LIVE IT OUT! — Sarah Francis Martin

Take a look at Deuteronomy 6:4-5:
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul , and with all your strength.”

I just love this proclamation. In the Jewish temple, this is known as the Shema, which is Hebrew for “to Hear.” If you have never had the privilege of hearing this recited by a congregation of Israelites, it is always said with a sense of zeal and exclamation. This verse is a Jewish confession of faith and it is recited by the devout twice a day. What a shout out! This is such a poignant statement of faith in the One who is our LORD.

Just for some background, Moses continues this chapter with a recap of the Ten Commandments. But, what I want to focus on is what is also said in Deuteronomy 11:16:

“Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest the LORD’s anger be aroused against you…”

Moses was concerned about what would happen to the Israelites’ faith once they crossed into the promise land of Caanan. Keep in mind, this land was not void of other people who had very different religious practices than the Jews. In fact, the Israelites were about to conquer a land that was VERY pagan. We won’t get into their specific practices, but it was quite gruesome. Moses warned them to steer way clear of these cultures so they would not be drawn in and away from the One True God.

This is why the Shema is such an important practice. When we make a bold proclamation of faith, we are not only telling others of our intentions, we are ingraining it in our own heart. The Israelites were reminding themselves to stay true to their GOD, no matter what was going on around them.

This is an obvious lesson for us as New Testament believers. We need to make this proclamation personal and say it boldly, with conviction! The enemy wants us to be drawn in by the world around us. He wants us to step away from our One True God and towards the earthly “gods” that distract us from loving Jesus with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. It is so easy to get sidetracked by the latest gossip, celebrity worship, or allure of success. This is exactly what Satan wants; that we focus on these temporal things and not on our eternal King. Oh, I pray that we don’t let this happen. Make the LOUD PROCLAMATION everyday. Let the enemy know that you mean business! Your God is LORD and the One and Only God!

LIVE IT OUT! application:
I challenge you to memorize these verses. In fact, go ahead and substitute your name as follows to make it even more personal.

“Hear, O (your name), The LORD our God, the LORD is one!…”

***NOTE: if you are reading thru the Bible with me, as of March 7, you should have read through Deuteronomy 20. I have not kept up with the devotions as the chapters go along and I appologize!

Ok, so I have to confess. I had to look back at my Bible to make sure that I am spelling Deuteronomy correctly! I am positive that I will be able to spell it in my sleep by the time we make it through the whole book. By the way, if anyone wants to join in my journey of reading through the Bible you can go here for the reading plan that I am following.

This book is written mostly by Moses before He dies and it is a recount of the Israelite journey through the wilderness thus far. The first four chapters are nothing new to us, but it serves a good reminder as to what we have read. I just love what Moses says to sum it all up in chapter 4:

Deuteronomy 4:39-40 (New King James Version)
39 Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. 40 You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”

This moment of remembrance of what the Lord has done got me thinking about how we should also go through times of remembrance of our own. People often do an “inventory check” at the new year and then let it go by the wayside.

Today, let’s take sometime to do a check of our own spiritual lives. Paul says that we should always be growing in our faith.

1 Corinthians 3:1-2(NIV)

1Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3You are still worldly.

Paul is admonishing the Corinthians to not stay stagnant in their faith, but to instead grow and feed on more mature spiritual things.

Here are a few questions to meditate on. I hope you will take the time to read over them and put your answers to paper in order to solidify them in your mind.

**Where are you in your belief that “God is who He says He is” today compared to this time last year?

**What things are you doing more/less of in lieu of daily Bible study? If less, what could you do to enrich your time with the Lord on a daily basis?

**Has you concept of worshiping God changed and become more comprehensive lately? If not, define what worship is to you right now and if you think that definition is adequate.

**Do you commit more things to prayer AND believe that God listens and answers in His time? If so, what kinds of answers have you seen Him grant lately?

**Rate your spiritual temperature:

1=ice cold, blizzard alert/10=whoa-on fire-hair is smoking!

How can you move toward a 10?

I could go on and on… I hope you found this exercise to be helpful. Please feel free to post some answers as you feel comfortable.