Jewish Mezuzah
“ “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.””
When I was a teenager and had come to know Jesus, my greatest desire was to one day have a home of my own, fill it with the sounds of worship music and the glory of God. I wanted everybody that walked through my house to know that I served the living God and that he reigned within the walls of my home.
I was raised in a loving home, but not in a Christian home. My father was an alcoholic and with that comes long days and nights of uncertainty and fear. The atmosphere in our home on the nights my dad was drinking was entirely different than on days he was sober. I knew when I grew up I would never live that way again and I was going to be purposeful to have God invade not only my heart, but the perimeters of my home.
I wanted to have my Bible visible, songs playing, verses visible on plaques so that there was no doubt all who entered would know that they were in a Christ-centered home. I wanted people to see Jesus not only in my life, but in my home. When I visited Israel in 2023, God blessed me with a little treasure to do just that. My friend and I were shopping in the Old city of Jerusalem. The shop was filled with typical tourists items: keychains, cups, bookmakers, but the more we walked around, the more we began to see things we were not accustomed to. We began picking up these small decorative pieces of wood or metal, some had scrolls attached to the backside, and others were more simple. Nevertheless, they looked odd and we had no idea what they were for. We asked the man standing there and he said, it was a mezuzah and quickly followed up with, “what is that?”
He proceeds to tell us with great passion the story of the Israelites and their exodus out of Egypt. He said, “it’s a mezuzah.” The mezuzah is a reminder of their Exodus out of Egypt and the point in which God told the Israelites to post scripture at the doorpost of their house (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). He proceeded to explain to us that today the Jewish people post these on their doors and many believe it will bring them a blessing. They put their hands on it before they enter, bless it and in return believe it brings them good luck. Without hesitation he said, “it has become an idol to them.” “There’s no magic to it,” he told us. “For me,” he said, “when people enter in my home it is to show them that Jesus is my El Shaddai, my all sufficiency.” Suddenly, the Holy Spirit entered the room and you could hear the passion and his love for Jesus. In that moment I knew this man was a Messianic Jew; a man who believes that Jesus is the Messiah.
The Hebrew symbol on the two I have posted is “el Shaddai.” His passion was so intense but he explained it so that it is for the purpose that all who enter his home will know that God is all he needs, God is his all sufficiency, his El Shaddai. My friend and I didn’t hesitate and bought mezuzahs and have since posted them on the doorpost of our homes in America. God gave me something beautiful to take home from the Holy Land that fulfills a hearts desire since childhood. When all enter my home and ask, “what is this” I can tell them, God is my all sufficiency! I can point them to Deuteronomy 6:9 “Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” All will know, “The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.” Deuteronomy 6:1
Be content with little or much
Over the last year, God has been reminding me of Paul’s words in Philippians 4:12 to be content with little or much. When I began writing this post I had written, “I do not know what the future holds; none of us do.” I’m now typing finalizing this post and have since sold my home, become a nomad retiree, and living temporarily in a duplex until we travel extensively in the fall. A year ago I had no idea God was going to release us from the city we had been in since the pandemic in 2020.
I am blessed in ways I never imagined from when I was that teenage girl living in my parents home. I didn’t have earthly goals of a dream car or home, or living a specific lifestyle. All I wanted was a Christian man; a Christian home where I could serve the Lord freely and openly. I knew I didn’t want to live in a home divided with an unbelieving husband. In fact, I was in high school when I made the commitment to remain single before I would live in a divided home with a non-Christian. I would not live that way by choice. Thankfully, God brought Rick to me in 1985 and we’ve had an amazing journey ever since. He has been by my side through joys and sorrows for almost 40 years. In September we will celebrate our 40th anniversary, and yes, it feels like yesterday. Life goes by too quickly, so don’t waste a second of it.
Don’t give up on your children - pray for them daily
We have two sons who are now married between the two families, we have nine grandchildren. I never imagined or dreamt of having all that I have today. We are beyond blessed and I praise the Lord every day that my sons and their wives are all serving the Lord, heart, mind, body, and soul. They are all raising their beautiful children to know Jesus. They are purposeful to give them the Word as described in Deuteronomy 6. My grandkids are feasting on God’s Word morning, noon, at night because of their parents creativity and love for God. I pray that all of them will continue to serve the Lord with more passion than generations before them. I pray the enemy will stay away from them and they will stay away from the enemy. I pray they each grow up to be men and women who love God, love the Word, love prayer, and will make God their number one; make him their El Shaddai.
Mezuzah - it is a reminder to the Jews of their covenant with God. Deuteronomy 6:4-9
God shines down on us in so many ways. I woke up today and thought “I’ll work on the blog.” I looked at what I had drafted previously and as I came to the end of this post, I had a dream last night in which my son was talking about how much he loves prayer and how he and his wife will often go on prayer retreats when they need to make big family decisions. This is not just a dream, it is their reality. What a comfort to know my child love to go to the Lord in prayer!
My other son loves and lives in the World like nobody else I know. I am a mother who sees her children posting God’s word in their hearts and in their families hearts daily. We all must know the Word, but to know it we must be in it. Are you?
I am seeing God fulfilling prayers of mine from my childhood. Don’t give up praying for what you don’t yet see. Make God your only sufficiency; today and always.
