“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7
As Moses began his reminder of all the Laws that the Lord had given the people during the forty years that He guided them through the desert, he explained the attitude that God wanted them to have toward His Word. The verse before this says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength.” Then he continues by telling us that we should cherish God’s Word; decorate our houses with it, wear it as jewelry, make it the topic of our daily conversation and the focus of our thoughts.
Last Sunday in our Bible Study class we saw how Martin Luther in the Catechism explained the meaning of the Third Commandment, “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy,” by pointing out that it isn’t so much a commandment regarding the day as about our attitude toward God’s Word. "We should fear and love God so that we do not despise His Word or the preaching of the same, but deem it holy and gladly hear and learn it.” It’s tempting, now that our ability to gather for church services have been temporarily curtailed, to get out of the habit. There are other things we could do, and we’ve sort of been given a “break” from church on Sunday morning.
The danger is that we so quickly form new habits. In just two or three weeks, we are likely to establish a new pattern that doesn’t include gathering to hear the Word of God. We would soon forget about the admonition that says, “forsake not the assembling of ourselves together, as is the habit of some...”. Maintaining a good habit requires discipline and effort.
Make the effort today, and every Sunday while this lockdown continues, to spend time hearing God’s Word, praying, and seeking His face. We are streaming the Bible class this morning at 9:30am and the service at 10:30am on Facebook Live. We plan to put the video up on YouTube as well, for those who don’t use Facebook, and we’ll send out the link to that Video as soon as we have it up and running.
If you know someone who doesn’t have access to the Internet, invite them over to watch it with you; and don’t just watch it, but worship together with them and with all of us!
The government has asked us to keep gatherings to less than ten people. We can comply with this request while still gathering with a few friends to honor God’s Word and worship Him together.
Pastor Dan Giles
