Mark 12:29-31\u00a0<\/b>–\u00a0\u201cThe most important one,\u201d\u00a0answered Jesus,\u00a0\u201cis this: \u2018Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.\u00a030\u00a0Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.\u2019\u00a031\u00a0The second is this: \u2018Love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019\u00a0There is no commandment greater than these.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Matthew 22:37-40<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Jesus replied:\u00a0\u201c\u2018Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.\u2019\u00a038\u00a0This is the first and greatest commandment.\u00a039\u00a0And the second is like it: \u2018Love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019\u00a040\u00a0All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
Concerning a well know Brother who passed away and then some dark secrets became public, that is why we keep our eyes on the Lord.\u00a0 It was also hard for my wife and I.\u00a0 I did feel disappointment, but really, the first and strongest thing I felt was hurt and sorrow for him and his family.\u00a0 We can be sure that this weighed heavily on him.\u00a0 I’m sure it was a struggle that he just never found the victory over.\u00a0 It must have burned him within.\u00a0 It’s so true that we are all weak.\u00a0 Sometimes we know how weak we are, and other times we don’t know.<\/p>\n
Just today I was talking to the Lord about the two greatest commandments of love.\u00a0\u00a0Mark 12:29-31<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0Matthew 22:37-40<\/b>.\u00a0 Mark states that these are the highest commandments given.\u00a0 The highest commandments!\u00a0 Since they are the most important we should more often be hearing messages about this.\u00a0 These are the most important commandments that Jesus gave us.\u00a0 Matthew says that everything that is recorded in the Old Testament Law and the Old Testament prophets hangs on, is based in, and is contained in these two commandments.\u00a0\u00a0Also all the New Testament commands and guides are based on love. Does one steal?\u00a0 They would not if they loved as God loves and as we should.\u00a0 The same is true for anger issues, if we understand and strive for His love, and not any other \u201clove.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Remember, that Jesus said all the commandments hang on love.\u00a0 So even sexual immorality hangs on love.\u00a0 Sexual immorality comes from wanting to satisfy self.\u00a0 The world today, and even pastors, teachers and Christian counselors want to help people by acquiescing and counseling with the world’s teachings instead of holding high and accepting this basic and most important truth from the Word.\u00a0\u00a0We all need to love God more than we do.\u00a0 We need to love God and each other as He loves us. (Matthew 5:48<\/b>)<\/p>\n
We all think that the throne of God is, in our lives, much higher than any other throne.\u00a0 We firmly believe that God is our treasure beyond all other treasures.\u00a0 Yet, too often, God has a rival and that rival is none other than ourselves.\u00a0 Now people have achieved different levels of loving God and honoring Him above all else.\u00a0 Perhaps some have reached that level, but really has anyone truly reached that level.\u00a0 If we love God more that ourselves, more than all desires, all addictions, and more than unhealthy habits, then natural reactions would be torn down and cast aside so that our actions would, in all ways, be pleasing to God.\u00a0 And for all of us, if it’s not one thing, it is another.<\/p>\n
And please we must quit saying we are only human.\u00a0\u00a0At least those who belong to Jesus. Doesn\u2019t\u00a02 Corinthians 5:17<\/b>\u00a0state\u00a0\u201cTherefore, if anyone is in Christ,\u00a0the new creation\u00a0has come:\u00a0The old has gone, the new is here!\u201d<\/i>\u00a0\u00a0Since we believe the Word of God as the Word of God then we should believe it before anything else, including what can come to our own minds.\u00a0\u00a0(2 Corinthians 10:5<\/b>)\u00a0\u00a0We are no longer merely human flesh, for those in who have faith in Jesus, God the Holy Spirit has come to live within us and seals us as God\u2019s children as stated in\u00a0Ephesians 1:13<\/b>.\u00a0\u00a0Since God is within us we are not merely flesh, but flesh and God within us.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus was one hundred percent both God and flesh.\u00a0\u00a0We are one hundred percent human but with God within us.\u00a0\u00a0With God within, we are not \u201conly human.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0How great is God and His love for us.<\/p>\n
The beloved and dear brother who erred loved the Lord dearly.\u00a0 He was a great man of God and I still cherish his teachings.\u00a0 His error does not erase the Truth he taught.\u00a0\u00a0If a man tells another man that murder is a sin, even if that man should commit murder the truth of what he said still stands.\u00a0\u00a0He just did not live up to it.\u00a0\u00a0In reality, do any of us live perfectly?\u00a0\u00a0Can any of us say that?\u00a0\u00a0He was not perfect.\u00a0 He knew his sins.\u00a0 He likely agonized over them, yet that was his weakness.\u00a0 It was bad.\u00a0 What is worse is that he was putting his natural desires higher than how much he wanted to honor God.\u00a0 And he definitely wanted to honor God.\u00a0 And that is what we all do in one way or another, whether we want to believe that or not.\u00a0 Even anger is true of this and also our unhealthy eating habits.\u00a0 Both of these could be used by people in the world to judge us (even some sitting next to us in the aisles of our churches). \u00a0Their judgement does not risk our salvation, but it does harm how much they will believe when we share the Lord with them.\u00a0 I know that too often, while I have cried out to God that I place Him on the highest throne, I have been, at the same time, consciously and unconsciously, making choices that place my wants and desires perilously close, or, horribly, even to the level of His throne.\u00a0 God forgive us!\u00a0 God forgive me!\u00a0 And…He does!\u00a0 How amazing is our God!<\/p>\n
I believe the brother who erred is in Heaven with our Lord who loves Him.\u00a0 After all, the Lord knows all of our attitudes and sins much better than we do.\u00a0 I feel bad for his family.\u00a0 And for his ministry partners.\u00a0 He let them down.\u00a0 I feel bad for them.\u00a0 But I believe that this brother felt worse about all this than we do.\u00a0 He couldn’t help himself.\u00a0 I hurt for how he must have hurt and for the hurt he left behind him.\u00a0 Yet I remember that when I write about him I write a lowercase “him.”\u00a0 When I write about the Lord, I write uppercase “Him.”\u00a0 There’s the difference.\u00a0 About ourselves and all others, we do well if we remember that.\u00a0\u00a0And always praise the Lord that He judges from His just love.\u00a0\u00a0Praise God!\u00a0\u00a0Thank you Jesus!<\/p>\n
\nJohn 1:5<\/b>\u00a0\u201cThe light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/p>\n
Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear\u00a0me.<\/p>\n
Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has\u00a0shown you, Oh man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; and what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of you, but\u00a0to do justly, to love\u00a0mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.<\/p>\n
Numbers 6:24-26<\/b>\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0bless you and keep you; 25\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26\u00a0The\u00a0Lord\u00a0turn His face\u00a0toward you and give you peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mark 12:29-31\u00a0–\u00a0\u201cThe most important one,\u201d\u00a0answered Jesus,\u00a0\u201cis this: \u2018Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.\u00a030\u00a0Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.\u2019\u00a031\u00a0The second is this: \u2018Love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019\u00a0There is no commandment greater than these.\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[129,1841,100,93,101,94,1874,17],"class_list":["post-2667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-corinthians","tag-ephesians","tag-john","tag-mark","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-numbers","tag-psalm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2667"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2668,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2667\/revisions\/2668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}