You shall not steal.
Exodus 20:15
The eighth commandment is concise and to the point. Stealing has no place in the life of Believer. Theft is wrong and a bad witness for Christians.
**Stealing Is Deceitful—Live in Truth
**Stealing Is Dishonest—Live in Honesty
**Stealing Is Distrustful—Be Trustworthy
God bless you and thank for you reading this post.
Tony French
Filed under 10 Commandments
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Romans 7:21-25
While encouragement lifts us up, exhortation gives us a gentle push forward. Sometimes we need comfort; other times we need momentum. The biblical concept of exhortation means to “come alongside and steady someone.” At times we need folks who will shore up our weaknesses and gently push us to continue our walk with Christ.
Why? Because we get weak. The circumstances of life wear us down. The constant battle against our sinful nature exhausts us. As Paul confessed in Romans 7, there’s an ongoing struggle between what we know we should do and what we actually do. We know the right path, yet we find ourselves wandering. We know what to avoid, yet we’re drawn toward it.
This isn’t a sign of failed faith—it’s the reality of living in the “already but not yet” tension of the Christian life. We’re already justified, already declared righteous in Christ, already citizens of heaven. Yet we’re not yet glorified, not yet free from the presence of sin, not yet home. As Martin Luther famously said, we are “simultaneously just and sinner.”
In this in-between time, we need each other to exhort us to keep going. We need fellow believers to help us fix our gaze on Christ when a thousand distractions vie for our attention. Satan’s most effective tool in our age may not be outright persecution but simple distraction—pulling our focus toward countless good things that become idols when they displace our devotion to God.
The church provides that necessary exhortation, calling us back to what matters most, reminding us to forget what lies behind and press toward the prize of our high calling in Christ.
Tony French
Filed under 10 Commandments
13 “You shall not murder.”
Exodus 20:13
Life is precious to God. As a result, life should be precious to His people. The commandment found in Exodus 20:13 is concise because it is self-evident. Murder is morally wrong because it destroys a fellow image bearer. Consider these points about the sixth commandment:
**God is the creator of life
**God is the sustainer of life
**Life is precious to God
**We have no right to take life
**God desires life
May we seek the protection and support of life from natural birth to natural death for all.
Tony French
Filed under 10 Commandments
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
Exodus 20:12
The command to honor our father and mother is vital to a healthy family situation. Disrespect towards a parent does not honor God and leads to dissension and chaos in the home. Honor keeps the family strong and orderly.
At times, parents fail their children and in extreme cases action should be taken against them. These situations (though rare) are heart breaking and should be resolved morally and legally.
Having said that, the command to honor our parents should be carried out by Believers who seek to honor the Lord. It’s not always easy and simple to love our parents. But, it’s always right to reverence those who God used to bring us into existence.
Remember these four points about the fifth commandment:
**Honor is required by all Believers
**Honor means respecting our parents
**Honor reveals our true character and love
**Honor is rewarded by the Lord
God bless you all,
Tony French
Filed under 10 Commandments
3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
1 John 5:3-5
Genuine Christian faith perseveres. First John 5:4 declares, “This is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” Believers may stumble, stray, or even deny Christ in moments of weakness, but they don’t ultimately abandon the faith.
God, as our Good Shepherd, doesn’t allow His sheep to wander indefinitely. He pursues us, sometimes gently, sometimes with firm correction, but always with the goal of restoration. True children of God cannot find lasting peace apart from Him.
Think of Peter, who denied Jesus three times, or Thomas, who doubted the resurrection. Both men stumbled, but both returned stronger than before. Their temporary failures didn’t define them; their ultimate faithfulness did.
Tony French
Filed under Devotion
You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
Exodus 20:7
The third commandment speaks to how we should treat the name of God. We should never use His name lightly or in an unholy way. We must always revere and respect God’s name knowing that His name is great and sanctified.
As we read this commandment, we cannot help but think about the name of Jesus. The name of our Savior is the highest and holiest name of all. The Apostle Paul teaches us that God has given Christ a name that is above every name. And one day, at the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Philippians 2:9) How dare we use this holy name in an unworthy manner.
Peter declares in Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” The only remedy for our sin is Jesus, the Son of God. Christ is the Savior and the only hope for lost and dying people.
So let us respect and revere His name. The holy name of Jesus is above all forevermore.
He is Savior and Lord. Hallelujah!
Tony French
Filed under 10 Commandments
4 “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; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
Exodus 20:4-6
The second commandment in the Decalogue prohibits the worship of idols. False gods deserve no praise and honor. They are false deities who have no power or strength.
God’s people are commanded to flee idol worship and keep their eyes turned to the Lord. The one true God as revealed in Scripture is worthy of all honor, glory, and praise.
Let’s remember three thoughts about the second commandment….
**God Condemns Idols
**We Must Put Away Our Idols
Possessions
Portfolio
People
**God Requires Total Devotion
Receive the blessing of worshipping the Lord today!
Tony French
Filed under 10 Commandments
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
1 John 3:16
Perhaps nothing marks a believer more clearly than love for God and for others. Jesus identified loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength as the greatest commandment. Our love for Him flows naturally from His love for us. We love because He first loved us.
But Christian love doesn’t stop there. 1 John 3:16 presents a stunning challenge: “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us, and we also ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” This is love at its highest level. Godly love is sacrificial, selfless, and supernatural. Jesus commanded His followers to love one another as He has loved us. This means loving people when they’re difficult, when they hurt us, when they disappoint us. It means drawing from the inexhaustible storehouse of love we’ve received from Christ and pouring it out on others, even our enemies.
This kind of love isn’t natural. It’s distinctly Christian, a supernatural work that testifies to the world that we belong to Someone greater than ourselves.
Tony French
Filed under Devotion
1And God spoke all these words:2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
Exodus 20:1-3
Let us consider 4 truths from the first commandment given to God’s people:
***God’s Person is unrivaled
***God’s Preeminence is unmatched
***God’s Position is unchallenged
***God’s Permanence is unchanged
What a mighty God we serve. He is powerful and mighty in all His ways.
For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods.
1 Chronicles 16:25
Tony French
Filed under 10 Commandments
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
In Galatians 5:22-23, we encounter one of Scripture’s most beautiful passages: the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Notice the singular “fruit,” not “fruits.” These qualities are interconnected, growing together as a unified expression of the Spirit’s work within us.
The key word here is “fruit.” Fruit trees don’t produce harvest overnight. It takes years of growth, proper nourishment, and patient cultivation before the fruit becomes usable and sweet. The same is true spiritually. The moment we receive Christ, His Spirit plants these seeds within us. Then, gradually, as we mature in faith, these characteristics become increasingly evident in our lives.
This isn’t about instantly becoming perfect. It’s about trajectory. Are you more loving than you were a year ago? More patient? More self-controlled? Growth may be slow, sometimes imperceptible in the moment, but over time, the evidence becomes undeniable.
Tony French
Filed under Devotion
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