Monday Message

At it's most basic, covet means to desire, which isn't a bad thing. Where it turns from healthy to dangerous is when what we desire belongs to someone else. Our society demands we consume. We are bombarded by advertising designed to make us desire the latest and greatest thing available. The average expected lifespan of a modern smartphone is about 15 months. Most people wouldn't need a new phone that soon, but they'll probably want one. But why do they want a new phone when their current one still works fine? Marketing; Pure and simple. We are told that our old phone is outdated and doesn't ave the latest software with the best features. It's not just phones, but pretty much everything that we are told we need to replace at regular intervals. A capitalist society requires consumers to consume so that a few at the top, the 1%, can be fabulously wealthy. Unfortunately, if you don't have your wits about you, you'll be drawn in. But how did God...

In this the penultimate week in our series on the Ten Commandments, I'll look at our relationship with those around us; Our neighbours. But who exactly is our neighbour? Is it Jean from next door and Merv from down the street? How big is a neighbourhood and who is in it? Take a look at the video to get a small glimpse of the people in your neighbourhood. Exodus 20:16  “You must not testify falsely against your neighbour. Put simply, tell the truth. Seems easy enough when it's on the page, but how does real life stack up? I think the easiest way to look at this is to start by looking at why we might have a false testimony against our neighbour. This is not an exhaustive list, just the things I could come up with at short notice. Revenge: We feel slighted in some way and have taken it upon ourselves to exact retribution. Should we? Have a look at Romans 12:19 . Spite: They have it better than us and we want to bring them down a peg or two. Again I'll le...

Exodus 20:15 “You must not steal. Well that seems simple enough. I mean, most of us know not to steal. We live in a culture that encourages us to 'Get what you can for yourself'. A self serving attitude to life that blurs the lines of just what stealing really is. I'm sure we'd all put our hands up and say we don't steal. Although... don't look at my iTunes library; Or that folder marked 'Movies'. Other than that... I'm all good. If we were honest with ourselves, how many of us have taken stationery home from work; Or taken the credit for someone else's accomplishment? Do you always give back the extra change you get if the cashier isn't paying attention? I'm not trying to point the finger at anyone. Just trying to get us to really look at how we live our lives and where we draw the line when it comes to right and wrong. Today in church we had a guest speaker who talked about what being a christian meant to him. For him it wa...

This Monday Message is definitely the one I've spent the most time over. Not because it was long, or hard, but because I feel it touches on areas that could make me seem a little judgemental. So let me first state that my aim with these messages is not to judge, but t process the thoughts I have while reading the Bible and, hopefully, distilling them into a format others enjoy and gain insight from. Today I continue the theme of the Ten Commandments in view of relationships. This commandment focuses on the marriage relationship. Exodus 20:14 You must not commit adultery. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines adultery  as " voluntary sexual intercourse between a married man and someone other than his wife or  between a married woman and someone other than her husband ." The key part, in my opinion is the word voluntary. Adultery is not an accident. Adultery is a choice made by someone to seek physical pleasure from someone with whom they don't share a marria...

Today in my series on the Commandments, I'm looking at two different aspects of relationship. First is our relationship to ourselves and our time. In the daily hustle and bustle of our lives, it can be very easy to forget to stop and rest. Our phones ensure we're always contactable and, with social media, we always have something to distract us. My wife and I seem to find that we have big plans for evenings and weekends and, when they're finished, we've barely scratched the surface. It's not because we don't have time. It's because of how we spend it. For us a typical Sunday involves a bit of a sleep-in, church, lunch and then some general hanging out. Often TV in the evening then bed and a lot of reading. This sounds great and looks like a nice relaxing time. However, it seldom is. Sure, we may be trying to avoid obvious work, but we fill our time with internet pages, Facebook and, particularly in my case, mobile games on my phone. Exodus 20:8-...

Exodus 20:1-7 Then God gave the people all these instructions: “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. The Ten Commandments; Those great rules that God gave His people in the wilderness. The rules that Moses carried down from the mountain to find half the p...

Today's message was inspired by my good friend and author , Erik Petersen . Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. I used to think that this was merely an admonition against using God's name as a swear word, which seems to be in vogue these days. However, I was prompted to look at it in a quite different fashion a couple of years ago. Firstly, let's look at the 'usual' thing that happens when you marry; One of you, usually the woman, changes their last name to match their new spouses. I know some don't and some hyphenate, but I'm generalising. This is referred to as taking the other's name. When you marry, you don't marry just a person; You marry a family with it's own culture, beliefs, routines and rituals. And how, you may ask, does this apply to Exodus 20:7? The Church (Capital 'C') is called the Bride of Chr...