not even sure is true, as a previous blog spoke about. I don’t think I ever want to be the one Jesus is standing against, not with.

Father: Start with our lips and move to our hearts and rid us of speaking in all untruthful and unjust ways. Help us to encourage one another in this way of living. And above all, help us to speak truth, as Stephen did, when we are called upon by your Spirit to witness in this world about your redemptive love.