Deuteronomy 6:4–9(ESV) — 4“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7You 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. 8You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

a few ramblings about this familiar passage: 

We are reminded so many times in Scripture the importance of not only meditating on the Word of God ourselves, but teaching our children and family.....and the purpose is to guide us through life and we will find true contentment in them.....all other words are vain if these are not held in our hearts with the highest esteem.

When a person reads through the Bible the first time [ALL CHRISTIANS SHOULD READ THROUGH THE BIBLE AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR!!] a few things will pop out at you....here in Deuteronomy we are reading instructions that the Lord is giving to His people as they get ready to enter the Promised Land [Israel]....what always used to pop out at me is when the Lord would give the command that, as they entered into some of the cities to take by force, they were to destroy everything including men, women and children.....when i would first read that, my carnal unlearned heart would kind of rebel at the notion that God would order the execution of innocent women and children.....[a good time to remember a default position always in your Spiritual life GOD IS ALWAYS RIGHT!! We are never in any position to question God or His motives]

As I've matured I have found [through Scripture] some answers to my hearts issues.....So, in the Old Testament, when being faced with the Army of God invading a city, we understand that the people had choices:

#1: When we read the story of Rahab in Jericho, we find out that she wanted to be saved from God's wrath on her city, and she and her family were saved....in other words, if a person truly wanted to be saved from the wrath of God in the city that was being taken over by Israel, God would find a way to save them....#2:  if a person knew the army was coming and wanted to, they could take their family and leave.  #3: Lastly, a husband and father could see the army of Israel coming and rebel and decide to fight and watch his family destroyed..... #4:  One last thought to remember.....a child who loses their life on this earth we trust will be in Heaven for eternity

The common sense points are a reminder that God is love and the God of judgment all at the same time

...In a sense we are faced with a similar dilemma today as a society....when a man rebels against God, he is risking the destruction of his entire family unit in a spiritual and eternal sense...Generally speaking, the fruit never falls far from the tree......Just as in Rahabs day, the people were warned that the Judgment of God was coming.....we as a nation have had Preachers and Pastors for centuries tell us that Jesus is coming again, we should be prepared......yet many rebel and heed not the warnings.....Renewal has to start somewhere....in other words, a Dad or Mom needs to be like Joshua and decide "As for me and my house, we WILL serve the Lord"! 

May God richly bless you today! 

SW

Revelation 2:8–11(KJV 1900) — 8And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive; 9I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. 10Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. 11He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Living in this age we do, it seems hard to fathom Christians being put to death for their faith.....But over the centuries many Christians have lost their lives for that very reason....in fact, in Smyrna, they refused to offer the incense to the Emperor and get their card for the year....and the unbelieving Jews [synagogue of Satan] turned them in to Roman authorities.....think of that....all they had to do to be "right with the world" is offer a bit of incense and it's done.....but they wouldn't do it....it's hard to imagine what we might be capable of if we had a knife to our throats.....in the heat of the moment....we realize one of the first controversies in the early Church happened when Roman soldiers put a knife to a childs throat and asked the Mother if she would deny Christ.....what would you do?? many of then took death for themselves and their babies.....many did not.....what did the early Church do with those who denied Christ in the heat of the moment? They excommunicated them! And would not allow them to take communion until sufficient time which they were proven to be true Christians...that my friends, is a pure Church...We are so spoiled today that if persecution would come the prosperity gospel preachers would pack up and leave the country so fast you'd wonder what happened.....But a persecuted Church is a pure Church, because there are no phonies or hypocrites in a persecuted Church.....and we should always remember that God allows these periods of testing to prove who we really are.....but His Grace is always sufficient! 

God bless your day! 

Pastor Scott