{"id":8254,"date":"2020-05-20T12:56:01","date_gmt":"2020-05-20T16:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/?p=8254"},"modified":"2020-05-20T12:56:01","modified_gmt":"2020-05-20T16:56:01","slug":"the-amazing-blessing-of-loving-god-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-amazing-blessing-of-loving-god-more\/","title":{"rendered":"The Amazing Blessing of Loving God More"},"content":{"rendered":"

During this time of\u00a0isolation,\u00a0it can be even easier to get consumed with something:\u00a0a\u00a0project, a show, or\u00a0a hobby.\u00a0Many things\u00a0that might not have been a high priority before\u00a0can become very important to us\u00a0now\u00a0and can easily fill up our lives.\u00a0There is something better that must\u00a0fill our lives.<\/p>\n

In my study I\u00a0recently\u00a0came across a familiar passage.\u00a0Deuteronomy 6:5\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\u201cYou shall love the\u00a0Lord\u00a0your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all\u00a0your\u00a0might.\u201d<\/p>\n

This passage is repeated in the Gospels\u00a0and\u00a0no matter the season\u00a0we need to be reminded of it regularly.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Matthew 22:37\u201339 \u2014\u00a0And He said to him,\u00a0\u201c\u2018You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,\u00a0and with all your soul,\u00a0and with all your mind.\u2019\u00a0\u00a0\u201cThis is the great and foremost commandment.\u00a0\u00a0The second is like it, \u2018You shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Mark 12:29\u201330 \u2014\u00a0Jesus answered, \u201cThe foremost is, \u2018Hear, O\u00a0Israel!\u00a0The Lord our God is one Lord;\u00a0and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,\u00a0and with all your soul,\u00a0and with all your mind, and with all your strength.\u2019\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. Luke 10:27 \u2014\u00a0And\u00a0He answered, \u201cYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,\u00a0and with all your soul,\u00a0and with all your strength,\u00a0and with all your mind;\u00a0and your neighbor as yourself.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        One bible scholar pointed out that\u00a0in\u00a0Deuteronomy\u00a06:5\u00a0the word\u00a0\u2018might\u2019\u00a0at the end is a Hebrew word that is hard to translate into English. We translate it might, or strength. He coined a phrase called your \u201cvery-ness.\u201d<\/p>\n

        I looked up the definition of the word. It\u00a0means\u00a0muchness, force, abundance, exceedingly<\/em>.\u00a0The idea is\u00a0more<\/em>… love Him more so that it fills up all of you, your whole life. In other words, when you think about your heart, your soul, your very-ness\u2026you are to love God with all of you, for all your days.\u00a0The point in stacking these terms up is that God deserves all of us\u2026our whole being.\u00a0Our whole lives are to be directed toward Him, because there is no other God besides Him.<\/p>\n

        I have been meditating on what it looks like to love God with all of me:\u00a0how I think about my\u00a0circumstances,\u00a0how I speak to those around me,\u00a0how I do tasks and respond to\u00a0challenges.\u00a0I have much to\u00a0learn regarding\u00a0growing in\u00a0the love of God, but I am\u00a0excited\u00a0to do so\u00a0as there is great blessing in this process.<\/p>\n

        I have also been meditating\u00a0on\u00a0how the context of\u00a0these\u00a0passages\u00a0in the Old and New Testaments\u00a0have\u00a0many\u00a0commands from the Lord:\u00a0how God\u2019s people are to obey\u00a0Him, and\u00a0trust Him and listen to what He says\u00a0regarding\u00a0how they are to live and treat other people.\u00a0He is to literally be the center of\u00a0our actual\u00a0lives\u2026our\u00a0lives are to revolve around Him in\u00a0everything\u00a0we\u00a0say,\u00a0do\u00a0and think.\u00a0This sounds overwhelming and I believe it is supposed to be because we have an\u00a0overwhelming, wonderful God who deserves the whole creation to glorify Him.<\/p>\n

        Since this is overwhelming,\u00a0it is\u00a0important\u00a0to understand that\u00a0obedience\u00a0to these commands\u00a0must flow out of a heart of love.\u00a0We must be more overwhelmed by His love.\u00a0We\u00a0will only obey Him if we believe He is the most important part of our\u00a0lives\u2026let me rephrase that\u2026not a part of our lives, but that He is our very lives\u00a0as\u00a0Col 3:3-4\u00a0indicates.<\/p>\n

        Colossians 3:3\u20134 \u2014\u00a0For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our\u00a0life,\u00a0is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.<\/p>\n

        There\u00a0is something freeing when we think about the\u00a0simple truth\u00a0that God is worthy of all our being.\u00a0Christ is our life.\u00a0He\u00a0isn\u2019t to\u00a0just be a part of our lives.\u00a0It is also important to remember that\u00a0we\u00a0love God because He first loved us\u2026.He\u00a0rescues, not a part of us, but all of\u00a0our being and for all eternity, and so that is the basis by which we are to love Him.<\/p>\n

        1 John 4:19 \u2014\u00a0We love, because He first loved us.<\/p>\n

        His love is overwhelming.\u00a0He rescued His people from\u00a0slavery\u00a0and death\u00a0in\u00a0Egypt. He rescues His people from\u00a0sin and\u00a0death, by dying to pay for our sin and defeat death through the cross and the resurrection\u00a0of Jesus Christ.\u00a0He demonstrated His love by dying for us.<\/p>\n

        Deuteronomy\u00a06:4-5,\u00a0is referred\u00a0as the\u00a0\u2018Shema\u2019\u00a0as\u00a0that is the\u00a0Hebrew\u00a0word for listen\/hear.\u00a0As we read this passage,\u00a0it is clear that\u00a0we\u00a0are to\u00a0listen;\u00a0to pay attention as it says something very simple yet profound, namely that there is no one like our God.\u00a0He is\u00a0one. He is\u00a0altogether unique and set apart,\u00a0holy and unlike any other.\u00a0There is nothing and\u00a0no one\u00a0who is worthy of all\u00a0our\u00a0devotion but Him.<\/p>\n

        Deuteronomy 6:4 \u2014\u00a0\u201cHear, O Israel! The\u00a0Lord\u00a0is our God, the\u00a0Lord\u00a0is one!<\/p>\n

        So\u00a0then,\u00a0what does it look like to love God with all your heart, soul, and might?\u00a0Well it starts with\u00a0listening to what He\u00a0says and\u00a0consuming His testimony about Himself through His word. As we do that we\u00a0recognize\u00a0how loyal God\u2019s love has been to His people for generations.\u00a0It requires me to think about Him and read about Him and ponder what He has done and what He is like based on His word.\u00a0Loving God is something we \u201cshall do,\u201d\u00a0in other words\u00a0it is something we are to always be growing in.<\/p>\n

        Our God is faithful unlike any other.\u00a0He is a\u00a0covenant keeping God, even\u00a0though\u00a0we don\u2019t deserve His love and faithfulness.\u00a0The more I read the bible, the more I see how we\u00a0as mankind\u00a0do not love God like He deserves and yet He is still loyal to His covenant\u00a0with His people.\u00a0I need to be reminded of that every\u00a0day. I need to be reminded\u00a0that I don\u2019t deserve His love\u00a0and\u00a0that He will never withdraw His love because He is not like any other.\u00a0Therefore, my response\u00a0\u2013\u00a0\u00a0our\u00a0response\u00a0\u2013\u00a0\u00a0is to love Him more\u2026love Him with abundance, exceedingly, with all my very-ness.<\/p>\n

        So\u00a0much of our relationships\u00a0are based on complicated barter systems.\u00a0As I learn about what He has done at Calvary and\u00a0throughout\u00a0history, I learn what His character is, and\u00a0how He is not like any other relationship, and His covenant of love is not like any other covenant. It is eternally sealed\u00a0on the basis of\u00a0the blood of Christ\u00a0that was\u00a0shed for me.\u00a0And so,\u00a0a relationship with the only God, is unlike any other relationship.<\/p>\n

        As I mediate on those amazing truths,\u00a0I can direct not only my affections to Him, but my commitment to Him, because of His unfailing\u00a0love and\u00a0commitment to me through the\u00a0gospel of Jesus Christ.\u00a0This is not a barter system as God has\u00a0already\u00a0given me His best:\u00a0His one and only son. He loved me when I was His enemy, and\u00a0by His grace and mercy\u00a0He gave me\u00a0more than I deserve, more than I can ever replay. There is no trade, but there is the privilege to love and worship Him more and more throughout my whole life.<\/p>\n

        The joy of the Christian life is that I can always grow to\u00a0love God more, because His love for me is unchanging.\u00a0I can continue to worship Him with my very-ness, because of His essence, His character, His\u00a0very-ness.\u00a0Isn\u2019t that blessing amazing\u2026that I can grow to love\u00a0Him\u00a0more and more and more, but His\u00a0perfect eternal\u00a0love for me never changes?\u00a0That is something to be consumed by.<\/p>\n

        We think about so many things throughout\u00a0the day. We love,\u00a0value and want so many things. We\u00a0believe\u00a0so many things will satisfy us, but there is only\u00a0one who can, and there is only\u00a0one worthy of all our heart, all our soul, all our very-ness.<\/p>\n

        And so,\u00a0my prayer for you, myself\u00a0and\u00a0all\u00a0followers\u00a0of Christ would echo Paul\u2019s prayer in Ephesians 3:<\/p>\n

        Ephesians 3:14\u201321 \u2014\u00a0For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who\u00a0is able to\u00a0do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        During this time of\u00a0isolation,\u00a0it can be even easier to get consumed with something:\u00a0a\u00a0project, a show, or\u00a0a hobby.\u00a0Many things\u00a0that might not have been a high priority before\u00a0can become very important to us\u00a0now\u00a0and can easily fill up our lives.\u00a0There is something better that must\u00a0fill our lives. In my study I\u00a0recently\u00a0came across a familiar passage.\u00a0Deuteronomy 6:5\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\u201cYou shall love… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":8259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Amazing Blessing of Loving God More - Faith Church Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-amazing-blessing-of-loving-god-more\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Amazing Blessing of Loving God More - Faith Church Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"During this time of\u00a0isolation,\u00a0it can be even easier to get consumed with something:\u00a0a\u00a0project, a show, or\u00a0a hobby.\u00a0Many things\u00a0that might not have been a high priority before\u00a0can become very important to us\u00a0now\u00a0and can easily fill up our lives.\u00a0There is something better that must\u00a0fill our lives. In my study I\u00a0recently\u00a0came across a familiar passage.\u00a0Deuteronomy 6:5\u00a0\u2014\u00a0\u201cYou shall love... read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-amazing-blessing-of-loving-god-more\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith Church Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-05-20T16:56:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/20200520125513\/Man-reading-bible-by-bed.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dustin Folden\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dustin Folden\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-amazing-blessing-of-loving-god-more\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-amazing-blessing-of-loving-god-more\/\",\"name\":\"The Amazing Blessing of Loving God More - Faith Church Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-05-20T16:56:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-05-20T16:56:01+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#\/schema\/person\/1a2538d0306e712e8a2ba2ddb7d715c7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-amazing-blessing-of-loving-god-more\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-amazing-blessing-of-loving-god-more\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/the-amazing-blessing-of-loving-god-more\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Amazing Blessing of Loving God More\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/\",\"name\":\"Faith Church Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#\/schema\/person\/1a2538d0306e712e8a2ba2ddb7d715c7\",\"name\":\"Dustin Folden\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/20200408121659\/FoldenDustin.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/faith-blog-assets.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/20200408121659\/FoldenDustin.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Dustin Folden\"},\"description\":\"Pastor Dustin Folden and his wife Trisha joined the Pastoral Staff in 2010. 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