Mike Novotny - How Do You Remember God's Promises
So today, I want to challenge you. What could you do to put these words into practice? How could you write the words of God on the gates that you go in and out of each day? Wow! We are here! Jesus was here, not around here. But here. Earlier this year, I got to explore Israel. I'm sitting, literally, in the place where Jesus' feet touched. I saw some amazing places. The old city of Jerusalem. In the Garden of Gethsemane. Beautiful Nazareth. At the Mount of Beatitudes. Capernaum, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. And I can't wait to share these video devotions with you.
I'm standing here on a gorgeous day in Jerusalem. It's a busy day in a big city. It's actually a Jewish holiday that they're celebrating today. So if you see lots of people behind me, people in incredible costumes, music pumping, you'll know why. It's a day of big celebration in this big city. And I wanted to show you this place because I'm standing in front of the Zion Gate, one of the many gates that leads to the old city of Jerusalem. If you would read your Bible cover to cover, you would find out that the word "gate" comes up a lot.
I mean, you have these thick stone walls around ancient cities, but gates allow people to come in and out. And there's a passage I want to share with you. It's pretty famous among Jewish people, from Deuteronomy, chapter 6. It says, Here it comes, God's biggest command, and Jesus repeated this, was to love him with our whole heart, all of our soul, all of our mind and all of our strength. And because that's so easy to forget, God wanted there to be symbols for his ancient people to remember that. In their homes, in their conversations, even on their bodies, and on the gates of their cities. When they would come in to the city, when they would leave, he wanted those words to be etched so that they would never, ever forget them.
So, today, I want to challenge you. What could you do to put these words into practice? How could you write the words of God on the gates that you go in and out of each day? Is it a painting that you put in your home? Is it a little Bible passage you put on a sticky note in your car? Is it, maybe, the wallpaper on your phone? The devil knows, sometimes, he doesn't have to get us to do something bad, he just tries to make us forget about the God who is so good.
So, put these ancient words into practice. Find a way to write the incredible promises of God on the gates of your home and in your life. So then, as you go in and out, you'll remember what a great Savior you have, and that will inspire you to love the Lord, your God, with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind and all of your strength. That's a powerful reminder we get here at the gates of the amazing city of Jerusalem.