The Greatest Commandment

[Ramez5]

And you shall love the Lord your Godout of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (yourlife) and out of and with all your mind (with ]your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. ]This is the first and principal commandment

That’s what this summer has been all about.. Loving God.. with not just our heart.. in worship and affections.. not just in obedience.. (our strength) but with the renewing of our mind.. where all of this begins. We can’t love him or obey him.. if our minds are not focused on His truth.

One reason I am not going to attempt to ‘finish my degree’ is that this year I’ve become so aware of how little I know of God’s word.. and how little I have practiced it.. and how much the Lord needs willing servants who really devote their whole hearts and lives to his service.
Studying the word, praying, meditation, serving all take a lot of time and focus.

At least for me, this is what the Lord wants for me now. Some day.. who knows? But for now, I’m getting a degree in discipleship. lol The Lord has shown me that the litttle bit I’ve read and studied this year.. is just a teeny tiny bit of all there is. I want more.

If we don’t give Him and His words to us serious attention on a daily basis..then we can’t say we love Him. We spend time with those we love. We can’t obey what we don’t know. We won’t have the strength to obey, if his word is not living in us.

And most of all we can’t love our families, our friends, or anyone apart from Him and his grace working through us. They get ‘our love’ not ’God’s love’… the best of our ‘flesh’ instead of the best of God’s spirit and grace’.

This first commandment is the greatest of all.. and we need to get serious with the Lord. Not only is it ‘not all about me’.. it really is ALL about God. How do you know if you really do love the Lord?..

Well do we love our nieghbors.. in a way that is meaningful to them? Are we so full and happy.. that we have enough to spare of God’s love for others? One makes the other possible. God wants to love us and fill us but he asks for our whole heart in order to do that.

Praying the Lord will continue to bless you as you seek his face daily