Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Loving God With Passion

"Jesus answered him, 'The foremost of all the commandments is: "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." This is the first commandment.'"
(Mark 12:29,30)

This is one of those verses that we love. Most of us are very familiar with its compelling words. I don't know about you, but just hearing this passage of Scripture drums up feelings of faith - of connectedness to the Body of Christ. If I close my eyes I can hear Jesus declaring, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one!"

Love it!

Are we so familiar with this commandment that we fail to consider its meaning? Maybe. No condemnation here - just thinking about the fact that this is not a suggestion. It is the most important commandment of all.

Now, that is something to think about.

Do you suppose its importance lies in the fact that Jehovah God is LORD?
He is not a nice idea, an adventurous fairy tale, a mythological creature. He is our Lord! He is the Great and Mighty God, Elohim - the Creator of the Universe. He is holy, magnificent and His majesty is beyond description. (I'm taking Him out of that gilded box again. Can you tell?)

Jesus is quoting from Deuteronomy 6:4,5
where Moses has called all the people of Israel together to let them know what the Lord requires of them as they journey into the land flowing with milk and honey - the Promised Land. I think it is awesome that Jesus is teaching these same requirements for entering the Kingdom of God.

Same Lord.
Same Promised Land.
Same children of God.


As I studied, I broke down the words in Hebrew and Greek and discovered something that made a difference to my understanding. I hope it will help you also. The word 'with' - WITH all your heart, soul, mind and strength - is ek in Greek and means "from the origin of or out of". We are being told to love the Lord out of the origin of ALL of our being - our heart, our soul, our mind and our strength. Think of a well-spring. Isn't that beautiful?

Deuteronomy 10:12
(Amplified Study Bible) reads, "And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you but reverently to fear the Lord your God, that is to walk in all His ways, and to love Him and to serve the Lord your God with all your mind and heart and with your entire being."

The Lord would say, "My child, give me your heart for out of it springs rivers of Living Water. Love Me passionately, recognize My Holiness. Live in My love, breathe in My Spirit and taste and see that I AM good."


We love You, Father. Teach us to love You passionately, with our entire being.

5 comments :

  1. Beautiful, as always, Nan. Thank you for your daily indepth teaching. You are an awesome woman of God and I'm so blessed to have you in my life!

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  2. Amazing. Again, the Holy Spirit is showing me the same truths.
    Let me briefly share sth the Lord has been telling me.
    The Lord, our God is ONE. That is, there is NO division whatsoever btw the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They are one and the same mind/heart. When the Father speaks, Son and Spirit fully agree. What the Father showed the Son, the Son perfectly reflected in thoughts and deeds. Jesus as a man was fully and absolutely surrendered to the Father. He never performed any miracle (nor withheld a miracle) apart from His father's will.
    But we... more often than not are double-minded. Our spirit wants to obey but we let our flesh persuade us not to. Or we obey half-heartedly.
    We Christians have a choice. Isaiah 26:3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
    Or James 1:5-8 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
    The question is: Do we want God's wisdom and love to guide us in all our ways? Or do we prefer to keep our self-sufficient mindset?

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  3. Vonda, you made me cry. Thank you for your encouragement.

    Carina, You ask the perfect question! I have often spoken about the difference between 'Lord' and 'Savior'. There is a HUGE difference. Walking down the aisle to the altar does not make Him Lord - it makes Jesus our Savior. To make Him Lord requires surrender, not just commitment. To make Him Lord requires obedience in ALL things. That is the growing process - just like a child. But the more we surrender the more we are transformed into His likeness. The more we surrender the brighter His Light shines in the darkness around us.

    Thank you so much for sharing. You are precious!

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  4. Beautiful, Nan! I love the imagery of springs of living water and the exhortation to love God, passionately, with all our being!
    And I love this verse as it affirms the plurality of the Godhead: the Lord-(YHVH-or Adonai if you are Jewish), our God-(Eloheinu-a PLURAL form of Elohim, plus the word meaning "our"), the Lord-(YHVH or Adonai)-is one-(Echad-a word which expresses unity, as in one essence or one being.) The Plurality of God is One. God in Three Persons, but ONE God.
    Sorry for the quick breakdown...but I just wanted to interject this thought as it confirms what Jesus said when He taught His disciples: "I and the Father are one." John 10:30
    Love you!!

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