Morning

April 5

Deuteronomy 11:18-19 ¹⁸Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ¹⁹Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

The Jews took this quite literally. Even today at the Western Wall you can see Jewish men fix the Scripture Boxes (phylacteries) to their foreheads and wrap their arms. Almost every Jewish home has a Scripture container on the doorframe.

There was a time in the USA when people included portions of Scripture in their daily conversation. The Bible was read daily by many, and many of our old sayings come from Scripture. That trend has all but died out. We rarely speak in the expressions of the Bible, and are even mocked when we quote Scripture. That shouldn't bother us though. The Word of God is powerful and living and will accomplish God's purposes. If we speak the Scripture that God lays on our heart during a conversation, it will surely do its work.

For the Holy Spirit to bring Scripture to memory, we should be reading it daily. We should be taking unhurried time to dwell on a passage. We should be memorizing it. Then it can be brought to our minds to be effective for us and for those with whom we communicate.

We have a duty to model this for our children and teach them to do the same. This passage is a good pointer for morning and evening devotions. The Word should start and end our day. It should also be a topic during the day.

Consider: How far are you from God's request? What changes are needed?