ALL!

ALL!

and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Deuteronomy 6:5 KJV

The Inspiration:

Just as Moses stood in those days to remind Israel about the promises and expectations of God for the new phase He was bringing them to, so does God seek to remind us in this generation of His promises and expectations for us. He is the same God; time, systems and cultures have done nothing to change, alter or lower His standards for anyone. What He called sin in the days of Adam and Noah is still sin in our day, and if I will be all He wants me to be, I have to listen to His instructions and obey them promptly. He is the same God who led Israel to a land that was not theirs in the first place, but because He is the Lord over all, He blesses whoever He chooses and shows mercy as He desires. However, one thing is clear: there is a role for me to play in the disperlnsation and generation God has placed me in. He does not make mistakes, and His plans are eternal. It will be a privilege for me to be counted as a vessel that God sees fit to use in these times, and I must therefore submit myself to Him, so I can be all He needs me to be. How can I do this the right way? Today's verse tells me how.

The Contention:

The matter of love is very simple, yet very complex. Today's verse asks me to love the Lord my God. The first step is to submit. How can I love a God I do not recognize as God? How would I obey a God with whom I have no knowledge of or relationship with? God has made an abundant provision of information about Himself in the Bible, and I will do well to read, study, meditate on, and personalize the messages therein. Love is the person of God Himself, and if it will be real, it has to be based on Him. My natural self can't produce God's kind of love because sin had tampered with the original template, but as I submit my life to God, He births new desires in me. I am able to flow out with His nature, power and mercy, and the world is impacted by His presence in me. I note the word ALL is repeated three times in that one verse above, to show the importance of the totality of my life being involved in this process. It would appear that God does not do partial commitment, because it means He cannot trust my heart when things get tough.

The Conclusion:

The danger of half-hearted devotion to God can be fatal. The church in Laodicea was warned about being lukewarm. James also warned about the danger of being double-minded. Even for king Amaziah, men would have seen the right things he did, but God's verdict was that he did not serve God with a perfect heart. Will God accept sacrifices that come from a distracted and divided heart? God accepted Abel first, and then His offering was accepted. My life is the focus; I must spend time making sure it is focused on God, to the exclusion of all other people or things. No other person or thing should be able to hold my heart. It will seek a full commitment of both my inner and outer content, and it will demand allegiance. It will not allow me to sit on the fence, because there is no fence. I am either all in or all out. Of course, the inner controls the outer. If my heart and mind are right, my strength and labour can be applied the right way. Can God trust that He holds ALL my heart, soul and might? Can He entrust his great treasures into my hand? God's time of favour is here.