Then Moses summoned Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage; for you shall go with this people into the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you shall put them in possession of it. -Deuteronomy 31:7 RSV
I find the most strength in love. To listen carefully is to love deeply. If I have any leadership strength in this world, it is tied directly to my ability to love.
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Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. -Deuteronomy 6:9 NLT
My wife used to cut prayers and verses out of church bulletins and tape them to the inside of our kitchen cabinets. The funny thing is that she did most of that before we accepted Christ as our Savior. We only had a few months together as Christians before she passed away, but when I reflect back on her life, I see her consistently modeling the spirit of Christ.
It takes a lot more work from me. I try to actively write and talk about my faith every day, but it’s not always natural. I pray that through disciplined intention I can create a life more in line with Jesus Christ.
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Tie them to your hands and wear them on your foreheads as reminders. -Deuteronomy 6:8
I have a loud mouth and I’m no good at filtering my words or hiding my feelings. I’m also a little obsessed with first principles and underlying motivations.
It’s a wild combination. I’m willing to say crazy shit as I experiment with possibilities.
Today I speculated that understanding Scripture might be a nearly impossible task. To speak too confidently about it is a mistake.
One example is where the Greek word “chlōros” is translated as “green” in other parts of Revelation, yet is translated as “ashen” or omitted entirely from Rev 6:8.
I don’t know what to make of that.
I also learned tonight that Daniel is written in two different languages. Hebrew for the first chapter and some of the second, then Aramaic for the rest. If the book has one author, presumably Daniel, why the sudden change? I haven’t dug into this at all, but these preculiarities are fodder for my overthinking brain.
None of this actually shakes my faith. I’m cool with God being a mystery. The concepts approaching God, such as omniscience, eternity, and perfection, seem impossible to comprehend. Why would I expect to grasp the confluence of every impossible idea?
We can’t fully understand ourselves or other humans, yet we have relationships with ourselves and others. We transcend the distance of comprehension with compassion and love. I experience my relationship with God through opening myself to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I don’t need to define each experience, but I do think of them in different ways. When I pray, I lean on the image of Jesus and communicate in a human way. When I look wide-eyed into the world to look for signposts, I think of the Father plotting out the road before me. The Holy Spirit is a force inside me, my conscience, instincts, and inspirations.
In today’s parlance, “It’s complicated.” Love simplifies everything, but I enjoy the maddening kaleidoscope that is the world of ideas. And I’m not going to be shy about it.
Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. -Deuteronomy 6:7 NLT
Sometimes I share these devotionals with my sons. Sometimes one of us is unkind and gets a lecture about Jesus. Sometimes someone asks if little babies go to Heaven when they die.
We don’t have a consistent practice of discussing God, but it often comes up. I try to return to Scripture and how the Holy Spirit has worked in my life when I am discussing anything significant. Or maybe it’ll be as simple as a “God willing,” when I’m asked if I’ll be at a game or event.
This verse is a reminder that I can share my faith with my loved ones more often.
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After years of training in the youth program at Elevated Studios, he joined the adult class and reignited his passion for the sport and art of jiu-jitsu.
Jesus told his disciples to carry swords. He toppled the money changers’ tables and whipped them. His ideas continue to upend the structures of oppression. He remains dangerous to this day.
I’ve watched a lot of good men fall in line with the oppressors. Good isn’t enough. Good avoids conflict in spite of cost. Good lets evil run free.
You must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. -Deuteronomy 6:6 NLT
And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land which the LORD swore to give to your fathers. -Deuteronomy 6:18 RSV
And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as at this day. -Deuteronomy 6:24 RSV
This chapter of Deuteronomy seems to be all about God’s commandments as they are meant to keep his believers alive.
I struggle with this in relationship to Jesus’s fulfillment of the Law and His declaration that loving one’s neighbor as oneself and as God are the most important commandments.
Does this mean that once our physical bodies are not under constant threat, then the long list of commands in Deuteronomy become stumbling blocks in the way of love? Does it mean that even under starvation and physical peril we must love above all?
Didn’t Jesus say the Law was only meant to show us that we are incapable of following the rules? That we must love as much as we can?
I didn’t attend Sunday service today. I played soccer. Can I love God and myself and my teammates and my opponents outside of worship? Is worship to live in love and be open to my teammates, friends, family, and neighbors about my faith in Jesus Christ? Is that enough? More than enough?
I ask these questions and assume I could be doing things wrong. I pray for the openness and wisdom to receive the answers and take them to heart.
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Westen has been performing Shakespeare since before he could read. We were celebrating the Bard’s birthday with Delaware Shakespeare when he volunteered to read some lines. Before I could protest, this little guy toddled up to the mic and I sat terrified for him.
Producing Artistic Director David Stradley fed him lines in his ear and he recited them darn near perfectly.
A small role in Macbeth came once Westen learned how to read and there have been many plays since.
Today was the culmination of two short weeks of preparation. Westen had to memorize two monologues (Hamlet’s To Be or Not To Be and Marc Antony’s Funeral Speech from Julius Caesar). Isaac’s lines were spread out and he had to navigate multiple cues.
After performing a cheat-sheet version of Julius Caesar in Barnes and Noble, the troupe headed to the Christiana Mall food court to surprise shoppers with quick hits from several plays and a remarkably bad rendition of “Happy Birthday” (in their defense, it’s not Shakespearean).
Homeschool friends came to support the boys and I was filled with gratitude for these opportunities and the community that creates them.
They studied Shakespeare lines for a flash mob performance, attended Pokémon club, played video games, pretended with friends, and walked with their old man for dinner and treats.
These are the busy/laid back Fridays that I love so much.