48 golden brown seeds have fallen out of a cone I picked up under a towering Sequoia on the grounds of Mount Angel Abbey recently. These little seeds, touched by the warm summer sun, will grow into something much much bigger if planted and watered. That’s what seeds do.
There are seeds of truth and untruth falling all around us these days. Sorting them out is tiring and confusing. Seeds grow into big things, and the health of my soul hangs on a discerning mind and sensitivity to the Spirit of God within me.
If planted, seeds of untruth will grow into doubt and uncertainty about God and the meaning of his words until the soul is adrift. This is nothing new. It started in Eden. The outcome was disastrous. Seeds of truth will grow into transforming faith that trusts in the goodness and sovereignty of God even when we don’t fully understand him or his ways. It anchors the soul through the storms and shifting winds.
Lately, I’ve become more keenly aware of the critical need to continually immerse my mind in the truth of God’s Word allowing it to root more deeply in my heart and become the fiber of my soul. In the last few weeks, I’ve been pressed to study the book of Deuteronomy and create a journal of the study. This verse was one of the first ones to reach out and grab me:
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. Deuteronomy 4:9
The phrase, “…be careful and watch yourselves closely” comes from one Hebrew word: Shamar. So, I’ve decided to title the journal “Shamar” as a reminder of this call to soul diligence and remembrance of God.
I’ve also decided to make this Shamar study available via email distribution. If you would like to join me and receive a somewhat weekly email with brief snippets of truth and reflections from Deuteronomy, please email me at pamjteschner@gmail.com or fill out the contact form on the new Shamar page on my website: https://pamteschner.com/Shamar/. Also, please forward this to anyone you think would be interested in this study.
“Each day as I walk with God and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to me who God really is, the more my capacity grows in worshiping and adoring this God…As I move toward God, my capacity to understand God grows deeper and deeper.” A.W. Tozer