On Our Hearts

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading titled On Our Hearts was written by Allison Keita. After a young boy faced some challenges in school, his dad began to teach him a pledge to recite each morning before school.

I thank God for waking me up today. I am going to school so I can learn and be the leader that God has created me to be. The pledge is one way the father hopes to help his son apply himself and deal with life's inevitable challenges. In a way, by helping his son to commit this pledge to memory, the father is doing something similar to what God commanded the Israelites in the desert in Deuteronomy chapter 6. These commandments are to be on your hearts and press them on your children.

After wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, the next generation of Israelites was about to enter the Promised Land. God knew it wouldn't be easy for them to succeed unless they kept their focus on him. And so, through Moses, he urged them to remember and be obedient to him and to help their children to know and love God by talking about his word.

When you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Each new day, we too can commit to allowing scripture to guide our hearts and minds as we live in gratitude to Him. These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear Israel and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors promised you.

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 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. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you for reminding us how important it is for us to treasure your word in our hearts and to have your scripture memorized. So often we find ourselves wanting to doubt your presence in our lives, but when we ponder your words, we know that you have promised never to leave us or forsake us. Please guide us daily as we apply these scriptures to our hearts and lives. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen.