AFFECTION MAKES FOR EFFECTIVENESS
Friday, September 26, 2014
Deuteronomy
6:5-9 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all
thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words,
which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach
them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in
thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and
when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and
they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon
the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. [Jn.14:15; 1Jn.5:2-3]
Matthew
22:23-40 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which
say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, Saying, Master, Moses said,
If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise
up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first,
when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto
his brother: Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last
of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she
be of the seven? for they all had her. Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are
given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not
read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And when the
multitude heard this, they were
astonished at his doctrine. But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put
the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master,
which is the great commandment in the
law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is
like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the
prophets.
As God’s John
1:12 children we are to love the Lord above all others. “love the Lord” is in
17 verses, 14 in OT, 3 in NT, beginning with Deuteronomy 6:5 and lastly recorded
from the lips of Jesus in Luke 10:27.
(Deut.6:5; 11:1, 13, 22; 13:3; 19:9; 30:6, 16, 20: Jos.23:11;
Ps.31:23; 97:10; 116:1; Mt.22:37; Mk.12:30; Lk.10:27)
We may tend to
think this commandment and request is wholly restrictive because of God’s
jealousy. (Ex.20:5; 34:14; Deut.4:24; 5:9; 6:15; Jos.24:19; Joel 2:18; Nah.1:2;
Zec.1:14; 8:2; Jam.4:4-5) But it is not. It is also beneficial to those that
love Him.
Only as we live
in deep affection for God can we live an effective life:
- Let us understand and accept that in serving the Lord we indeed do take His burden upon us, but it is not a grievous burden. (Mt.11:29; Jam.4:5)
- Agreeably taking Jesus’ yoke of loving the Father and others we leave our burdensome yoke of self by the wayside, and gain rest. (Heb.4:3; Jam.4:5) We need to stop thinking escaping from the rigors of life is true rest. It is not. God’s rest is to be daily currently realized and practiced where we stand and walk.
- Loving the Lord as He commands and leads we live by and thereby in His present and eternal portion. (Deut.30:6, 16; Ps.31:23; Heb.11:6)
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