Repeat Messages

Read: Exodus 20:1-17

Recently I heard a story in the news about a woman in Maine who received the same identical letter in the mail 46 times.  After 46 she reached out to the healthcare company that was sending them to her and asked them kindly to stop. However, the letters didn’t stop until she had received more than 500 letters from them.  A spokesman from the company said that the mass mailing was the result of a coding issue in its computer system. I’m pretty sure this woman got their message.

They often say that for people to really have a message sink in they need to hear it repeated many times.  Pastors sometimes joke about preaching the same message several times so that the message from scripture will take hold and be remembered.  Scripture memory is often encouraged as a way to take your Bible with you throughout the day. At a moments notice you can recite a verse that might help you in different situations.  

The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 are mentioned and referred to many times in scripture.  Jesus even referred to them when he was asked which one was the greatest. He simplified them to say, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments.”

500 mailings for the woman in Maine is overkill for sure, but in our spiritual lives we need to find ways to repeat the messages from God over and over in our heart and mind.  Maybe it is through Bible study, perhaps it is through scripture memorization, or maybe it’s listening to a sermon, message, or book multiple times so it can sink in. Remember: the more you hear it the more you will remember it.

Make it Personal:  What are some ways you can introduce repetition into your spiritual walk with Jesus?  Whatever it is be sure that the repetition is helpful and not just another thing to check off of your list.  We need beneficial repetition, not just more things to do in our week.       

Have a great week, Pastor Glen Rhodes