Ponder This…

Throughout the Bible we see this recurring phrase that tells us to love God with our whole heart. It first appears as one of the 613 commands in Deuteronomy, later pops up throughout the Psalms, and seems to be the underlying tone of the entire Old Testament. Then Jesus shows up and tells us that it is the most important command ever given by God and the same underlying tone continues right through Revelation.

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. – Deut 6:5

Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart. – Psalm 119:2

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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 12:28-30

But what does it mean? How do we love someone with our whole heart, from the depths of our soul, and with every ounce of our strength? The simple answer is that it comes from cultivating a relationship by spending time soaking in His presence. Just like in human relationships, the more time you spend, the deeper the relationship will go.

If your heart aches when you are away from Him, if your souls first thought in the morning is to be with Him, if you are willing to spend every last bit of your strength in search of Him, then you have found the meaning.

Seek to find Him.
Search to know Him.
Soak in His presence.

Seek. Search. Soak.

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I took a short road trip the other day and missed my exit because construction had moved it to a different location. The exit that is normally on the left side was now on the right and I was in the wrong lane at the wrong time. Interestingly enough, there was a traffic jam immediately after my exit. If I would have paid more attention and exited on time I would have never been subjected to the parking lot of cars sitting in my way. If I would have stayed on the right path I would have had smooth sailing all the way to my destination. But instead, I had to make a detour and head back in the opposite direction to get back on course.

Similarly, in life, we find that when we stay on course things tend to turn out better. God determines our paths but we do not always stay on course. God selects the turns but we miss them because we are not focused on his plan. And so we run into traffic jams and detours which are accompanied by frustration and spiritual road rage. I often hear people make comments about how God has placed something in their way to take them in a new direction but we rarely link it to our own missteps. The simple truth is that God places roadblocks in our paths when we get off track.

Certainly no one is perfect and we will all be subject to correction in the form of these spiritual roadblocks. But maybe if we stayed on the right course we would have fewer detours and more blessings. Maybe if we followed the directions of his GPS life would be a little smoother.

“Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with blasts on the shofar.” Lev. 23:24

Rosh Hashanah is the first day of the Jewish New Year and it is widely believed that today marks the anniversary of the creation of the world. It was 5,772 years ago that God spoke the immortal words that flung the world into existence. This evening, Jews all over the world will flock to Synagogues to hear the sounds of the shofar, meditate on forgiveness, and pray for a sweet new year.

But this is not just a Jewish holiday; it is a holiday for all believers in God and a day we all should celebrate. After all, God’s commands are for everyone, not just for the Jews.

So Happy Rosh Hashanah and L’shanah tovah! (For a good year!)

Freedom of religion is one of the major tenants of the United States and we often hear the phrase religious tolerance when people talk about this freedom; but I have to wonder what God thinks about religious tolerance. So many other religions clash with the beliefs of the Bible and it seems like in today’s world we find tolerance is reserved for everyone but the believers of the one true God. Others challenge our beliefs and we cower in the name of political correctness. We hide behind the walls of our churches while evil encroaches at our doorsteps. We have stopped sharing the truth and the simple fact is that this does not please God. When the Israelites began to take possession of the Promised Land God gave them a specific order:

“You must destroy all the places where the nations you are dispossessing served their gods, whether on high mountains, on hills, or under some leafy tree. Break down their altars, smash their standing-stones to pieces, burn up their sacred poles completely and cut down the carved images of their gods. Exterminate their name from that place.” – Deut. 12:2-3

God did not want any other beliefs tainting the Israelites because he knew it would lead to the problems we have today. So he told them to destroy it all.

But now it is too late.
The time for destruction is over.
The time to rebuild has come.

Stop hiding and go tell the world the truth. Our beliefs may clash with others but our God is NEVER wrong!

Today is a day to celebrate! But unlike other Christian holidays, today is one that is usually forgotten.

On this day, a few thousand years ago a group of believers were in a small crowded upstairs room in Jerusalem waiting for the promised arrival of the Holy Spirit. Forty days after Jesus’ ressurection an amazing gift was given given to mankind; Christians call this day Pentecost.

But there is another event that occurred on this day several thousand years earlier when more than a million Israelites gathered around the foot of Mount Sinai to receive a different gift. For forty days Moses had been receiving the teaching and instruction of God and it was on this day that he descended the mountain and the Torah was given to mankind. Jews call this day Shavu’ot.

It’s interesting that on the same day in history God gave us both his commands and his Holy Spirit. But there are no coincidences with God, so I think that these two instances are very much linked to each other. On this day, God taught us how to live righteous lives by following the Torah and then, on this day, he gave us the power of the Holy Spirit to walk out that righteousness.

Maybe there’s more to Judaism than the Torah.
Maybe there’s more to Christianity than Pentecost.
Maybe it’s time to connect these two together.

Shavu’ot Shalom!

“…the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.” 1 Sam 13:14

As Christians, our number one priority in life must be to love God with our entire heart, soul, and mind; this requirement was established within the Torah and reaffirmed by Jesus as the most important commandment. But what does it mean to love with your whole heart? And how do you become known as someone after God’s heart?

If you read through the Psalms, especially chapter 119, you will see that David made obedience to God his number one priority. Sure, he made some big mistakes, as we all have, but the desire of his heart was to be obedient. David had a heart after God because he had a heart after God’s precepts. It was his heart’s desire that put him on Jerusalem’s throne and it was his heart’s desire that kept him there after his sinful actions.

Maybe loving with our whole heart means living exactly as God requires.
Maybe if our desires matched God’s, our heart would also match his, then we too could have the heart of a king.

The sun breaks over the horizon as the moon kisses the night goodbye.
The clouds roll out to sea.
The streets are relatively calm at this early time of day.
Rubble from Friday’s earthquake still dots the landscape.
A mother mournfully navigates her way through the city.
A rumbling noise can be heard on the outskirts of town.
A boulder is rolled away from an empty tomb.
Quiet whispers of a stolen corpse echo through the streets.
A small crowd begins to form.
An unlikely group of friends gather to discuss the news.
First confusion, then excitement.
Running.
Crying.
Jumping.
Shouting.
He is risen!
Spread the news.
He is alive!
Redemption has come.
He is Lord!
Salvation is here.
Life as we know it will never again be the same.
We are free at last!

What’s so good about Friday? Well, today, “Good Friday”, is the day we remember and celebrate the sacrifice Jesus made so many years ago. As the tradition goes, it was on a Friday afternoon that the King of the universe was hung on a cross for the sins of all humanity. When, in the history of the world, has any leader of a kingdom ever laid down his life to save his people? Sure, some kings have died on a battlefield but when has one voluntarily handed himself over without a fight knowing full well that a sentence of death would be imposed?

Jesus is the only king who has ever accomplished this task. The very Son of God left his heavenly palace to become the son of a previously unknown carpenter. He became as the very ones he created to show humanity how far he was willing to go to prove his love. I can’t think of a better day to commit your life to him than on the anniversery of his sacrifice.

Maybe this is where the TGIF phrase originated.
Maybe this is a good day to thank God for Friday’s and a whole lot more.

As we head into the Passover and Easter season I can’t help but wonder why Christians long ago abandoned observing this amazing festival. Passover is a time for Jews to remember God bringing them out of Egypt but it also holds a great significance to Christians.

In Egypt, the passover lamb was sacrificed on the 14th day of Nissan and its blood was placed on the door posts to protect the Israelites from God’s punishment on Egypt. Jesus was also sacrificed on the 14th of Nissan. His blood was shed so that all humanity could be saved from their sins. The parallel meaning is absolutely amazing. Salvation for Israel from Egypt; Salvation for all from our sins!

Maybe the original passover was more than a ritual.
Maybe the death of Jesus died on that specific day was not just a coincidence.

If you were able to stand at the edge of the African Serengeti and look out across the vast plains that stretch from one end of the horizon to the other, you would see an amazing array of animals, plant life, and the interaction between those animals within their natural setting. We call this wild nature. It’s raw. It’s untamed. It’s, well, natural. And in this natural setting we see how the beasts of the field act and react within their surrounding environment. They do what comes natural to them, even if it means hurting another animal.

We too have so many natural tendencies. We can be raw. We can act untamed. We can be hurtful. It’s what we call the sin nature. It is our natural tendency to focus on ourselves, our needs, our wants, our desires; and sometimes we hurt others as we work to achieve our goals without any concern for those around us. Animals really can’t change their nature but we can certainly change ours. We can help our neighbors, we can help the homeless guy by the convenience store, we can even help our enemies.

Maybe it’s time to modify the tendencies that come so naturally.
Maybe it’s time we change the nature of our nature.

“..love your neighbor as yourself..” Lev 19:18