First, I thought to myself what
does it mean to love the Lord with all my HEART?
People will interpret the heart to mean different things. What came to
my mind is the PHYSICAL aspect of our lives which deals with our body.
I asked myself how can we love the Lord with our body?
It
comes down to how we treat our body!
Treating the body can involve
how we show love to the Lord by taking care of it in different ways such
as by exercising, eating a balanced diet, getting
enough rest, and refraining from harmful stuff whether it be sexual immorality,
drugs, etc. For the HEART is taken care of
when we do these things regularly.
God commands His children to take care of their bodies
so they can get rest and refrain from things that their bodies are not to be
used for.
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days
you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the
Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work…for in six days the Lord made the
heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the
seventh day.” (Exodus 20:8-10,11)
“You shall not commit adultery.”
We can love the Lord our God with all our heart when
our body is used to glorify Him.
“Flee
from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his
body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not
know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom
you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a
price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18-20, NIV)
I like to think about the heart as a physical organ which it is also!
When our body suffers due to sexual immorality, lack of a balanced diet,
lack of exercise, lack of sleep, etc, we will eventually get sick. When
we get sick, it is possible that death could be the result. If death is
the result, then our heart will stop. Loving the Lord Jesus with our
heart is loving the Lord with our body using it for His honor and glory.
Second, I thought about what does
it mean to love the Lord with all my SOUL?
What came to my mind is the SPIRITUAL dimension of our
lives.
Have I nurtured myself SPIRITUALLY by turning my
life over to the Lord?
I realized I could love the Lord with all my SOUL, by
being in a relationship with the Lord and growing in that relationship! It
happens by
actively spending time with the Lord in His Word by reading, meditating, and
studying it; by spending time in prayer; and by supplementing this
time by being part of a community of believers who will lift each other up by
fellowship, corporate prayer and study of God’s Word in a Bible-believing church
and fellowship. This means not picking and choosing what is God's Word and what
it not! God's Word is God's Word from Genesis to Revelation! This way the SOUL is
nourished and is healthy.
I was reminded of the commandments that were given that
deal with loving the Lord with our SOUL.
“You shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus
20:3)
“You shall not make yourself an
idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the
waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them…”(Exodus 20:4-5)
"What does it profit a man if he gains the
whole world but loses his soul?"
Finally, I thought to myself what does it mean to
love the Lord with all my MIND?
What came to my mind is the PIE dimension of our life:
Psychological, Intellectual, and Emotional!
Have I been
using my mind and allowing my mind to do things that show I love the Lord?
I asked myself what are ways I
can love the Lord with all my mind?
What came to my mind is that
I need to take care of my
mind no matter what psychological issues come up!
I need to use my mind
to glorify the Lord intellectually so through different areas of study and knowledge
I can help other children of God. Pursuing academics is one way to glorify the
Lord and love Him with all our mind.
A
mind is a terrible thing to waste as the saying goes!
Emotionally loving the Lord with our mind
encompasses our thought life! Putting it simply, it is the way we use our emotions. It
also involves our interaction with others.
These commandments spoke to me about loving the Lord
with all my mind.
“You shall not misuse the name of
the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his
name.” (Exodus 20:7)
The key word I saw in all 3 aspects of loving the
Lord is “ALL” It encompasses a complete surrender and not holding anything back.
Anything that is repetitious is so important. One of those words is “ALL” that
has been repeated! The Lord wants our complete love. This is the greatest
commandment Jesus gave to the expert in Jewish law.
Jesus did not stop there but included another
commandment and said, “And the second is like it: ‘Love
your neighbor as yourself.’"
I thought to my self what does it means to
‘Love your neighbor as yourself?’
What came to my mind is the SOCIAL dimension of loving
the Lord. Jesus even made the comment,
‘when you do it to
the least of my brethren, you have done it unto me.’
How I love myself
is how I should love others. If we cannot love ourselves for who the Lord
made us to be, it would be that much harder to love others. It is implicitly
implied in this commandment to love ourselves. When we love ourselves in a
healthy way, the Golden Rule becomes that much more applicable.
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
This is how
we start to love others:
“You shall not murder.”
(Exodus 20:13)
“You shall not commit adultery.”
(Exodus 20:14)
“You shall not steal.” (Exodus
20:15)
“You shall not give false
testimony against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16)
“You shall not covet your
neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife….or anything that
belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17)
After Jesus finished giving the 2 commandments to the
expert in Jewish law, He said, “All the Law and the
Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
How
true that is!
I ask you now dear friend, "How
is your love on Valentines Day?"
Dear friends our love towards the Lord, our special one, our neighbor, etc
is reflected in our actions! Those actions are governed by the spiritual,
physical, intellectual, psychological, and social dimensions of our life. Especially, whether
all those areas come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ is what determines the love we have
towards our special one, family, friends, neighbors and the Lord.
I saw important implications for our lives. Whether we
are students are not these principles can make an impact on our lives.
We can love the Lord with all our HEART by eating well,
exercising, getting rest, and refraining from using our body for illicit
purposes.
We can love the Lord with all our SOUL by studying the
Word and being in a prayerful relationship with the Lord. This can be
supplemented by being part of a community of believers who love the Lord, who
believe the Bible is literally the Word of God, and want to be of service to
others in the Name of the Lord. When
you have found that type of group, you will have begun a wonderful
Christian journey through life as long as your own personal relationship
with the Lord Jesus Christ is the utmost important and first in your life.
"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these
things shall be added unto you!" (Matthew 6:33)
We can love the Lord with all our MIND by practicing
ways to keep ourselves emotionally, psychologically, and intellectually healthy.
When I speak of emotionally, I mean not harboring stuff that can pile up and eat
us up.
When
I speak of psychologically, it has to do with dealing with any ailments
that hinders our relationship with the Lord. Whatever ailments they are
our Lord can help through different means whether it is counseling or
medical therapy.
Intellectually, we can love the Lord by doing our best in the studies we have
taken and learning the knowledge for the glory of God to help others rather than just studying for
the grade.
Emotionally, we can
love the Lord by making sure garbage does not go in and pollute us. For if we take
garbage into our minds, we will get out garbage.
"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever
is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think
about such things." (Philippians 4:8, NIV)
These examples of loving the Lord are not exhaustive.
We can show we love the Lord by the way we love our
neighbors too but we need to love ourselves first no matter how we are.
Friend, it is not always easy to love ourselves especially when we see
our shortcomings. I want you to know that Jesus loves you as you are and He
wants to help you love yourself if you already don’t. He has called you by Name, you are
precious and special in His sight. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You will
never be out of His love and never be out of His reach!
This
Valentine's Day allow the Lord Jesus to come into your life and change
your life around. Friend, he can do it and no matter what comes your
way, you can face it head on through the strength the Lord Jesus will
give you. Don't let Satan deceive you in thinking that you cannot
be loved. Jesus loves you as you are and reaches out to you. Yes, He
does friend! Now is the time for Salvation.
When you are able to understand the love of the Lord
and His love permeates your life to be able to love yourself, you will be able
to love others wonderfully! This is where the SOCIAL dimension comes into play. There are
so many ways to love our neighbors socially.
May we all come to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, and soul
for we have Christian lives to live and Jesus Christ to give with our heart,
mind, and soul.
This is a special
day for me because years ago I had given my life to the Lord Jesus Christ on
Valentine's Day and experienced His overflowing love in my life and continue to.
At the time I did not know it was Valentine's Day until later. What a
special blessing it has been to know my Lord and Personal Savior Jesus
Christ on Valentine's Day!
If you are still single on this Valentines Day, please do not fret.
Our Lord knows who you should be with and when. His timing will be the
perfect timing. Depend on Him and allow Him to work in your life as you
wait upon Him! You are never out of His love and never out of His reach!
I wait on my Jesus to send me the right person into my life who loves
Jesus more than me so one day we can be married under the blessings of
the Lord Jesus Christ!
May you all experience the Lord's abundant love this
Valentine's Day and forever!
Jesus said, "I am the Vine and my Father is the
Gardener...." (John 15:1)
If
you have not given your life to Jesus Christ but have read until this
far, there is a prayer below to give your life to Christ. He will come
into your heart and turn on the light wherever there is darkness! Yes,
He will! This is exciting to know!
"Valiantly Ask Lord's Eternal
Nurture Today Instantly Now Experiencing Savior!" (V.A.L.E.N.T.I.N.E.S)/"How
is your love on V.A.L.E.N.T.I.N.E.S Day?"
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you so much for
loving us unconditionally and we are never out of your love and never out of your
reach. You love us as we are. Help us Oh Lord to love you with all of our heart,
mind, and soul and help us to love our neighbor as you help us love ourselves.
We cannot do it on our own. Oh Lord none of us can keep the commandments and
love as you want us to love without your intervention and supernatural help. So
I pray for your Holy Spirit to work in us and through us please Lord. We need
you and desire you. Help us Oh Lord for the glory of Your Name. Deliver us and
thank you for atoning for our sins. And Lord I want to thank you that even when we
mess up, you are there to pick us up and help us over again. You are a God who
is merciful and loves us so much. Thank you Jesus and thank you so much for the
power of your Word and when we study your Word, how much we can learn from you.
Thank you that Your Word is ‘Living and Active’, like a two-edged sword
evaluating us. Thank you for being the Author of our Lives and giving us the
best instruction manual to be able to live all the dimensions of our lives for
your glory. We turn our lives over to thee and ask thee to forgive us of our
sins and cleanse us with your cleansing blood. Thank you Jesus so much for dying
for our sins and coming back to life to save us. In Your Name I Pray Jesus!
Amen!
If you would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a
daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be
alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them
come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to
wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as
you pray the prayer below, meaning it in your heart.
Prayer:
God I am a sinner. I am invaded by this deadliest virus. Many times I
feel so guilty and yucky inside. I need forgiveness. I am so sorry for
my sins. I have not obeyed you with my whole heart! I have gone my own
way and done my own things. I still struggle with sin. I need you Jesus
in my life so I can receive forgiveness and a new beginning. In the
process, I can forgive others as you help me to. Thank you so much
Jesus. I accept the antidote you have sent me. I believe Jesus you died
for me and your cleansing blood will cleanse me from all my sins. You
came back to life to save me. Thank you God I am set free, free from the
bondage of sin. Hear my cry Oh Lord. I accept you Jesus into my heart. I
make you my Lord and Personal Savior of my life. Thank you Father God
for giving me Salvation. Thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and
making my heart your home. Thank you for living in me Jesus and I will
live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. Thank you
for being my Lord and personal Savior! I can live a life of peace with
you on my side. Thank you that you have heard my prayer and answered me!
In your Name I Pray Jesus! AMEN! Thank you Lord for answering my prayer.
Amen!!!
Friend, if you have prayed this
prayer and meant it in your heart, you are a new creation in Christ and
all old things are passed away and everything has become new! You may
feel something or may not but don’t base it on feelings but base your
new life in Christ on the promises of our Savior who will never leave
you nor forsake you! Amen!
