Tag: love for God

Love For God

~ servantone1

JESUS SPEAKING

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 greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hand all the law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22: 37 – 40)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

According to Jesus, loving God with every ounce of our being is a natural response exhibited by those who have received the Gospel message. Dedicating our hearts, souls, and minds toward serving our heavenly Father first isn’t easy, but it is of the utmost importance. He must become our priority, He must become our emphasis; upon Him we focus our lives. Because He has saved us, we must then serve Him.

As the story goes, a violent thunderstorm once preserved the town of Basle from the shells of the Russians and Hungarians who were besieging the city. These pious people, as a thankful offering in gratitude to God, founded a school for the training of Christian missionaries. This was the origin of the great Basle Missionary Society which sent out hundreds of missionaries from 1815 – 2001. Because they had felt the love of God, they were compelled to make serving God their top priority.

We who have known the love of God are called to love Him First. In turn, we dedicate our hearts, minds, and souls to the Lord. Our salvation has made Jesus and His message our top priority. His ways become our ways; His path becomes our path. If we remain focused on loving God, we will never fail to love everyone else.

“Lord Heavenly Father, we come before You as humble servants. We are eternally grateful for Your salvation and we have felt Your love. In return, may we love You with every fiber of our being. May You remain our first priority, as we dedicate our lives to serving You in Spirit and in truth. We love You, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus Christ name. Amen.” God bless all of you!   

The Least of These

~ servantone1

JESUS SPEAKING

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'” (Matthew 25: 31 – 40)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

When Jesus returns, He will establish His perfect Kingdom upon the Earth. Those who have been obedient will inherit everlasting life; whereas the disobedient will experience eternal judgement. In this scripture Christ establishes a remarkable truth. When we feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, show hospitality toward strangers, clothe the naked, and visit those who are sick and in prison, we are exhibiting a genuine love for God. Acts of kindness toward others are equivalent to the displays of affection we direct toward Jesus Christ Himself. In short, serving others and serving God are identical. The degree of love we exhibit toward others is an exact reflection of our love for God.

Concerning affection, a little boy once declared that he loved his mother “with all his strength.” He was asked to explain what he meant by “with all his strength.” He said: “Well, I’ll tell you. You see, we live on the fourth floor of this tenement; and there’s no elevator, and the coal is kept down in the basement. Mother is busy all the time, and she isn’t very strong; so I see to it that the coal hold is never empty. I lug the coal up four flights of stairs all by myself. And it’s a pretty big hold. It takes all my strength to get it up here. Now isn’t that loving my mother with all my strength?”

This little boy’s affection for his mother was remarkable. Similarly, we as believers possess a monumental adoration for our Eternal Father. When we love God with all our strength, we will love and serve others in a similar manner. Today there are endless opportunities to serve The Lord, by simply serving and providing for the needs of our fellows. We can serve our families, our friends, our coworkers, our acquaintances, and even complete strangers. In so doing, the presence of God will be revealed in us, and the light of Christ will shine forth for all to see.

“Lord Heavenly Father, You are an awesome and amazing God; worthy of all honor and glory. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit, that we might love You with all our strength and remain obedient to Your will. May we serve You by serving our fellows; knowing that our love for them is equivalent to our love for You. We cherish You Lord, we praise You, and we thank You; and we ask and pray all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus Christ’s name we pray. Amen.” God bless all of you!

Love for God

~ servantone1

JESUS SPEAKING

            “He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me.  And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” (John 14: 21.)

INSPIRED THOUGHTS

            True affection for Jesus Christ is not merely some immeasurable, intangible feeling; instead, it is expressed outwardly through actions, words, and deeds.  Those who genuinely love God’s only Son attempt to remain obedient to His commandments; as faithful believers, they seek to implement his teachings in every area of their lives.

            Marriage is one of the greatest blessings a person can receive from the Lord; it provides those who are willing with the opportunity to practice the Christian principles of selflessness and service.  Just as love for Christ is manifest in obedience, so too, adherence to the desires of a spouse is a measure of our love for them.  Some time ago my wife asked me to fix some shelving in our closet; a task I gladly accomplished.  She also asked me to do the dishes before leaving for work; I did them, and later she thanked me for my efforts.  If I did not love her, I would have ignored her requests in order to indulge in my own selfish desires.

            Like a spouse, Jesus Christ has asked us to accomplish many things; to adhere to His teachings and to obey His commandments.  The pathway to conformity is paved with the bricks of knowledge.  Only by reading the words of Jesus can we know what He is asking of us.  Read His words daily and God will give you the desire and the ability to accomplish His will [His teachings are contained within the pages of the Holy Bible; specifically within the gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John.  A condensed version is found in Mathew, Chapters 5 – 7; a discourse commonly known as ‘The Sermon on the Mount.’]

            “Lord Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son to teach us what it truly means to love.  Bring to our remembrance all of His words, that we might adhere to His teachings and obey His commands.  May we lay down our lives to serve and love others as He so willingly did.  We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus Christ’s name.  Amen.”  God bless all of you.