You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Deuteronomy 10:12
And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?
I'm reading/studying my way through the Old Testament and these are two passages that challenge my heart daily. I'm working on memorizing them and applying them to my daily life. I usually read God's Word and write down what stands out to me or what truth I need to apply to my life, or an area that God has shown me to work on and then I forget to do anything about it. Then the next time I read those same passages God will once again reveal truth to me and challenge me and again I write it down and "decide" that I'm going to act on it but my life still goes unchanged (for the most part). This can be a continuous cycle but I'm changing that by God's grace. I no longer want to be a passive believer in Christ, one who hears God's Word and is convicted or challenged but does nothing. I want to be an active follower of Christ. I want to be in God's Word daily, studying it, memorizing it, and applying it to my life. I want my son to see Jesus working in my heart and in my life. I want Titus to want to follow Jesus and to see me as an example of how to do that. I'm not perfect and I will screw up...a lot...but I know that with Christ I can do anything that God calls me to do and I hope and pray that Titus will learn that by watching me.
That first passage is especially challenging to me because it points out how my relationship with God should impact everything in my life. I think I set aside time for God (which is very important), but I think I can leave Him there when I'm done. I don't always invite Him to join me for my day. I think I am living life, going through my day on my own. That is so not true!! Jesus is with me wherever I go. He's next to me as I do laundry, wash dishes, read my Bible, cuddle with my baby whether I ask Him to be there or not. I can/should/need to spend my entire day with God, not just whatever time I specifically set aside.
This passage also challenges me because it charges me to teach my child(ren) about the love of God and how to live for Him. My son is a little young to understand any of that right now, but it's not too early to start. I can pray for Titus and with him. I can tell him about how God loves him and how He sent Jesus to die for his sins. I can read him Bible stories and sing songs with him. There is so much that can be done now that build a foundation for later when Titus will begin to understand God's love for him. I can't wait for the day that Titus receives Jesus as his Savior and accepts God's love! I can't just passively sit by and wait for that day. I need to be actively teaching and sharing Jesus with Titus. It all comes back to choosing to be active in my faith rather than passive. This will be a struggle, but it's all part of my journey with Christ!
He's such a cute little monkey! I love the peeling banana on his head!
Titus loves helping Daddy work!
And this is the look I get when I distract him by taking pictures....
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