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In the book of Mark, Chapter 12, starting at Verse 28, in response to a question, Jesus said that the greatest commandment was “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.”

He was not asked about the second greatest commandment, but He gave it anyway, because it is so important. “And the second is like, namely this, Thou Shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”

Let’s notice what this does not mean. It does not mean that you are to put your neighbor’s interest above your own. You are to love your neighbor “as yourself”. That means it’s good to love yourself. Loving yourself is only a problem when you love yourself too much, to the extreme, when you put your interest above the interest of God, or your interest to the detriment of your neighbor.

To seek our own good is not sinful. Seeking our own good is not a result of the fall of mankind, not a result of sin. It seems that God gave us a nature to seek our own good – it was necessary, pure and the right thing to do. We are never required to be “selfless” – although sometimes we may in fact tend to perform selfless acts in the interest of the good of our neighbor.

What things would give you a better life if you started doing them? What things are you doing that you know that if you stopped doing you would have a better life? Ask yourself these questions sincerely, and listen openly and honestly to know the answer.

Start practicing doing / not doing those things in small steps, do 5% better. Ask God’s help and guidance. Yes, you will fail, you will relapse, you will have set backs. Don’t give up. Don’t be discouraged. Start over. And over. And over. Try persistently. In the long run you will see improvement, you will see success. It will change your life.

Yes, love yourself.   

In the book of Mark, Chapter 12, starting at Verse 28, someone asked Jesus, Which is the first commandment of all? Another way to ask that might be, Which is the most important commandment?

Jesus answered, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” There may be some who have heard this many times and not often reflected deeply on its meaning. Much could be said about the nature of God, and how when we deeply understand His nature why our response is to seek Him and to love Him.

Here I would like to hypothesize: Love toward God tends toward trusting Him with your life.

We can sincerely ask ourselves, and answer honestly in our hearts: Do I trust God with my life? Do I trust His wisdom to know how to give me the greatest life I could possibly have? Do I trust His power to bring about those good things in my life? Do I trust His love? Do I trust His goodness? Not just the love that we know He has for all. But do I trust that He loves me. That He is good to me, and is going to bring about goodness in my life? Do I trust His mercy? Even when I don’t deserve that mercy. Especially when I don’t deserve that mercy.

As the Psalmist said, can I say in my heart: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Let’s trust Him fully to do good for you. Your daily practice will reflect this deep trust.

No matter who you are, or what your circumstances, you will have trouble at times in your life.

It may be trouble that you brought on yourself. Maybe your actions, words, or attitudes have resulted in trouble.

Maybe you are you partly responsible for the trouble.

Or maybe it’s trouble that you had nothing to do with. Trouble is sometimes just the result of living in this world that is fallen, full of sin, accident, tragedy, disease, death. A land of want, scarcity, lack of resources. Earth is not heaven.

The trouble may be minor, inconvenience, frustrating. Or it may maybe major, devastating, insurmountable, crushing.

No matter where the source or how intense, there is help in trouble. A present help. That means not someday or maybe, but present right now. Not just a present help, but a very present help. A help that is engaged, active and caring.

Psalms 46: 1 – 3:

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.

Therefore will not we fear,
though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains
Be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
And though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.
Selah.

Later in the same chapter, verse 7:

The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah.

 

The foundation of Christian faith is love. First, love to God. Second, love to our neighbor. We know that Christ died to pay for our sins, and restore a right relationship with God. Because of our gratitude we want to be become Christ-like. We see in Christ complete excellence, complete beauty, complete loving-kindness, complete goodwill toward us, that we are drawn toward that spirit, we thirst for that love, and to be a part of that love.

Love is the disposition by which one is dear to another. The objects of love are God and other people.

Genuine and real love to God and other people is essential as we grow in Christ and walk with Christ. It is not something that we want to choose to practice now and then, when it is convenient, or when we want to impress others. As we practice this Christian virtue, it will become a part of our nature. It is of course part of the nature of God, of Christ, it’s who they are.

We will of course sometimes fail to be in that love. But God knows our heart. The important thing is He knows in our heart, we sincerely want to follow God and show His love.

The more we know about God, the more we will want to follow the way Christ, the way of love.

After speaking of great spiritual gifts, the scripture expands on the concept by stating in 1 Corinthians 12:31 “yet shew (show) unto you a more excellent way”.

Let’s seek to follow that excellent way.

People try to please God in a lot of different ways. What’s more important, not killing, not lying, going to church, being a good person?

In a way someone ask Jesus that question, recorded in Matthew 22.

[35] Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
[36] Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
[37] 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.
[38] This is the first and great commandment.

Thus, it’s a matter of the heart. God wants your love. The more we know about God, the more we want to love Him.

The things God asks us to do, He is complete and perfect in. God is Love.

Hope is an amazing and wonderful thing. We rally our energies around what we can hope for. It helps achieve things we may have thought unlikely or impossible. It helps us to endure what we could not otherwise endure.

Hope in this world is important. But when grounded on the hope in heaven, hope can be unshakable. The things of heaven are far more important than the things of earth. Viz, things of heaven last forever, are full of perfect love, happiness, have no sorrow, sadness, regret, pain, envy, hatred, misunderstanding, suffering. Much could be said about each of those.

Hope is important. Very often we are apt to look only on the present world for hope. Remember we have an unshakable hope, purchased d by the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ, settled forever in the heavenly.

No one know what the future may hold. Pandemic, unemployment, recession, war, broken dreams. But as is often said, we know who holds the future.

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” – Romans 15:13                                                                                                                                                                                     

We all like to achieve big, great things. That’s good, it’s a part of the way we are made. There are big great achievements that have made the world a better place, and blessed the lives of millions.

It’s also important to remember how important the little things are. It’s very likely that the little things will have a huge impact on your life.

Things like how you treat your family, the people closest to you. Sometimes the little things you do for them may seems insignificant – listening to them, taking care of them, preparing them a meal, taking them where they need to go. These day-to-day things build lasting relationships and bless lives.

Don’t forget other little things. Like taking care of yourself. Getting enough sleep, taking time to relax, eating good foods, exercising, brushing your teeth, keeping you and your surrounding clean.

Be faithful in those little things. They are immensely important. They can help you have a good life. You having a good life pleases God.

“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” – Luke 16:10

Why did Jesus Christ die? The answer is given plainly in I Corinthians 13:3 “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures”.

If there was any other way to God, another way to have forgiveness of sins, Christ would not have died. He would have just directed us to the other way. It is reasonable to think that he did not enjoy being brutally beaten, hanged on a cross, endure the pain and suffering until he died. Only if it was absolutely necessary. And he deemed it absolutely necessary.

Some do great good works, hoping to prove to themselves and to others that they are a good person. Make no mistake – good works are highly commended in the scriptures! But good works will never make a person good. Good comes from the heart, a heart that has trusted in the finished work of Christ to pay for all sin.

Declared Cleansed! Redeemed! Set free! By the only one who paid the price and has the right to do so – Jesus Christ!

Joy unspeakable!

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: – Isaiah 59:1

No doubt, the pandemic has disrupted lives, dashed hopes and dreams, caused grief.

It’s a time to remember the Bible verse above. Remember you are in His hands, the circumstances do not diminish Him. In another scripture in Isaiah, Christ is call a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
– Psalms 46:1

God won’t forsake you in a time of trouble. Look to Him.

One of the most important questions you will ever ask is, Can you trust God?

Can you trust God with your life?

Can you trust God with your family?

It’s a good question to ask. Ask God. Ask it every once in a while. Ask it sincerely, with an open heart. He’s a big God. He won’t be dismayed by your questions. He has answers. He will answer. Maybe immediately. Maybe over time. But you will find answers.

It will make a big difference in the way you live your life.