“God, the standard I level against myself is your standard, not my own. You have given us all the stipulations of righteousness. We know what you expect and how you have designed us to live. We might break these laws, but we cannot finally break them; no, they break us! Your Ten Commandments test and measure my intent and behavior. I invite you in the power of your presence by the Holy Spirit to line my life up against this standard of measurement. This is your bureau of standards. This is your prescription for life. Test me…”

The Ten Commandments measure my life. Today I am lining up my life beside each of these 10 standards. I am examining in detail the individual elements of my life. How am I? Where am I missing the mark? What specifics betray my soul condition? I will not make these details public on this blog. That is not fitting. I will confess to one of my confidants, however.

ONE: ‘You shall have no other gods before Me.’  

TWO: ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image–any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.’

THREE: ‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.’

FOUR: ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.’

FIVE: ‘Honor your father and your mother.’

SIX: ‘You shall not murder.’

SEVEN: ‘You shall not commit adultery.’

EIGHT: ‘You shall not steal.’

NINE: ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.’

TEN: ‘You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.’