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 that 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 on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:5-9 NLT)
All your heart, soul, strength… Wholeheartedly… Again and again…
Do these words and phrases describe my approach to my faith? Does every aspect of my life (heart, soul, strength) reflect a love for my Savior? Am I wholeheartedly committed to living my life the way he wants me to? Am I constantly speaking the Word of God into the lives of my children so that they know the truth and can live it?
These days there are countless things vying for our attention. Innumerable messages about how to live life. How to be happy. And less and less of them have anything to do with our creator, God, and his plan for our salvation.
As the day of Jesus’ return draws closer and closer, the world is moving further and further away from the Word of God. Many truly believe that the Word of God is no longer relevant. That times have changed and God would surely have a different opinion about these things today. But I can assure you that God has always known what was coming. He can see all of time in one glance like we see a historic timeline on a single sheet of paper. He has always intended for his Word alone to be our compass for living, and he always will.
Our Bibles should not be collecting dust on shelves in our home. Our Bible apps should not be the last ones we open when we pick up our devices. Good Christian music should be programmed, downloaded, listened to. The values we set out to teach our children should be rooted in the Word of God. All our hearts, souls, strength… Wholeheartedly… Again and again…
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT)
