Bible Ballistics: BBs #541   You Are Teaching!!!

 

“And thou shalt love the LORD thy God

with all thine heart,

and with all thy soul,

and with all thy might.

6 And these words,

which I command thee this day,

shall be in thine heart:

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently

unto thy children,

and shalt talk of them

when thou sittest in thine house,

and when thou walkest by the way,

and when thou liest down,

and when thou risest up.”  Deuteronomy 6:5-7

I like to call this whole chapter the guide to ‘diligent, determined, directional parenting’.  Something that we are in desperate need of today!  But I want to take a bit of a spin on this ‘teaching’ and remind us that even when we aren’t “diligent, determined, or directional” in our parenting—in fact, in our lives, we are still teaching.  We are teaching almost every day of our lives, whether we are aware of it or not; and that is true for you, for me, for every person in this world. We are teaching every day—whether we say a word or not!

Our actions teach!  God told Moses to make this clear to the people of Israel; that they were to understand the priority and import of living as a ‘teacher’!  He began by telling them that “they” had to be right with God first—we can only share what we have and know.  Paul also made this clear to the Corinthians in his first letter to the church there.

“Moreover, brethren,

I declare unto you the gospel

 which I preached unto you,

which also ye have received,

and wherein ye stand;

if ye keep in memory what

I preached unto you,

 unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all

that which I also received,

how that Christ died for our sins

according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried,

and that he rose again the third day

according to the scriptures:”  1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Paul makes it clear that we can only share that which we ourselves have “received” (“by grace…. through faith”).  The same message that Moses was sharing with Israel, for the principle is universal—you can’t use, give or share what you don’t have.  We can only share with others what we possess and know ourselves! Christianity isn’t a ‘religion’, it’s a relationship with the Only Son of God, who paid the price for our sin—a gift we can receive from God; and while the Old Testament saints were saved by looking forward to “HIS” saving work, we are saved by looking back to the completed work of Christ Jesus on the cross.  And when we follow Him faithfully, others will see Jesus in us.  The question is, “Are we leading/teaching others the truth of the cross?”  Or are we so deceived and misguided that we are leading/teaching others down the wrong road to miss Jesus?

Moses finished his discourse on the responsibility to teach those who are in our circle of influence by telling us that ‘if we live it, they will see and question why we do what do’?  Then we will have opportunity to share what God is “doing” in our lives—not just in the distant past, but right now!

“And when thy son asketh thee

in time to come, saying,

What mean the testimonies,

and the statutes,

and the judgments,

which the LORD our God

hath commanded you?

21 Then thou shalt say unto thy son,

We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt;

and the LORD brought us out

of Egypt

with a mighty hand:”    Deuteronomy 6:20-21

So, I’d like us to consider this: “Is my life leading/teaching others the way to the Master”?  Or am I letting them go to hell in a handbasket, because I am not living what I profess to possess?  Am I HIS?  Do I love HIM?  Is my life teaching godly principles with every action and word? Am I sitting/walking/sleeping in places I shouldn’t be?  Am I failing those around me?  Have we missed the first principle? We need to fix our own heart first:

“And thou shalt love the LORD thy God

with all thine heart,

and with all thy soul,

and with all thy might.

6 And these words,

which I command thee this day,

shall be in thine heart:”

Jesus says it best:

“O generation of vipers,

how can ye,

being evil,

speak good things?

for out of the abundance of the heart

 the mouth speaketh.”   Matthew 12:34. Amen!