We had a great session last Sunday on Love. I lead a small group on what does Deuteronomy 6:5 look like in our everyday lives. Since we had such a small group Jack and Alice just joined in as participants in my study. I know we had many people attend the Discovery Meeting so I'm hopeful we will have more people this Sunday night. Come on out at 5 PM to join us for 30 to 45 minutes - Jack and Alice have prepared some great material. Jack will talk about how he has handled disappointments in his life. When things haven't gone as planned - and how God has helped him through those tough times. Alice will be talking about raising kids and their activities. One of her guides has been the book: "It's your Kid, Not a Gerbil, " by Dr. Kevin Leman. It will be lighthearted but with the emphasis on building strong character and a love for home and family.
We will meet in the CLC main area at 5:00 and disperse from there.
What you missed on my study...
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Deut. 6:5
This scripture is so essential to God’s chosen people that they write it on a scroll (along with another scripture) and place it on their doorways called a Mezuzah. Also during morning prayers the Jewish male uses the Tefillin – again this scripture and 3 others on scrolls in a small box attached to their head & arm – to feel the spiritual bond with God. This same scripture is mentioned 3 times in the new testament: Jesus answer’s the question - What is the greatest commandment with this verse in Matthew & Mark but adds “Love your neighbor as yourself” to the end. Then again in Luke he uses the parable of the Good Samaritan to give meaning to this verse.
What does it mean?
LOVE GOD – ok I get that I’m suppose to love God – the most. With all your heart & soul… we tend to understand this – our emotions and the essence of who we are – why we respond the way we do – our being.
With all your strength…the King James says might instead of strength and Strong’s Concordance gives this definition:
1) exceedingly, much
2) might, force, abundance
3) muchness, force, abundance, exceedingly a) force, might b) exceedingly, greatly, very (idioms showing magnitude or degree)
I love the muchness definition - the quality or state of being great in quantity, extent, or degree. So what does it look like to love God with all of our muchness?
In our homes:
I thought about disciplining our children - As we love our children with our heart & soul, we want to believe them and show mercy when they misbehave. Does this sound familiar?
I’m sorry, I won’t do it again, I love you so much mommy…
When we love our children with our muchness We train or punish our children because we know it will make them a better person with the goal to become obedient to God. We know if they can't be obedient to us who they can touch, see, and hear how are they going to be obedient to God? Our response now when the muchness kicks in...
This hurts me more than it hurts you, their disappointment & tears tear at your heart, they become angry towards you
How about being a family - when we love God with all that we are and start putting that muchness into action – we want to start obeying God: Pray together, eat together, go to church together, talk about Sunday school and church, over look our spouses annoyances, become selfless, we seek God’s will in our decision making, etc.
In our church & our communities & our homes:
- We tame our tongue: With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. James 3:9-10 NIV
- Become a good listener: My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. James 1:19-20 NIV
- Don’t show favoritism: You do well when you complete the Royal Rule of the Scriptures: “Love others as you love yourself.” But if you play up to these so-called important people, you go against the Rule and stand convicted by it. You can’t pick and choose in these things, specializing in keeping one or two things in God’s law and ignoring others. The same God who said, “Don’t commit adultery,” also said, “Don’t murder.” If you don’t commit adultery but go ahead and murder, do you think your non-adultery will cancel out your murder? No, you’re a murderer, period. James 2:8-11 The Message
- Submit to God: You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.” James 4: 4-6 The Message
- Put your Faith into Action: Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, “Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!” and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense? James 2: 14-17 The Message
- Pray: Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16 NIV
Take your LOVE to the next level:
- Selfless
- Humble
- Kind to the unkind
- Act out our faith (deeds) when we don’t feel like it
- Seek God first
- Love our neighbor as we love ourselves
If all your ministry and service is self-serving it is time for a muchness love check
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