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With Your Whole Heart
Andrea Lende • April 3, 2020
Mark 12:30
With Your Whole Heart
You can also listen to the meditation and prayer at: https://anchor.fm/andrea-lende/episodes/With-Your-Whole-Heart-ecbpr6
Daily Word:
Mark 12:30
“And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment.”
As I read this scripture this morning, I am reminded what I am supposed to do.
Pandemic or no pandemic, I am to love God.
I love the Amplified Bible’s interpretation of this scripture.
Four times it says, “out of and with your whole”.
And then heart, soul, mind, and strength.
When I reflect on, “out of and with your whole”
it truly means entirely, completely, letting nothing else in our hearts, souls, and minds.
If I concentrate completely on loving God with my entire being the things of this world grow dim.
I am no longer fearful.
My anxiety diminishes.
Peace prevails.
I know no other way to fight the fight that we are currently facing as well as all future struggles that we will face than to be fixed on loving God.
If I let any other information in my heart, mind, and soul I am opening a door for the enemy to take over my mind.
He can then replace peace with fear and calm with anxiety.
I am, once again, angry.
The scripture today spoke wisdom into my heart.
I will keep it close all day long.
“And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment.”
Today I choose to love God with my whole heart, soul, mind, and strength and pray that He continues to bring me to Him and His peace as I hold Him close.
May you find that as you keep your heart, soul, mind, and strength fixed on loving God, that He will fill you completely with His love and Holy Spirit.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for showing me wisdom through Your Word today. Thank You for showing me that loving You is the most powerful act I can do today and every day. Help me, in my weakness, praise You all day long. You are Almighty God and greatly to be praised! Fill my heart, soul, and mind with blessed thoughts of You all day long, Father. You have blessed me beyond measure with Your holy presence, and I pray that You will continue to flood my heart with Your Holy Spirit. Keep my eyes on You, Lord. Keep me in Your presence. Bring my mind and thoughts to You constantly throughout this day. Help me focus more on You and less on the world and all of its troubles. May Your will be done over mine, Lord. Ready me for Your service. Help me serve with joy, Father. Keep me seeking You and all that You desire me to know. I pray for more wisdom – as much as You will give me. May You lead and guide my every step, thought, and word today, Lord. Fill my spirit with love for You as I walk through this day. Help me bless someone today. Thank You for hearing my prayer.
Answer: I AM with you and grant you increasing wisdom as I fill you with My Holy Spirit.
Response: Thank You, most gracious, loving, and powerful God.
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.