Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. 1 John 2:15-17 NLT

When Paul stood before Agrippa, he showed us the attitude of someone who has truly experienced the unconditional love of Jesus and has a genuine relationship with Christ. When someone has a sincere conversion, the things of this world lose their appeal. The tenth commandment, “Thou shalt not covet” is not a struggle to keep. When Christ abides in the heart, the Christian is not looking at the things everyone else has and wishing they could have those things too. Instead they look at the world and desire for the world to have what they have. This was Paul’s attitude as he stood before King Agrippa.

Agrippa interrupted him. “Do you think you can persuade me to become a Christian so quickly?” Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that both you and everyone here in this audience might become the same as I am, except for these chains.” Acts 26:28-29 NLT

Paul is standing in chains and his prisoner uniform before king Agrippa in all of his royal splendor. Yet Paul does not desire what Agrippa has. He wants Agrippa to have what he has! Likewise those who have had a real experience with Jesus will not be looking at the world, longing for what the world has. Instead, we long for the world to have what we have.

Coveting becomes an impossibility when your heart is filled with God’s love. When your heart is filled with God’s love, you do not envy the world. Instead, you feel sorry for the world because it does not have the love and joy that you have. Instead of having worldly ambitions, we have the ambition of Paul, when he said,

But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. Acts 20:24 NLT

I don’t need anything the world has. The world needs what I have.

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One of the most tragic stories in the Bible is that of Judas Iscariot. This man had a privilege that only 11 other people in all the history of the world have had: to have been with Jesus all that time and to have learned eternal truths directly from the Master Himself. How sad that many people who never had anything remotely like the opportunities that Judas had will be saved, while Judas, we know, is now destined for eternal destruction.

What happened? The answer can be found in one word: covetousness, the desires of his heart.

Read John 12:1-8. What did Mary do that attracted so much attention during the feast? How did Judas react? Why? What was Jesus’ response?

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The Savior’s gentle rebuke to Judas’ covetous remark led him to leave the feast and go directly to the palace of the high priest, where Jesus’ enemies were gathered. He offered to betray Jesus into their hands for a sum much smaller than Mary’s gift. (See Matthew 26:14-16)

What happened to Judas? Having had so many wonderful opportunities, so many rare privileges, why would he do something so evil? According to Ellen G. White, Judas “loved the Great Teacher, and desired to be with Him. He felt a desire to be changed in character and life, and he hoped to experience this through connecting himself with Jesus. The Saviour did not repulse Judas. He gave him a place among the twelve. He trusted him to do the work of an evangelist. He endowed him with power to heal the sick and to cast out devils. But Judas did not come to the point of surrendering himself fully to Christ.” — The Desire of Ages, p. 717.

In the end, we all have character defects that, if surrendered, can be overcome through the power of God working in us. But Judas did not fully surrender to Christ, and the sin of covetousness, which he could have overcome in the power of Christ, overcame him instead, with tragic results.

Who among us doesn’t struggle with covetousness over one thing or another? In this case, what he coveted was money, and that covetousness, a problem of the heart, led him to stealing (John 12:6), which ultimately led him to betray Jesus.

What a frightful lesson for all of us about the danger that covetousness can bring. What seems like a small thing, a simple desire of the heart, can lead to calamity and to eternal loss.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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“MANAGING FOR THE MASTER Till He Comes” will show us that 
God Is Working His Purpose Out – Hymn 225 in all our we do and say. May we be encouraged by this hymn for this quarter and that I
n Our Work And In Our Play – Hymn 591 we will work until Jesus comes. Hence, a choice of theme hymns for this quarter.

Throughout this week’s studies, I find that I am
Chief of Sinners – Hymn 295 and am very grateful for 
Jesus, What a Friend – Hymn 187 who says 
Come, Ye Sinners – Hymn 280.

Sadly, Judas did not listen and sing 
I Surrender All – Hymn 309 (Tuesday).

I learn from the sadness of what happened to Ananias and Sapphira to request 
Come, Holy Spirit – Hymn 269.

Point 1 on Thursday had me singing 
Lord, I Have Made Thy Word My Choice – Hymn 273. My prayer time is in 
Hymn 658 – Heavenly Father, Hear Our Prayer – point 2. Point 3 rings with 
Give Me The Bible – Hymn 272 so that I may ask 
Live Out Thy Life Within Me – Hymn 316 because the Lord has spoken to me: 
Hymn 541 – Lord, Speak To Me.

Today, and every day, we look forward to Jesus coming again. Oh, what a day that will be 
When We All Get To Heaven – Hymn 633 because 
That Glorious Day Is Coming – Hymn 209.

To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/

Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org/Search and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.

 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

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It was arguably one of the grandest times in the history of Israel. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, they were finally entering the Promised Land. Through a dramatic miracle, the children of Israel crossed the Jordan River at its flood stage — on dry land. This dry-land crossing was so impressive that the hearts of the heathen kings in Canaan melted, and they had no spirit to fight (Joshua 5:1).

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The first real challenge in the conquest of Canaan was the walled and fortified city of Jericho. No one knew what to do to defeat the inhabitants of Jericho — not even Joshua. In answer to Joshua’s prayer, God revealed the plan for the destruction of the city, which they followed. But then things took a decidedly bad turn.

Read Joshua 7:1-26. What happened after the powerful victory at Jericho, and what message should we take from this story for ourselves?

Once confronted, Achan admitted what he did, saying that he had “coveted” those goods. The Hebrew word there translated “coveted,” chmd, has been used in some places in the Bible in a very positive sense. The same root appears in Daniel 9:23, for instance, when Gabriel told Daniel that he was a man “greatly beloved.”

In this case, however, this chmd was bad news. Despite the clear command not to pillage for themselves from the captured cities (Joshua 6:18-19), Achan did just that, bringing disrepute upon the whole nation. In fact, after the defeat at Ai, Joshua feared that “the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear it, and surround us, and cut off our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?” (Joshua 7:9, NKJV). In other words, the Lord wanted to use these great victories as part of letting the surrounding nations know of His power and His working among His own people. Their conquests were to be (in a different sort of way) a witness to the nations of Yahweh’s power. Of course, after the fiasco at Ai, besides the loss of human life, that witness had been compromised.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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The question often arises, and understandably so, about how sin arose in God’s universe. We understand how, at least somewhat. And at its heart, it was because of covetousness. Perhaps covetousness, then, is the ultimate original sin.

Read Isaiah 14:12-14. What hints are given there about the fall of Lucifer? How did covetousness play a crucial role in that fall?

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“Not content with his position, though honored above the heavenly host, he ventured to covet homage due alone to the Creator. Instead of seeking to make God supreme in the affections and allegiance of all created beings, it was his endeavor to secure their service and loyalty to himself. And coveting the glory with which the infinite Father had invested His Son, this prince of angels aspired to power that was the prerogative of Christ alone.” — Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 35.

Read Ephesians 5:5 and Colossians 3:5. With what does Paul equate covetousness, and why?

How fascinating that twice Paul would equate covetousness with idolatry. People practice idolatry when they worship — that is, dedicate their lives to — something other than God, something created rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25). Could covetousness be, then, wanting something that we shouldn’t have, and wanting it so badly that our desire for it, rather than the Lord, becomes the focus of our heart?

No doubt, Lucifer didn’t at first know where his wrong desires were to lead him. It can be the same with us. The commandment against covetousness, the one commandment that deals only with thoughts, can stop us from acts that will lead to the violation of other commandments as well. (See, for instance, 2 Samuel  chapter 11)

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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