Deuteronomy 6:12-14 “take care that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  The Lord your God you shall fear; him you shall serve, and by his name alone you shall swear.  Do not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who are all around you,”

As I was reading this passage, I could barely put my bible down; these words are so powerful.

On the surface I could easily brush these off; I have never been to Egypt and I am not an Israelite so how can these words to them speak to me?  Let me tell you – they speak to me; they speak to all of us.

Regardless of where we live and who we were brought up by we have been rescued from Egypt and we are sons and daughters of the one true God.  Our Egypt may not be a physical world of slavery but a spiritual one.  Our upbringing may have included the gospels and learning about Jesus, the Messiah.  It is through this path I have been brought to freedom.

The Lord seeks to bring each of us out of the bonds of slavery and into his promised land; his kingdom of life and love.  When we follow him and only him, we are free.

My daughter and I just finished a novel last night were one of the main characters was being tempted to turn away from the instructions he had received on his quest.  The temptation was sweet.  It was thoughtful and heart wrenching.  This is how temptation works. It is rarely harsh and brash or we would be put off.  It draws us in with stealth and before we are aware we are following some other god.  Do not follow but stay with the Lord our God; take care and do not forget the Lord.

Lord,

Our world is filled with distractions and desire; it is filled with other gods.  There are all kinds of things and people we could easily worship they are in our faces every day through media and through our own weakness.  I pray these words will be written in our hearts and that we will never forget you, that we will remember the freedom you brought each of us and that we will always choose to follow you, the one true God, the one true Love and true Light of all.  Amen.