And these words which I command
you today shall be in your heart; you shall teach them to your children, and
shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when
you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand,
and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the
doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deuteronomy 6:6-9).
Last week we were in Corpus Christi, Texas, for the
Aviation Designation Ceremony honoring 1st Lt. Daniel Douglass and others with wings as military aviation pilots. Lt. Douglass received his gold wings
as a Marine Corps pilot, and on Sunday, he and his wife took us and the Curia
family to Church, where we listened to a sermon by Pastor Bil Cornelius, who
commented on our Scriptures for today. Pastor Bil observed that "repetition" is an
integral part of learning, a fact well known to people in advertising. This young
pastor was addressing a young audience and he compared Deuteronomy 6:6-9 to Coke
commercials If you keep telling people,
over-and-over, that Coke is the best, they (you)
will begin to believe it! He continued, Children
watch TV 25-hours a week, and we wonder why they are like they are.
Pastor Bil observed that the solution is contained in
todays Scripture, which was written thousands of years ago, but it is
applicable for anyone, any time we are to replace one form of repetition with
another. Instead of always watching television or doing busy things, take
every opportunity possible to prayerfully read and study Gods Word, the Bible.
The pastor reminded us, What we read, listen to and
accept as truth in our lives is a key to what we think and who we are. Put
a Bible in the bathroom, he said, throw out the
newspaper, and study God's Word. He was appealing to a youthful audience, but
the message
behind his words contained a truth we all need God's Word is intended to fill every part
of our lives.
The Lord, through His prophets, often compared us to vessels,
as the writer of Psalm 2 did. In Acts 4:25-26, Peter
told us David wrote that Psalm and quoted him. God said through David: You
shall dash them in pieces like a potters vessel (Psalm 2:9), alerting us that Gods
judgment is on those who turn their backs on Him and His Word. Jeremiah the prophet presented
a similar idea, calling us clay vessels, MARRED
in the hands of the potter, and he told us of our need to be MADE
AGAIN (Jeremiah 18:4), an idea much like Jesus'
observation that we must be "BORN again" (John
3:3). Paul the Apostle gave us
the extraordinary good news that Christ, who is the image
of God actually comes INTO "vessels" like
you and me we have this treasure in earthen vessels,
Paul said, that the excellence of the power may be of God
and not of us (2 Corinthians 4:4-7).
I have often thought of us as similar to coffee mugs
that were left for a long time without being washed. Whatever it was that was in
us when we were pure and new became something that is not good and pure - we
need to be made clean once more. In Christ, the vessel (the
coffee mug, tea cup or drinking glass; whatever you prefer), is washed and made
clean. Our part in this is to recognize that we NEED to be clean. We are to
acknowledge our condition and go to Jesus Christ, the One who can
restore us. We simply ask and He accomplishes two incredible events within our
lives; and then work is commenced on a third: First we are made clean by
accepting
Christ's work on the cross, and then we are filled with
God Himself. Those who are now clean "vessels" in the sight of God
actually CONTAIN the
One who was sent to us from the Father. His third step is to send His Holy
Spirit, who performs a lifetime
work of cleansing in our hearts and lives. Yes, we are clean from our bath
in Christ, but then our hands must be washed often, for we are in contact with
the world. The good work that has
been done on that cross is gradually extended from the center of our being into
every aspect of our lives, through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit of
God. The cup, the vessel is made clean and
we are
filled with the goodness of God. And there is even more: His aim is to share what is in this holy vessel
with others.
After we left the Church on Sunday morning, we drove to a
mission in San Antonio, Texas, called the Alamo,
a place made famous in 1836, when 200 or so Texicans
lost their lives in a battle with the Mexican Army. There are a lot of flags and
replicas of flags displayed in the mission and one of them is the Battle
of Gonzales flag, used in 1835. The written motto on that flag is, Come
and Take It, and that, when you think about it, is the way this world
acts toward God. The Bible reveals that, The heart is
deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). And
we learn: ALL have sinned and come short of the glory
of God (Romans 3:23). This defiant Come and Take
It manner, displayed toward God in a variety of ways, is dealt with in
your life and mine by the Son of God on the cross. His work in us continues as
we open and prayerfully read His Word, as we know from Scriptures such as, Faith comes by
hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). The Lord saves us and
His Word makes us strong.
Pastor Bil correctly presented our Scriptures for today. We must become willing to replace the
often idiotic repetition offered to us by the world - with the Word of God. It
must be in your heart. And when it is, you become
contagious, a vessel for sharing Gods Word with your
children, your family, neighbors, friends and all your meet. You begin to include the
Lord in your conversation, willingly thinking and talking of God and His Word when
you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you
rise up. The Scriptures you are beginning to understand are to be
written as notes, posted in your bathroom, on your front door and everywhere
else, so that wherever you go and whatever you do; if you are cooking, cleaning,
fixing something or whatever, the very repetition of your encounter with those
verses will fill up your soul with the goodness that comes from God. That is
what is meant by the words, You shall bind them as a sign
on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write
them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deuteronomy
6:6-9)
Pastor Bil urged us all to give some thought to what is
bothering us in life right now. And then, when you have focused on your
need, take it into Scripture! Is your problem Money?
Marriage? he asked and then said Go into
Scripture and see what God has to say. Look up the words
in the Concordance at the back of your Bible, or ask some pastor or someone
else, and find your answer in Gods Word. Then write those Scriptures down, and post them everywhere! God will use His Word to heal you
and change you remarkably by the Word of God.
Father, I confess that I am a sinner, in need of God.
Save me, fill me with Your Spirit. Place Your Word deep into my heart and heal
my soul, my life. In Jesus Name. Amen.
