The Ten Commandments: Rules Based on Love

Whitney Hopler

When you think of the Ten Commandments, do you picture a stern schoolteacher or an unsmiling drill sargeant explaining rules to you? All those "thou shalt nots" can be intimidating at first. But behind each one is God's love and wisdom. God presented the Ten Commandments to guide us and protect us from choices He knows will harm us.

Here are some principles to keep in mind about the Ten Commandments:

Adapted from The Tender Commandments, copyright 1998 by Ron Mehl. Published by Multnomah Publishers, Inc., Sisters, Or., www.multnomahbooks.com, 1-800-929-0910.

Dr. Ron Mehl is the pastor of a large congregation in Beaverton, Or. He has authored the Gold Medallion winners God Works in the Night Shift and Just in Case I Can't Be There. Ron hosts a daily radio program heard throughout the Northwest. He and his wife, Joyce, have two married sons and one grandchild.

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