A Year Through God's Eyes
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Two Different Ways to Say the Same Thing
At our church, when boiling down the Bible to its most basic points, our pastor came to this phrase: Love God, Love Others. While I wholeheartedly agree with that statement, I also think it could be said that Jesus most valued obedience and service. Any time I read through my Bible, these two themes scream out at me. God brings judgment on the Israelites because they don't obey them, Jesus said there is no greater love than a man laying down his life for those of his friends. David understood this idea and also the nature of humans when he wrote in Psalms 5:8-"Lead me in the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me. Tell me clearly what to do, and show me which way to turn. (NLT)"
As with anything dealing with God, these two principles are at the same time incredibly easy (in theory), and incredibly difficult (in practice). It is only with God's help through the Holy Spirit that I am able to come anywhere close to hitting the mark in either of these areas.
Prayers:
*The earthquake relief in Haiti. They said in a newsbrief on the radio that the mainstream media was a little baffled when they saw people praising God in the streets. I ask that I deal with the storms in my life in the same manner.
*Baby Blues. That God would show my wife and I which way to turn in the maze of trying to conceive another child.
*House Hunters. That he would lead us in the right path on our decision to stay for a while longer.
*Courtship. That I would make my wife a priority in my life. That I would continually take the initiative to speak her love languages without her having to ask.
*God's Man. There is a t-shirt my wife got for me for Christmas that speaks of a sports team, and on the back it says: tried and true. I want that to be said of me when I stand before God's throne on judgement day, that I was tried through difficulties, and shown true through my response.
*Time Clock. That I would make an effort to persevere in God's Word until it becomes "muscle memory" to spend daily time with God.
*Daddy's Little Girl. That I would be the best possible father to my daughter, and that before she gets to the age of deciding to take the Christ-like path, that I will have already prepared her for it.
*Leadership. That I would be godly in all my actions when I step out to lead and that I remember who I truly rely on in order to lead.
posted by Nathan at 4:53 PM
1 Comments:
Is there any way to express real love without obedience, without serving, without giving? Most definitely not! Real love changes you so that serving, giving and obeying become the natural expression of that love. The struggle is as you said, learning to love enough that it is not simply in thought and word, but in reality and deed. We all need help there!
Post a Comment
<< Home