Name: Ten Words to Live By
ISBN: 9781433566349

Jen Wilkin

Jen Wilkin invites readers to rediscover the Ten Commandments--ten words often misunderstood, forgotten, or ignored--and helps believers delight in the life-giving wisdom they hold for all whom Christ has set free.

Delighting in and Doing What God Commands

Ten Words to Live By

Stefanie Sugia

"Christianity is about relationship with God and others, and because this statement is true, Christianity is also unapologetically about rules, for rules show us how to live in those relationships."
I've been a huge fan of Jen Wilkin's writing since 2018 when I first read her book titled In His Image. Her books always managed to widen my perspective about God's Words, deepening my understanding and shifted my way of thinking about certain things. And so when I saw that Jen Wilkin is releasing a new book, I don't hesitate to pick it up immediately. In the past, I've heard so many teachings and read a few books regarding The Ten Commandments. I thought I've known enough about it, but this book proved me wrong; because I learned so much more about The Ten Commandments that I've never think about before.

Ever since I was a Christian, I always thought that following The Ten Commandments isn't that difficult. I don't worship other gods, I honor my parents, I don't steal, and I most definitely do not kill. But now I realize that my thoughts are similar to the young rich man in the Bible who boasted to Jesus that he have performed the law. Without realizing, this way of thinking lean towards legalism and self-righteousness. However, as Jen Wilkin elaborated The Ten Words one by one, I soon realize that we are all sinful being and we continually need God's help to obey the Law and be sanctified."The Ten Words are encouraging words, meant to give us hope—hope that we will live rightly oriented to God and others, hope that we will grow in holiness. They are not given to discourage but to delight. They are no less than words of life."I had a ton of highlights from this book, but I think I will just share two in this review so that it won't be too lengthy. The first one that I'm going to share comes from Chapter 6: The Sixth Word - Honor Life, which in the BIble it says 'You shall not murder' (Exodus 20:13). As I said earlier, I was confident about performing some the Ten Commandments—this one, especially; because I can never imagine a day when I would take someone's life with my own hands. Jen Wilkin acknowledged that a lot of people think 'at least I haven't done that', but she took the earliest episode of murder in the Bible: Cain who murdered his brother, Abel. The root of his action began with being angry. Anger itself is not a sin; but the problem is anger nursed, anger indulged, and anger gratified. And so it is important to examine our hearts when we are angry and not indulge in it until it becomes a sin. We should be slow to become angry and quick to forgive; and deem other people's lives as worthy in our hearts.
 
The eighth commandment, 'You shall not steal' is another one that I was pretty confident of. But just like the sixth Word, stealing is also an expression of contempt; and Jen Wilkin addressed that there is no such thing as petty theft. When we took something that may seem harmless to other people, God sees it all. And if we think that no one witnessed it, then we have mistakenly believe that God is unseeing. If we want to truly obey His Word, we should be faithful in the little things—things that may be unseen. In the end, we are just stewards of God's resources rather than owners. When we realize that, we learn to think differently about earthly treasures. Instead of having a mindset of acquisitiveness, we learn how to become generous.
  "No more external obedience. Obedience that pleases God begins in the heart."
Overall, I highly recommend this book whether you're a new believer or has been a long time believer of God. I believe that we can all learn a thing or two from what Jen Wilkin wrote because I certainly learned a lot. Each chapter ends with a few verses that we can read and meditate on, along with some questions for reflection. These questions helped me to review my life and how this book expanded my understanding of the Ten Commandments. If in the past I thought I was doing pretty well in obeying the law, I am completely humbled after reading this book—knowing that human's sinful nature makes us weak and our hearts are deceitful. True obedience that pleases God begins in the heart; and when our heart is right, we will delight in doing what God tells us to do."Ten Words to put to death our sin. Ten Words to herald abundant life. Ten Words to steady and strengthen us on the narrow path that leads us home... May it be said of us on that day that our meditative delight was in the law of the Lord. May it be said of us that in thought, word, and deed, we remembered to delight."

Read my full review here:
http://www.thebookielooker.com/2021/0...

Heather Wood

"We should love the law because we love Jesus, and because Jesus loved the law . Contrary to common belief, the Pharisees were not lovers of the law; they were lovers of self."

I was highlighting this book from the second page. I appreciate so much Jen's solid Bible teaching. Our generation so badly need the Jen Wilkins who point us back to Scripture and away from mantras and catchphrases. 

Ten Words unpacks the Ten Commandments and shows how we can go beyond minimal obedience (or more popularly, no obedience) to EXPANSIVE obedience of the law. There's much confusion about the law in the Church and so many women who claim to be "living free" while living as slaves to their passions and despising the law that their Savior loved so much. Why would we want to follow the law even MORE expansively when we live in what's commonly believed to be an age of grace? Well, expansive obedience is what Jesus Christ taught; going beyond rote service to the very heart. And what we find at our heart over and over is an addiction to self and sin. Guess what- that is the way of Satan, not of Jesus. By walking the path of obedience, we are able to see these things more clearly- they're in our line of vision - and allow Jesus to root them up and get them out. Following Jesus is not leaving our selfishness and sin in there and doing whatever we want. Jen shows us that expansive obedience over time trains our hearts more and more to desire and be like our Lord. Honestly, it was so refreshing to be challenged in this way. Meat is good for our souls, folks.

For each ten of the commandments (or, words), she challenges us in ways to go beyond the "don't do"s to the "do this instead"s. Don't just "not hate" - love actively. Because it's what Jesus did. Because it's good for the community and for ourselves. She asks probing questions at the end of each chapter and gives a prayer to start us on the path of asking God to reform our hearts in that way. I could see already how God would take me beyond what Jen said to ways that my own heart rebels against the commandments.
This book was very readable, with chapter lengths that were doable, not daunting. It's a little book that packs a punch. I think it would be great for book club discussions.

I read an advance copy which I received from Netgalley and the publisher but I was not compensated in any way or required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own.

Ten Words to Live By Delighting in and Doing What God Commands

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