Looking Up

Day one hundred forty-eight

I lost my cool last night and let my anger get the best of me.  I wasn't yelling or screaming, I just let myself get so frustrated that I wasn't able to see the teaching moments and started in on the lecturing.  I hate when that happens, it is not productive and it makes me feel bad. To make things worse, just a few days ago I was having a conversation with my boys about how I need to work on being more stern with them and they told me that I don't do anger well because it makes me feel worse than they do and they laughed about it.  Not a mean laugh, but a 'mom you're so silly' laugh. And so when I calmed down and came down to talk to them, they were kind and gentle with me at first, and then, there was some laughing because they were right.  I hate when they are right about stuff like that!

So my prayer this morning was one of gratitude for my family's ability to work through moments like that and a request that I might be more aware of my feelings and teach instead of lecture.  That I might be more effective in changing their hearts instead of closing their ears.

Deuteronomy - The Second Sermon - Looking Up (Chapters 5-26)

In chapter 6, verses 4-9 are considered most sacred and are used daily be devout Jews.  They are repeated twice a day as an evening and morning prayer.  There is more, devout Jews sometimes wear phylacteries or frontlets (beautiful tiny leather boxes) tied to their foreheads in which they keep four tiny scrolls.  On these scrolls are scriptures they are to remember.  These scriptures are: Exodus 13:1-10, 11-16; Deuteronomy 6:5-9; 11:13-21.  They wear these phylacteries as a symbol of loyalty and devotion to the Lord.

Read through Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and see if you can understand why these verses are so important:

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
 

5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

We already talked about the frontlets but what about the writing on the posts? The Jews attach what is called a "mezuzah" (a tiny, cylindrical box containing parchment with a passage of scripture on it) to the door frame of their house.  Each time they enter or leave their home, they touch or kiss the mezuzah, symbolizing that they must do the will of God as they leave to interact with others in the world or as they enter the home to interact with family. (The Old Testament Made Easier).

Can you see how the Lord is trying to get them to look up and keep Him on their minds at all times? 

Moses tells the Israelites that they are to learn, keep and do the laws (Deut 5:1) so that they might fear (respect and reverence) the Lord (Deut 6:2).  He promises them that if they do this "their days may be prolonged and they may increase mightily" (Deut 6:2-3). It might seem weird to us that the Lord asked the Israelites to do some of these things, but if you look closely you will see that however devoted to God the Israelites would be, you can be sure that the Lord was immeasurably more devoted to them and their return to Him.  Every law and commandment is meant to keep them focused on Him.

The same applies to us today.  So what do you do in your life to keep looking up towards God?  Every individual is unique and so are the needs of their family members, so what works for one person may not work for all.  With that in mind I thought I would share a few things we do in our home to remember the Lord:

We are not asked to wear frontlets on our foreheads, but we are asked to read and study the scriptures daily.  In our home everyone has their own set of scriptures so they can read whenever they would like and mark them with their own revelations.  There is always a set in the main room of the house too.  Even if no one actually opens them to read them each day, when we look at them it is a reminder to keep the teachings in our hearts.

I really like the idea of the mezuzah, having something tangible to touch to remind us of God.  I don't have one in my home, instead I have pictures of Christ in my home.  I have placed the pictures in the middle of my house at the stair landing where everyone will see them throughout the day.  Seeing Christ smiling at me each day helps me to keep Him in my thoughts.

We know that the Lord is doing everything He can to help us succeed in this life.  The fact that He gave the Israelites these things to do to help them remember Him shows how much He wanted to prevent their failure. He is doing the same thing in our lives.  This is a great chance to stop and ask ourselves if there are areas in our lives that need attention.  Are there things we need to change in order to achieve our spiritual progression?  If so, how can remembering the Lord help us in these areas?