Monday, February 11, 2019

Love the Lord Your God

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts." (Deuteronomy 6:4-6)

Jehovah/Yaweh (Lord/I Am) is our one and only God. There is no other. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and strength/might. This is the first and greatest commandment of all! God desires from us, His children, our undivided love and devotion. He wants us to love Him with our whole being...to love Him above all else even our own life. The whole Christianity boils down to one primary thing: Amo Dei = Love God! We must love God completely with all the affections, the will, the thoughts, the strength...with all we have and all we are at all times under all circumstances. Obviously, no one is capable of loving God perfectly all the time. This unattainable standard of all-encompassing love for God shows our desperate need for God's amazing, inexhaustible grace

Jesus says in John 14:15, "If you love Me, keep My commands." Our obedience to God demonstrates our love for God. To love God is the priority of life. It should rule our hearts & thoughts and guide our decisions, words, and actions. This sincere, strong, superlative love for God is expressed through worshiping, serving, obeying, delighting in, and living for God. When we truly love God, we desire to know Him more and to please, honor, and glorify Him. And we will want to keep His Word/commandments in our hearts so that His Word will guide our thoughts, will, words, and actions. "I have hidden Your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You." (Psalm 119:11) Not only that, we are to diligently & constantly teach God's principles to our children. Passing on the faith was at the very center of God's law. Teaching about God and His Word needs to be an integral part of life, using the context of daily experiences. We must help our children see God in all aspects of life. We must teach our kids to love and follow God; otherwise, the world will teach them to love and follow the world (worldliness). We also must live out our faith at home (and everywhere). Our children are learning from us, whether we realize it or not. To them, the things we do or don't do speak just as loudly as the things we say. Do we live each day by the Book (God's Word)? Our children can tell if His commandments are on our hearts and being lived out in our lives or not. It will not do our children any good if we do not walk the talk! Hypocrisy in parent(s) will likely turn children away from God. 
Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for Your faithful love for me! I love You and I want to love You with all that I am and all that I have. I know I often fail. Please help me to know You more and love You more. Please empower me to walk faithfully in love, faith, and obedience. May the way I daily live show my love for You and draw my children and others to love You! In Jesus' Name, I pray. Amen.

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