Today as I was doing my bible reading, and my focus was on why, as a nation, we as Christians have strayed so far from the Word of God. Is it from lack of prayer in schools, is it from acceptance of sin, is it the entertainment industry, is it feminism, divorce, greed, drugs, rock & roll, alcohol, sex, self absorption, etc?
Could it be that it's not those things at all that have brought us to this place today, maybe we should look at the above as symptoms of a greater disease! Could it be that those who follow Christ have allowed this to happen because we did not do what God has called us to do?
This disease I'm referring to is: complacency, lack of discipline, and lack of obedience in loving God and reading the Word of God and then applying it to the life that God has given us.
So, is it too late, have we gotten so sick as a nation that there is no remedy available to us? I think not, for now. I feel that we must listen, and obey- God is calling His people out, and we need to stand up, listen and obey. Where do we begin? I believe, we begin with prayer and God's Word. Read the Shema passage below- Shema means- Listen, or Hear this! It applies to us today, just as it did to the Hebrew people thousands of years ago---
Shema- Listen
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again. Tie them on your hands as a reminder and wear them on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
What this means to me is this: Listen- this is important! The Lord our God is one, He is the only God- One Creator, One Way, One worthy of our worship, and commitment. We must love the Lord with all of our heart (He is our #1love) with all our soul (our longing should be to think on him, love him, and talking to him regularly), and all my strength (he should get the very best of me, actually ALL of me). God has given me a word- his WORD- ( I must love this WORD, take it in, believe it, and live it with all of my being- heart, mind and body)Repeat them again and again to my children ,we should raise our children in the Word, which means to-- Tie them( the WORD) to your hands- we do with our hands- our hands should reflect the Word. Wear them (the WORD) on your forehead- we think, see, hear, and speak with our heads- our heads should reflect the Word. Write them on the doorposts of your house- our doors are where we bring things into our lives and hearts-our hearts and homes should reflect the Word. Write them on the doorposts of your gates- where the world comes in- don’t allow the world to creep in our hearts/homes-rather, show the world the WORD.
I am so convicted to live as a child of God with all of me and with all that I have been given. This great disease that has brought such depravity into America is our own fault- we have neglected to stand up for what is right, we have been lazy in sharing the word with our children at ALL times, we have not loved our Lord the way He asks us to. If we did, we wouldn't be in this state, would we?
