Loving God

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5, Mark 12:30)

War in the Middle East. People killing each other over land that God created. Citizens angered over an election. Individuals taking out anger and resentment on their neighbors. Others staying in the grip of the enemy, choosing to stay there, blaming others because their own circumstances are not to their liking. 

As Christians, Jews and Muslims approach this season, we all need to get back to our religious roots of peace and faith, and look to our common ancestor, Abraham. 

All three religions have a common creed: to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength; to obey Him in all we think, in all we say and all we do; and to honor and love Him first in all things.

Abraham was chosen by God because he was a fallible, but faithful, human who was obedient to God. He made mistakes, but he was repentant and sought God’s forgiveness. He loved God, and obeyed God’s commands even when he didn’t know what the future would bring.

• When we hate, do we love God?
• When we are unforgiving, are we loving God?
• When we are ungenerous with our attitude, our words and our actions, are we loving God? 

And worse, are we showing God’s love to others? Are we searching our own hearts and allowing God to do His gracious work in us? Are we building His Kingdom?

The apostle Paul, who was a former Jewish teacher of Mosaic law, tells us that we ought to be living sacrifices to God because He has shown us such great mercy. 

In simple terms, it’s called pay it forward. This season, as Christians, Jews and Muslims, if we can show just a small percent – a tithe, if you will – of God’s mercy, love and forgiveness to others, we might just make a huge difference in the world.

His Gifts

"Let all who take refuge in you rejoice. Let them sing with joy forever. Protect them, and let those who love your name triumph in you." Psalm 5:11
 
Taking time to fast and pray today, the first thing that entered my head was to praise Him.

You are the Lord who sings praises to us, Lord on High, through the birds and the sun and the stars and the evening breezes. You share your everlasting love with us every day, Lord, yet we-in our busyness, our self-absorption, our pride, our petty hurts and annoyances-turn away from You.

My heart grieves for those who do not stop to savor the simple splendors of a child's belly laugh in response to the excited licks of a puppy, or a tear escaping the eye of a man's loving look at his wife of 50 years as he takes her hand in his, or a piece of music, literature or Scripture written by one who knows our heart deep down to its core and touches us, weaving words that forever tie us to the moment we hear it or read it.

You, Lord, create these moments for us, binding us to You in love, in courage and in faith. You reveal yourself to us in all You do, Father God. You encourage us, teach us, favor us, and above all, sacrificed Your Son for us. What kind of love and mercy is that? 

The kind that brings me to my knees. The kind that makes me weep without ceasing. The kind that creates in me a thirst for You in a parched and deserted land. The kind that causes me to stand courageously and lift my arms to heaven and proclaim, "I love You with all my heart!"

You told us that we are Your masterpiece, Lord, yet we have done nothing to deserve this magnificent title and honor. You are the potter and we are the clay; if You see us as such it is only due to the strength and power You bestow on us, the beauty You see in us through Your eyes, Lord.

I pray today to live up to what and who You have created me to be, Lord. I know that You are not yet finished with me, and I pray that, in the finishing, You create in me a desire to make Your will my own, to make Your path mine, and to make my love for You greater than any love I have ever known. I pray, Father God, to know You more deeply with every passing day, to walk in the fruit of the Holy Spirit and to be a living sacrifice and beacon of the Light of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.