All posts by David Ude

Daily Devotions

Ninth and Tenth Commandments

The Ninth and Tenth Commandments

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God that we do not sinfully desire to get our neighbor’s inheritance or house by a trick or in a way that appears to be right ; but we should do everything we can to help him keep what is his.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his workers, nor his animals, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

What does this mean?

We should fear and love God that we not sinfully desire to use tricks or force, or do anything that might cause our neighbor to lose his wife, workers, or animals; but we should urge them to stay and do their duty.
David killed a man to cover up the adultery he had committed with his wife. Ahab had Naboth executed on false charges in order to get his vineyard. Eve bit the forbidden fruit, along with Adam, damning the human race. And all these, like every sin you have ever committed share something in common, they started in the heart. David lusted, Ahab coveted, Eve desired what she should not have. This is what the ninth and tenth commandments address, the attitude of the heart which is behind every other sin against the neighbor and is the result of the lack of the proper attitude towards God.

Every sin starts in the heart, in wanting something that we cannot or should not have. And that desire, in itself, is sin. Many people like to pretend this isn’t the case. I talked to a Mormon once who told me that something was only a sin if you did it. I believe that’s a pretty common view. As long as I don’t follow through on some desire, then it’s not sin right? Wrong. You shall not covet. Discontentment, lust, jealousy, anger, these are all sins whether you follow through with the actions they lead to or not. And that’s really bad news for you and me. Because that’s really damning isn’t it? Because none of us have wholly holy desires. We covet, we become so easily discontent with what we have and throw a fit if we don’t get what we want.

Breaking this commandment is a direct result of breaking the first. It is because we do not fear, love, and trust in God that we are discontent. If we loved God, then what else should we need? If we trusted God, then how could ever be discontent? Won’t He provide?

The good news is that despite our sinful hearts, Christ lived a perfect life. He never coveted, never lusted. He was never discontent with the lot His Father gave to Him. Even hungering in the wilderness, even on the cross, in the most unimaginable pains, when Jesus cried out, “Why?” He still trusted His Father to care and provide. He did that for you. And He died for you in order to cleanse you from all sins of thought, word, and deed and in order to call you to faith in Him, to calm your constant discontentment and teach you to be content in only this – you are His child, your sins are forgiven, heaven is yours. What more do you need?

In Christ
Pastor Ude

Daily Devotions

There are No Words

Isaiah 6:1-8, “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” (ESV)

There are times when it seems better not to say anything. When you witness a magnificent display of music or theater, if you see something truly awe-inspiring, all encompassing like standing at the edge of a sunset sea or gaze upon the mighty mountains. Isaiah’s vision is far more awe-inspiring than them all. He saw the eternal God, high and lifted up in majesty. He who created the sea, and the mountains and is far more majestic than them all. He saw Him whom even the seraphim hid their faces from crying “Holy! Holy! Holy!”

Isaiah was struck deeply by just how awesome this was. He cried out, “Woe is me!” He knew he was a sinner. And he knew God was not. He knew there were no words, no words to atone for His sins, no words to describe what he was seeing.

So God spoke. His Word, a Word of grace. For this was the God of grace. It was Jesus whom Isaiah saw as John 12:41 says. And there are no words for His grace. No Words for how He came down to bring us Himself on the altar of the cross, to atone for our sins and to take away our guilt. No words to adequately praise and thank Him. But there are words which we can now speak. Words which our tongues have been set loose to proclaim. The same Words given to Isaiah. Words of Grace. The Word of God.

In Christ
Pastor Ude

Daily Devotions, Uncategorized

Woe

Isaiah 5:8-30 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/…

These verses describe the spiritual bankruptcy of the nation of Israel at the time of Isaiah. How sad that this was the case among God’s own people! How sad that they had forgotten the Word of the Lord and turned to these things instead! And isn’t it familiar? The condemnation spoken in these verses applies in our world as much as it ever did which shouldn’t be surprising. There is nothing new under the sun after all. And the sinful nature is ever the same.

Still people make the focus of their lives getting stuff and having a good time. Everything has to be fun it seems, everything must be entertaining. And we always have to have more. People think it’s fun to go out and “get hammered.” People think sex is some toy to be tossed around and used however it best pleases me whenever I want.

And perhaps worst of all people call good, evil and evil, good. People call abortion good. People call homosexuality good. People call sex-change operations good. And people call God and His Word bad or irrelevant or outdated. They call anyone who confesses this Word a “bigot” and tolerate no discussion to any view contrary to their own.

As Isaiah says (verse 21) “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes.” And that wouldn’t just be “people” and “those guys out there” that would be you, dear reader, and me. Because we love to be wise in our own eyes. We love to think we always know best, always have the answer. And our sinful nature loves to call evil, good and good, evil.

So what’s the answer? For you, for me, for all the people of this morally bankrupt world? God’s Word. God’s Word shows us that we are not wise but He is. It shows us that He alone knows what is right and what is wrong, what is true and false, what is beautiful and what is not. Most of all, it shows us that Christ is our Wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:30) – the wisdom of God for salvation. The one in whom we find peace, forgiveness, joy, and all the answers we need. God grant it. Amen.

In Christ
Pastor Ude

Daily Devotions

What’s a God Got To Do?

Isaiah 5:1-7 – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/…

Have you ever worked really hard at something, passionately, fervently, creatively, something you cared about greatly, but no matter what you did, it didn’t work? Maybe you were trying to woo a fair maiden! But the fair maiden was not to be wooed? Did you ever think, “What’s a guy got to do?”

In these verses from Isaiah, God sings a song about His vineyard, the thing He poured Himself into – passionately, creatively, lovingly – and it was the biggest of disappointments. He looked for it to yield fruit but it gave only sour grapes! As He explains in verse 7, the vineyard was His people Israel. What more could God have done? He brought them out of Egypt with a mighty hand, He delivered them, fed them, blessed them with a beautiful and good land, He gave them His law, His Promises, His Word, the temple, the sacrifices, the priesthood, kings and prophets and priests! He was patient, He waited, and waited and waited. Certainly all along there was a remnant, there were always believers who bore fruits of faith but by and large His people acted just like the wild, sour nations all around. What’s a God got to do anyway?

Send His Son…to die. And that’s what He did. For that failure of a vineyard, for you, and for me, to forgive us, redeem us, to bring forth the fruits that we did not. What this song emphasizes more than anything is God’s grace and man’s stubborn unbelief. Judge between God and his vineyard – with all that God has done, whose fault is it when people don’t believe? No one’s but their own. God did everything. They refused. What about when people do believe? Then God gets all the credit. That’s what the scriptures testify. When people believe, it’s only because of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) and when people don’t, it’s only because they refused. There is no arminianism or calvinism in the bible only this narrow middle – God gets the credit and man the blame. That’s grace. Believe in it.

In Christ
Pastor Ude

Daily Devotions

The 8th Commandment

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor, what does this mean? We should fear and love God that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, or say anything that might ruin his good name and reputation; but we should defend him, speak well of him, and explain all his words and actions in the best possible way.”

How important is your reputation to you? How about your neighbor’s? Perhaps a simple illustration which many of us probably experience fairly often will serve to show both how important our reputation is and how badly we have failed to care about our neighbor’s.

You’re standing around at the water cooler at work or by the lockers at school or at the game with your friends and the topic of conversation is…”her” or “him.” Gleefully, you add your three cents. Maybe you frame it as “concern” but your inner gossip girl is positively glowing with the opportunity to preside over the sins of others.

But now turn the situation around. You’re on the outside of the circle and you overhear what “they” are saying about you. It hurts doesn’t it? It makes your blood boil. You probably obsess over it for days. Because you know how important your reputation is. You take great pains to craft your image a certain way (even if it’s a facade). Oh what great harm unkind words can do. James says the tongue is an unruly evil filled with deadly poison or like a man walking in a dry forest dropping lit matches with every step.

It’s not just about whether your words are true or not, they must be both true and loving. This is what Christ has redeemed you and your tongues for, to speak the truth in love! And that applies especially when you know that someone has sinned. It’s not a juicy morsel to be taken, shared, and ravenously devoured with friends. It’s an opportunity to speak the truth in love. It’s an opportunity to edify. It’s an opportunity to rebuke with the law and then heal with the gospel. For, “If he hears you, you have gained your brother.” Remember the wonderful words God has given you to speak to those in need – the Word which He Himself has spoken to you for all your sins against this and all commandments, “You are forgiven.” Let it be so.

In Christ
Pastor Ude