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.' This is the first and greatest commandment."
I wonder what the people believed about our hearts in this time in history. It seems that we have always given the heart some special qualities, even as long ago as when Moses was given the Ten Commandments to teach the people. The heart is different than the soul, different than the mind, but essential in the act of loving. When our heart aches, our heart aches. I will ponder today how to be sure I have given my heart to God. I know I have given Him my soul, because I know Christ is my savior. Maybe the heart is the "day to day" part of our soul. Maybe my day to day behavior shows that God is first in my heart.
Holy One, I am yours, fully at your will. Help me to live a life that mirrors this truth, always an example of Christian love and service. Help me to have a heart which is a Christian heart. Amen
Becky, transforming
Matthew 22:37-37
When I read these verses, I am always ready to say the next two verses. I believe they are equally important and I also believe Jesus felt the same way. Yes we should love God as the verses say but love doesn’t stop there. It is equally important to love our neighbor. My Bible then says “The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments. It makes me believe that Jesus felt them of equal value.
Prayer: Gracious God, may my love be the kind of love you command—love you, love myself, and love my neighbor. Amen
Thursday, November 2nd, 2023
Matthew 22:37-38
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first
God wants His people first, last and above all to love Him with every part of our being. this is our hearts soul, and mind. Throughout His ministry, Jesus faced questions from religious leaders meaning to trap Him or damage His reputation. They would often try to involve Him in difficult subjects or statements to prove He was unworthy. Our love for God will be evidenced by our wholehearted devotion to him with no place for competition. This includes the sinful nat…
Matthew 22:37-38 Matthew is quoting Jesus who was quoting the Shema from Deuteronomy. Pharisees opposed to Jesus kept trying to expose Him as a fraud in public and in one of these encounters Jesus answers their question as to what is the greatest commandment. It was an especially devastating answer in that throughout Matthew 22 and 23, Jesus was actually exposing His tormentors as frauds. They loved themselves first and foremost. The message for me today is to guard my heart against the blandishments of the world and to always keep God first in my heart. This honors God and benefits me, but is also an act of evangelism as others see the fruit of the Spirit.
Prayer - Lord, my…
Matthew 22:37-38 This is one of those scriptures that I remember as a child first learning it in Sunday School then later in Senior High Class when as a teenager your always questioning what does that mean then we analyze it and even today questioning what does this mean to you now. It’s pretty powerful commandment Love your God with every ounce of your being! My love for God is deeply routed in my every-been but I do need the reminder that just because it’s a commandment to love God I need to be reminded when thing aren’t going great you still need to put your trust and love God with all your heart and souls and mind and you g…