Thursday's Thought

Mark 12:29-30

29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Good morning, family and friends!

The first commandment, or the one with the greatest importance, is to honor and serve the One God. When we understand this doctrinal truth that God is One, then we will further understand that we must love Him with all that we have; every faculty - our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength. God must rule as King on the throne of our hearts. He loves us with all of Him. We must love Him with all of us.

When we truly love the Lord our God with all that is within us, we do not view His commandments as something grievous or hard to obey. God loves us so much; His love is everlasting. He is with us always. Why wouldn't we give Him everything in return? The most miserable life to live here on earth is one where a person tries to live for God and please the flesh, too. One of the commandments teaches, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3) Our God is a great God but He is a jealous God.

A life dedicated fully to loving God and serving Him is a blessed life. It's by no means a life free of pain and trial, but with each bad event that comes along, God is there with far more blessings than trials. What a wonderful treasure to be a child of the King of kings and Lord of lords!!!

A simple chorus comes to mind:

I will give You all

I will give You all

If all is what You ask of me

I will not withhold

And if my sacrifice is less

Than giving You my very best

Help me remember Calvary's cross

And be willing to say, Yes

May we pause and reflect on God's great love for us, and return that love with all that is within us!! Great blessings are in store for those who do this.

Until tomorrow, Lord willing...........