Love The Lord

Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor has yourself. 

“All the Israelites came together to King Solomon…and they brought up the ark of the Lord…sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted. When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple…Praise be to the Lord…who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised…there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way…When anyone wrongs their neighbor…hear from heaven and act. Judge…Forgive and act; since you know their hearts…When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin…and repent…and if they turn back to you with all their heart…hear their prayer…forgive your people, who have sinned against you; Praise be to the Lord, Not one word has failed of all the good promises…May he turn our hearts to him…may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God” 1 Kings 8:2-66

Solomon gathered the people together and dedicated the temple. Something special happens when we create space for God to dwell. He fills the space with his presence.  The text said the priests had to leave as they could not perform the rituals because of the power of his glory. The same is true for us today. God is not interested in rituals or religious practices that do not that does not help us love well. God wants us to create space to be filled with his presence, the gift of the Holy Spirit. How could you create more space in your heart to be filled?

Solomon praised God. He praised him for being a promise keeper. He praised him for providing. He praised him for forgiving sins and being present. Rather than pretending like everything would always be perfect, he called on God’s grace to be what guided the relationship between Him and His people. His prayer was to stand on the promise that God is faithful, even when people fall short. His call was for every person to love God fully. How does the call to commit fully land on your ears and heart today? Where have you been half hearted or divided? Regardless of where you have been, are you willing to go all in with the Almighty now? 

“Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. May the praise of God be in their mouths. Praise the Lord” 

Psalms 149:1-6

Our days are meant to begin and end with praise. David said that we should always have a hallelujah in our hearts.  David sang a new song. Why is this so important? Because new wine goes in new wineskins. The song of the redeemed is not the same song as the rebel. As we walk out the freedom that we find in Jesus, we do not continue to sound like we once did. 

David said God delights in his people and crowns them with victory. Do you realize that you have been crowned by the king? Do you realize that as you humbly bow down that has great plans for you. God wants to fill you with his presence and in the process give you a life beyond anything you ever thought possible. Will you lift a song of praise to Jesus today? Will His praise be on your lips from morning to night or will you allow your heart to be divided and lose a heart to sing for the King?

“Your love is more delightful than wine…how right they are to adore you…How beautiful you are…Oh, how beautiful!” Song of Songs 1:2-15

The Bible is a love story about a God who made you and loves you. It was about a God who invites you to give Him your heart and respond to His perfect love. How has the love of God changed your life? How has it changed your heart? Has it helped you to love others better?

One of the best things you can do is learn to listen to the voice of God, the voice of love. What will you hear? God will tell you the truth that you are His. He calls you beloved and beautiful. Have you allowed that truth to sink in? How do you see yourself? Ask God to give you eyes to see yourself and to see others as He sees. Your heart will change towards even the most difficult person if you look at them through God’s eyes. 

“Listen…you who are called by the name…you who take oaths in the name of the Lord…but not in truth or righteousness you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city…For I knew how stubborn you were; your neck muscles were iron…You have neither heard nor understood; from of old your ears have not been open…I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another. Listen…I am the first and I am the last. My own hand laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens…your Redeemer…I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea.” Isaiah 48:1-20

God wants to teach us what is best for us and guide us to the resurrected life. He demonstrates how much he knows us by declaring the truth that at times we are really stubborn. We can rebellious and have hearts that are callous. We are people who forfeit peace because we would rather fight and fall short because of our propensity to sin. Part of the process to love God with all your heart is acknowledging or confessing where you fall short. Have you taken time today to repent and humble yourself before the Lord? 

God wants to lift you up. He wants to crown the humble with victory. He has better plans for you than what you have settled for but He makes it clear He will not yield His glory to another. Divided hearts and divided minds lead to divided lives. God calls us to full devotion to Him and to following His ways. He wants to bring healing and help you find the path to everlasting life, the life empowered by the Spirit that comes through surrender to the King. Are you fully surrendered or stubborn? 

“Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity…you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?…Bring me a denarius and let me look at it…Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s…Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘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 mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”  Mark 12:14-33

Jesus had an uncanny way of untangling webs and breaking chains. He said the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. He took all the laws and rules of scriptures and made simple what we often make complicated. It is incredible to see the connections within the Scriptures today all surrounding the car to love God   fully. 

Solomon prayed that God’s people would be wholeheartedly devoted. David declared that those who humble themselves before the Lord are crowned with victory and cannot help but sing a new song. A song of devotion. Song of Songs invites hs to a life of love. A marriage. A covenant with the One who calls us beloved and beautiful. Isaiah warned divided hearts only delay or disintegrate peace. Where have you lost peace? Where are you divided? 

Mark began by with someone saying Jesus is a person of integrity. That word refers to the wholeness of one’s heart and consistency of the life that flows from living by God’s ways. Jesus brings every one of those truths together and says that victory is not found in trying harder but in loving God more fully. The more your heart belongs to Him, the more your life begins to reflect Him. 

Where is your heart today? Is there anything competing with God for your heart? So often we allow possessions, power, personal relationships, pleasure, or other pursuits to get in the way of loving God fully. 

God does not just stop at calling our hearts to love Him. Our love for Him must be expressed in how we treat each other. Are there people you struggle to love because you have forgotten how deeply you yourself are loved? The greatest victories in life are not won by talent, strength, or success, but by men and women who surrender everything to the King. As you love Him with all your heart, He fills you with His Spirit, transforms your vision, brings healing through forgiveness, gives you peace that cannot be shaken, and empowers you to love others in ways you never could on your own. A heart fully devoted to God becomes a life full of the glory of the Lord’s presence. 

Choose today to go all in with Jesus. Hold nothing back. Make room for His presence, fill your mouth with praise, humble yourself in repentance, receive His unfailing love, and walk in wholehearted obedience. This is the path to the victorious life. God who has never failed a single promise and promises to walk with you every step of the way. Love Him fully, trust Him completely, and let His love lead you in loving the people around you.