Dec 02 2024

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

In his last speech to the Israelites, Moses tells them they should love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and might. Today, although several millennia have passed, we should examine ourselves in light of Moses' words: Do we love God the way the Israelites were advised to?

This question isn't meant as a condemnation, but rather as a way to think about how we show devotion to the Lord in our lives. As Christians, we are supposed to be ever growing and increasing our knowledge and understanding of the Lord, and growing in love for Him is a natural consequence of that.

This verse explains three ways that we love the Lord: with our heart, our soul, and our might. There is an important word repeated throughout: all. God doesn't want only part of our hearts; He wants all of our hearts. He wants total devotion—not a divided heart.

We love the Lord with our hearts because He connects with each of us on a personal, emotional level. We feel His mercies and kindness in our hearts. We love the Lord with our souls because we know that the Gospel is true and that through it, we are saved. Finally, we love the Lord with all of our might. Rather than another reason for loving the Lord, this is more a description of how we love Him. We love Him with everything we have—all of our might!

Today, think about ways that you can intentionally show love to the Lord. It might be through reaching out to a friend, a neighbor, or a stranger. It might be spending extra time with Him throughout the day. Regardless of how you feel led to express your love for the Lord, focus on doing it with all of your heart, your soul, and your might—just as Moses told the Israelites so long ago.

Dear Lord, thank you for being a loving and gracious God. Thank you for loving me when I am not lovable and for reaching down into my heart and making me more like you. Show me ways that I can love you more. I want to love you with all my heart, soul, and might. In Jesus' name, amen.

Dec 01 2024

Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. :

In this Proverb, we are reminded of the importance of words, which have a profound impact on our lives. Pleasant words are sweet and nourishing. There are many applications of this verse, but today we will focus on two.

The first is that the Lord has given us so many pleasant words in His Word. When we're discouraged about who we are, we can read Psalm 139 and be reminded that He is the one who knitted us together. When we feel anxious, we can turn to the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus promises that we will be provided for and that our anxieties are fruitless. When we feel defeated by something, we can turn to Psalm 23, where we are reminded that God always goes before us and prepares a way for us.

We can easily become intimidated by the Bible. It's a very large book from an ancient culture that is far removed from our own! However, when we ask the Lord to help us, we will discover His words to be like a honeycomb: sweet to the soul, and healing to our bones. We can drink in His words over and over again, refreshing our souls with all that He says to us.

And once we are filled with thoughts of Jesus's love, we can share His love with other people. We can use our words to bless other people in the most unsuspecting moments. Ask the Lord to give you an opportunity to speak life into people as you meet them. This is a prayer that, time after time, He seems to answer almost immediately! Ask Him to open your eyes to moments where you can be a minister through your words. This might be in the form of a compliment to the person checking you out in a grocery store, a thoughtful text message to someone special, or even a handwritten note.

Because we have received sweet words from the Lord, we should share sweet words with other people. Our lives are meant to reflect His grace, and He will help us as we call out to Him.

Dear Lord, I thank you so much for your mercy and grace to me. Thank you for Scripture—the ultimate place of sweet and nourishing words. Help me to drink it in and then to live it by sharing your love and kindness with the people around me. Help me to cling to you as I speak words of life around me. In Jesus' name, amen.