1) Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:1)
We definitely should have no other Gods. But there are other gods before my eyes and in my heart each day as I look away from Jesus and around me at the world in which I live. I pray O Lord help me that I not be of this world. And when I have surrendered anew to Him then He again mercifully washes my sins away. God help me not to have a next time!
2) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (Exodus 20:4)
We definitely should not have images to worship. I do not have a statue that I kneel down to and worship. Neither do I have a set of rules that I am subject to, not even the 10 commandments. But, the Truth exists. The only place it really exists for me is in my heart. I read the written Bible, but unless it is alive in me, I have nothing. Anything outside the Word alive in me that I keep my eyes upon in my understanding alone including written scripture without His Spirit is an image that I worship no different than the saints and images that the ancients people prayed to in their days I plead guilty to doing this too often. God help me not to set up any image, even one that is apparently or supposedly of You, before my eyes to worship!
3) Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. (Exodus 20:7)
We certainly should not take the name of God in vain. Again I am guilty of this all too regularly. Do I cuss all of the time? No, but I confess myself to be a Christian to be Christ-like, to be a follower of Christ and yet I live my life in part for me. My life and all that I have He gave me a long time ago to use for a time, but Jesus paid the price and I belong to Him. If I belong to Him then all of me belongs in His name, not mine. It is because I keep on going my ways (rather than His Way). These ways are pure vanity. Choosing carnality at any time while being His possession, while supposedly bearing His name is taking His name in vain. Forgive me Lord for my transgression! Help me to walk perfectly in Thy name!
4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (Exodus 20:8)
Oh yes Lord and keep the 1st Day in my heart when you separated Your knowledge from no knowledge so that we could see the difference; and let us work while it is the Day the Day which is Jesus who is the light for us so that one Day we may be able to see Your face that You made, for soon the night with no knowledge of You cometh when no man can work for You.
And thank you for the 2nd Day keep it also in my heart when You separated the waters from the waters and kept Your people safe in the Ark of Safety. Thank God for that Ark which is Jesus!
And thank You for the 3rd Day to keep it also in my heart when You separated the dry land from which our flesh is made to give a place for Your good seed, Jesus, to take root that we would have offspring who would be able to become good as only You became good.
And thank You for the 4th Day keep it also in my heart when You made two great lights the Old and the New Testaments of Your Word which is made flesh in Jesus to make lesser and greater measures of Truth visible to us in the darkness of night and in the brightness of Day, and for the stars, your messengers of Truth in the form of man and prophet and priest: all of those with a portion of Your Light from You for Your people.
And thank You for the 5th Day keep it also in my heart when the waters were given means to bring forth abundant life and flying creatures including the eagles in which we hope to see ourselves with You living the more abundant Life of Jesus and rising up with the wings of Your Word in us in tireless flight with You and with vision clearer than the light of the sun of seven Days which were allowed to multiply.
And thank You for the 6th Day keep it also in my heart when the earth of which our flesh comes it will also produce new and living creatures including THE MAN, Jesus, with His offspring not all of mankind, but only those given to Him by His Father both male and female, reborn in Jesus by His Spirit to attain the perfection which God had always intended.
And thank You for the 7th Day keep it also in my heart when You will finally rest in us, the habitation made without hands for that purpose, even as we rest in Jesus, while Your work continues in us. When the 6th Day is finally ended then will all of the work on Your kingdom in us be done and You will have a place in us to REST forever more. Thank You for grafting us in, for making us a part of Zion, Your habitation!
"For the LORD hath chosen Zion, he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it" Psalm 132:13-14
5) Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee (Exodus 20:12)
Yes, we certainly need to honor our Father which is in heaven, but remembering He is our Father ONLY IF He abides in us and we abide in Him, His permanent abode will be in us in the kingdom of heaven in us, but only when what He is building in us is complete and perfect for our Father is also a consuming fire and anything built from improper materials such as wood, hay or stubble will be consumed. We also need to honor our Mother, the Church including some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ which is His people who teach us in the Way that we should go so that we will not depart from it. Help us Lord in this for we all have fallen short in giving honor to both Father and Mother in accordance with Thy Word.
6) Thou shalt not kill. (Exodus 20:13)
Yes, definitely we should not kill those around us with Christian lip service instead of giving out to them from the charity of God, which He freely gave to us. As Jesus said, " But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them which despitefully use you, and persecute you,"
But, neither should we kill ourselves with the letter of scripture: "Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
But, some killing we must do even as those in the OT had some killing to do as Jesus did: "Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? Because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come." The Jews indeed were prophesying for Jesus did in fact "kill himself". No man took His life; He lay it down according to His Father's will.
"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" To MORTIFY means to "kill".
God help us NOT to kill those about us with Your Word which is a two edged sword, but help them and ourselves kill sin and the sinful ways within us. Help us Lord to be more like You!
7) Thou shalt not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)
We definitely do not want to get intimately involved with another lover. We must love our beloved [God] alone for He is jealous and will divorce us as He did natural Israel. "And I saw, when for all causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also" Jerem 3:8
Still I am not without sin in this! I have loved my job more than my Lord. I have loved my "good" times with the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. I have left my Lord's bed, as it were, for a night of lust in this world. If I am only in this world and not of this world, how can this be? How can I serve God and mammon? How can I send forth both bitter and sweet out of my mouth, and yet I do. God help me to win all of these battles! Help me to be faithful always to You alone! Help me never again to commit adultery against You! Let You alone be my husband!
8) Thou shalt not steal. (Exodus 20:15)
Yes, I definitely need to abide by this one. "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings."
We must also remember that tithes and offerings in the OT did not consist of money alone. Where is our time of prayer with God? Where is our sacrifice to self to help His needy, that is those in need of His salvation and Truth? Are we His who paid the price or are we ours? If we belong to Him why do we steal so often even the time and sacrifice that He would ask of us? Help us Lord not to steal from You that, which is Yours!
9) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. (Exodus 20:16)
This one too is a definite Yes. After I first believed, did I ever deny my Lord by denying Him? 'Oh, say, I never did that!' Who's lying now? Clearly I remember someone talking about those holy rollers and how foolish they were. I was much younger in the Lord, but still clearly denied my involvement with those "foolish" people to save face...my face. Or when I saw an opportunity opening up before me to testify of the "good" things that God had done for me, I walked the other way, instead of His Way. I didn't open my mouth, but I lied to myself that it was OK. God help us never to falsify Thy Truth, as we understand it for any reason! Help us Lord!
10) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. (Exodus 20:17)
Yes again! That lust of the flesh will get us every time. How many times have I caught myself coveting my neighbor's goods, or Yes, his wife? If only it was me that had that new car instead of him. If only I had Rockefellers money I wouldn't have to struggle so to serve God. If only I had such a beautiful wife as that I would never be tempted by other women again! I was into lying to myself along with the coveting. God help us to be content with such things as we have!
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" Matt 6:33.
He will not add all of the things that we want, but rather all of the things that we need. Sometimes what we need is chastisement, and he being the good Father that He is, will give us just exactly that. Thank You Lord for chastising me when I need it. Thank You Lord for air to breathe for this corruptible body and for food to nourish it. He has always supplied all of my needs and sometimes He has let me know that what I thought I needed was not needed at all.
On the other hand, sometimes He has blessed me with things that I knew I did not need, but He loves us doesn't He? Help us Lord to simply seek Your kingdom and Your righteousness and to trust You to supply anything else You think that we need. Give God the glory always!
We definitely should have no other Gods. But there are other gods before my eyes and in my heart each day as I look away from Jesus and around me at the world in which I live. I pray O Lord help me that I not be of this world. And when I have surrendered anew to Him then He again mercifully washes my sins away. God help me not to have a next time!
2) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (Exodus 20:4)
We definitely should not have images to worship. I do not have a statue that I kneel down to and worship. Neither do I have a set of rules that I am subject to, not even the 10 commandments. But, the Truth exists. The only place it really exists for me is in my heart. I read the written Bible, but unless it is alive in me, I have nothing. Anything outside the Word alive in me that I keep my eyes upon in my understanding alone including written scripture without His Spirit is an image that I worship no different than the saints and images that the ancients people prayed to in their days I plead guilty to doing this too often. God help me not to set up any image, even one that is apparently or supposedly of You, before my eyes to worship!
3) Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. (Exodus 20:7)
We certainly should not take the name of God in vain. Again I am guilty of this all too regularly. Do I cuss all of the time? No, but I confess myself to be a Christian to be Christ-like, to be a follower of Christ and yet I live my life in part for me. My life and all that I have He gave me a long time ago to use for a time, but Jesus paid the price and I belong to Him. If I belong to Him then all of me belongs in His name, not mine. It is because I keep on going my ways (rather than His Way). These ways are pure vanity. Choosing carnality at any time while being His possession, while supposedly bearing His name is taking His name in vain. Forgive me Lord for my transgression! Help me to walk perfectly in Thy name!
4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (Exodus 20:8)
Oh yes Lord and keep the 1st Day in my heart when you separated Your knowledge from no knowledge so that we could see the difference; and let us work while it is the Day the Day which is Jesus who is the light for us so that one Day we may be able to see Your face that You made, for soon the night with no knowledge of You cometh when no man can work for You.
And thank you for the 2nd Day keep it also in my heart when You separated the waters from the waters and kept Your people safe in the Ark of Safety. Thank God for that Ark which is Jesus!
And thank You for the 3rd Day to keep it also in my heart when You separated the dry land from which our flesh is made to give a place for Your good seed, Jesus, to take root that we would have offspring who would be able to become good as only You became good.
And thank You for the 4th Day keep it also in my heart when You made two great lights the Old and the New Testaments of Your Word which is made flesh in Jesus to make lesser and greater measures of Truth visible to us in the darkness of night and in the brightness of Day, and for the stars, your messengers of Truth in the form of man and prophet and priest: all of those with a portion of Your Light from You for Your people.
And thank You for the 5th Day keep it also in my heart when the waters were given means to bring forth abundant life and flying creatures including the eagles in which we hope to see ourselves with You living the more abundant Life of Jesus and rising up with the wings of Your Word in us in tireless flight with You and with vision clearer than the light of the sun of seven Days which were allowed to multiply.
And thank You for the 6th Day keep it also in my heart when the earth of which our flesh comes it will also produce new and living creatures including THE MAN, Jesus, with His offspring not all of mankind, but only those given to Him by His Father both male and female, reborn in Jesus by His Spirit to attain the perfection which God had always intended.
And thank You for the 7th Day keep it also in my heart when You will finally rest in us, the habitation made without hands for that purpose, even as we rest in Jesus, while Your work continues in us. When the 6th Day is finally ended then will all of the work on Your kingdom in us be done and You will have a place in us to REST forever more. Thank You for grafting us in, for making us a part of Zion, Your habitation!
"For the LORD hath chosen Zion, he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it" Psalm 132:13-14
5) Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee (Exodus 20:12)
Yes, we certainly need to honor our Father which is in heaven, but remembering He is our Father ONLY IF He abides in us and we abide in Him, His permanent abode will be in us in the kingdom of heaven in us, but only when what He is building in us is complete and perfect for our Father is also a consuming fire and anything built from improper materials such as wood, hay or stubble will be consumed. We also need to honor our Mother, the Church including some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ which is His people who teach us in the Way that we should go so that we will not depart from it. Help us Lord in this for we all have fallen short in giving honor to both Father and Mother in accordance with Thy Word.
6) Thou shalt not kill. (Exodus 20:13)
Yes, definitely we should not kill those around us with Christian lip service instead of giving out to them from the charity of God, which He freely gave to us. As Jesus said, " But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them which despitefully use you, and persecute you,"
But, neither should we kill ourselves with the letter of scripture: "Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
But, some killing we must do even as those in the OT had some killing to do as Jesus did: "Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? Because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come." The Jews indeed were prophesying for Jesus did in fact "kill himself". No man took His life; He lay it down according to His Father's will.
"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" To MORTIFY means to "kill".
God help us NOT to kill those about us with Your Word which is a two edged sword, but help them and ourselves kill sin and the sinful ways within us. Help us Lord to be more like You!
7) Thou shalt not commit adultery. (Exodus 20:14)
We definitely do not want to get intimately involved with another lover. We must love our beloved [God] alone for He is jealous and will divorce us as He did natural Israel. "And I saw, when for all causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also" Jerem 3:8
Still I am not without sin in this! I have loved my job more than my Lord. I have loved my "good" times with the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. I have left my Lord's bed, as it were, for a night of lust in this world. If I am only in this world and not of this world, how can this be? How can I serve God and mammon? How can I send forth both bitter and sweet out of my mouth, and yet I do. God help me to win all of these battles! Help me to be faithful always to You alone! Help me never again to commit adultery against You! Let You alone be my husband!
8) Thou shalt not steal. (Exodus 20:15)
Yes, I definitely need to abide by this one. "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings."
We must also remember that tithes and offerings in the OT did not consist of money alone. Where is our time of prayer with God? Where is our sacrifice to self to help His needy, that is those in need of His salvation and Truth? Are we His who paid the price or are we ours? If we belong to Him why do we steal so often even the time and sacrifice that He would ask of us? Help us Lord not to steal from You that, which is Yours!
9) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. (Exodus 20:16)
This one too is a definite Yes. After I first believed, did I ever deny my Lord by denying Him? 'Oh, say, I never did that!' Who's lying now? Clearly I remember someone talking about those holy rollers and how foolish they were. I was much younger in the Lord, but still clearly denied my involvement with those "foolish" people to save face...my face. Or when I saw an opportunity opening up before me to testify of the "good" things that God had done for me, I walked the other way, instead of His Way. I didn't open my mouth, but I lied to myself that it was OK. God help us never to falsify Thy Truth, as we understand it for any reason! Help us Lord!
10) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. (Exodus 20:17)
Yes again! That lust of the flesh will get us every time. How many times have I caught myself coveting my neighbor's goods, or Yes, his wife? If only it was me that had that new car instead of him. If only I had Rockefellers money I wouldn't have to struggle so to serve God. If only I had such a beautiful wife as that I would never be tempted by other women again! I was into lying to myself along with the coveting. God help us to be content with such things as we have!
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you" Matt 6:33.
He will not add all of the things that we want, but rather all of the things that we need. Sometimes what we need is chastisement, and he being the good Father that He is, will give us just exactly that. Thank You Lord for chastising me when I need it. Thank You Lord for air to breathe for this corruptible body and for food to nourish it. He has always supplied all of my needs and sometimes He has let me know that what I thought I needed was not needed at all.
On the other hand, sometimes He has blessed me with things that I knew I did not need, but He loves us doesn't He? Help us Lord to simply seek Your kingdom and Your righteousness and to trust You to supply anything else You think that we need. Give God the glory always!
