The Commands of Christ Podcast Gabriel Cleator, Nate Paine

As believers, we need to be careful that we don’t derive our identity and value from our paycheck or our possessions - if we do, we will always be covetous for more! The substantive part of our life is not made up of the things we possess. But rather, our identity is found in the Person of Jesus Christ! The more we realize this the more we will experience life with rest and contentment.

As you dig deeper into this command, you will discover that it is God’s love for us that causes Him to warn us of covetousness. Covetousness causes us to seek after temporal things that only bring emptiness and death. But as we embrace the boundaries that God has given to us, we find true joy and fulfillment.

A rich man was once asked, “How much money is enough?” He answered, “Just a little bit more.” This answer illustrates the ugly root of covetousness. Covetousness is wanting more than what God has allotted to me. Join Nate and Gabe as they delve into the command of Christ to Beware of Covetousness.

What does it mean to “be angry and sin not”? Is it even possible to get angry without sinning? In this episode, Dr. S.M. Davis expounds from scripture how acting out even in a little anger is never ok. The effects of anger in the home are devastating - causing breakdown in relationships and ultimately causing parents to lose their children's hearts. Join Dr. Davis and Nate as they discuss where we must start in conquering anger and how to restore relationships that have been damaged by this stronghold.

Our tendency towards offenses is to react in our flesh. It is helpful to see our offender as God’s agent for developing the character of Jesus in us. Instead of just reacting to conflict and offense from our human perspective, what if we asked God for His perspective? God is able to use even the conflict we experience among believers to form Christ in both the offended and the offender!

What hinders us from going to offenders? Are you harboring bitterness? Are you going to others who are not part of the problem or solution? When we are offended we need to go to the Lord first and allow Him to search our heart. As we take the situation to Him, He is then able to give us His heart and His forgiveness toward our offender.