Frederick Buechner put it this way: "People are so apt to drift along on the surface of their lives, not really seeing or hearing or feeling very much because most of the time they are little more than half alive, the rest of the time dazed, dreaming, or detached." These Ten Commandments, this Law of Love the Lord Your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself, this Law of Love will be broken again and again. We don't need to be punished for messing up. God came to destroy sin not to punish us for sinning. No one can keep all of these commandments day in/day out. May our commitment be to surrender not to self-improvement.
COME BOLDLY: Timeless Prayers
Father, empower us to be on the watch and praying that we may be able to escape all that is about to happen to us. Luke 21:36 NIV. May we know deeply the words of John Wesley: "On every occasion of uneasiness, we should retire to prayer, that we may give place to the Grace and Light of God, and then form our resolutions, without being in any pain about what success they may have."
PHOTO: This earth and all it contains belongs to God. Pondering in my heart the inheritance we have as believers in this Maker of heaven and earth.
Mark 12:28-30 "One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?”
ReplyDeleteJesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord;
and you shall 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 greatest commandment is to love God fully. . .with all our hearts, with all our souls, with all our minds, with all our strength."
Straight forward and simply stated, but not so easy to do...loving God is an action, not a mere emotion. Loving God is our life work.
Not only is this a commandment, but it is smart living. The wisdom in living life this way frees us from much. We no longer need to be concerned about our own needs and concerns, but we purposefully put our love and trust in the One True God. Keeping the bigger picture frees us to fully live in the moment, without anxiety or even a consciousness of self. We simply are beautifully lost, wrapped up in the Greater Purpose, the Divine One, Lord of all. He is Life. He is Everything. Never are we more fully alive than when we are found in Him, fully devoted and fully loved!