"Jesus answered, 'The most important [commandment] is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord
our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your
STRENGTH.'" - Mark 12:29-30
Love God with all your STRENGTH.
We need to love God with all of our strength.
That means all of our energy. It’s interesting that the word the gospel of Mark
uses for "strength" also means "ability." I love that. Because what does that
tell us about loving God? It means that God has given all of us talents and
abilities. And when we use those talents and abilities in church, or in
vocation, or in relationships with others, we can approach it one of two ways –
we can seek glory for ourselves or look to glorify God.
You see, to love
God with all of our energy, with all of our abilities, with all of our spiritual
gifts, means serving the Lord in ministry. It’s a way of expressing our love to
Him. It means holding nothing back when it comes to our energy level in showing
our love for God. It means that when we’re using all that energy in our
vocation, or in school, we’re doing it because it is pleasing to God to make the
most of our abilities for Him. We are loving God with all of our strength, with
all of our being.
Breaking Boundaries is a non-profit organization, operated by a multicultural, multi-generational group. It started in 2010, as an outreach to both adults and youth against drug & alcohol abuse, prostitution, and the high rate of suicide within our communities. Our Vision at Breaking Boundaries: expresses the spirit behind the communities, where souls are nourished with the true word of God
Saturday 28 June 2014
Tuesday 24 June 2014
With Your Soul
"Jesus answered, 'The most important [commandment] is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your SOUL and with all your mind and with all your strength.'" - Mark 12:29-30
When we
give our heart to God, we begin that relationship with Him. Then along the way,
we're tempted to fall into sin. And if we simply followed our feelings, we would
give into the temptation. But if we're really going to love God, we choose to be
faithful to Him, no matter what we're feeling at the moment. So, how do we love
God with all our soul? We do it with our will.
Wednesday 18 June 2014
Do Not Be Conformed To This World
How many questions
this verse—Romans 12:2—raises that need thoughtful,
biblical answers. For example, How does the command not to be conformed to this
world relate to Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 9:22, “I have become all
things to all people, that by all means I might save some”? How is becoming all things to all people not conforming
to the world? Or how does the command not to conform to the world, that is, to
be counter-cultural, relate to Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 10:32-33? “Give no offense
to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone
in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be
saved.” How does not being conformed to the world fit with not giving offense
to the world? You can’t always do both. How does not being conformed to the
world fit with pleasing everyone for the sake of salvation? You can’t always
please people if you refuse to conform to some of their thoughts and ways.
The reason there are questions like these is not because Paul slipped up and got confused about what it means to follow Christ in a fallen world. Paul was not confused. He was holding two Christian impulses; two principles; in balance. When Christ came into the world, and lived and died and rose from the dead, and set the redeeming kingdom of God in motion, and unleashed the mighty gospel on the world, two powerful impulses, or forces, spread everywhere the gospel spread.
Still Hungry? 1 Peter 1:14, 1 Tim 5:4
Friday 13 June 2014
Love God with all Your Heart
Jesus
answered, 'The most important [commandment] is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our
God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your HEART
and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'"
- Mark 12:29-30
To love God with all your heart means to love God with all of your feelings, with all of your emotions and with all your passion. Now, passion is a very hot term in our contemporary culture. People ask, “What's your passion?” What they’re asking you is what is it that really gets your juices flowing? It could be a certain ideology, social cause, or politics. Perhaps it's a passion about the theatre, movies, or music. Or it could be making money, physical fitness, or watching college football. You can be passionate about a lot of things, but the number one passion of your life should be your relationship with God.
Think about your relationship with God this way. When you first came to Christ there was no problem in feeling passionate about God. You had a hunger for the Word, to be in worship, and to tell others about Christ. You were excited about it, and there was a very real passion there! But then as time went by and life presented its many challenges and opportunities, it became easy for other things to become a higher priority. And if we’re more passionate about anything else than our relationship with God, our priorities are simply out of whack. Jesus reminds us that when you give your heart to God, you want to maintain that passion and love Him with all your heart.
To love God with all your heart means to love God with all of your feelings, with all of your emotions and with all your passion. Now, passion is a very hot term in our contemporary culture. People ask, “What's your passion?” What they’re asking you is what is it that really gets your juices flowing? It could be a certain ideology, social cause, or politics. Perhaps it's a passion about the theatre, movies, or music. Or it could be making money, physical fitness, or watching college football. You can be passionate about a lot of things, but the number one passion of your life should be your relationship with God.
Think about your relationship with God this way. When you first came to Christ there was no problem in feeling passionate about God. You had a hunger for the Word, to be in worship, and to tell others about Christ. You were excited about it, and there was a very real passion there! But then as time went by and life presented its many challenges and opportunities, it became easy for other things to become a higher priority. And if we’re more passionate about anything else than our relationship with God, our priorities are simply out of whack. Jesus reminds us that when you give your heart to God, you want to maintain that passion and love Him with all your heart.
Sunday 1 June 2014
Faith
If Samson had the same physique as Arnold Schwarzenegger.....would there be need for anyone to ask him....where does your strength come from?
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