In Exodus 20:3, God gave a clear commandment to His people Israel, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (NKJV). To me this means we should not let any person or thing become a priority over our relationship with God. Jesus took the command further in quoting Deut 6:5, He told us that we are to love God with all our heart, soul and mind (Matt 22:37). We are to worship and serve only God (Matt 4:10) and to delight in and meditate on His word (Ps 1:2). Making God our head is a sacrificial process, humbly putting Him first in all that we are, do and think. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt 16:24-25; NKJV). As we give Christ our lives, we will find the kind of life that God has for us; an abundant, fulfilling life, serving as His ambassadors on this earth (John 10:10b, 2 Cor 5:20). Jesus said that if we love Him and obey His words then He and the Father will, “make Our home” with us (John 14:23; NKJV), Jesus lives in us (Rom 8:9-10). As we submit all of our plans, visions and aspirations to the Lord He will make sure they are in line with His will, therefore guaranteeing us success, peace and fulfillment (Prov 16:3). Lord, I lay my life down before You today, have Your way.

“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph 4:29 and 32; NKJV). Everybody needs to feel loved and also, everybody needs to love. How do we show that love to others? It seems to me that it is largely by what we say and do. Verse 29 above deals with what we say and verse 32 with what we do. Looking at verse 29, what we say should “edify” others, in other words – build them up. Verse 29 in the Amplified Bible says that our speech should be “good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others.” Not only that but it should also “impart grace” to those we are talking to. What does that mean? The NLT translates that as, “be an encouragement”; the Amplified Bible, “be a blessing”; the NIV, “may benefit.” Let’s look for opportunities to be an encourager when we speak, to say something positive, that will make a person feel good about themselves. Now let’s look at verse 32. A quick summary of that verse tells us to be kind, compassionate and forgiving. If we can do those things we will be demonstrating the love of Jesus to others. (All these qualities are found in 1 Cor 13:4-7 along with several more). Of course, to speak and act in this way does not come naturally; however, with renewing our minds in the word and the help of the Holy Spirit we can grow in love, in these qualities, and then John 13:35 will become a reality, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (NLT).

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16; NKJV). Jesus desires to come into our lives and have intimate fellowship with us (Rev 3:20). Jesus said that the Father was in Him and He (Jesus) in us as Christians (John 17:20-23). God calls us His children (1 John 3:1) and nothing can separate us from His love (Rom 8:35-39). However, sometimes in our lives we can feel distant from God, how do we restore that beautiful love relationship with God? King David was in the wilderness, hunted by King Saul, he cried out to God, “O God, You are my God, early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water” (Ps 63:1; NKJV). We need to get thirsty for God again. When Jesus came into the apostle Paul’s life that relationship became Paul’s priority above everything else (Phil 3:7-8). James, the brother of Jesus, said, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8; NKJV) and Paul encouraged us to press in toward the things of God (Phil 4:1). Jesus taught us that if His words abide in us, we will have all He has for us (John 15:5-8). As we spend quality time in the word and prayer, we will rediscover that wonderful intimacy and peace with God (John 15:5-8; Phil 4:6-7). It takes some discipline, but the results are truly wonderful.

Bible scholars tell us that if something is repeated in the Bible 2 or 3 times then we should take note of it because it must be important. In Psalm 136 the words, “His mercy and loving kindness endure forever” are repeated 25 times so something tells me this must be very important! In the Hebrew just one word is used for, “mercy and loving kindness” and it is “chesed” which means unfailing love, kindness, tenderness and in this context it is everlasting. We read in Lamentations that, “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning” (Lam 3:22-23; ESV). Similarly, in Psalm 103:4 we are told that God, “crowns us with loving kindness and tender mercies” and in verse 8 of the same Psalm we read that “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy” (NKJV). In Psalm 23 verse 6, David writes that we will be pursued by goodness and mercy, wow! In the New Testament, the Greek word for mercy is “eleos” which means compassion, tender mercy, kindness and an outward manifestation of pity. Mary, the mother of Jesus said, “His mercy is on them that fear Him from generation to generation” (Luke 1:50; NKJV). It is because of God’s mercy that He sent Jesus to earth to redeem us and give us the promise of eternal life (Eph 2:4; 1 Pe 1:3; Jude 21). Not only does our merciful God shower His mercy on us but He expects us to shower mercy on others! But that is a topic for another day!

The apostle Paul challenged the Corinthians to, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves” (2 Cor 13:5; NLT). Again, in Galatians 6:3-5 and Romans 12:3, Paul challenged us to be honest and realistic concerning where we are at in our walk with God. King David is a good example for us all of humility and a desire to be all God wanted him to be. He appealed to God to, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps 139:23-24; NKJV). This is a good prayer for us today. We need to turn away from the things of the world that hold our attention and dictate out actions and focus on the things of God that bring true life and purpose (Col 3:1-2). Paul exhorted us to, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil 2:12-13; NKJV, see also Phil 1:6). As we spend time in God’s word, the Holy Spirit in us will reveal the amazing, blessed life and ministry that God has for us all (1 Cor 2:9-11). Time in the word builds our faith (Rom 10:17), to allow the transforming power of the Holy Spirit to change us to become more like Jesus (2 Cor 3:18). At our life’s end on this earth, we like Paul, will be able to truly say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7; NKJV).