I
Will Send Rain On Your Land In Its Season
So if you faithfully obey the
commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord
your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul— then I
will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so
that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. I will provide grass
in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.
Be careful, or you will be enticed
to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and
he will shut up the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield
no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you. 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, so that your
days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as
many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.
Deuteronomy
11:13-21
A study
conducted by the Barna Group in 2018 found that most Americans don’t like to
talk about God. Only seven percent of Americans say they talk about spiritual
matters regularly—and practicing believers in Jesus in America aren’t that
different. Only thirteen percent of regular churchgoers say they have a
spiritual conversation about once a week.
Perhaps it’s
not surprising that spiritual conversations are on the decline. Talking about
God can be dangerous. Whether because of a polarized political climate, because
disagreement might cause a rift in a relationship, or because a spiritual
conversation might cause you to realize a change you need to make in your
life—these can feel like high-stakes conversations.
But in the
instructions given to God’s people, the Israelites, in the book of Deuteronomy,
talking about God can be a normal, natural part of everyday life. God’s people
were to memorize His words and to display them in places where they’d often be
seen. The law said to talk about God’s instructions for life with your children
“when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and
when you get up” (11:19).
God calls us
to conversation. Take a chance, rely on the Spirit, and try turning your small
talk toward something deeper. God will bless our communities as we talk about
His words and practice them.
What
challenges have come to you as a result of spiritual conversations with
friends? What blessings?
There’s so much about You, God, that can
be shared with others in my life. Lead me as I interact with them.
Our Daily Bread – November 24, 2019