I stumbled upon this partially completed draft the other day as I was praying about what the Lord would have me to share this week. It was written at the beginning of the new year and somehow got set aside and never got finished, until today!
As the new year was upon us, the Lord laid on my heart two separate theme verses. The verse which I chose to share for the new year contained words of great comfort to carry us through 2018.
"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."
Matthew 1:23
The only thing this verse requires of us is to simply believe by faith what God says in His Word!
Not complicated!
Today’s verse
is quite different!
This particular Scripture also takes faith to believe, however, it requires more than just faith, it requires action.
We need to
put feet
to the words.
You and I must make it real in our lives in order to reap the benefits!
It won't come naturally, and it won’t, necessarily, come easily!
It will take time, commitment and work.
It will require giving a portion of our time, talents and treasures to the Lord!
But it will
most definitely
be worth it!
Here is the verse which I am referencing to:
"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."
Mark 12:30
As I was doing much research on this verse, I found a wealth of information. Some of which I'd like to share with all of you!!
Why do you think Jesus was continually reminding the Pharisees of their inability to keep the Law of God?
Because He was trying to get them to see their desperate need of a Saviour.
To show them that apart from being cleansed of sin, which ONLY Jesus provides, loving God to any degree is totally impossible.
And what Jesus told the Pharisees is still true for you and I today.
Without knowing Jesus as your personal Saviour it's impossible to truly love God.
It's ALL about
a relationship
with Jesus Christ
and NOTHING
about a religion!
But praise God, if you know Christ as your personal Saviour, you have been cleansed from your sin and God's Holy Spirit lives within you!
So does that
mean we
no longer sin?
NO NO NO NO NO!
So does that
mean we
automatically
love God
with ALL
our heart
with ALL
our soul
with ALL
our mind
with ALL
our strength?
ABSOLUTELY NOT!
However, it does mean that we have the opportunity and the privilege to continually be growing in our love for God. To grow to love God more with ALL of our heart, ALL of our soul, ALL of our mind and ALL of our strength.
- "Heart” brings out the concept of the inner person. That which is the center of our life. Setting our affections on God. Desiring God above all else. "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." Psalm 42:1
- “Soul” defines who we are. Think of the soul as the “core you.” To love the Lord with all your soul means to love Him in the way we live, in the choices we make, and in the behavior and lifestyle we adopt. Total commitment. Our will choosing God.
- “Mind” means to submit our minds, thoughts, opinions, and decisions to God’s Word. NOT leaning on our own understanding. Not acting on what we think or how we feel, but according to the TRUTH of God's Word.
- “Strength” refers to our abilities, talents, gifts, and physical powers. All of these are to be surrendered and devoted to God for HIS glory. We are not to lean on our own strength, but we are to use our strength as we lean by faith on the Lord.
Every aspect of our lives is to be focused on bringing honor and glory to the Lord. He is to be the reason for our being and the reason for ALL of our thoughts, motives, actions, attitudes.
OUR EVERYTHING!
So how do we begin or how do we better learn to love God the way we should?
Simple!
We ask the Lord to show us specific areas in our life where we are not loving Him with ALL of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
This will NOT be a one time question.
This needs to be an ongoing question between you and the Lord.
Of course the answers will be different for each individual person.
If you seriously ask the Lord to reveal areas in your life where you are not loving God with ALL your heart, soul, mind and strength, or in other words with ALL of your being, be prepared for His answers!
But don't let it just stop with getting the answers.
Put feet to those answers, and remember, we don't do this alone. We have God's Holy Spirit to help us.
Think of it this way.
You cannot truly love your spouse without spending quality time with them, getting to know them, their likes and dislikes, communicating with them DAILY and enjoying their company.
Well it's the same EXACT way with the Lord!
We cannot truly love God without spending quality time with Him, getting to know Him, His likes and dislikes, communicating with Him DAILY and enjoying His company!
Let's you and I purpose together to grow and mature in our love for God by stopping and asking Him to show us specific areas in our individual lives where we may not be loving God with ALL of our heart, ALL of our soul, ALL of our mind and ALL of our strength.
And then, together, let's put feet to those answers and watch what the Lord will do in and through us for HIS honor and for HIS glory!
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May God Bless You,
Barb
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