Since we've begun homeschool, we have been memorizing a verse a week. So far we've memorized Genesis 1:1, John 3:16, and this verse:
It is the LORD your God you must follow, and Him you must revere. Keep His commands and obey Him; serve Him and hold fast to Him. Deuteronomy 13:4
I have been thinking about this verse so much, partly because it is not as familiar to me as some of the others, and also because it happened to be the Old Testament scripture read last Sunday in church. I leaned over to Emily Anne and whispered, "That's our memory verse!", and she had recognized it.
As I've been meditating on this verse, I've broken it down into parts and have decided that these are excellent spiritual goals for my children (and for me!)
- Follow God. So often it is too easy to run ahead of God. When we do so, we miss out on God's best for us. Instead, we should follow God as Abraham did, not always sure where we're going but confident in our Leader.
- Revere God. Being reverent is something that seems to be lacking in our society today. So much is casual and geared to our comfort. We should never forget how awesome God really is. Holding God in awe checks our own too prevalent pride.
- Keep God's commands. To keep God's commands, we must know them. God has given us the Holy Spirit to impress His Word on our hearts, but we must make the first effort to open the Bible and read with the intent of applying it to our lives.
- Obey God. Once we know God's laws, we should intentionally fulfill them. We should obey, not just the ones that are easy for us or the ones that are socially acceptable, but all of them, even those hardest for us. Of course, with our sinful natures, we will miss the mark, but with true repentance comes forgiveness.
- Serve God. God has made each of us with special gifts, personalities, experiences, and specific purposes. We should be aware of those to better work for His glory.
- Hold fast to God. We should cling to God. We should hold fast to Him during crises, but we should also not loosen our grasp when the going is good, lest we open ourselves up to our own sinful natures and attacks by the enemy.
So, what verses have spoken to you this week? Post those verses on your own blog, along with how you see that God wants you to apply them in your life. Then, provide your link below so that we can drink from one another's wells of scripture.
4 comments:
Good morning, Celly, what a great verse. I don't think I've dwelt on that one very much. Thank you for the insight. Isn't it great when God confirms something through the Scriptures and our children catch it. What an awesome ministry God has placed in your hands to train up your children, to teach them His Word, and to just be with them through these precious years. Enjoy your day.
Deborah
Celly, what a truth-filled post! A lot of what you wrote, especially fearing (as in "holding in awe") and obeying God, has been on my heart, too.
I will pray about what the Lord wants me to contribute today, and, hopefully, I'll have some quiet time to write ... after we go to middle school (!!) orientation with Katy this morning.
Thursday blessings!
Celly:
Much of what you've said here reminds me of the most recent post on Beth Moore's blog by her daughter Melissa, especially as it pertains to our reverance for God.
Celly, I truly admire you for homeschooling your children. I wish I had the temperament to do so. I just don't. I'm amazed at your capacity to balance life, but even more so, I'm blessed by your willingness to do so.
You are making quite a sacrifice in my humble opinion. A good one, but nevertheless, one that can be costly at times.
Be encouraged in all your doing, and keep to it.
peace~elaine
This a great verse! I will be using it in our homeschool too! I like how you broke it down. I think I have the boys make this into a poster. Thanks for the great idea and post!
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