Love #2
"Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, "that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. "Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you--' a land flowing with milk and honey.' "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:1-5, www.solascriptura.com
Father, for clarity of Your commandments, we are grateful. You literally carved them in stone and they are as right today as they were then. We see here that fearing You is followed by the command to love You. You are an awesome God, more powerful, more present and more omniscient that we can easily understand.
A proper response, when we enter into that moment in time in which our souls are judged, will be fear, especially if we only have a casual awareness of who You truly are. But we know it will go well for us when Jesus and His angels separate the sheep from the goats, the saints from the sinners, as long as we have loved You with all of our heart, soul and strength and loved our neighbors as ourselves.
Maybe that is why fear is necessarily our initial response. Father, our love for You is too imperfect, our witness is too weak and our fidelity too uneven for us not to have fear. We hear the words of Jesus; fear not, for I will be with you. Father, absent the power of the Holy Spirit we are in big trouble. We will not overcome fear by good works. It is only by faith that we are saved and we pray that our faith gives rise to obedience and good works, works that bring glory to You. In Your Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
Deuteronomy 6:1-5, www.solascriptura.com
Father, for clarity of Your commandments, we are grateful. You literally carved them in stone and they are as right today as they were then. We see here that fearing You is followed by the command to love You. You are an awesome God, more powerful, more present and more omniscient that we can easily understand.
A proper response, when we enter into that moment in time in which our souls are judged, will be fear, especially if we only have a casual awareness of who You truly are. But we know it will go well for us when Jesus and His angels separate the sheep from the goats, the saints from the sinners, as long as we have loved You with all of our heart, soul and strength and loved our neighbors as ourselves.
Maybe that is why fear is necessarily our initial response. Father, our love for You is too imperfect, our witness is too weak and our fidelity too uneven for us not to have fear. We hear the words of Jesus; fear not, for I will be with you. Father, absent the power of the Holy Spirit we are in big trouble. We will not overcome fear by good works. It is only by faith that we are saved and we pray that our faith gives rise to obedience and good works, works that bring glory to You. In Your Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
Labels: Love
posted by Sola Scriptura at
12:27 PM
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