April 7, 2022 -- Deuteronomy 6:4-6 -- Jesus in Every Conversation

People loved by the Father, in the Spirit's power: Sh'ma ~ hear and obey Jesus!

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 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. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 ESV

The benefits of intermittent fasting. Ukraine war. Russian war crimes. Rising interest rates. Inflation. Canadiens trading Toffoli and gaining Hammond and the impact on the season. The slap heard around the world. The leadership race in the PC party. Carbon tax. Spend any amount of time in a coffee shop and no doubt you’ll hear all these topics and more. Will you hear anyone speak of Jesus? It is easy to introduce Him as part of all your daily speech.

The benefits of fasting—interestingly those who are concerned about physical health and who are disciplined in this area will become more disciplined in other areas. How is your walk with God?

Russian war crimes. This is why the day of Jesus’ return is so significant—all wrongs will be addressed and every crime will be justly dealt with. All unknown sins will be exposed and judged with the full and perfect judgment of God.

The carbon tax. Do you honestly believe humans can outperform the goodness and providential care of God? Has He not sustained the world since its creation? Yes, we must be concerned for the environment, but our greatest confidence is in His creation-care keeping.

Why speak of Jesus in any and every conversation?

~Because He is our prize, our very great reward. He is the radiance of the Father’s glory. He is our hope. Our lives have no purpose without Jesus Christ and Him as our centre-point.

~Because our children and grandchildren are listening. The growing generation in needs to observe our total dedication to the living God. The next generation needs to see and hear our witness and believe so that this precious faith becomes their own.

~Because Jesus is the hope of this world. If we do not speak of Him, among ourselves and to this world, we are proving that we do not love God and do not love the people He has placed in our lives.

So, begin today. Start your day with time alone with the Living God—in reading the Bible, in prayer, in song before Him. As you meet with, video chat with people, or text, speak of Him Who is Your highest joy and your life’s reward. What seems odd and artificial at first, soon will be the pattern of your speech--words which will weave the Word, the glory of Christ, and the Splendor of the Triune God, into the fabric of every conversation.

LORD JESUS,
I am blind, be thou my light,
ignorant, be thou my wisdom,
self-willed, be thou my mind.
Open my ear to grasp quickly thy Spirit’s voice,
and delightfully run after his beckoning hand;
Melt my conscience that no hardness remain,
make it alive to evil’s slightest touch;
When Satan approaches may I flee to thy wounds,
and there cease to tremble at all alarms.
Be my good shepherd to lead me into
the green pastures of thy Word,
and cause me to lie down beside the rivers of its comforts.
Fill me with peace, that no disquieting worldly gales
may ruffle the calm surface of my soul.
Thy cross was upraised to be my refuge,
Thy blood streamed forth to wash me clean,
Thy death occurred to give me a surety,
Thy name is my property to save me,
By thee all heaven is poured into my heart,
but it is too narrow to comprehend thy love.
I was a stranger, an outcast, a slave, a rebel,
but thy cross has brought me near,
has softened my heart,
has made me thy Father’s child,
has admitted me to thy family,
has made me joint-heir with thyself.
O that I may love thee as thou lovest me,
that I may walk worthy of thee, my Lord,
that I may reflect the image of heaven’s first-born.
May I always see thy beauty with the clear eye of faith,
and feel the power of thy Spirit in my heart,
for unless he move mightily in me
no inward fire will be kindled.
"NEED OF JESUS" THE VALLEY OF VISION: PURITAN PRAYERS AND DEVOTIONS. Carlisle, PA: THE BANNER OF TRUTH TRUST, rpr 2020, page 186

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