“…God is love.” –1 John 4:8 Love is one of the most important words in the Bible and appears roughly eight hundred times in the Old and New Testaments. In our culture, though, it is one of the most misunderstood words and is used for everything from sexual sin to sloppy sentimentality. In 1 John 4:8 the Bible plainly states that “God is love.” Subsequently, to understand love as the Scripture speaks of it, we must begin with the Trinitarian God who is the source and ultimate example of love. Based upon the teaching of the Bible, Christians believe that in the unity of God’s essence there are three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—who are fully equal in essence, attributes, and eternality, yet eternally relating in fully personal ways. While the word Trinity does not appear in Scripture, the concept very clearly does. The church father Tertullian (ad 155–220) was the first to use the word Trinity. To say that God exists as a Trinity does not mean there are three Gods, or that one God merely manifests himself as solely Father, Son, or Holy Spirit on various occasions. Rather, the Lord is one,1 but his oneness, like the oneness of a marriage,2 contains more than a single person.3 Each person of the Trinity thinks, feels, acts, and speaks in self-consciousness and continuity of identity. Each is able to understand self and creation, to initiate loving relationship with each other and humanity. Father, Son, and Spirit exist and relate in perfect loving harmony in the one divine essence. Christians of all ages and branches affirm that there is no God but the Lord, who is Father, Son, and Spirit. Inextricably connected to the doctrine of the Trinity is love. In the very nature of God there is a continuous outpouring of love, communication, and oneness. In perfect love, the three persons are characterized by reciprocal self-dedication to the good of the whole Trinity. Because God is a relational community of love, God is the source and model of all that is love. During his earthly life, Jesus frequently spoke about the deep love between him and God the Father. In John 3:35 we read, “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.” In John 5:20 we read, “The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing.” Also, in John 14:31 we read, “I [Jesus] do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.” Spend some time today in prayer thanking God for specific ways He has loved you! 1 Deut. 6:4. 2 Gen. 2:24. 3 Matt. 28:19–20. Read more

““You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”” – Exodus 20:17 Q: What is the tenth commandment? A: You shall not covet your neighbor's house, your neighbor’s wife, or anything that is his. What does this mean? Because we worship and love God, we shouldn’t desire to have the things that belong to other people, but instead we should help them protect what is theirs. Coveting is all about our desires. But are all desires wrong? Can you think of some desires that are good? It’s good to desire to eat. If we didn’t, we would eventually die. It’s good to desire a place to live. No one wants to be homeless. It’s good to desire clothes to wear. Who wants to run around naked!?! There are lots of good things to desire but most of all, God wants us to desire him. God is greatly glorified when we desire him over and above all these other things in the world. He wants us to find our greatest satisfaction in him and him alone. When we covet, it’s like we are saying to God, “I want this thing more than I want you.” God knows that that will make us miserable in the end so he is so loving to tell us to be consumed with him instead. God wants us to desire him. Doesn’t it make sense that we should desire the greatest thing in the universe? Well, what is greater than God? In this sense, coveting things that we don’t have is like eating a nasty, moldy cheeseburger that we found in the garbage can (Yuck!) when we could have a really tasty, fancy dinner of all our favorite foods! God doesn’t want us to settle for things that don’t last and are less than the best. God is the best! Let’s only settle for him! Read Psalm 73:24–26: You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 1. According to the Psalmist, can anyone take God away from him? 2. How do you think you could increase your desire for God? 3. In what ways is God way better than all the things we are tempted to covet? Prayer Our Father, thank you that you have given yourself to us. May you be our greatest desire in all the world. We know that our desires are often disordered and sinful. Forgive us when we fail and may your glory be that which consumes us. Thank you for the cross and the empty tomb. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Read more

““You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”” – Exodus 20:17 Q: What is the tenth commandment? A: You shall not covet your neighbor's house, your neighbor’s wife, or anything that is his. What does this mean? Because we worship and love God, we shouldn’t desire to have the things that belong to other people, but instead we should help them protect what is theirs. “I wish I was like her.” “I wish I could do what he does.” “I wish my house was like theirs.” “I wish my wife was like his wife.” Do these statements sound like they come from someone who is at peace? They don’t, do they? They sound like they come from someone who is quite unsettled. That is what coveting does. It makes us anxious and uneasy. It robs us of the peace that God want for his children because we are constantly looking outwards at all the things we want. A restful heart would say with ease, “God, I am so thankful for what you have given me. It is enough for me.” In today’s culture, many of us are extremely busy due to envy and covetousness. We want something really bad so we work long hours so that we can earn the money to get it. The problem is that once we get it we find something else to covet and we continue to work to get that. See how this causes our life to be a never ending cycle of being too busy because we are envious and covetous? This is not the peaceful and restful state that God loves to see in his children. Envy will makes us miserable in the end. Read 1 Timothy 6:9-10: But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. 1. What is it that ruins people? 2. How is the love of money closely related to covetousness? 3. What are some things that you are tempted to covet? Prayer Our Father, we want to peacefully rest in your provision for us. Banish from our hearts any love of money but rather, help us to be thankful for what we have. We don’t want to work ourselves to death in pursuit of that which does not satisfy. Only you satisfy. Forgive us because of Jesus when we fail. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Read more

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”” – Exodus 20:17 Q: What is the tenth commandment? A: You shall not covet your neighbor's house, your neighbor’s wife, or anything that is his. What does this mean? Because we worship and love God, we shouldn’t desire to have the things that belong to other people, but instead we should help them protect what is theirs. Imagine going to a birthday party. It’s for your best friend and you tried to come up with a gift that they would really love. You thought and thought about it and finally decided on something really cool. The day of the party arrives and you give this gift to you friend. They seem to appreciate it but very soon after opening it they say to you, “Thanks for the gift but I honestly deserved a better gift than this.” How would that make you feel? Understandably, that would probably make you feel pretty bad and maybe a bit angry, right? But what would be a good term for the attitude of the person who said that? The Bible calls that type of behavior “pride”. What it means is thinking so highly of yourself that you think you deserve more than what you have. This is how we treat God when we covet. It’s a way of communicating that we think we deserve better than what he has given. Just like we would feel dishonored if our friend said those words to us, we dishonor God when we fixate on what others have instead of what God has graciously given. Consider Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” 1. What happens when we are prideful? 2. Are there ways you have been prideful by thinking that you deserve better than what you have? 3. How do you think we can fight pride together? Prayer Our Father, you have been so good to us. May we not think more highly of ourselves than we should. Help us to not think about ourselves at all but rather how good you are and how we can be loving towards our neighbors. Help us not to covet their things. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Read more

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”” – Exodus 20:17 Q: What is the tenth commandment? A: You shall not covet your neighbor's house, your neighbor’s wife, or anything that is his. What does this mean? Because we worship and love God, we shouldn’t desire to have the things that belong to other people, but instead we should help them protect what is theirs. Human beings love to compare things. How high can you jump? How fast can you run? How strong are you? These are things boys usually like to talk and argue about when they are little. We love to compare. This is the heart of coveting or envy. As we get older we might be tempted to compare other things. “They have such a good marriage!” “Wow, I can’t believe how much money she makes. It’s way more than me!” “She has such beautiful hair. I wish I had that.” “Look at his car! My car is rusty and falling apart.” We love to compare. Why do you think God wouldn’t want to us to be consumed with comparison? One of the reasons might be because he wants us to take our eyes off of things that are not eternal and fixate on that which is. Many of the things that other people have that we might be tempted to covet are things that will pass away with time. Beauty is fading, money never lasts, cars break down, and houses fall apart over time. But God wants us to be consumed with him because no one can take him away from us. Read Luke 12:13–21: Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” 1. Did the rich man have his heart set on things of this world or things that are eternal? 2. Can you relate to the rich man? Do you think he was envious? Prayer Our Father, may we stop constantly comparing the things that you have given us against the things you have given others. Help us to be content. May our vision of you be so grand that the things of this world pale in comparison. In Jesus’ name, Amen. Read more