Today's Reading: Small Catechism: Ninth Commandment

Daily Lectionary: Exodus 24:1-18; Luke 5:1-16 

You shall not covet your neighbor's house. What does this mean? We should fear and love God, so that we do not craftily seek to gain our neighbor's inheritance or home, nor get it by a show of right, but help and serve him in keeping it. (Small Catechism: Ninth Commandment)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Have you ever looked at the places that other people live in and long to own their house, their condo on the beach, or their apartment in the big city? We typically talk about coveting smaller things like cars, electronics, or other stuff that belongs to our neighbors. Many people around us live in better conditions and in better homes. 

How do we respond? Do we wait and pray for patience, knowing that God will provide for us according to His will? Do we uphold and protect the things that belong to our neighbor, including the home in which they live? Make no mistake: This commandment reminds us that we are consumed with all that our neighbor has and dwells in even when it's not rightly ours. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house." 

Thanks be to God that these commandments lead us to recognize our own sin. Jesus Christ has come for you. As He has told us, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head" (Matthew 8:20). He serves you while giving up His heavenly home and rightful inheritance in the Kingdom of God so that you may be forgiven. Since we are redeemed by His precious blood, even the most covetous behavior we engage in is wiped away. As we are found homeless and without any riches in our sins, He now has promised to us a place that is prepared for us, an inheritance that will neither perish nor fade away.

He takes all of your sins, every last one of them, onto Himself so that you might be set free. You are who He obsesses over and that is why He has taken on sin, death, and the devil's fiercest attacks, all so that He can declare you to be His own dearest possession and call you to be at the Father's house forever and ever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. 

To me He said: "Stay close to Me, I am your rock and castle. Your ransom I Myself will be; For you I strive and wrestle. For I am yours, and you are Mine, And where I am you may remain; The foe shall not divide us." ("Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice" LSB 556, st.7)

-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Little Rock, AR.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Duane Bamsch

Over eight sessions, The Messiah: Revealing Jesus in the Old Testament will lead you through the entirety of the Old Testament with daily readings, questions, and discussion prompts. After a brief introduction that reviews Christ's earthly ministry, you will dive into the heart of the Holy Books that have spiritually nourished God's people from creation to today! Now available from Concordia Publishing House.