"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
This is great stuff, and I think another thing that would totally transform our lives if we took it more seriously. Later in this chapter God warns us not to forget him after we have been led by him and are enjoying the fruits of that, and it is a very good point. Often when things are bad and we can't think of a way out of a situation, we plead with God because he is the only one that can help, but then when he comes through for us, we are all, oh, it wasn't that bad, it worked out, and we not only forget how much he helped us, we don't even give him credit.
God is absolutely the best friend we have in this world or the next. If we understood that on an emotional level, or had even an inkling of how amazing he is, I don't even think this commandment would be hard at all. Instead, we so often treat him as though he were a bully, a dictator, a charlatan, or some relative that we are obligated to interact with, but certainly aren't forced to like.
The first word of this selection in Hebrew, shema, also means listen... the idea not just being to hear what God has to say, but also to absorb it and understand it, and the rest of the selection reinforces that first point. God is the one focus of our lives, and everything we do and feel and teach and say should center on him. His words should be in/on our hearts, our hands, and our foreheads, which some interpret physically/literally and some symbolically/figuratively, but the idea is the same. Our hearts and actions and thoughts should be united and always aligned with the Lord and his purposes. Our houses and our travels should be dedicated to him as well. It's sort of like the idea of infusing the spirit into everything we create, but also the other way around--infusing everything we do into him and his purposes. This I think leads us to the logical end of removing things from our lives if they don't mesh with God's purposes, which means pretty much what we have always known on some level... embrace the good and reject the bad.
Today, let's learn how to really focus on the Lord. Let's align our thoughts and our words and our actions with God's purposes. Let's truly be good by focusing on God, who will tell us all the good things that we can do as they come along, if we are listening. Let's listen. In understanding God, we will learn to love him above all else, as he deserves. And doing so doesn't lessen anyone, since his love embraces other people as well. Let's pour ourselves into this one thing, and see how it makes a difference.
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates."
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
This is great stuff, and I think another thing that would totally transform our lives if we took it more seriously. Later in this chapter God warns us not to forget him after we have been led by him and are enjoying the fruits of that, and it is a very good point. Often when things are bad and we can't think of a way out of a situation, we plead with God because he is the only one that can help, but then when he comes through for us, we are all, oh, it wasn't that bad, it worked out, and we not only forget how much he helped us, we don't even give him credit.
God is absolutely the best friend we have in this world or the next. If we understood that on an emotional level, or had even an inkling of how amazing he is, I don't even think this commandment would be hard at all. Instead, we so often treat him as though he were a bully, a dictator, a charlatan, or some relative that we are obligated to interact with, but certainly aren't forced to like.
The first word of this selection in Hebrew, shema, also means listen... the idea not just being to hear what God has to say, but also to absorb it and understand it, and the rest of the selection reinforces that first point. God is the one focus of our lives, and everything we do and feel and teach and say should center on him. His words should be in/on our hearts, our hands, and our foreheads, which some interpret physically/literally and some symbolically/figuratively, but the idea is the same. Our hearts and actions and thoughts should be united and always aligned with the Lord and his purposes. Our houses and our travels should be dedicated to him as well. It's sort of like the idea of infusing the spirit into everything we create, but also the other way around--infusing everything we do into him and his purposes. This I think leads us to the logical end of removing things from our lives if they don't mesh with God's purposes, which means pretty much what we have always known on some level... embrace the good and reject the bad.
Today, let's learn how to really focus on the Lord. Let's align our thoughts and our words and our actions with God's purposes. Let's truly be good by focusing on God, who will tell us all the good things that we can do as they come along, if we are listening. Let's listen. In understanding God, we will learn to love him above all else, as he deserves. And doing so doesn't lessen anyone, since his love embraces other people as well. Let's pour ourselves into this one thing, and see how it makes a difference.
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