Focus
Prepare yourself to discern what is and what is not of God today. Still yourself so you can hear how God is calling you.
Read
Place these words on your hearts. Get them deep inside you. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder. Teach them to your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning until you fall into bed at night. Inscribe them on the doorposts and gates of your cities so that you’ll live a long time, and your children with you, on the soil that GOD promised to give your ancestors for as long as there is a sky over the Earth.
…
I’ve brought you today to the crossroads of Blessing and Curse.
The Blessing: if you listen obediently to the commandments of GOD, your God, which I command you today.
The Curse: if you don’t pay attention to the commandments of GOD, your God, but leave the road that I command you today, following other gods of which you know nothing.
Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28 (The Message)
Reflect
As I read today’s scriptures, I was reminded of the invitation to the wedding of a very close friend. My friend is Jewish, and she was marrying a Protestant. I wanted to get them a gift that would have great meaning to both of them. I chose a
mezuzah.
As I studied the meaning of the mezuzah, I was very impressed. A mezuzah is a piece of parchment (often contained in a decorative case). Inscribed on the parchment are the words from Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and 11:13-21. These verses comprise the Jewish prayer “Shema Yisrael,” beginning with the phrase: “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is One.”
Jewish law specifies that a mezuzah is to be on the entrance door and every door in the house, with the exception of the bathroom door, which fulfills the commandment given in Deuteronomy 11:20, “Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Jews are expected to touch the mezuzah upon entering or leaving the house as a way of expressing love and respect for God.
The reverence associated with touching the mezuzah acknowledges the duty of loving and serving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Touching the mezuzah is also a reminder that the home is dedicated to God, which made it a perfect gift for my friend’s new home.
Pray
Gracious and Holy God, free us from our fears that bind us and help us to live a day at a time, as we come and go from our houses, trusting that you will provide for us what we need and in the end will take us to the place you have gone to prepare for us. These things we pray, Amen.
Go with God.
Glenda Melson is a retired board-certified chaplain with the Association of Professional Chaplains. She is an active member of Missouri Presbytery and serves on the Clergy Care Committee. She is currently the moderator of the Synod of Great Rivers.