Thank goodness for Facetime! I can see my grandbabies every day even though don’t live close. At the end of the conversation, I often say, “I love you this much” as I hold hands out to each side as wide as they will go! I love them with my heart and soul! Did you know we are to love God “this” much too?
LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL OF YOUR SOUL AND WITH ALL OF YOUR STRENGTH AND WITH ALL OF YOUR MIND. Luke 10:27
This scripture was part of a prayer that Jesus would have prayed every day.
Probably in the morning and evening. It is part of a bigger prayer called the Shema (pronounced shmah). The Shema is the most essential prayer for the Jewish people.
The Shema is a prayer to understand and take to heart as it gives voice to the commitment to follow the Lord.
Jesus prayed these words and taught on them and called them the ‘greatest commandment”.
But what does it mean to “love God with all of our soul’?
If Jesus said the Shema was the greatest commandment isn’t it important to know, really know what it means?
We can have a deeper understanding of this scripture if we look at the meaning of the word soul in this scripture. The word soul in Hebrew is nephesh.
This word when boiled down to it’s basic core means LIFE!
“Love the Lord with your whole soul” means we should love the Lord with our lives! Moment by moment for our whole lives.
Not just on Sundays during church, not just on Christmas and Easter, not just when we feel like it! Loving the Lord on good days and on bad days and on all days in between.
It means having an eternal love affair with Him because of his extravagant love for us! Loving God with all our life is not a wishy-washy love. It is not controlled by feelings. It is a love born out of a decision. It is a choice and a commitment to do life with God!
Jesus is calling us to love God with our life! Every moment! Every day! And in every circumstance! Isn’t that just what Jesus did? He loved God and us with His whole life!
I can’t imagine any day or any circumstance not loving my grandbabies. I’m always seeking their good! And no matter what my day brings they are the delight of my life!
It is my desire to love God the same way! With my life and with my words I want my Great Father to know, “I love you this much”!
This week’s bible verse to think about…
LOVE THE LORD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART AND WITH ALL OF YOUR SOUL AND WITH ALL OF YOUR STRENGTH AND WITH ALL OF YOUR MIND. Luke 10:27
I have a small sign that my mother gave me about 27 years ago – when she gave her life to the Lord. It reads – “I asked God how much do you love me and HE answered this much as HE extended HIS arms from side to side and died on the cross” . When my mom gave me that sign, it’s message was lost on me – but now I display it proudly and with a heart for God in my living room – hoping it will speak to someone who comes to our home. As soon as I saw the heading of your post, this is what came to mind.
How lovely, Vanessa! Thanks so much for sharing! What a treasure!
Thank you Yvonne. Your words and Spiritual guidance fill my heart. You are a daily blessing, Deena
I am a teacher and I sometimes show my students your blog, because I want them to see that learning is more than what they can imagine. I am trying to show them that vocabulary in British and American English is sometimes different. Some of these young girls enjoy your blog, boys don’t very much, and I am pretty sure they, accidentally, will bump into the most important part, the Sunday Scripture.
Big hug for you, your husband and those readers that, like me, enjoy your explanation of the blessing of being under His protection.
I love this! I teach a women’s Bible study and will use this word study sometime in the future. Thank you Yvonne!
Thanks for your encouragement to love the Lord with our heart, soul and mind. May that always be my greatest ambition! Happy Sunday! ?
Sharing this verse from Luke with my grandchildren. Thank you. Blessings.
Thank you for sharing your faith with us. I appreciate the explanations of the original words.
I can certainly relate to this, having 9 grandchildren, and praying recently to love the Lord even more. Have a blessed Lord’s day, Yvonne.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I am new to your blog but am now a loyal fan. I love everything you bring to this space to serve and love Jesus. As a fellow Bible teacher and also now at 46 a Master’s Seminary student (eeek!)…I find your emails uplifting, refreshing and just so centered on the love of Christ. Thank you my new friend. I hope we get to meet one day. Love, Cindy Childers
How true this is! God bless you and your family for speaking the truth! Ana
Bless the message and the messenger. xo
That is so true, Yvonne. So often when thing are going along and our lives are running smoothly we forget to say Thank You….and remember that it is all His doing. Great post today- xo Diana
Preach it Sister!! Yes we do need to contemplate what it means to Love God with all of your heart, soul, strength, and mind. There must be much here that we don’t fully comprehend. This is a good thought provoking question for today, thanks for sharing.
Amen. Blessings, Tammy
as you are loved
I luv coming to you blog and reading your posts. But I so look forward to reading your Sunday Scripture post. I attend service on a Saturday evening and so, your Sunday postings gives me that special bit I need to start my Sundays off on a wonderful footing.
Thank you.
Cheers,
Gee
Thank you for sharing such a beautiful simple message this morning. 🙂
xoxo
jenny
THis was a beautiful start to my day. Well, I have been up but just seeing this. Thank you. Hope you are having a gREAT weekend. XOXO
Yvonne,
This is powerful! However, when we totally commit to a personal relationship, our lives reflect exactly the presence of Christ in our daily living. Some of the sweetest compliments have come from former students, co~workers and people I pass through life that have come back and told me,”You are like NO other teacher, co~worker, employee, friend that I’ve had in my life.” I Praise God for the people He allows my path to cross with daily. Each is an opportunity to “Shine His light before men”. We never know what the other may be going through and hopefully our encounter will ease their load and help them to find their WAY. Thank you for being His messenger through this precious weekly meme!
Fondly,
Pat
Thank you for this mornings teaching and inspiration. I always love reading your blog.