Duet. 10-12; Mark 16

16 Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17 Then the LORD'S anger will burn against you, and he will shut 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. 18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 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.

A parents caution, be careful, watch out. These were the words I would hear from my parents before going out. As a teenage I just ignored them, what could happen to me? As a parent myself I used the same words to my kids. Why did I say those words that use to bother me? Because I’ve lived long enough now to know the potential danger to those who are not paying attention. When God says “be careful” he might know something that we are oblivious of and that there is some real danger. The danger is an enticement to idolatry. It is a real danger because we have been created to worship and we will worship. It can be anything, material goods, pleasure, knowledge, you name it and there is someone who is worshipping it. And those most susceptible to it are those who ignore the caution. So he gives us the cautionary thing to do, He says, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts”. And then he gives some how to do its’, that include talking to your children all the time. So I just want to say “Be careful out there”.

Pastor Rick

Next Reading: Deut. 13-15; Gal. 1