Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 11:18-20
In the movie The Book of Eli, a lone warrior named Eli (Denzel Washington) marches across the ruined landscape, carrying the only Bible left in the world as the hope for humanity's redemption thirty years after the war turned the world into a wasteland. Only one other man (Gary Oldman) understands the power of what Eli carries, and he is determined to take it for himself. Though Eli prefers peace, he will risk death to protect his precious cargo, for he must fulfill his destiny to help restore humankind. At the end of the movie, viewers discover the book in Eli’s hand that Gary Oldman was trying to get was blanked. Eli was the living Bible because he had memorized the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.
In Deuteronomy, the Israelites were instructed to fix the word of the Lord in their hearts and minds. There were to bind them on their foreheads and fix them as symbols on their hands. God did not want them to forget his laws when they face adversity. The Lord even asked them to write his laws on the doorframes of their houses and their gates.
As the world continues to deal with the Coronavirus crisis, and churches have to limit corporate worship services, we now realize the necessity for believers to fix the word of God in their hearts and minds. That means we have to read the Bible for ourselves, and in some cases, memorize Bible verses that speak to us more meaningfully.
Many Christians have grown accustomed to depending on their pastor or Bible teacher to tell them about the word in sermons, Bible study, or Sunday school. However, with the social distancing policy that is recommended by the medical establishment, believers have to learn the Bible for themselves so it can help sustain them during these difficult times.
The general public does not know how long the social distancing policy will last. What we know is that it has upset the traditional operation of churches and forcing church leaders to think of different ways to offer the ministry of the word to their followers. In the end, it is the word that will help us stay close to God if we cannot go to the church house.
Now more than ever, we have to teach the word of God to our children at home. We have to set time aside daily to read the Bible and interact with its teachings in a meaningful way. Many people are led astray by false teachers because they do not take the time to know the word of God for themselves.
At the beginning of this year, the Lord told me to read through the whole Bible during 2020. At first, I hesitated because I felt I was already spending much time reading the Bible throughout the week for professional writing purposes. In addition, I read a Psalm every night for family devotion. However, as I began to read through the Bible daily, I discovered so much new information and felt myself drawing closer to God every day.
I now realize that what God is asking me to do is to fix his word in my heart and mind by reading through the whole Bible in addition to my professional work with the Bible. The bottom line is that I am now spending so much time reading and studying the Bible every day that I find myself meditating on the word even in my sleep. I am learning to be a walking Bible, indeed.
Therefore, whether or not I can make it to the church house for corporate worship or Bible study, I will not forget the word because I have hidden it in my heart. Even if they were to burn all Bibles and outlaw all religious books, I would remain grounded in the word because it is already fixed in my mind and heart.
Every believer should endeavor to be a walking Bible. So whether we have a physical Bible or not, or corporate services or not, we will continue to nurture our faith in Jesus Christ. You and I may not need to write Bible verses on the doorframes of our houses, but we certainly have to fix the word of God in our hearts and minds.
Prayer- Blessed Lord, please help us to hide your word in our hearts so that we might not sin against you.