Going Deeper: The LORD is One
On Wednesday night LYF continued our series on The Shema by exploring the phrase “The LORD is One.” We talked about how in the Old Testament when the word “LORD” is in all capital letters it is specifically referring to the name of God, the one true God, our God - Yahweh. We talked about God wanted to impress upon his people the essential truth that he is one, meaning he is to be their one and only God.
We talked about Israel’s temptation to turn towards other gods, idols, when things weren’t going according to plan. They would panic and lose their trust in God, not knowing where else to turn they would put their hope/faith/trust in false gods to save them. In class we talked about our temptation to do the same thing, to turn away from God and trust in our own bad ideas on how we might find peace or fulfillment in the midst of turmoil. In our small groups we focused on pinpointing our idols and inviting God into our hearts to crush them, much like he crushed the idol Dagon when in the same space in 1 Samuel 5:1-5.
The main message I wanted students to take away from last night’s lesson on the Shema and idolatry is this: When God is invited into your heart he will continue to increase your affection for him thereby decreasing your affection for your idols. In other words: invite God into the same space that your idols currently occupy, and God will win.
For students and families interested in going deeper with this idea this week, here are some simple things you can do either individually or as a family.
1) Confess your idols and pray for God to crush them: You can do this either on your own or as a family. Perhaps one night at dinner this week you can go around the table and share with one another your biggest idols. A good way to pinpoint your idols is to think about the goals/dreams you are working towards. Another good way to pinpoint an idol is to pay attention to what occupies your thoughts, heart, and free time. What is the first thing you think of in the morning and the last thing you think of in the evening before going to sleep? Perhaps this is a reason faithful Jews recited the Shema in the morning and the evening.
Once pinpointing your idols you can pray this simple prayer: LORD I confess to you that I have elevated ______ to a place in my heart that should be reserved only for you. Forgive me of my idolatry. LORD I invite you into my heart so that you might destroy the idolatry within me. Increase my love and affection for you and decrease my affection for ________.
Pray this prayer, or something like it, throughout the week. Not only will this prayer create space for the LORD to crush your idols, but it will also help you become more and more aware of other idols in your life. You can pray this prayer cyclically as you become more and more aware of other idols. As God reveals these idols to you, pray for him to crush them as well.
2) Continue to pray, meditate on, and recite the Shema multiple times daily: As I mentioned previously, this was a practice that shaped and formed Christ himself. How much more, then, do we need to be reminded that our LORD is one. The more we recite and pray the Shema the more deeply this command becomes imbedded within us. As these words become more and more deeply imbedded within us, we become more and more obedient to them by the power of God’s Holy Spirit. This way when things go south for us, when life doesn’t go according to plan, we remember to turn to God for security/peace/ fulfillment/etc… rather than to our idols.