... but do you understand?

When I was in college, I had friends that loved the large lecture style classes. You didn't have to know your teacher. You didn't even have to show up for class. All you had to do was understand what the teacher's tests were like and you would almost be assured a passing grade.

I always preferred the smaller classes with the harder teachers. The teachers that made you dig. The ones that wanted you to understand the material that was being presented because they were passionate about it.

Don't get me wrong, I've taken some lecture classes that had dynamic teachers that had personalities that filled the room, but it was completely up to me in terms of how much I got out of it.

I am writing about this today because church... is becoming like large lecture hall to me. I've been saying it for years in an unashamed way. What's missing is the personal accountability that comes from being able to hide anonymously in a crowd.

Our faith is life! Our belief in God should encompass every part of our life. Our service should be done as if we are serving the living God himself... because we are!

The Israelites understood this and today practice a prayer called "The Shema" - The Shema is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-6

4 Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.

This prayer is a reminder that everything that we do is secondary to the love of our God. If we love God with all our heart, soul, and strength - it does not leave any power for you to do anything else. So, if we love our Family, it is a part of our worship of God. If we are in the market place, it is a part of our worship of God. Our whole life... should be in the context of worship.

Deuteronomy 6:7-9 takes it further:

7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

How would your life, my life, the lives of those around us change if we lived out our love of our God with everything we had? Sometimes, we get so busy with life.. we forget to include God in it... let us strive to remember the Name of the Lord our God today.