Yesterday morning a very wealthy friend of mine called. We conversed for a while and I asked him where he was. He responded that he was in Spain and he was getting ready to hunt red stag with the King of Spain on his private estate in the middle of the rut.
I asked how in the world he knew the King of Spain and he said that not long ago he’d been in Africa on a mission trip and afterwards went hunting for cape buffalo and hippo with a man whom he’d led to the Lord. It turned out that this man was personal friends with the king and when he got the invite he was told he could bring a friend and brought my buddy.
This morning I received a photo of the most beautiful red stag that I’ve ever seen with my buddy kneeling beside it on a carefully manicured lawn. He was widely grinning and below the photo he’d said: “We’ll eat good tonight”.
Oh boy, I just broke the tenth commandment: “You shall not covet”.
Coveting, (red stag blues), is a strong desire to possess something that belongs to someone else. Yep, that’s me all right. I want, desire, crave and earnestly hanker to go red stag hunting with the King of Spain on his private estate at the very best time of the hunting season. For that matter I’d like to have my friend’s vast fortune, or at least accompany him on some of his forays. It seems he’s always calling me from some fantastic locale like Hawaii or similar beautiful place and it is always having a blast. Not long ago he met privately with the Pope in Rome.
As I thought of the satanic source of my envy, it quickly faded, and I’m very happy for my friend. He loves the Lord and is being blessed by Him and I hope it continues for all of eternity. I have my blessings including a beautiful family, friends, and a very nice place to live and I’m no one to complain about not having blessings far in excess of what I deserve.
I recently sat in on an ethics class with Dr. Dan Heinbach at the Southeastern Baptist Seminary. He told the class that in order to earn 10 extra points on the midterm exam that they had to list the Ten Commandments in order. I can do that, (with the help of Google).
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.
Try to envision God writing these commandments, (His laws) on a rock tablet with His own hand. Each one of them is very important to Him; otherwise He wouldn’t have bothered.
My little dog insisted that we go outside this morning and as he sniffed every twig, blade of grass, and square inch of my front yard, I stared into the heavens. It was a clear dark night and stars flooded the sky. To add to the majesty of the moment an owl hooted scarcely 200 yards from where I was standing.
I thought about God and His laws and I thought about how I’d violated them and I was ashamed. I thought of Jesus Christ living a perfect life and then taking my punishment for my sins by offering His own life in exchange for mine. He bought me with His blood and I belong to Him. I become His servant voluntarily in gratitude for what He has done for me, and even though I don’t always or even often understand why things happen the way that they do, I’m content to know that He always has my best interests in mind. In short I love the Lord with all of my heart and I trust Him.
Thus I have peace, joy, and blessings galore in my life.
Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
October 2, 2014 – Click here to listen