My good friend, Terry Shumaker–a retired pastor and tireless worker–knows of my love for the festivals and traditions found in Scripture … many of them all but forgotten by Christianity.

Central to the Jewish faith are the instructions found in Deuteronomy (Devarim) Chapter 6:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (ESV).

Terry has been reading a book that casts light on this passage (“The Schema”) by looking closer at the original context and language–just the sort of exploration that gets my motor running.

I had not heard of the author, Lois Tverberg, before–but I received my copy yesterday … and she is now one of my favorite authors. The material is thought-provoking and the style of writing is both scholarly and enjoyable (a rare combination).

Check it out for yourself, here’s the link: Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus: How the Jewish Words of Jesus Can Change Your Life

Meanwhile, enjoy the Schema. I used to say it regularly, but have slacked off. Like the Lord’s Prayer, the Schema is a powerful, powerful passage of Scripture–one that can bear meditating on and working with for a lifetime.