I can't believe we're on the 8th Commandment already but here we are in August! This month, we're taking a closer look at, "You Shall Not Steal."
This can be a very sneaky little thing that creeps into our day if we're not careful. We don't need to be masked bank robbers to be a thief and my Pastor has taught through this subject a few times with some very interesting observations.
Most of us would probably say, "No, I don't steal" but do we do things such as: waste time at work, take resources meant for the workplace home for personal use, bag an item in the supermarket which we know didn't scan properly or waste hours of precious time on useless scrolling instead of being productive? It seems stealing is more subtle and complex than we might first imagine!
I pray this little poem and meditation can be a blessing to us today as we continue on with our look at The Ten Commandments. Much love and have a great week, Lucy x
Exodus 20:1-17
The Ten Commandments
“And God spoke all these words, saying:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
“Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
“You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour’s.””
The Eighth Commandment This can be a very sneaky little thing that creeps into our day if we're not careful. We don't need to be masked bank robbers to be a thief and my Pastor has taught through this subject a few times with some very interesting observations.
Most of us would probably say, "No, I don't steal" but do we do things such as: waste time at work, take resources meant for the workplace home for personal use, bag an item in the supermarket which we know didn't scan properly or waste hours of precious time on useless scrolling instead of being productive? It seems stealing is more subtle and complex than we might first imagine!
I pray this little poem and meditation can be a blessing to us today as we continue on with our look at The Ten Commandments. Much love and have a great week, Lucy x
Exodus 20:1-17
The Ten Commandments
“And God spoke all these words, saying:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
“Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
“You shall not murder.
“You shall not commit adultery.
“You shall not steal.
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
“You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour’s.””
“You Shall Not Steal.”
"Behold, The Ten Commandments, recorded in God’s Word!
To think they don’t apply to us would really be absurd!
The wisdom found within these laws, we cannot take away,
So how can we apply these truths within our lives today?
“You shall not steal” is what we’re told. Commandment number eight.
None can claim their innocence! A thought to contemplate.
Take not another’s property, touch not their prized possession.
Yet stealing comes in many forms, requiring confession!
Wasting time or money brings sorrow to God’s Throne,
May our souls remember we are His and not our own.
Everything we have was bought by Jesus, sacrificed.
Oh may we render all to Him and live our lives for Christ!"
Ephesians 4:28
“Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Romans 11:33-12:2
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His counsellor?”
“Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?”
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Let’s Pray
Precious Saviour, I thank You that You went to the Cross to pay for my sins and buy my freedom. I owe everything to You Lord, and I ask that You would help me not to “steal” from You by withholding gifts that You have given to me. Whether it’s my time, skills, resources or material wealth, I know it all belongs to You and is merely on loan to me. Help me to commit all You have entrusted to me, back into Your hands for Kingdom service and for the glory of Your name.
I also pray that You would help me respect and value other people’s property. May I never take what isn’t mine and is something You have gifted to another. Whether it be supplies from my workplace, wasted time at my job which robs my employer of a good day’s labour or anything in a material sense that I haven’t paid for, Lord keep me from hypocrisy and help me walk the Christian path with integrity. May this honesty shine the Light of Jesus to the world around me as I seek to honour You. In Your righteous name I pray, Amen.