Good
Morning All,
Deuteronomy
6:5-6; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your being, and all your
strength. These words that I am commanding you today must always be on
your minds.”
Jesus called this
the first great commandment. We often
call this the summation of the first table of the law, the first three
commandments. It defines how our
relationship with God should work and it connects the first three commandments
and gives us a view of who we are.
The first three commandments are: You shall
have no other gods. Do not misuse God’s
name. Remember the Sabbath. When I teach this to confirmands, I have them
picture a triangle shaped tent. The
First commandment is at the top with the second and third being at the bottom
corners, one on each side. This tent
represents the shelter that God offers to us as His redeemed children. It is in this tent that we are safe and
secure. It is while dwelling in this
tent that we follow God’s will. While
Adam and Eve were without sin, they dwelled in this tent perfectly. We do not.
Our sinful nature draws us out of the tent where the devil, the world
and sin will torment us, harass us, and cause us pain and suffering. So, we want to stay in the tent; but what
does that mean?
The top point of the tent is the First
Commandment. This is God, our heavenly Father,
providing all that we need. The Second
commandment deals with using God’s Name properly. We do this by calling upon God’s Name in
prayer whether it is praise or concern always with thanksgiving. The Third commandment deals with the Sabbath
and the teaching and preaching of God’s Holy Word. In these last two we see the “holy
conversation” between God and man occurring.
God speaks to us in His Word, the Bible and we listen to this Word. We respond to this Word by our prayers
offered back to God. In this “holy
conversation” God continually reminds us of his love for us, our safety in his
arms (or tent), our certain hope of everlasting life, our victory over sin,
death and the devil, and peace with God through Jesus.
By always keeping this on our minds, the
devil has a harder time leading us away.
By keeping this on our mind, we are drawn closer to our Lord and
Savior. We cling more and more to his
truth. We cling more and more to his
grace and mercy. We live trusting in His
promise of life everlasting with Him in the perfected and restored
creation. We live trusting in the
certainty of his peace guiding us through the stormy waters of this life;
knowing this life can never overwhelm us or separate us from his love.
God built this tent for our safety. Jesus paid the price so we can live in this
tent in freedom. The Holy Spirit keeps
reminding us of how we got there and why we what to stay there. This tent is God’s gift to us so that we may
face and conquer that battles of this life.
Father, lead me to
dwell in your tent forever. Lead me to
always call upon your Name in Hope and confidence. Strengthen all who are drawn away from your
tent to return. Lead us to repent of the
world and look only to you for our salvation.
In the precious name of Jesus, we pray Amen.
God’s
Peace,
Pastor
Bret
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