Tag: #loveoneanother

Love The Lord Your God…

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 (NIV)

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.

Our Verse of the Day recites the first and greatest commandment! I thought that I would provide us the surrounding context because Moses elaborates on the theological concept of love for God being rooted in obedience to God….

Deuteronomy 6:1-9; 20-25 (New Living Translation)

These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all His decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life. Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone (or the Lord our God is one Lord). And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

In the future your children will ask you, “What is the meaning of these laws, decrees, and regulations that the Lord our God has commanded us to obey?” Then you must tell them, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with His strong hand. The Lord did miraculous signs and wonders before our eyes, dealing terrifying blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his people. He brought us out of Egypt so He could give us this land He had sworn to give our ancestors. And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear Him so He can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as He has done to this day. For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us.”

It is clear that our love for God is demonstrated through our obedience to God. Moses repeated this theme in his inspired writings – noting that there is blessing for obedience; and after him, Joshua continued with their emphasis:

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (NIV)

And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to Him, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

Deuteronomy 11:13-16 (NIV)

So, if you faithfully obey the commands that I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul— then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.

Joshua 22:4-6 (NIV)

Now that the Lord your God has given them rest as He promised, return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to Him, to keep His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul. Then Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their homes.

I think these passages of Scripture are quite important for us to observe because Jesus quoted them in His teachings and responses to the religious authorities during His time of ministry on earth. Jesus confirmed that our devotion to God through obedience to His commands is imperative to have an intimate relationship with Him:

Matthew 22:35-40 (NIV)

One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. (Citing Leviticus 19:18) All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Mark 12:28-31 (NIV)

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked Him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Jesus answered, “The most important one 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. (Citing Leviticus 19:18) There is no commandment greater than these.

Luke 10:25-28 (NIV)

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Citing Leviticus 19:18) “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

I believe the Holy Spirit wants to impress upon us this message of the obedience that comes from faith. The will of the Father is that we believe in His Son … the One He sent into the world to save us.  As the Apostle John wrote and affirmed:

1 John 5:1-5 (NIV)

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves His child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and keeping His commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

So Now You Know…

Have a Blessed Day!

If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. ~ John 14:15-17

Be Completely Humble…

Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Our Verse of the Day continues with the theme of humility as an inherent quality of servant leadership. As you recall, after their Passover Meal in the upper room, Jesus was teaching and instructing His disciples to practice an attitude of humility and servanthood like His own. Jesus asserted if you desire to be first … in a position of leadership … then you need to put yourself last and be a servant to all. (Cf. Mark 9:35) Then we looked at some practical ways to exercise humility and a servant’s heart that Paul offered us.  Here we find some additional instruction from Paul on the desired character of believers.  I will reprint it along with the surrounding context of the passage for your reference:

Ephesians 4:1-7 (NIV)

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.

What we find in this passage are several key points related to servant leadership:

  1. Servant Leadership may come with a high price … for Paul is was imprisonment for his devotion and loyalty to Christ Jesus.
  2. Servant Leadership is inherent to living a life worthy of the election to salvation and eternal life that we have received as a gift from God.
  3. Servant Leadership requires our conduct to be completely humble; gentle; patient; longsuffering; loving; etc. Think fruit of the Spirit…. (Cf. Galatians 5:22-23)
  4. Servant Leadership is concerned about unity … making every effort to encourage unity and the bond of peace among believers.

Paul will continue to explain how servant leaders are equipped according to the grace Jesus determines to apportion (or give) to us:

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV)

So Christ Himself gave (the offices or roles of ) the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip His people for works of service, so that the Body of Christ (the Church) may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

What Paul is saying here is that Christ Jesus determines (selects and ordains) who HE places as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers over HIS people.  These are roles or offices … leadership positions … that Christ GAVE for the benefit and edification of HIS people (the Church). Their purpose is to equip believers for ministry in order for the Church to grow, AND to bring unity in the faith and in the knowledge of Jesus in order for believers to mature and to attain the fullness of Christ. And the leaders that He has placed in these positions are not to seek being “first” or being “the preeminent” in His Body; rather, they are to be humble and to consider themselves “last” by being “servants to all”. Yes, be aware of those who appoint themselves to positions of leadership in the Church. 

There is only one FIRST … our Lord Jesus!  He is the First and the Last!  The Alpha and the Omega.  The Beginning and the End.  He is the head of the Body, the Church. (Cf. Colossians 1:18) According to the grace of God, all of us who have been saved through faith, have been created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.  But those Christ Jesus has GIVEN to leadership over His Church are to be “servants to all”.  And those who are given specific roles as leaders to the Church should seek to fulfill their responsibilities with all humility and excellence – keeping in mind that leaders are to build up His people and equip them for works of service….

If you have been appointed by Christ Jesus to a leadership role within the Church, then let our Verse of the Day be a quick guide on how to conduct yourself in the “position” you have been appointed to fulfill.  Remember, the Lord Jesus gave you to His Church for a reason. If that thought does not humble you, I am not sure what will.  Being given to minister to the Church does not make you the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven; rather, consider this parable that Jesus shared with His disciples:

Luke 17:7-10 (NIV)

“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So, you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

It is exercising the humility that comes with your appointment that will reveal the attitude of your heart:

Matthew 18:1-5 (NKJV)

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.

Luke 9:46-48 (NIV)

An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside Him. Then He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”

Being a leader at the appointment of Christ Jesus will require you to be the least and a servant to all … but in doing so, you will produce much fruit to the glory of God the Father and our Lord Jesus.  I pray we will always remember these words Jesus spoke: I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (Cf. John 15:5-8)

So Now You Know…

Have a Blessed Day!

The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. ~ Matthew 23:11-12