Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church

Deuteronomy 11:18-21 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. ²⁰ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, ²¹ so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the Lord swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.

Have you ever used Gorilla Glue? It's pretty amazing stuff. The directions say that you're supposed to moisten one of the surfaces you're going to glue. Then you apply a little bit of Gorilla Glue, clamp the pieces together, and wait. We glued together the base of a bedframe that had come apart. The Gorilla Glue really worked well!

The LORD shared this with the Israelites because he knew how hard it would be for them once they entered the Promised Land. Distractions galore awaited them--new homes, fields already ripe for the harvest, trees loaded with fruit, neighbors welcoming them, inviting them to come and make sacrifices to the gods of the country. The LORD knew that if they could "Gorilla Glue" his words in their hearts and minds, they had a chance to stay faithful to him. The whole book of Deuteronomy is a powerful reminder to stick close to the LORD and his Word.

Are we stuck on him, Gorilla Glue strength, or has everything going on around us started to disintegrate the connection? We read the headlines: bombs and guns going off in our schools, tornados destroying homes, political wrangling. We sit in church: there's that person I argued with, I don't like that hymn very much, how could the pastor say that from the pulpit? The glue isn't holding, and it isn't because the glue isn't strong. It's because I start pulling away. If I'm not careful, I'll tear loose and my connection to the LORD will be gone!

We need God's Word to glue us tight to our LORD. We need to use the glue when we're in worship, when we're in our cars, and when we walk into our homes. Get stuck on God's Word, and see how the LORD blesses you!

To God alone the glory!