Surrounded by God's Word

Sep 16, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Storing God’s Word in the Labab (Heart/Mind)

The ancient Hebrew understanding of "heart" (labab) reshapes how we approach loving God. Unlike modern associations with fleeting emotions, labab represents the will and mind—the control center for decisions and devotion. To love God with all our heart means immersing ourselves in studying His character through Scripture, just as a devoted fiancé learns every detail about his beloved. This intentional knowing fuels true worship. David stored God’s word in his labab not to manufacture feelings, but to align his life with truth. How might redefining "heart" as mind and will transform your daily pursuit of God? [06:09]

"Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You."
(Psalm 119:11, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you equated loving God with emotional experiences rather than intentional study? What practical step will you take this week to store Scripture in your labab?

Day 2: Repeat Them Again and Again to Your Children

God’s command to teach children "diligently" (Deuteronomy 6:7) uses a Hebrew verb meaning to sharpen through repetition—like a whetstone grinding a blade to precision. Just as toddlers demand the same story night after night, or pharmaceutical jingles lodge in our minds through relentless ads, spiritual truth takes root through rhythmic reinforcement. This requires carving out distraction-free zones in a screen-saturated world—walking conversations, bedtime stories, morning rituals. The goal isn’t perfection but persistence, trusting that seeds planted through patient repetition will bear fruit. [09:29]

"Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck."
(Proverbs 1:8-9, ESV)

Reflection: What single distraction most hinders your family’s spiritual conversations? How could you creatively "sharpen through repetition" one biblical truth this week?

Day 3: Binding Truth to Hands and Doorposts

Ancient Jews wore phylacteries—leather boxes containing Scripture—as physical reminders of covenant commitment. While we needn’t adopt literal boxes, the principle remains: tangible symbols reinforce spiritual realities. A wedding ring whispers of vows made; a cross necklace declares allegiance; art depicting Christ’s baptism recalls our own. These become "memory stones" in a forgetful world, much like the tabernacle’s visual theology—the smell of sacrifices, the glint of gold, the taste of festival bread. What we see and touch daily shapes what we cherish eternally. [24:03]

"You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."
(Deuteronomy 6:8-9, ESV)

Reflection: What single visual reminder could you introduce (or reintroduce) into your daily environment to anchor your thoughts to Christ?

Day 4: Worship with Sight, Smell, and Sound

The tabernacle engaged all five senses—glistening goldwork, smoky incense, sizzling sacrifices, embroidered priestly robes, trumpet blasts. This multisensory worship wasn’t spectacle but pedagogy: every texture and tone taught theology. Smelling burnt offerings reminded Israelites of sin’s cost; touching unleavened bread at Passover recalled hurried deliverance. While we avoid empty ritual, we reclaim the wisdom of embodied faith—lighting candles during prayer, singing hymns while working, tasting communion elements. Our physicality becomes a canvas for encountering the invisible God. [27:18]

"You shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them."
(Exodus 26:1, ESV)

Reflection: Which of your five senses feels most disconnected from worship? How might you engage it this week to deepen your communion with God?

Day 5: Giving God Your Very Muchness

Moses’ call to love God with "all your might" (Deuteronomy 6:5) literally means "your very muchness"—the overflowing abundance of who we are. This rejects compartmentalized faith that squeezes God into morning devotion slots. Like Israelites offering their best materials for the tabernacle—gold, acacia wood, dyed fabrics—we’re called to give God our prime time, sharpest creativity, and undivided attention. It’s resisting the temptation to offer leftover mental scraps after scrolling social media, or half-hearted prayers while multitasking. "Very muchness" means rivaling the world’s urgency in pursuing the eternal. [08:50]

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."
(Deuteronomy 6:5, ESV)

Reflection: What "best offering" have you been withholding—your freshest hours, most focused creativity, or undistracted presence? How will you present it today?

Sermon Summary

Moses sets Deuteronomy 6 before Israel as God’s answer to a world full of relentless messaging. The world repeats itself to drain wallets, but God repeats his Word to fill souls. Moses calls Israel to place God’s commandments on the heart, not as squishy feelings, but in the biblical sense of the heart as the mind and will. Love for God cannot be separated from knowing God, and knowing God has no shortcut around studying Scripture.

The word “heart,” labab, carries the weight of thought, intention, and resolve. David stores up God’s Word in that heart so that he might not sin, because a mind filled with God’s truth learns to love God well. Moses also calls for love with all of one’s “very muchness,” which leaves no corner of life untouched by devotion to God.

Moses then presses God’s Word into the ordinary rhythms of family life: sitting at home, walking along the way, lying down, and rising up. Diligent teaching means repeating God’s truth again and again, because repetition works. Children will absorb somebody’s repeated messages, whether commercials selling the latest toy or parents speaking openly and often about the things of God. Distractions, screens, packed schedules, and silence about spiritual things will rule a home unless parents purposefully carve out time to talk, pray, ask hard questions, and make room for genuine curiosity.

The command to bind God’s words on hands, foreheads, doorposts, and gates also shows God’s kindness toward forgetful people. Visual reminders, beautiful art, music, hospitality, meaningful objects, and the gathered worship of the church can all point hearts back to God. The tabernacle itself used sight, smell, sound, taste, beauty, sacrifice, and mystery to remind Israel that a holy God requires atonement.

The second commandment warns that reminders can become idols when beauty begins to overshadow the God to whom beauty should point. The church must therefore resist visuals meant to impress people and pursue beauty that gives glory to God. God deserves more than a checked-off devotion time or distracted leftovers. Christ, the righteous Advocate, meets failure with forgiveness, while God’s command still calls every heart to pursue him with its very muchness.

Key Takeaways

1. God’s Word fills forgetful souls Repetition is not automatically shallow or manipulative. The world repeats its claims to create desire for things that cannot last, while God gives repeated truth because forgetfulness weakens love and obedience. Scripture lodged deeply in the mind steadies the soul when competing messages grow loud. [02:23]
2. Love God with your very muchness Biblical love is not mere religious emotion or a passing spiritual mood. The heart involves the mind and will, so love for God grows as God becomes known through his Word. Wholehearted devotion means offering God the best thoughts, energy, attention, and intention rather than the scraps left over from distraction. [08:50]
3. Ordinary life forms lasting faith Moses places instruction in homes, walks, mornings, evenings, and conversations because faith must live in the everyday. Parents and grandparents do not need a polished program to speak faithfully about God, but they do need availability and purpose. Open questions, audible prayer, and honest conversation make spiritual things familiar rather than forbidden. [17:09]
4. Beauty must point beyond itself Visual reminders can serve worship by awakening memory, reverence, and love for God. Art, music, architecture, meals, and meaningful objects become dangerous when they capture the honor that belongs to God alone. Christian beauty remains healthy when it points past itself toward the holiness, mercy, and glory of God.

## [34:14]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:22] - Surrounded by Relentless Messages
[02:23] - God’s Word Fills the Soul
[03:43] - God’s Commands on the Heart
[05:30] - Loving God With Mind and Will
[09:12] - Teaching Children Diligently
[14:41] - Fighting Family Distractions
[17:09] - Talking About God Every Day
[21:20] - Morning and Evening Reminders
[23:38] - Visual Reminders of God’s Covenant
[26:45] - The Tabernacle and the Senses
[30:21] - When Beauty Becomes Idolatry
[34:55] - Practical Ways to Remember God
[37:21] - Giving God the Best Hours

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 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. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” [03:43]

Psalm 119:11
“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” [08:02]

Proverbs 1:7-9
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.” [14:05]

1 John 2:1
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” [39:51]

Observation questions

In Deuteronomy 6:4-9, what repeated settings does Moses name for speaking about God’s commands, and what do those settings have in common? [17:00]
What does the passage command Israel to do with God’s words personally, with their children, and around their homes?
According to Psalm 119:11, what is the purpose of storing God’s Word in the heart? [08:12]
In Proverbs 1:7-9, what is the connection between fearing the Lord, receiving instruction, and gaining knowledge?

Interpretation questions

Deuteronomy describes the heart as the place where God’s words are to dwell. How does understanding the heart as involving the mind and will deepen the command to love God? [06:31]
Why is diligent teaching in Deuteronomy 6 more than holding an occasional formal family devotion? What does “when you sit,” “walk,” “lie down,” and “rise” suggest about the shape of everyday faith? [09:26]
Deuteronomy 6 calls for visible reminders of God’s covenant, while the second commandment warns against idols. How can art, music, objects, and church spaces point people to God without becoming the main focus? [34:14]
Psalm 119:11 calls believers to store up God’s Word so that they may not sin, yet 1 John 2:1 promises Jesus as an Advocate when believers do sin. How do these truths hold together without making either obedience or grace seem unimportant? [39:51]

Application questions

What messages are repeated most often in your life right now—through screens, advertising, work, news, or conversations? How are those messages shaping what you want, fear, or give your attention to? [02:23]
God’s Word is meant to fill the mind and shape the will. What is one realistic way you could make Scripture a more regular part of your day this week—perhaps through reading, memorizing, listening, or discussing it with someone? [07:30]
“Love the LORD your God with all your might” calls for loving him with your “very muchness.” In what area do you most tend to give God leftovers rather than your best attention, energy, or thoughtfulness? [38:22]
For those with children, grandchildren, or younger believers in their lives: when could you naturally make room this week for a conversation, prayer, or question about God? What might make that conversation feel open rather than forced? [19:31]
What distractions most often crowd out meaningful time with family, friends, or God? Is there one boundary—such as putting phones away at a meal, taking a walk, or creating a screen-free time—that could help make space for better conversations? [16:19]
What visual or sensory reminders genuinely help you remember God—music, Scripture displayed in your home, a meaningful object, hospitality, meals, or the gathered worship of the church? How could you use one of those reminders this week while keeping the focus on God rather than the reminder itself? [35:45]
When you recognize that you have failed to love God with your whole heart, soul, and might, do you tend more toward hiding, excuse-making, or discouragement? How does Jesus Christ as the righteous Advocate invite you to confess your sin and keep pursuing God? [39:51]

Sermon Clips

41s

#GiveGodYourBest

“I hope that we can all strive toward giving God some of the better hours of our day, not just a couple of minutes in the morning, not just when we nod off at night. He deserves our best. Kinda like the Israelites put into the tabernacle and later the temple, their very best. Our very best thoughts, our very best intentions, our very best energy, our very best art. He deserves our full attention at times, every single day, not just time shared with our our phone or some other screen.”

64s

#ThinkOfGodDaily

“How often, friend, does God cross your mind during the day? Do you maybe have a half hearted devotion time in the morning and then say, well, that's checked off. Now on to more important things. Do you only really think about them when you're with us here in church? Maybe when I sort of force the issue at the end of the sermon like I'm doing now? Our relationship day to day with God is important, and it can be one of the most neglected things in our lives. Unless we're purposeful about it, it can fall up by the wayside. I hope that we can all strive toward giving God some of the better hours of our day, not just a couple of minutes in the morning, not just when we nod off at night. He deserves our best.”

75s

#KnowGodDeeply

“But the heart for them is the organ of the mind, of the will. That when God tells them to love with all of their hearts, he's telling them that you cannot possibly love me as you should if you don't know anything about me. And the only way to learn about God is to study his word. There are no shortcuts. Just like a guy might study his fiance, for example, to learn everything there is to know about her. He makes it his mission in life to know what she likes and what she dislikes. He gets to know her favorite color and her favorite perfume and and and what she wants for her birthday and for Christmas. He studies her, and he does so from a place of love. He wants to know because he loves her, and he wants to please her. And this holds true for us as Christians. We must study God. We must study his word to us in the scripture in order to love him well and to please him.”

49s

#ArtThatPointsToGod

“We just need to return to a time as the modern church where we are mindful that we don't break the second commandment ourselves. Less about visuals to impress people, more about visuals to point to God. There's room. There's room, church, for beauty in the church. There's room for art. There's room for those things in our homes as well. Although I'm the first to admit that the bookstore art is not the greatest. Right? You have to kinda hunt sometimes to find the good stuff. But if you can find those things and put them in your house, then that is at least part of what God was commanding the nation of Israel today. Do things to remind yourself.”

69s

#FamilyWorshipTime

“Perhaps you establish a set family worship time. And trust me, dads, when I tell you, we battled mightily at our house with the hearts and affections of our kids to do family worship. And many times, it felt like a lost cause because they didn't wanna stop what they were doing and do that instead. They didn't wanna sit and listen to that. And so I understand. Maybe you can find some ways to make it more engaging for your bunch. If they love music, use music. If there's something else that they enjoy, use it. It doesn't have to look one specific way. The important thing is to carve out time to focus on some things, the things of God. Let your kids sense that you are available to them to talk about spiritual things. Your interest in it can feed their interest.”

56s

#WorshipReminders

“Remind yourself. We need reminders, church. Just like we need reminders that we love and have committed to our spouses. Sometimes we forget that as well. There are ways for us to remind ourselves of our love for God. And those ways are not just always raw instruction to our kids. There are ways that can involve the senses. There are certain worship songs, I'll tell you, that really speak to my heart. I turned one on this morning, on the way to church. And after ten minutes of it, I turned it off again, but that's neither here nor there. I love to listen to them now and then. We get ready for church on many Sunday mornings listening to some of our favorite Christian music on the way to church.”

55s

#UnplugToConnect

“distractions are everywhere. And if you're not proactive with your kids about taking some time away from the distractions, they will always rule your time together. You may have to insist on going for a walk, talking about them when you walk, by the way. Insist on putting the phones away at dinnertime. Insist on some time when the distractions are not distracting. Otherwise, you'll never have their attention ever. It's everywhere. And all of it buys for our valuable time with your family. The verse today says, you shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise.”

64s

#SensesOfWorship

“As you got closer, perhaps inside the gate, you were hit with all kinds of sights and smells. There were smells associated with worship. Some of the smells would have been quite pleasant, like meat cooking. Some of the sites may have been less than pleasant. Sites of animals being sacrificed and butchered. But even those sites told a story. Those sites reminded people. The story was about a holy god with requirements that had to be met in order to be in right relationship with him. These things had to be done, and so the sight of them was the sight of obedience and a reminder, a reminder to not come empty handed. Atonement must be made.”

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