My child, do not forget my teaching, keep my commands in your heart, for they
will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness
never leave you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your
heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. ~Proverbs
3:1-4
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commands that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, and when you lie down and when you get up. 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.”
~Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Why is it important to know God’s scripture and, if possible, to memorize it? All of us are born with a sinful nature. That nature includes a sinful heart. In other words, we are sinful to the core! I suppose you could say, “we’re rotten to the core.” When we come to Christ, it is true that we are a new creation, (2 Cor. 5:17) but, that doesn’t mean that we are automatically a mature, wise saint who knows God’s version of right and wrong and are ready to make right decisions that will please Him. We need to rewrite our heart drive, over time, to grow into maturity in Christ.
Sadly, too many Christians who make a decision for Christ, stop there, at the decision, thinking that they’re saved and that’s enough. Being in God’s Word and memorizing it is how we internalize His way of thinking, replacing the way we used to think, so that we are no longer tossed about on the waves of our emotions, but begin putting down roots in what is solid and real and eternal.
I believe, and I am not alone, that the main problem facing the church today is Biblical illiteracy. In our worldly ways, we are so used to following our hearts and doing what feels right. Many don’t even realize that God does not approve of what we do. We feel good about it so we assume that God must be okay with it too. Emotional desire has replaced solid doctrinal theology. Thus, the church is finding itself drifting into things and approving of positions based on emotions rather than God’s Word.
Remember the man in the boat, drifting along, enjoying his peace, unaware of the trouble that he is headed for? That is much of the church today because they have lost sight of God’s Word and are listening too much to how they feel.
Think of the instructions given today. I see a Father and son, walking along, reviewing and reviewing the scriptures. The Father is helping the son rewrite. Or maybe even, “re-right” God’s Word on his heart to override his natural self so that God’s opinion becomes louder than his own. Of course, for a father to do this, he has to know it himself.
Strong words are used here to describe our approach to God’s Word. Words like “bind them,” “do not forget them,” “write them on your heart,” all these words describe holding them closely. They aren’t supposed to fall off easily.
Do you remember the pilot in my sermon last Sunday? He was forced to memorize the manual by his instructor. It was unpleasant, hard work, but it sure came in handy when he got into a jam. That is wisdom. That is internalizing what you learn. How much more important is knowing your scripture? Your heart doesn’t always know what is right. In fact, Jeremiah warns that, “The heart is deceitful beyond all things and beyond cure.” (Jeremiah 17:9) It can’t be trusted because it is too easily swayed by our emotions and desires. God’s word, however, can be trusted. It is rock solid, and we do well to re-right our hearts with what He thinks, over what we think.
When we work on memorizing scripture on Sunday mornings, take it seriously. It’s not just a practice for children, we all need to hide God’s Word in our hearts to better know how to live for His glory. His thoughts will never change to conform to our wishes. We all need to rewrite our heart drives so that our thoughts become more like His.
Prayer: “O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of You, O God. How unsearchable Your judgments are and Your paths are beyond tracing out! Who has known Your Mind, O Lord? Or, who has been Your counselor? Who has ever given to You, that You should repay us anything? For from You and through You and to You are all things. To You be the glory forever and ever. Amen!
(Adapted from Romans 11:33-36)
Hymn: “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commands that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, and when you lie down and when you get up. 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.”
~Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Why is it important to know God’s scripture and, if possible, to memorize it? All of us are born with a sinful nature. That nature includes a sinful heart. In other words, we are sinful to the core! I suppose you could say, “we’re rotten to the core.” When we come to Christ, it is true that we are a new creation, (2 Cor. 5:17) but, that doesn’t mean that we are automatically a mature, wise saint who knows God’s version of right and wrong and are ready to make right decisions that will please Him. We need to rewrite our heart drive, over time, to grow into maturity in Christ.
Sadly, too many Christians who make a decision for Christ, stop there, at the decision, thinking that they’re saved and that’s enough. Being in God’s Word and memorizing it is how we internalize His way of thinking, replacing the way we used to think, so that we are no longer tossed about on the waves of our emotions, but begin putting down roots in what is solid and real and eternal.
I believe, and I am not alone, that the main problem facing the church today is Biblical illiteracy. In our worldly ways, we are so used to following our hearts and doing what feels right. Many don’t even realize that God does not approve of what we do. We feel good about it so we assume that God must be okay with it too. Emotional desire has replaced solid doctrinal theology. Thus, the church is finding itself drifting into things and approving of positions based on emotions rather than God’s Word.
Remember the man in the boat, drifting along, enjoying his peace, unaware of the trouble that he is headed for? That is much of the church today because they have lost sight of God’s Word and are listening too much to how they feel.
Think of the instructions given today. I see a Father and son, walking along, reviewing and reviewing the scriptures. The Father is helping the son rewrite. Or maybe even, “re-right” God’s Word on his heart to override his natural self so that God’s opinion becomes louder than his own. Of course, for a father to do this, he has to know it himself.
Strong words are used here to describe our approach to God’s Word. Words like “bind them,” “do not forget them,” “write them on your heart,” all these words describe holding them closely. They aren’t supposed to fall off easily.
Do you remember the pilot in my sermon last Sunday? He was forced to memorize the manual by his instructor. It was unpleasant, hard work, but it sure came in handy when he got into a jam. That is wisdom. That is internalizing what you learn. How much more important is knowing your scripture? Your heart doesn’t always know what is right. In fact, Jeremiah warns that, “The heart is deceitful beyond all things and beyond cure.” (Jeremiah 17:9) It can’t be trusted because it is too easily swayed by our emotions and desires. God’s word, however, can be trusted. It is rock solid, and we do well to re-right our hearts with what He thinks, over what we think.
When we work on memorizing scripture on Sunday mornings, take it seriously. It’s not just a practice for children, we all need to hide God’s Word in our hearts to better know how to live for His glory. His thoughts will never change to conform to our wishes. We all need to rewrite our heart drives so that our thoughts become more like His.
Prayer: “O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of You, O God. How unsearchable Your judgments are and Your paths are beyond tracing out! Who has known Your Mind, O Lord? Or, who has been Your counselor? Who has ever given to You, that You should repay us anything? For from You and through You and to You are all things. To You be the glory forever and ever. Amen!
(Adapted from Romans 11:33-36)
Hymn: “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise”
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