B90X Post 5: Externalizing God's Commands

Last time we attacked verse 6 in Deuteronomy 6 and now we'll continue on with verses 7-9. As a refresher, here they are again:

6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

I love verses 7-9. I think every Christian parent's dream is to impress God's command on their children. The next verses I think give us a blueprint of how to do just that. Talk about them wherever you are. Make them part of your daily life. Let them be the first thing you speak of in the morning and last thing to leave you lips at night. Why is this important? We call our oldest son Jeremy (who is 3) our little parrot. He mimics everything we say and do. If we raise our voice when we don't get our way, he'll raise his voice when he doesn't get his way. If we are polite to one another and compliment each other on things like cooking dinner, then he does the same thing. One example of this is how loud he is. His volume control is always stuck on maximum. He simply does not have an "inside" voice. If you have been around our family for any period of time you know exactly where he got this from... me! Another example is how he absolutely must pray before a meal. He is so used to me blessing a meal then him blessing it that it is a must every time we eat. If you want to impress the commands of God, you must everyday externalize the beliefs that you have. Verses 8 and 9 speak to raising the banner of Jesus high in public places. This means praying over meals unashamedly in public. It means not shying away from conversations that are begging to have Jesus inserted into them. None of this is to say that we should try to appear more spiritual than we are, but we must be willing to share what Jesus has done with us. A quick litmus test, when is the last time you shared with anyone (especially a non-Christian) something specific God has done for you in your life and gave God all the credit for it?

One final thought, there are good and sometimes bad byproducts of broadcasting your faith publicly. The good is that as you go forth with the message of Jesus and his salvation, you are obeying his last commandment (Matt 28:19-20). You will influence those around you (spouse, children, co-workers, etc). The bad is that you will be attacked by the enemy. If you never make your faith public, never make a bold stand for Jesus, why would Satan waste his time on you? However, if you are making bold claims for Christ, odds are you will be attacked with criticism and judgement from those around you. I heard it put best this way, "If you haven't run into the devil lately, you and him are probably walking in the same direction".