Etched and Embodied

"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads." — Deuteronomy 11:18 (NIV)

Before God re-etched the Ten Commandments on stone tablets in Deuteronomy 10:2, He had already written them once—only to see them shattered in Moses’ hands. The breaking of those tablets wasn’t just physical; it was symbolic of a broken covenant, a fractured relationship. And yet, God rewrites. He restores. He carves again.

But in Deuteronomy 11:18, the call is no longer just about stone. It’s about our souls.

“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds…” This is not a casual remembering, like tying a string around your finger. It’s a spiritual engraving. What God once etched in stone, He now asks to be etched in us. Not just memorized but metabolized. Not just worn but lived.

And for that to happen, something deeper must change. Scripture speaks of “hearts of stone”—unyielding, resistant, closed off (Ezekiel 36:26). But God promises to replace them with hearts of flesh—tender, receptive, and ready to be shaped. The engraving isn’t just on a new surface—it’s on a new spirit.

When the heart is made new, the signs we wear take on new meaning.

We wear rings to mark a covenant. We wear crosses and crucifixes to declare faith. But these are more than jewelry—they are signs of a deeper commitment, outward reflections of what God has worked within. The symbols matter, but only if they point to a truth that’s being shaped in the heart.

The symbols on hands and foreheads are visible, tactile reminders of what is meant to reflect an inward reality. Like wedding rings, they point to a covenantal relationship. But the deeper invitation is to let God’s word shape our thoughts, guide our actions, and become part of our very identity.

This is a God who doesn’t just write laws—He rewrites stories. And He invites us to carry His words not as burdens, but as blessings, not as relics, but as rhythms.

So today, may we not only wear the Word—may we weigh it, welcome it, let it work within us, and live it out with grace.

Gracious God, you are the One who writes truth on tablets of stone and grace upon the human heart.  Today, we ask not only to remember Your word, but to be reshaped by it.

Etch Your commands deep within us—that they may guide our hands, guard our thoughts, and ground our lives. May every symbol we wear point to the covenant we carry. Rewrite what has been broken. Restore what has been lost. And let Your word become our covenant and our compass—written not just on stone but lived in grace. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Peace & Grace,

Pastor Tim