LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF

Proclamation:

“One of the teachers of the law … asked Him, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’ ‘The most important one’, answered Jesus, ‘is this: Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God, The Lord is one.  Love The Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these.’”  Mark 12:28-31 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Mark as he received it from the apostle Peter.  He began this chapter with Jesus, The Christ, teaching the parable of the Tenants. (Mark 12:1-12)  He followed this with the answer that Jesus gave the Pharisees regarding paying the imperial tax to Caesar. (Mark 12:13-17)  Then one of the Sadducees asked Jesus a question regarding marriage of a woman sequentially to each of seven brothers and the resurrection, which they did not believe in, and Mark recorded the answer that Jesus gave him. (Mark 12:18-27)   After noticing the good answers that Jesus gave to the other questions, one of the scribes asked Him a question regarding which was the most important of the commandments.  Jesus answered him immediately by quoting The Word of God to him. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

Application:

This was not one of the Ten Commandments given to Moses. (Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21)  This is the commandment spoken by Jesus, The Christ, to the multitude which followed Him. (Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30, and Luke 10:27)  Jesus said that all of the commandments are based upon these two commandments. (Matthew 22:40)  In truth, all of us fall short when it comes to keeping these two commandments.  If we could keep both of them, then we would be perfect.  Although perfection is not humanly attainable, it is still a goal that is well worth striving for.  The Lord God also spoke to Moses and told him to tell the people to love their neighbor as they love themselves. (Leviticus 19:1-2 and 19:18)  If we could just do this, we would be doing very well. (James 2:8)

TEACH ME YOUR WAY LORD AND GIVE ME AN UNDIVIDED HEART

Proclamation:

“Teach me Your way, Lord, that I may rely on Your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.  I will praise You, Lord my God, with all my heart, I will glorify Your name forever.”  Psalm 86:11-12 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm was written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  This psalm is another one of the many prayers which David spoke to The Lord when he was in distress. (Psalm 86:1 and 6-7)  He acknowledged who The Lord God was and how great His deeds were. (Psalm 86:8-10)  Then he asked God to teach him and show him the way.  He had been blessed with knowledge before, but he wanted more instruction. (Psalm 25:4)  One cannot truly love The Lord with a heart that is divided between the love of God and the love of the world.  A unified and undivided heart is a gift from the Lord so that His people would love and fear Him. (Jeremiah 32:39)  He wanted to praise God with his whole heart and with all that was within him. (Psalm 103:1)

Application:

The only way for us to walk God’s way is for Him to show us the way. (Psalm 119:105)  He must teach us, lead us, and guide us in order for us to walk His way.  Only with the single-mindedness of a single-hearted loyalty to The Lord God can we truly love Him with all of our heart, mind and soul. (Deuteronomy 11:13 and Joshua 22:5)  Jesus, The Christ, said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)  We cannot love Him if we do not follow His Holy Word.  We cannot love Him if we confess a sin and then continue to repeat that sin.  That is proof that we love the sin more than we love Him. (John 3:19)  Our lifestyle is a reflection of our beliefs.  Believers are not perfect, but we follow God’s way.  If you continually follow the sinful path, you are not walking God’s way.  You must turn from your wicked sinful ways and seek Him if you want The Lord God to hear and answer your prayers. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

EARNESTLY SEEK THE LORD GOD AND THIRST FOR HIM

Proclamation:

“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek You, I thirst for You, my whole being longs for You, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.”  Psalm 63:1 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  The title of this psalm states that David was in the desert of Judah when he wrote it.  David’s wilderness experience has been compared to the wilderness experience of Jesus, The Christ, when He was tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1-3)  In a dry land without water, David was seeking The Lord God, the living water.  He knows that God’s loving-kindness is better than life itself. (Psalm 63:3)  That is why he sought after Him with his whole being, with all of his heart and all of his soul. (Deuteronomy 11:13)

Application:

All believers, at one time or another, will undergo a wilderness type of experience where we must suffer and do without something that we need.  This suffering should strengthen our faith and bring us closer to The Lord.  Those “wilderness experiences” are the times when we learn to depend upon The Lord God and to turn to Him to supply our needs. (Philippians 4:19)  When we hunger and thirst after Him, we will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)  When we truly seek Him with all of our heart and soul, we will find Him. (Proverbs 8:17 and Matthew 7:7-8)

GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART

Proclamation:

“I will give thanks to You, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds.  I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praises of Your name, O Most High.”  Psalm 9:1-2 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm is a song which was written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  Here David sings and publicly praises God sincerely with all of his heart.  He enthusiastically tells the people about the things which God has done.  David is making a joyful noise unto The Lord as he has encouraged the people to do. (Psalm 66:1, 95:1, and 100:1)  He is thankful that The Lord has saved him from his enemies and for being a refuge, or a stronghold, for him and for the righteous and the oppressed. (Psalm 9:9)  He knows that God has sustained him. (Psalm 9:4)  He knows that The Lord will judge the wicked and He will provide for the righteous. (Psalm 9:5-9)

Application:

This psalm is very personal for David.  He begins by stating “I will …” four times proclaiming his exuberance in worshiping The Lord.  We would do well to do likewise.  No one can tell our story regarding what The Lord has done for us better that we can ourselves.  When we think about where He has brought us from and what He has brought us through, we ought to shout for joy and praise His name.  It was God who maintained us and sustained us through our storms. (Psalm 9:4)  We ought to acknowledge Him for all that He has done. (Proverbs 3:6)  We ought to sincerely thank The Lord and love Him with all of our heart. (Deuteronomy 13:3)

Seek Him With All Your Heart

"Blessed are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart."  Psalms 119:2 (NIV)

The unknown human author of this psalm wrote that there are special conditional blessings for those who obey the statues of The Lord and who make a whole-hearted commitment to follow Him.

We need to understand that half-hearted, feet-dragging, some-of-the-time, reluctant obedience to The Word of God is not acceptable.  It is also problematic to accept only parts of The Word of God and refuse to accept other parts of it.  Part-time followers, or Sunday only followers, may as well not even claim to be believers.  Remember, not everyone who calls upon the name of The Lord, and claims to be a believer, will be saved. (Matthew 7:21-23)  Perfection is not required of us, we are human and we will still sin.  However, when we sin, we know that we are wrong, and we do not twist The Word of God in order to justify our behavior.  We need to acknowledge, confess, ask to be forgiven for our sin, and ask for His help and strength to avoid that sin in the future.  Those of us who love Him have a strong desire to please Him and to keep His commandments. (John 14:23)  Let us love and serve The Lord with all of our heart and soul. (Joshua 22:5)