Aug 21

Exodus 20:17
17 “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

Soft drink companies wage a constant battle with new slogans and clever commercials in their efforts to get you to buy their brand instead of their competitors' brands. See if you can match the following slogans and soft drinks. 1. GOTTA HAVE IT! 2. DO THE DEW 3. OBEY YOUR THIRST 4. UH-HUH! 5. SQUIRT YOUR THIRST 6. JUST WHAT THE DR. ORDERED 7. IT'S AN UP THING 8. THE FOAM GOES STRAIGHT TO YOUR BRAIN 9. IT'S THE REAL THING A. COCA-COLA B. SPRITE C. 7UP D. PEPSI-COLA E. MUG ROOT BEER F. DR. PEPPER G. DIET PEPSI H. MOUNTAIN DEW I. SQUIRT Some of those soft drink slogans are more well known than others, but Pepsi's "Gotta Have It!" is among the most appropriate-and not just for a cola. Have you ever seen a friend wearing a cool hat or pair of shoes and thought, Gotta have it? Have you ever seen a classmate's science fair project and thought, Gotta have it? That's the kind of feeling God was talking about when he commanded us not to covet. But the tenth commandment does more than tell us what God doesn't want us to do. It also reveals something important about God. It reveals that God values con-tentment. And God values contentment because he never wants; he has everything he needs because he is everything he needs. And he wants us to be content with what he gives us. When we are content, instead of constantly wanting or demanding more, we reflect what God is like. Francis Schaeffer, a Christian philosopher, wrote, "The climax of the Ten Commandments is the Tenth Commandment. Any time that we break one of the other commandments of God, it means that we have already broken this commandment, in coveting."* Think about it. When a person steals, he first covets what he steals; when a person lies, she first covets what will be gained by lying, and so on. In that way, the sin of coveting is at the root of all sin.

REFLECT: How does God want us to look at possessions? Is it wrong to admire what someone else has? When does admiration become coveting?

PRAY: "God, help me appreciate what I have, to enjoy the beautiful things around me, and to be content with you and all you have given me." *Francis Schaeffer, True Spirituality (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1971), p. 7. ANSWERS: 1D; 2H; 3B; 4G; 5I; 6F; 7E; 8F; 9A

Sorry. Got confused on the devo. Didn't really know what to say and kept on bbackspacing...I'll try and use what I got out of it though. Felt pretty relevant, but vague.

i didn't really get anything out of today's devotion...got a bit confused but i suppose i did get the general message: be happy with what God gives you, i guess? sorry i will read it again later to see what i have gotten confused with.
see you thursday!

Sorry guys!
I've read it over and still can't find anything particular.....
I mostly learned that you should not think of your posessions more important than God.
Reminds me of the sermon Dan gave about how we sometimes worship other things than God.
Also that we should be thankful for what we have instead of being greaty and asking for more and more. We need to think about what we really do need and how much more God has provided.

Weeeell, I shall see everyone on Thurs!
Yaaay! So excited!
~Audrey~

THURSDAYTHURSDAYTHURSDAY!
It seems every time I do a new guideline devo, I learn something new.
Everyone wants riches. We all wish we could have lots of money, expensive clothes, or the newest technology. I know sometimes I long for that stuff. I actually say things like "Lucky! I wish I had that!" to my friends if they get something I like.
I think admiring someone else's possessions are okay, as long as you don't get super envious and have thoughts like "I'm going to break my Nokia (We all know breaking a Nokia is impossible), so my parents will get me an iPhone!" or "God, why does she have the newest Louis Vuitton purse but I don't?" . Complaining about what you have and what you don't have is without a doubt a sin. It shows you are ungrateful for what God gave you.
Sorry if this doesn't make sense. I tried.
Good night!
-Sarah

Come on guys...The message is so clear. I mean they even TOLD you what the message was...

This passage teaches us to appreciate what we have
If we reflect upon ourselves, we're so unappreciative for what we have currently.
If we think to third world countries, we're living like kings.
God blessed us with so much and expects us to give back.
Kinda relates to our topic the other day.
We should always keep in mind, everything we have, we love, and need,
God has given us. God will give us.
LETS APPRECIATE OUR GOD THAT MUCH MORE DURING THIS RETREAT
YEE

We want what we can't have,
but we can't seem to appreciate the things that are given to us.
God is simply our ultimate provider, he provides us with all that we could possibly need.
But before, it was difficult for me to look at my friend's phones and say to myself, I really want that, why can't my mom provide me a better phone?
But soon after, I realized that all I ever needed was a keyboard, even the old fashion numpad would be fine.
Although convenient, it isn't absolutely NEEDED, so why keep asking for the things that we don't have?
Obeying this commandment allows us to be humble, much like our Saviour.

ill catch up on everything tomorrow. kinda tired.

I was reading this devo and thought, how weird is it that we need a day dedicated to giving thanks and being thankful for whag we have?
We really shouldn't be so...envious of others and we definitely shouldn't have wanted a lot of the things we have now.
All these luxuries..
Why can't we just stop wanting for a bit... Hmm... Seems strange to be thinking about how much of a neccessity it is to want.
Anyway, be thankful for what you have!

this really made me think about the 3rd world country kid in 9gag aha.
It's humourous but it actuallyy wakes me up also. LOL
Not gonna lie but coveting is actually one of the easiest sins to commit for me.
I look at really nice cars driving by and I lose control over myself because I want it so bad...
Every time I go for a drive, I covet countless of times. It just sucks that it's in our nature to
want something that we know we can't have.
Just like when we were kids, when you see that jar of cookies that's beyond our reach, we
want to eat them SOO BAD!!!
or when one of your friends are eating a cup Ra myun, we want a sip of that soup SOO BAD!!
This is one of the hardest sins to fix because coveting is instinctive, it's in our nature.

LOL guys, the message is so clear... why do you guys say you dont get anything when one person says it.
What i got from this devo was that we should be content and appreciate all the things we have. Even if we;re rich, poor, green or blue. We should appreciate all the little things because God has given us each quality for a reason. Those who covet and cant stand the fact that others have it but you dont, should change themselves because they are breaking a commandment. I cant say that i dont break it occasionally but i will try to avoid doing it and ask forgiveness when i break the commandment.

Sorry I didn't post the other day :S
From this I got that were ate to appreciate what we have but I remember in a sermon or something were not only to appreciate what we have but people with more, like us, are expected to give more and do more in the name of god, because we have the means. We can't just keep accumulating stuff and gratify ourselves with our Worldly possessions, but use them to transform people into the children of god! This is what Worldy possessions come into use for us, not for our earthly lives, but to bring more people to god!
Sorry that was short but I think it's a really good message for all of us to remember especially while doing missions and whatnot!