Tag Archives: covet

Wishing to be in the other man’s shoes (John 21:22), May 4, 2017

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Today’s Podcast


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  1. Music intro
  2. Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
  3. Have you ever thought it would be better to be in someone else’s shoes? Be careful what you wish for!
  4. Music intro
  5. You can subscribe to the podcast, send me comments to let me know what you think, and listen to past devotionals at richardagee.com. That’s richardagee.com.
  6. Music intro
  7. Scripture
    1. John 21:22
    2. Jesus:  If I choose for him to remain till I return, what difference will this make to you? You follow Me!
  8. Devotional
    1. We sure think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence sometimes, don’t we?
      1. Different job
      2. Different place
      3. Different circumstances
      4. Life would be so much better
      5. Just look at the life of that guy over there compared to what I’m going through right now
    2. Big problem with that thinking
      1. We only see what’s on the outside and what his external circumstances allow us to see
      2. Never know the struggles, heartaches, difficulties going on behind closed doors
      3. We all tend to wear smiles in public when we can and put our best foot forward for those around us
    3. Example of promotion in the military
      1. Thought it would be nice to be a colonel when I was a lieutenant
        1. Set your own calendar
        2. Driver to get you places
        3. More pay
        4. Secretary
        5. Best seats in every gathering
      2. With every promotion I figured out lieutenant wasn’t so bad
      3. As a colonel
        1. Eight to ten hours of every day spent in meetings or preparing for one
        2. 200-300 emails to answer every day
        3. A ream of paper to go through every day
        4. My secretary made sure my inbox was emptied and all those papers sent to the right place after I reviewed them; she deconflicted meetings so they didn’t overlap
        5. I had a driver so I could read email and talk on the phone while going from one place to another and not waste those precious minutes
        6. Best seats? Only because my eyes are getting bad and those seats are the best targets for all the question and answer sessions from the generals
      4. As a colonel, I knew a lieutenant’s life was great
    4. Jesus reminded Peter and us, What difference does it make to you, just serve where you are and follow me.
  9. Music exit
  10. If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”
  11. Music exit

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

How about that tenth commandment? (Matthew 26:10-13) June17, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Ezekiel 7-12

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 26:10-13
Jesus: Why don’t you leave this woman alone? She has done a good thing. It is good that you are concerned about the poor, but the poor will always be with you—I will not be. In pouring this ointment on My body, she has prepared Me for My burial. I tell you this: the good news of the kingdom of God will be spread all over the world, and wherever the good news travels, people will tell the story of this woman and her good discipleship. And people will remember her.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

A woman, other writers identify as Mary Magdalene comes into the house where Jesus is eating. Breaks open a jar filled with alabaster, a very expensive perfume, and proceeds to pour it on Jesus’ feet and wiping them with her long hair. Some of the disciples are indignant and complain about the waste of this expensive gift and admonish her, telling her she should have sold it and given the proceeds to the poor.

Are you ever guilty of the disciples’ error? I have to admit, I have been. And I’m pretty sure if you thought about it a little bit, you’ve probably been guilty of the same error. Someone doing good for another person and we stick our nose in it and complain about it. We think they should be doing something else instead. Essentially, that’s what the disciples were saying. Hey, Jesus. Why are you letting her waste that perfume on your feet? She could be doing something else with the money that stuff costs.

So many times we want to second guess the good actions of other people. Did you every stop to think that maybe God prompted that person to do that act at that time for that person for a particular reason? Maybe that person needed some encouragement at just that time to keep them on track in their spiritual journey. Maybe the act performed was just the demonstration of God’s love that convinced the recipient that God is real and pointed them to His saving grace and merciful forgiveness.

We don’t know why God prompts His children to do particular things at particular times. But sometimes He does. And sometimes those acts may seem extravagant to some. But what causes us to think that way in the first place? I think it’s often that tenth commandment that gets in the way. He didn’t do that for me, so why should he do it for her? I didn’t get that extra helping of potatoes so why should He? The church recognized them for cleaning up the yard, I was there, too, why didn’t I get mentioned? Can you say covet?

We let our selfishness get in the way. Even the disciples’ comment harks back to selfishness. They wanted their plans carried out, not God’s. Why are you letting her pour perfume on you, instead of doing what we want here to do with it? If it’s up to us, we would sell it and take care of other people. Our plan is to use the proceeds for other purposes. We want to do what we want to do. Isn’t that essentially what they’re saying here? It sure sounds like it to me.

That’s the problem we have when we begin to criticize the good actions of others. When we try to categorize and assume something better or something different or something else that fits our plans should be done instead of the good work an individual is prompted to carry out for God with their personal property, we get ourselves in trouble. It’s that tenth commandment thing rearing its ugly head. We need to be on our guard as soon as it pops out of its hole.

If it’s the church’s money or an organization’s money, the answer might be different. Then the property belongs to God and is managed by a council or pastor on behalf of the congregation that it serves. In that case, there are boundaries within which to operate because the funds are not one person’s. The property is not one person’s. The decisions are not solely one person’s. So when one person does something outside the guidelines and boundaries the congregation prayerfully sets in place through the leadership of the church, there may be reason to criticize one person’s waste of the congregation’s resources.

But personal resources, when God says to do something, it’s always best to listen and do it. As with Mary’s case, there was a purpose. She prepared Jesus for burial because the women would not have time on the day He died. She probably didn’t even think about what she was doing when she went to see Jesus and anoint Him with her perfume. But as Jesus said, “wherever the good news travels, people will tell the story of this woman and her good discipleship. And people will remember her.”

Will the same be said about you for the good you do to others or because of the criticism you have for the good deeds others have done? How about that tenth commandment? 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.