A few days ago I put up some thoughts on the Confession app that had stirred the pot of popular opinion. At the center of this app is a guided reflection based on the Ten Commandments.

It seems to me that, these days, most Christians don’t quite know what to do with the Ten Commandments. In fact, they are often ignored, except when some religious conservatives want to post them on public property. Otherwise, you might go for years in a church without every hearing about the Ten Commandments or using them in a worship service. (Photo: The Ten Commandments on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol in Austin.)

It isn’t just that Christians don’t want to deal with the demands of the Ten Commandments, though I expect that might explain some of our reticence. Rather, we aren’t sure how we ought to think about and use these commandments. After all, aren’t we saved by grace through faith? Aren’t we free from the law? Aren’t the Ten Commandments in the center of the Old Covenant, whereas we are people of the New Covenant?

A couple of years ago, I wrote a series of reflections on the Ten Commandments as part of the Daily Reflections that I write for The High Calling and that are emailed each day to over 15,000 people. (You can find more information about The Daily Reflections here.)  I thought it might be helpful to make these reflections available to you. They are not a theological treatise on the Ten Commandments so much as a series of personal ruminations on the meaning of the Ten Commandments for us today.

Here’s an index of the reflections on the Ten Commandments:

All These Words

Are the Ten Commandments Relevant to Us?

What Comes Before the Law?

The First Commandment: No Other “Gods”

The Second Commandment: No Idols

The Third Commandment: No Misuse of God’s Name

The Fourth Commandment: Remember the Sabbath

The Relational Shape of the Ten Commandments

The Fifth Commandment: Honor Your Parents

The Sixth Commandment: Don’t Murder

The Seventh Commandment: Don’t Commit Adultery

The Eighth Commandment: Don’t Steal

The Ninth Commandment: Don’t Lie

The Tenth Commandment: Don’t Covet

The Ten Commandments from a Different Perspective: How to Flourish in Life

Now if I can only find a way to get all of this into an app . . . .