Note from Pastor Al

 Encircled by the Word of God.

This week we are looking to go one step further with the Word of God. John 8:32 speaks about living in the Word of God. How do we do this? To answer this question we are turning to Deuteronomy 6:4-9. The key to living in the Word of God comes from making the entry point and exit point of your life encircled by the Word of God. 

Why? Because God wants to change the human heart. 

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” // Deuteronomy 6:4-6

How do you change the very heart of who you are? How do your thoughts and attitudes truly change? How do we learn to love the things that God loves and detest the things that God detests? Deuteronomy chapter 6 has this as a goal when it says these commands are to be upon your hearts. The commands of God are to become the things that we love. 

The things that God loves are to be so strong in our life, so predominant, that they are heavy on our heart. They are to make an impression on the things that stir our emotions. They begin to disturb our thoughts to the point of desiring what God desires.

So our big question today is how does that happen?

Deuteronomy 6:9 answers this with a Jewish object lesson called “mezuzah.” Mezuzah is one of many visible forms that display the Word of God in your life. A mezuzah is a small Jewish container about 1 inch square by 5 inches long and it literally contains some of the words of God from Deuteronomy 6. A mezuzah is attached to the doorpost of a house as if to symbolize that everything that happens in this house is attached to the Word of God. It is a way of representing that everything in this house reflects God’s way of living, God‘s way of thinking, God’s way of acting, and God’s way of interacting with each other.

The mezuzah is a way for us to recognize that we need God‘s Word surrounding us so that our thoughts and our attitudes are overwhelmed and encouraged by the Word of God. This means that the Word of God is not just a part-time participant in the events of our life. The text from Deuteronomy 6 encourages the morning-to-night surrender to God’s desires and interests. We become so surrounded by the very Words of God that we soak it up like a sponge.

The point of this note is to ask the question, “How can we be so surrounded by the Word of God in our existence that it soaks into every corner of our life. In our waking, our sleeping, in our eating and our relaxing, God’s commands seep down into our thoughts and even our emotions.

The point of the mezuzah is to assist in this. The point of the mezuzah is for us to make a search of our life and see if the Word of God is affixed so strongly to our lifestyle that others will walk into our houses, our kitchens, our basements, and even our garages, and they will see and experience God at work. Is the Word of God so tightly bound to us?

The mezuzah becomes a way of promoting the placement of God's Word in our life. Do you have a group of people that you meet with regularly who can surround you with biblical encouragement? Do you have news feeds that help to promote the teachings of God? Are you listening to podcasts that bring you back to the word of God as you exercise? Do you have places where you go in your life that are filled with hymns and spiritual songs? This is the goal of marking your house and your life with mezuzah.

This week, make a search of your life to see if it lives and breathes the Word of God. As a church, let’s make it our goal to make the Word of God so alive in our houses, in our education, in our child-rearing, and in all we do so that the Word never departs from us. Stay tuned for further encouraging ideas that will help us keep the Bible front and center.

God bless you as you become more and more surrounded by Jesus’ teachings in your life.

Pastor Al

P.s.  How can we ever live this to the point of doing it well? Even the mention of having every aspect of your life swimming in the Word of God, gives more a nagging sense of guilt than a breath of relief. This is the point where we must daily see what is not perfect in our life and daily see our Savior who perfectly lived for us. He perfectly lived inside of the words of God so that he could perfectly reflect God’s Word in his carpentry, in his family time, in his interactions with childhood friends, in his goal-setting, and in all his activities. The Word of God was probably tacked to the doorpost of his own home—the mezuzah. But more importantly, the Word of God was solidly emblazoned on his heart, his mind, his hands, his feet; all of Jesus was reflective of the Word of God. He lived this so well that the writer of John calls him the Word of God made flesh. 

Now, remember that all he did becomes, by faith, your record in front of the Father. This is why the Father can look at you with love and say that with you, he is well pleased! Yes, we will keep on striving to be more and more like Jesus. But we also have the rock-solid assurance that the Father of all sees us daily through the lens of Jesus’ perfect record. You are dearly loved because of Jesus. You are eternally accepted into the family of God because of Jesus. Now let’s live out what we ARE!

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