Thursday, November 10, 2016

What to Write ~ Commandment 10


We've made it to the final letter of the 10 Commandment series. I hope you've enjoyed these and have found them useful. If you haven't used them, feel free to come back here anytime and modify these letters for your own sponsored children. You can find my other letters in this series by following the links below.
  1. first letter (introduction)
  2. second letter (first commandment - no other gods)
  3. third letter (second commandment - no idols)
  4. fourth letter (third commandment - don't misuse God's name)
  5. fifth letter (fourth commandment - keep the Sabbath day holy)
  6. sixth letter (fifth commandment - honor your father and mother)
  7. seventh letter (sixth commandment - do not murder)
  8. eighth letter (seventh commandment - do not commit adultery)
  9. ninth letter (eighth commandment - do not steal)
  10. tenth letter (ninth commandment - do not lie)

And here's the final commandment...

Dear....

How are you? I hope this letter finds you well and learning new things every day. I've been writing to you about the 10 Commandments and today I'm finally talking about the final and tenth Commandment.
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." - Exodus 20:17
Let's dig into this and see what this means. First of all, the word covet means to desire or want in an envious way. God is telling us that it is a problem to want what other people have. It's not wrong to admire what other people have, but when we become envious or jealous of them for having something we don't or can't have, then we are sinning. It's wrong to want something so bad that you are no longer satisfied with what you have - when you'll do just about anything to get it or when you resent others for having something you don't have.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." - Hebrews 13:5
God wants us to be content and happy with what we have. He wants us to desire HIM over any other thing.
Since then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  - Colossians 3:1-2
Instead of thinking about material possessions, God wants us to set our minds on things above. If we are to set our minds on things above, then we probably need to figure out what that means. What do you think that means? Some people translate this to be things of heaven. If heaven is God's home, then it's full of his goodness, beauty, grace, love, peace, patience and many other good things. In heaven there will be no sorrow and no needs.

I think it boils down to this...JESUS is ENOUGH. If we have Jesus, we have everything. Without Jesus, we have nothing. I hope these letters about the 10 Commandments have been helpful to you. I know it was helpful for myself to write them. I enjoy studying God's word and sharing what I've learned with you. I'd love it you shared with me something about God or the Bible that you have learned recently.
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