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S. Michael Houdmann
Supporter
"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 strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5). This is known as the Shema, take...
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Bruce Lyon
Supporter
The question is: What does it mean to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? I guess the answer is to follow the example that has be set before us in the lord Jesus, because he did exactly that! Everything he did was done out of love for his God and his Father and he did so with all that he had to do with. We need to live out our lives with the same attitude of mind that Jesus had and has. Php 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 1Pe 4:1 For as much then as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin; In all that we do we need to do it as if we were doing it for our God and our Father. In every situation that confronts us we need to ask ourselves what would Jesus do remembering he was the glorious reflection of his God and his Father. Are we a reflection of the lord Jesus in all we do? We should strive to be!
Teresa Wiltz
Supporter
As we allow the Holy Spirit to dwell within our temple; God’s divine wisdom becomes a significant part of who we are and how we think. Jesus Christ died for our sins washing us clean from remaining in our former sinful habits. We become transformed by the grace of God by accepting Christ as our Savior; striving to live in righteousness and unconditional love. Divine knowledge is a powerful tool provided to us for aiding in our spiritual journey as we fervently seek to fulfill God’s mighty purpose in our lives. Just as Job endured great tribulations in his life with unrelenting faith and worship towards God; we are destined to do the same. Remaining faithful as well as thankful to God throughout all circumstances will allow us to demonstrate our undying love for Him; staying true to the greatest commandment of all time: Matthew 22:37-38~Jesus replied:~“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’38 This is the first and greatest commandment.” As we are able to see in the following scriptures, Job continued to love, honor and worship God during a time of profound loss, heartache and suffering: Job 1:20–22~Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Just as in the case of Job, we all must endure various tests to develop an unworldly gift needed to overcome the hardships of life. As we develop a deeper respect factor, graciousness and hope in the midst of turmoil; holding on to praise and reverence toward God, the closer we become to offering Him the required depth of love which is comprised of heart, soul and mind. Some people may believe that it is an impossible task to love God wholeheartedly in a world consumed by sin; but we must trust in God’s Word which confirms that all things are possible with Him. All commands of God are obtainable to those who believe and receive the free gift of life through the blood of Jesus Christ. For those of us who are committed to living by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit, with a pure heart are blessed with the presence of God Almighty dwelling in our midst. If and when we backslide, we must ask for forgiveness with a repentant heart so that our sinful ways are transformed into a lifestyle that is pleasing and acceptable to the lord. The more we strive to follow Christ, the more our faith will strengthen our hearts and minds to resist temptations of the devil. May we live in truth, peace and love by encouraging one another to seek happiness in the loving embrace of our Almighty Creator as we continue to build each other up rather than to tear down and destroy. Remember that God has blessed us with everything needed to love Him wholly and truly, now and throughout all eternity…walk in the never-ending wisdom, love and blessings of Jesus Christ.
Jae Park
Supporter
The following is my limited understanding based on Deut 6:5 I. Meaning of Each Word a) Heart [lebab]: mind, will In Hebrew concept, heart and mind are same [not different]. b) Soul [nephesh]; living being, passion, emotion c) Strength [meod]; force, power II. Meaning of Combination of Each Word a) Heart, soul, strength represent the complete person [whole being] b) Love God with all your mind [mental intelligence] with all your passion [emotional affection] with all your physical power. c) Love God not just with mind, emotion, or body, but with your whole being all the time. d) What God most wants from us is our complete love for Him because He loved us first with complete love [1 John 4:19] III. Application of This Command Since this command is impossible for us to obey, a) It always leads us to Christ. b) It always demands us to stay in the complete righteousness of Christ all the time, since our own righteousness is filthy. c) By faith, we come near to Christ and stay in the perfect righteousness of Jesus. d) We must be rooted in Christ and grow in the knowledge of the grace of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit for the Glory of God according to the Scripture.
James Kraft
Supporter
The closer I get to the Lord, the more I see the sinfullness of my own heart. When I do good there is evil present with me. I still have pride and selfrighteouness lurking in my old nature. I want to take credit for what He has done in me and thru me instead of praising Him for His goodness. Oh wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death. And then, I hug that old cross where He nailed all of my sins and washed them away with His blood. And He says. "My grace is sufficient for you". Then I can sing "Amazing Grace" one more time. One more time He has pulled me out of the dungeon and brought me into the light.
Robert Tan
Supporter
The Lord Jesus has given his followers 3 love commandments: 1. (Mar 12:30 NIV) Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 2. (Mat 22:39 NIV) Love your neighbor as yourself. 3. (Joh 13:34 NIV) Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. Jesus' followers are to love God, fellow humans, and fellow Christians not anyhow they like, haphazardly, but with the qualities prescribed by the Lord. A quality of love is imposed on each of the 3 commandments. In the first, our love to God is to be given in the quality that is as good as the wholeness, completeness, not a half, or a quarter, or a bit, of our heart. As God loves so much, with the whole of his heart, he also expects the whole, not just a part of it, from us. In the second commandment, the quality is as good as our love for own selves. In the new commandment, the Lord's love for his disciples is the quality in which his disciples' love for one another should be. The qualities of love expected are constant challenges to spur us to seek help and strength of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of divine love, and to remain in the Lord Jesus, who is love, so that divine love will be produced in abundance in our heart, for God himself, for other fellow humans, and for other fellow Christians. Thank the Lord Jesus for the 3 love commandments for us to obey, so that our heart, soul, mind, and strength are always directed to the right, worthy targets, and not wasted on vanity.
Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
This is a quotation from Deuteronomy 6:5. The threefold reference to different parts of the person says, in effect, that one should love God with all one’s being. In Matthew 22:37 the Greek text reads: “You will love.” The future indicative is used here with imperatival force. Imperatival means you must do this; it's (an) imperative! But as mentioned, who can? You need to be saved first; then God will give you the ability to do it, i.e. He'll give you the power. A parallel to Matthew 22:37 is Mark 12:30-- Mark 12:30 NET © Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ -- A quotation from Deut 6:4-5 and Josh 22:5 (LXX). The fourfold reference to different parts of the person says, in effect, that one should love God with all one’s being. Joshua 22:5 LXX 5 But take great heed to do the commands and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you to do; to love the Lord our God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commands, and to cleave to him, and serve him with all your mind, and with all your soul. (Joshua 22:5 LXX)
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