WEEKEND Edition 12/13 February 2022 “My House” Deuteronomy 6:7-12

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Hello my “Walking with Jesus” friends and welcome to the weekend,

When you walk into a person’s home for the first time, what are the things you take note of? What things in that house describe the personality, the character, the priorities and the values of the person or people who live in that home? Are those strange questions to begin with today? Let me show you why they are important questions worth considering as we look with fresh eyes at our homes.

We’re with Moses as he speaks one of his farewell messages to the Israelites shortly before they will go into the ‘promised land’. Moses is describing the importance of building God honoring families and homes, so the next generations will grow up understanding who they are as members of this unique group of people, the Israelites, the people of God, and then as adults they will be able to build God honoring families, continuing the heritage.

Yesterday we began looking at one of the most important statements in the Bible: “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress these things on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you rise up.” (Deut. 6:6,7) We dealt with the first part of that important statement yesterday, today let’s take the second part.

In most families, in most cultures, bedtime is a strategic, vital time for interaction between children and adults, right? God has designed us humans so that the process of winding down from our busy day and transitioning to sleep is a very significant time, especially for children, and a powerful time for parents to speak wisdom and comfort and love to their children, as they prepare for sleep. Did you experience what this verse describes when you were a child? If yes, how did those priceless evening moments with your parents, speaking God’s truths and love to you, impact your life? Did your children experience it with you? Have you considered that with modern technology grandparents can still be part of this special time with grandchildren each evening, even from thousands of miles away! Have you considered the power of those few moments of ‘when you lie down’ in shaping the life of children and grandchildren? Are there some changes we can make, even now, no matter our age or where we live, to maximize the potential of these few, day ending moments, in the lives of the young ones in our families?

And then, my friends, what about the significance of those first moments in the morning when we rise up? In most homes those are frantic moments with people of all ages staying under the covers as long as possible and then rushing, sometimes frantically, to accomplish all that must be done by the time the bus arrives for school kids, or the commute to work must begin, or the carpooling ride arrives? But what if… what if we could learn the value of those first minutes in the morning and do something radical to maximize those moments for ourselves and our kids and grandkids?

The truth is, in generations past, most people had a much better early morning process before rushing into the day. Many of us have ancestors who began the day before daybreak, in quite prayer and reflection on God’s Word, even by candlelight. For some years I’ve been doing that, and it changes everything, my friends. I have found my heart and mind are fresh in the morning, having rested well in the night. Without distraction or urgency, if I can take some extended time to be quiet before God, read His Word, listen to some worship music, and pray… the rest of the day, no matter what it entails, will be one in which I sense God’s Presence and the guidance of His truth much, much more than if I had rushed into my day without time with God. Have you discovered that secret? Have you taught it to your children and grandchildren?

Moses evidently knew this secret and here it seems clear he’s urging all Hebrew families to develop a wise, strategic plan for beginning their day. Go to bed earlier if you must in order to rise refreshed and ready to begin the day with designated time with God! I wonder how many of those families standing before Moses that day discussed these things later, and made the changes necessary to maximize BOTH the time of preparing their children and grandchildren for sleep at night, and the time of beginning the day with them and God?

Then Moses said one more very practical thing: “Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” (Deut. 6:8,9) Moses knew, as did the people, that even if we begin our day with God, once we are fully engulfed in the busyness of our day, God and His truths can seem very far away. So Moses challenged them to find ways to carry God’s commands with them through the day. Over the years the specific manner in which they did that varied, but let’s look at how we can do that in 2022. Most people have a cell phone in their pocket. Cell phones need a picture or words for the screen right? Many people now have the Bible as an APP on their phone so at any time, any verse is accessible to them. I know some friends who find memorizing God’s Word is very helpful and they try to memorize one verse a week. They write the verse on a card and carry that card in their pocket all week, reading it many times everyday. Now those are just two or three examples, but I wonder what ideas God might give you for carrying His Word with you all day, everyday?

Perhaps you know one of the ways Jewish people often apply the last part of that verse “Write them [God’s commands] on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates”, is by actually attaching a small scroll box (mezuzah) to the doorframe of their home, and as they enter or exit their home they touch that little box reverently, taking a moment to thank God for His Word and re-affirming its importance in their lives. Inside that little box, it’s called a ‘mezuzah’, is a small scroll of paper with this Deuteronomy Scripture written on it.

Now you probably don’t have a ‘mezuzah’ on your doorframe, but may I ask, what do you have on the walls of your home? Paintings, pictures, artifacts from your travels, wall paper? Have you thought about the fact that what adorns your walls tells a story, your story, and proclaims what is important to you? What do visitors to your home learn about you, simply by looking at what you have on the walls of your home?

And then Moses made a powerful, very challenging statement to the people that day: “When the LORD your God brings you into the land He swore to your forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – a land with large and flourishing cities you did not build, wells you did not dig, vineyards and olive groves you did not plant – then when you eat and are satisfied, BE CAREFUL that you do not forget the LORD who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” (Deut. 6:10-12) Now let’s remember these people had been in the desert wilderness for 40 years, can you imagine how wonderful this description of the new land sounded to them? Have you discovered, my friends, how easy it is to forget God when you are enjoying times of bounty and unusual comfort? This warning is so significant and would be so important in their future that Moses repeats and expands on this warning in the 8th chapter, as we’ll see in a few days. Yes it was true. This land of Canaan was filled with cities and farmlands and thousands of people who had moved in during the 500 years since God promised this land to Abraham. As the Israelites moved in and took possession of this land it would be very important they remembered, every day, that it was God leading them and providing for them, in fulfillment of His centuries old promise and covenant. Do we need to heed this caution in our day my friends? Remember Jesus spent significant time talking about the dangers of wealth in drawing us away from our hunger for and relationship with God? Matthew 6 talks about this in particular.

I wonder if Moses paused right there, giving both adults and children who were standing in the huge throng before him on that day, the time to reflect on changes they might want to make in their families? Changes in how they spent time together especially at the beginning and the end of the day? How they would keep God’s commands in their minds and hearts during the day when busy with life’s activities? How they would make sure the decorations of their homes reminded them and all visitors of God and His greatness. So let’s spend a moment right now reflecting on these great truths, as Moses and the people did. Are there some changes the Spirit of God might lead us to consider?

Now here’s a powerful song, sung by a family, declaring their desire that God is honored in their home and in their lives. . .

Today’s Scripture is Deuteronomy 6:7-12.

Choose below to read or listen.

Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.

Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)

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