The Lord, the Anchor of Our Soul

Leave a Comment / Calm, Peace, Stability / By

This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6:19-20

When we think about the Lord and what He means to us, many times we think about how He has changed our lives and set us free from the bondage of sin and destruction. We’re also reminded of how He has grown us and has helped us to overcome in life. Those are all important truths that we should bring to our minds and our hearts. We should be thankful and joyful for God’s loving kindness and His mercies for bringing us through. However, there are times in life that we need to focus on Him as the anchor of our soul!

Definition of anchor (according to Webster’s dictionary): a reliable or principal support , something that serves to hold an object firmly.
The world is in a state of panic and unrest due to a virus with unknown characteristics. The 24/hour news along with social media do their job of mixing facts with half truths and opinions and feed anxious people with as much as information as possible. Obviously many want to be cautious and do their part in not allowing this virus to spread. This causes them to continue to be glued to their TV, radio, and phones for the latest information. However, there is something quiet and insidious going on that as believers we should be aware of.

 

In uncertain times, as the people of God, we should live our lives differently from the world! The Lord is our anchor and the stability of our lives. He is our creator and holds the world and everyone in it in the palm of His hands. It is by His mercies that we wake up everyday to an orderly world. The sun rises everyday and our temperatures remain perfect for human functioning. We have clean air and the capacity to breathe and live. He provides us with daily bread and the ability to eat it and be nourished by it. Sadly, the majority of the people in the world do not acknowledge the Lord, nor do they seek His face. They have no faith that He is present and that He desires to intervene in their lives.  Subsequently, it is logical for them to panic when a situation arises that they cannot control and do not completely understand.

 

Our stability is not founded in the world system, economy, and its version of peace. We know that without the Lord, we cannot live, move, or have our being. So the same God who held our lives three months ago, He is still on the throne, and He is still the stability of our lives! Jesus is our hope and He has gone behind the veil and has revealed the heart of the Father to us. Those who know their heavenly Father, will have a different posture in tumultuous times. Our hope is not anchored in our own strength but in the love of God and in Jesus as our High Priest and intercessor.

 

While we should be wise and follow the recommendation of healthcare professionals, we don’t need to let fear cause panic. As people of God, let every form of fear be expelled in Jesus’ name! God is still on the throne, and He is our protector and deliverer. As Jesus anchors our soul in His peace,, let’s be the agents of His peace, calmness, and stability in these uncertain times!

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It’s Time to Change! (Part IV)

Leave a Comment / Church, House of God, Worship / By

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him,  and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.Luke 19:45-48

After weeping over the fact that Jerusalem was missing its moment of visitation, Jesus walked into the temple and what He saw there was very distressing to Him! The very temple that was built to be used as a place of worship and prayer had turned into a market. People were making profit out of religious duties and holidays by marking things up and selling them to the people who were visiting the temple.

Jesus was not against buying, selling , or even making a profit, but He was against using the temple of God for selfish gain. The sellers were opportunists who wanted to gouge people on the way to worship, so Jesus sternly turned over the tables because! They were there for their own benefit and not to honor the Lord or worship Him. In reality,  there were plenty of places where they could have set up shop and sold their merchandize, but they were using the name of the Lord and the temple of the Lord to get better profit by being strategically where the worshippers going to show up.

The church is not a place to make profit or make our name be known. We don’t go to church to show off our gifts and abilities and ensure that we get placed in the ministry of our choice and desires. The church is a group of people who are called out from the world, and they assemble for the purpose of corporate worship, teaching, prayer, fellowship, and exhortation. We all are there to honor the name of the Lord and magnify Him corporately. However, sometimes we lose focus of why we are there and what we are to do in the church.

Unfortunately, there are those leaders who use the name of God and manipulate the people of God to give more money to their church or their ministry. Sometimes as church members, we forget the purpose of the church and its value, and we begin to focus on other things. We may go to church with an attitude because we are still mad at somebody from the last time we we were there. We’re even hoping that we don’t have to see them or talk to them. There are some who may only show up on the days they serve and prefer not to go to their church when we are not serving. Others are still stewing over why their friend had a solo part during worship, but they never get a chance to do it. Some are too focused on who is wearing what and who is sitting with whom. There are a few who go to church trying to sell their products or recruit people to sign up with their business. There are a few who come with their title of evangelist, preacher, or prophet and expect someone to quickly place them where they feel are called. When that doesn’t happen, they take off and go somewhere else.

If Jesus were to walk in our church on a Sunday, what would He find? What is the condition of your church? What is the condition of your heart when you go to church? Is He still the main person of the gathering!? Is He still the focus!? Jesus turned over the tables, so His Father’s house could be clear from anything that defiled it. Is there anything that defiles your house of worship at a personal level and the corporate level? It’s time for the people of God to be about the Father’s business and let go of all the carnality and distractions that derail the body of Christ and defile His house of worship!

 

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It’s Time to Change! (Part III)

Leave a Comment / Change, God's Visitation / By

Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,  saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.  Luke 19:41-42

…because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Luke 19:44b

 

Jesus was walking the streets of Jerusalem and saw a group of people who were missing their Messiah! They had all the right words and did all the religious ceremonies, but they were not expecting the Messiah in their midst.  They had become so used to their routine that anything out of ordinary didn’t cause them to pay closer attention to the one who came to save their souls!

The scripture tells us that Jesus wept over Jerusalem because they missed God’s visitation! During this time in the history of Israel, the Lord had not spoken to His prophets for four hundred years, so they had lost the vision that the coming of the Messiah could happen in their lifetime. They may have had an intellectual understanding that Messiah was going to come, but they were not necessarily expecting it in their generation. Furthermore, their ideas of a Messiah were carnal. They thought of someone who could rescue them from the hands of Roman oppression. However, this time God was not working on their political freedom but their spiritual freedom!

Many of us have had grandparents, parents, or friends who cried out on our behalf to pay attention to the Lord. There are people that we also are praying for that they would not miss God’s visitation. It is easy to miss God’s visitation in a culture that is so busy with its goals and plans in life. We don’t slow down to seek the Lord for our daily wisdom and direction. Instead, we bring our agenda to Him and ask Him to bless it.

There are times that God changes the seasons and He wants us to be in tune with the change. There are things that are meant to bring peace to our lives, but it requires us to value God’s direction and instruction even when it is inconvenient or uncomfortable! There are times that God wants us to stop from doing certain things or going in a certain direction.  At other times, He may tell us it’s time to reconcile a relationship. He tells us to pick up the phone and call that person that we have not spoken to in years. This is when we stop arguing with God and do what He tells us to do. We can be masters of justification, but have you noticed that God does not buy our excuses!? Every time the Lord touches an area of our lives, we should celebrate it as a day of visitation from the Lord because He is about to change us and deliver us from something that has held us in bondage!

Are you open and available to God’s visitation? Can He interrupt your plans today? Will you change direction if He tells you to do so? Are you willing to change your vocabulary and how you speak about yourself or others? Will you pick up the phone and reach out to someone you have not spoken to in months or years? We pray for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Are we making ourselves available for God to visit the earth by using us as conduits of His will on the earth!?

 

It’s Time to Change! (Part II)

Leave a Comment / Change, Fear / By

Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.  So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’  But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’

“And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’

“Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’

“And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’ ” Luke 19:11-27

I am continuing with the stories in Luke 19 as the Lord calls us to change in various areas of life! In the last devotional, I shared about Zacchaeus and how the acceptance of Jesus caused him to change his way of life!

In the above parable, the master decided to give different amounts of talents to his servants. The issue was not equality but stewardship. The first two servants stewarded well what was allotted to them and increased what was given to them. The master was pleased with both of them and gave them even more to manage. However, the third servant hid his mina and did not do anything out of fear of the master.

What Jesus addressed in this parable was not performance but stewardship. The scripture tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from above (See James 1:17). When the Lord blesses us, it is not just for ourselves; we are not called to hoard it but to be an outlet. The person who has been anointed by God has a responsibility to use it according to the Lord’s instructions and to be a channel of God’s blessing. God’s gifts are not just for us, and we cannot be selfish with them.  We should be open and available to use them and be a blessing as God has blessed us.

In the above parable, the master expected a return on his investment, but the third master was fearful and did not trust his master’s character. Whenever fear comes in, it sucks faith out of people’s lives and they no longer want to follow God where He leads. The flesh wants to do what is safe and convenient. Interestingly, fear can project itself as wisdom! We need to seek the Lord and allow Him to show us if our hesitation is due to fear or wisdom. 

We don’t control the level of fruitfulness and multiplication, but we need to be faithful in sowing, nurturing, and putting to work what the Lord has blessed us with. Then in due season, God brings the increase, and we can reap a harvest because we have been diligent and unafraid to put to work what He has given us.

Is there anything that you have been afraid to begin? Ask the Lord to show you the reason behind the fear. Allow the Lord to speak to you and move forward. It’s time to change and not hide behind fear!

 

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It’s Time to Change! (Part I)

Leave a Comment / Acceptance, Change, Conviction / By

Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature.  So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way.  And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”  So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.” Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;  for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:1-10

Through His journey through various towns and villages, Jesus passed through the town of Jericho. Jericho was the Promised Land that the Israelites received when the Lord instructed Joshua and his people to march around the city seven times. Through their obedience, God made the walls of Jericho fall! However, over the centuries and due to Israel’s disobedience, they lost sovereignty of those lands, and now it was under the Roman Empire.

In this passage, we need find Zacchaeus who was a Jewish man living in Jericho shunned by his own people because he had decided that his success was going to come from collecting taxes from his fellow Jewish people. He used extortion as a means of living in the so called Promised Land. In reality, he had lost his true identity until he met Jesus! 

Despite Zacchaeus’ sins against his countrymen, Jesus chose to spend time with him in his house. He saw Zacchaeus as a lost sheep who needed to come back to the flock. Jesus did not seek the Pharisees because they did not see themselves as sick or in need of help. They probably had the respect of people even if it was superficial, so they did not find themselves in desperate need to change anything in their lives! However, while Zacchaeus had his wealth, he did not have the respect of his countrymen. I wonder if he had any friends except his fellow tax collectors. His only friendships may have come from those who also had had chosen to sell themselves, for a bowl of proverbial stew, to the Roman Empire. 

When Jesus called Zacchaeus’s name and went to his house, it changed everything for him! On the one hand, Zacchaeus must have felt special and accepted, but on the other hand, his sins must have been right before his eyes. What if he used the beautiful dishes of a widow who had to given up her wedding gift to pay her taxes!? What if the rug they were sitting on came from a family of six who could not afford to pay their taxes!?  What if the beautiful picture on the wall had have come from a son who gave up that which he had inherited from his father to pay his taxes!? Every place Jesus looked upon, could have brought to Zacchaeus, the memory of how he obtained those beautiful items. Finally, Zacchaeus could not stand it any longer. He wanted to get his life right with the Lord and enjoy the peace and the rest of God. Jesus’ acceptance had caused all these beautiful things to lose their value and luster. He was ready to give it all up and keep the joy and acceptance that he received in being with Jesus!

This is how Jesus works in our lives as well. He doesn’t come making demands of us to give up our sins, but He comes with His piercing eyes and a heart of love! He looks at us with acceptance and concern. In His eyes, we see that we are far more valuable than selling ourselves to a worldly version of success and acceptance! His concern is that we are genuine and vulnerable with God and are not just trying to play the role of a good Christian!

When we give Him room to come into our hearts, we cannot stand having Jesus walk around the various rooms and see the stuff that are contrary to His desires. The conviction rises up and we feel like it’s time to change! I don’t want Jesus to look at things that make Him uncomfortable to be here! He is worthy for me to let go of anything that does not please Him! How about you? If Jesus were to come to your home, what will he see? What has to change for Jesus to feel welcome in your life?

 

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The Love of God

Leave a Comment / Good News, Love of God / By

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,  that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,  may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—  to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21

God’s amazing creation speaks of His awesome and boundless being. Everything He has created including Heavens, the earth, and all the galaxies are expansive and beyond our human understanding. Scientists continue to discover His creation using technology and instrumentation to understand what He has put in place. One person or one scientist is not capable of understanding everything. They cannot embark on such a huge project alone, but many people over centuries have contributed to the discovery and understanding of God’s amazing creation and the laws that He has put in place.

Similarly, when we meditate on God’s love, we find that His love is vast and cannot be comprehended entirely; His love has width, length, depth, and height. The love of God is boundless and beyond the understanding of one person. His love is experienced by millions of His children over history, and we each get to have a revelation of who He is and what He intended through Jesus’ love, obedience, and sacrifice. It is this great love that Jesus commanded us to tell others about it and share the Good News of salvation! People need to know that there is a God in heaven who loves them and has made a way for freedom from death, darkness, and slavery to sin for every person on this earth!

Humanity is in desperate need of God’s love. As His children, we also are in desperate need of the love of the Lord to settle our hearts and keep us secure in an insecure world! That’s why our relationship with God has to have a continual intimacy. It is not because we are trying to be religious, but we are in need of God’s love to refill our hearts and to be rooted and grounded in His love. This allows us to go out to the world full of His love and not seek others’ approval or pat on the back to live a full and Godly life!

The Lord is calling us to meditate on His love and to rest in Him. This is a song that kept coming to my heart in the last few days. Feel free to use it in your time of worship and meditation.

 

Love the Lord Your God (Part IV)

Leave a Comment / Love of God, Meditate, Mind / By

But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying,  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  Matthew 22:34-40

Jesus’ great commandment seems simple until we start dissecting the different aspects of what He commanded us. In the last devotionals, I shared about the importance of loving God with a pure heart and a soul that is submitted under the direction of the Holy Spirit. In this devotional, I will share about loving God with all our minds.

Many times, our minds are the entry points for all kinds of temptations, anxiety, derailment, and sin. What we entertain in our minds eventually produces fruit of its kind. We may think that our thoughts are hidden from people, but what we allow to be sown in our minds, will eventually show up in the fruit that it produces in our attitudes, reactions, and behaviors.

From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Matthew 16:23

When Jesus told His disciples about His suffering, death, and resurrection, Peter did not like what he heard! Peter loved Jesus immensely and did not want to see Jesus harmed, but his protest about Jesus’ fate was not welcomed by Jesus! To the contrary, Jesus told him that Peter was offensive and that his mind was not focused on the things of God rather than on the things of men.

Jesus had picked Peter and the other disciples for God’s purpose. His intention was not to be their best friend or to just do life together. He was training and equipping them to take over the ministry after His sacrifice on the cross. However, Peter was being carnal at this point, and the only thing he could think about was not losing the one he loved. In contrast, Jesus loved them all, but He did not allow His love for His disciples to derail him from His mission! His mind was made up about fulfilling God’s purpose even if it meant leaving His disciples!

For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Romans 8:6

In life, we can develop many loves and treasures, but we need to be careful in not allowing them to lead us into carnality. One of the symptoms of carnal-mindedness is losing peace. When we try to figure things out in our own strength and go outside of the boundary of what God has asked us to do, we begin to fret, strive, and worry.

A mind that is submitted to the Lord always looks to the Lord for answers and does not try to fill in the blank out of fear and insecurity. Whenever we think that we have to conjure up a plan to keep control of the situation, our mind becomes carnally minded and produces evil fruit!

The scripture (See Philippians 4:8) tells us to meditate on things that are true, just, noble, pure, lovely,  and of good report. That’s the atmosphere of faith. It opens the door for God to be involved in our lives. Those are the characteristics of our heavenly Father who sends us His goodness and lavishes us with peace and security.

Interestingly, as I was writing this, I was challenged by a situation. I found myself getting anxious. So I asked my heavenly Father to help me. He showed me in the areas that it is not my responsibility to do anything about, through prayer I need to release the situation in the Lord’s hands. In faith, I need to believe what is good and praiseworthy! This is not easy because we want to be in control, and we certainly want a good outcome. We have a choice to make. We can either be led by the spirit, which is life and peace or be led by our flesh and our carnal thoughts, which is control and turmoil.

How are you doing with loving God with all your mind? Do you have a busy mind? Are you always trying to figure things out? Do you feel like you have to have a plan B and C in place just in case your plan A doesn’t work out? Are you able to still your mind and just rest in the Lord? Can you surrender all your questions, striving, and worries at the cross and declare that God is in control? He will show us if/when we need to do something. In the meantime, we can enjoy loving Him and resting in Him.

 

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Love the Lord Your God (Part III)

Leave a Comment / Love, Soul / By

But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying,  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  Matthew 22:34-40

I shared in the last devotional that Jesus’ commandment to love the Lord has different elements that we should slow down and meditate on. Last time, I wrote about loving the Lord with all our hearts. In this devotional, I will share about loving the Lord with all our souls.

How do we love the Lord with all our souls!? The more we allow our soul to come under the direction of the Holy Spirit, the more spiritual we become, which allows us to love the Lord genuinely rather than out of our fickle feelings or thoughts of the moment! Before we knew Christ, our soul was in charge, and it took its cues from the natural world and our five senses. We were carnal beings before we came to salvation. Carnality has to do with all the fleshly desires and operating only from a natural and visible perspective. After salvation, our spirit man should grow to become the one in charge and our soul should come under its control, otherwise we will love the Lord based on our natural senses and circumstances rather than our communion with God!

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?  For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal? 1 Corinthians 3:1-4

Paul told the Corinthian believers that they were carnal. One of the ways that we know someone is carnal is that they have remained childish in their faith and refuse to grow up. They cannot handle weighty things of God, and they are still in need of milk to be nourished and nurtured by someone else. Their spirit man has remained infantile!

If we are going to love the Lord with all our souls, we need to have a soul that is surrendered to our spirit man. The Bible directs to grow up and to put aside carnality. Paul gave us some of the symptoms that can help determine if we are fleshly and carnal or if we are spiritual. He told the Corinthian believers that they have factions, envy, strife, and division. These individuals were still controlled by their carnal nature, and they had not allowed the spirit of God to take control of their  souls.

Unfortunately, carnality is prevalent in the body of Christ. We can see strife, division, and competition between different members or groups in the church. Generally, people claim that it is somebody else’s fault. Someone else is the problem or started the strife. The truth is that carnality begets carnality, and we don’t have to allow others to trap us in it.

A spirit-led life requires self-control, forgiveness, and trust in the Lord in order not to get engaged in carnality. We cannot control or correct others’ behavior. Our part is to not get into the ring of strife and avoid a carnality that would feed the flesh and cause more harm for us and others.

Jesus has commanded us to love Him with all our souls.  We don’t have to allow anyone to pollute our souls. We can say “no” to our flesh. We have to continually subject the soul to be controlled by our spirit man rather than our fleshly tendencies. It is not an easy process, but the more we do it and see the fruit of the spirit developing in us, we grow in maturity. It also allows us to have more faith the next time when a situation comes up that tries to take over our souls and cause us to walk in carnality!

Thank you Lord for making us aware that many times we have been carnal and have not loved you with all our souls. Please forgive us for not obeying your first commandment. Give us the grace to remain alert and to allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our souls!

 

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Love the Lord Your God (Part II)

Leave a Comment / Love, Love of God, Mercy, Truth / By

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5

But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying,  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:34-40

Jesus answered a Pharisee by stating that the first commandment is to love the Lord with all our hearts, with all our souls, and all our minds. We may not pay much attention to this commandment because we have heard it many times! So it’s important to slow down, think about the different elements of this commandment, and what they mean to us!

First, what does it look like to love the Lord with all our hearts!?

Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, Proverbs 3:3

God desires for us to be full of mercy and truth. He wants us to write mercy and truth on the tablet of our hearts. That means that we need to be continually aware of God’s mercy towards us and just as the Lord has been merciful to us, we also need to be merciful to others. This is a reminder of the Lord’s prayer when Jesus prayed in Matthew 6:12, “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” Those who have received the love and the forgiveness of the Lord have the responsibility to bless others with mercy and forgiveness as God has forgiven us.

Furthermore, God wants us to write truth on our hearts. We need to spend time knowing God’s truth, meditating on it, and keeping it in our hearts. His truth keeps us anchored and helps us to stay on the narrow path.  Our heart is the place where we keep those things that are dear to us. Are His truth and mercy dear and valuable to us!?

Furthermore, in John 1:14, the scripture tells us that Jesus came “full of grace and truth.” When we live and walk in truth and mercy, we represent the Lord Jesus and who He is to the world!

Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23

In addition to keeping God’s mercy and truth in our hearts, we also need to protect our hearts from all others desires, distractions, and pollutions. The issues of life are varied. We have many temptations coming at us causing us to think that there are more important things to devote our time and attention to. There are also many trends that try to influence our choices to be popular and relevant, and they attempt to derail us from God’s desires and priorities.

Sometimes, the issues of life could be just dealing appropriately with people and not allowing our hearts to grow bitter or cold towards others because they have failed to meet our expectations. It’s hard to love others and not be disappointed when they fail us. However, the scripture tells us to guard our hearts with all diligence. That tells me that it is not easy to protect our hearts, and it requires work, intentionality, and attention.

If we want to remain in a place where God has the first place in our hearts, it is like a person who decides to get married. When we make the decision and the covenant to get married, in effect we are saying that my heart belongs to my spouse, and it is guarded and protected from falling in love with any other person! Similarly, if our hearts are dedicated to the Lord, then we cannot allow other loves to come into our hearts and pollute us from our first commitment. We need to put a seal on our hearts that other desires will not be allowed.

Lord, our hearts belong to you! Show us if we we have anything in our hearts that has taken your place or it has crowded or polluted our hearts. We want to have a clean heart before you. Teach us to guard it. Help us to keep mercy and truth in our hearts and to represent you well to a lost world! Amen!

 

Image by Igor Schubin from Pixabay

Love the Lord Your God (Part I)

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We love Him because He first loved us. 1John 4:19

God in His mercy reached out to us first and showed us that He loves us and cares about us! It is His transforming love that opens our hearts to love him back. Our love relationship with the Lord did not originate with us, and neither did our good works brought it about. God initiated the relationship. Jesus, His only begotten son, came to show us the love and the commitment of the Father to a lost world!

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5

But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying,  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:34-40

Jesus was the personification of the love of the Father, and His great sacrifice declared God’s great love towards us! He came to show us and teach us God’s ways. Interestingly, when a Pharisee asked Jesus about the greatest commandment, Jesus did not give him any new information, and neither did He give him a new law! Although, the Pharisee was trying to trap Jesus in saying something that was against the law, Jesus responded with the very words of God from Deuteronomy!

In reality, God had required His people to love Him from the beginning, but they tried to keep the law without having a heart to surrender themselves to the Lord. They were comfortable doing their religious duties apart from a relationship. As a matter of fact, they created additional rules to ensure that people were following every minute detail lest they sin in the absence of concrete information!

Obviously, apart from Christ, they would not have been able to develop an intimate relationship with God. Nevertheless, many of them were blinded with their works thinking that God was impressed with their sacrificial obedience of the law! However, in reality, they were not seeking the heart and the mind of the Lord concerning their spiritual state. The religious people were too busy impressing themselves and others that they could not admit the hollowness of their activities. On the other hand, it was the down and out, the sick, and the sinners who were hungry and thirsty for spiritual matters, and they were not afraid of admitting it and searching for the truth.

Similarly, we may also think that as long as we keep the law, we are doing what God is asking us. It’s so easy to fall into that trap. In addition, many times the people around us measure our love for God by our activities, which makes it difficult for us to be focused on our relationship with the Lord. However, there is more to loving God than just obeying the rules. I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.

 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay