August 26, 2024

Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (HCSB)
The Greatest Command
6 “This is the command—the statutes and ordinances—the Lord your God has instructed me to teach you, so that you may follow them in the land you are about to enter and possess. 2 Do this so that you may fear the Lord your God all the days of your life by keeping all His statutes and commands I am giving you, your son, and your grandson, and so that you may have a long life. 3 Listen, Israel, and be careful to follow them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly, because Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey. 4 “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. 7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Jeremy Cannon
We are truly blessed as people of God. But sometimes it is hard to remember and obey what He wants us to do. When the Israelites were rescued from bondage, they only knew what the Egyptians had taught them. They had no years of experience to draw from when they were finally able to make their own decisions. They did, however, have a man in Moses who not only saw the face of God but spoke to Him directly. What a remarkable time that must have been to see all the plagues, the wonders, and the miracles that God performed through Moses. In Deuteronomy 6, after Moses had delivered the Ten Commandments, He gave them the greatest commandment of them all. They are to love Him with everything they have and instruct future generations to do the same.
We live in a time today where we don’t often practice the stuff we preach. We want to hold our children to a higher standard than we live ourselves. While it is critical, especially in the times we are living in now, to teach future generations about the love and power of our Savior, Jesus Christ, it is even more important to try and live out that example during our good times and bad. The commandment Moses taught then still rings true today. Let us love more of Him so we truly love more of each other.