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.
New International Version (NIV)
"This is love . . ." We used these words as the theme of our family retreat this weekend. I was so glad that our advertising did not say, "These are laws . . ." Why? Because relationship is better than rules. Relationships certainly follow rules, but rules without relationships offer us no help.
Moses was preaching his final sermons. This was his last chance to give God's people a final word before he died and before they entered the promised land. In Leviticus he gave them a whole book of rules to follow. But in this passage he shows them the main thing: as you are leading your family to God, be sure to love God out loud in front of them.
When someone asked Jesus to identify the greatest commandment, he quoted this passage called the Shema. "Love the Lord your God with all . . ." Do we love God with all that we are? On the cross, he did not spare his own Son so that he could show us all of his love. John would later write, "This is love. Not that we first loved God, but that he loved us and gave himself as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
Pray with me:
Father, remind us again of your perfect love for us. Help us to love you first and best today above all else. Today we seek first your Kingdom and righteousness. We trust you for all the rest. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
I want to invite you to join me in memorizing 52 passages this year from the 2017 set of Fighter Verses. You can find the Fighter Verses App at the App Store on your phones or via this link http://fighterverses.com/the-verses/fighter-verses/. As we study the Bible this year, let's look at each text and learn what it says about God.
Joyfully,
Duane
Copyright 2017. All Rights Reserved.
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