Day 330 Only True God

 

11/26/2025

"Jesus answered him, 'The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, the

LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your God 

with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all 

your strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this:

you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is not other

commandment greater than these.'"

Mark 11:29-31 

 

One more day before Thanksgiving, and I think I've received so many emails and text messages relating the story of our first Thanksgiving celebrated by the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock this year than in several years running. Also, I noticed that the story of Squanto is now being shared, and I don't think I have heard a story mentioning Squanto since I studied American history in my elementary school days. That was a long time ago, but I am glad that people are becoming more interested in our nation's history. Perhaps it's because this year will mark our 250th anniversary of our independence. I was thinking back about my school days when we were taught basic studies of reading, writing, and arithmetic, in addition to history - American and our individual State history - and other core subjects. We were given textbooks that we could take home, even purchase so we could underline or highlight important dates or other subject matter. So many things have changed under the guise of progress, but I question their ideas of so called advancement. Perhaps things may change, and our children will learn the truth about our country's history  and how government actually works. I admit I could use a refresher course on certain facts, and there are so many resources available if you know where to look and which sources are factual.

Today is Day 8 of the devotional, and the characteristic of God is The Lord is the Only True God.  The verses noted above from Mark 11:29-31 are taken from the Shema which is a prayer spoken twice daily by the Jewish people beginning with the words, "Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad," meaning "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is One," from Deuteronomy 6:4. It speaks of the singularity of God as the One True God. The first commandment given by God to Moses was "You shall have no other gods before you," and the second "You shall make no graven images" (Numbers 20:3-4), so God's oneness was established from the beginning. When Jesus was speaking with the disciples and crowd on the Sermon on the Mount, found in the Gospel of Matthew, He instructed them not to worry about what to eat or drink or wear, as most people put their focus on earthly matters and the superficial things of this earth. Jesus told them rather than concern themselves with temporal matters or things there was a better way: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33). Jesus always taught others to put God first. He shared with disciples that His purpose for being with them was to fulfill the will of His Father, and He told them that He didn't do anything except what the Father said do. God's will should always have preeminence in our lives.

As we anticipate Thanksgiving may we be mindful of all the blessings God has given us and focus on sharing this great gift with others. Let us remove any idols in our lives that distract or draw us away from putting Him first - like children, relationships, careers, education, money, hobbies - anything that takes us away from putting God first each day. May each day begin with laughter and a smile, entering into our hiding place, alone with Him, drawing close to the throne room of God.