All My Heart - #1

Loving God with all of my heart means:

I truly believe, without a doubt, that God is the only God and that He sent His son, Jesus, to save us and to give us eternal life.

Believing in God and Jesus is done in my heart.

"The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. - Romans 10:8-10 NKJV

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.” - Exodus 20:2-3 NKJV

"Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me (Jesus).” - John 14:1 NKJV

And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day." - John 6:35-40 NKJV

Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” - John 17:1-3 NKJV

Unbelief in God and Jesus slows or hardens my heart to God’s love.

Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. - Mark 16:14 NKJV

Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?" And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. - Luke 24:25-27 NKJV

In order to love God with all my heart, I must believe in God and Jesus and all they have done and will do for me. NO DOUBTS!!

He (Abraham) did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness." Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. - Romans 4:20-25 NKJV

(All scripture from The New King James Version. Copyright (c) 1982, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

**The rest of the "All My Heart" blogs have been archived.

They are available to read at http://www.basiclovetraining.org/index_files/blt_level2.htm

How do I love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength?

Now, let’s go back to the 1st commandment…

FIRST COMMANDMENT – Part One: The Lord our God is One!
From my previous studies, I now understood and believed how God and Jesus are “One”.

FIRST COMMANDMENT – Part Two: And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.

Well, that is the very least we could do after all He has done for us! So, how do I love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength as Jesus commanded?

Going back to my Bible computer program, I started another search. My searches on defining “loving God with all of my heart” lead me to believe that “my heart” is where my beliefs, understanding, and trust reside.

Loving God with all of my heart means:

#1 - I truly believe, without a doubt, that God is the only God and that He sent His son, Jesus, to save us and to give us eternal life.

#2 - I believe that God created me, He is always with me, He knows all of my ways, and Jesus has a plan for my life.

#3 - I believe that I am now a child of God and my hope, future, and inheritance is in Jesus.

#4 - I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and that it testifies of Jesus. By studying it, then I will become instructed in righteousness and thoroughly equipped for the work that Jesus has for me to accomplish.

#5 - I will seek after God’s wisdom in order to gain knowledge and understanding of Him and will treasure it, hiding the words of Jesus in my heart.

#6 - I will put all my trust in Jesus to teach me and direct me in God’s will and I will live the rest of my life by faith in Him.

#7 - I believe Jesus forgives my iniquities, He will heal my broken heart, and He will deliver me from any bondage in my life.

For the next seven of my blog entries, I will take each one of these points and expand upon them, showing the scriptures that I found to make each point and why they relate to our hearts.

Why should we keep the commandments of Jesus?

The first covenant, the Ten Commandments, was written on tablets of stone (see Deuteronomy 4:13) by the finger of God (see Exodus 31:18). A human could never have a personal relationship with a stone! God wanted His Word to be written on our hearts (see Deuteronomy 5:29), so that we would love Him in a personal way.

In the Bible, our hearts are referred to as “tablets made of flesh” (2 Corinthians 3:3). Jesus is referred to as the “right hand of God” (see Isaiah 48:12-15, Psalm 20:6, Psalm 110:1-5, Matthew 22:41-46) and the “arm of the Lord” (see Isaiah 53:1-5, Isaiah 51:7-16). Words are either written or spoken, so it makes sense that Jesus, God's Word, is also referred to as God's right hand and arm. That means Jesus was there in the writing of the Ten Commandments!

So, in order for Jesus to “write” God’s Word on our hearts, God had to send Him in the form of a man, His Son, to speak His Words to us. Jesus was born the same way we were, lived with His earthly parents, experienced being a kid, grew up and learned a trade, felt all the emotions we have, and made friends and enemies on this earth. He went through all the life experiences that we do so that He could relate to us. I feel closer to someone when I know they have gone through some of the same experiences as I have. A close friend can touch my heart with their loving words. Jesus wants to be that close friend to us!

"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-- not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." - Jeremiah 31:31-34 NKJV (see also Hebrews 8:7-13)

"For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." - Hebrews 9:13-15 NKJV

"He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: Holy and awesome is His name. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever." - Psalm 111:9-10 NKJV

God established a new covenant through Jesus. Jesus is our Redeemer, our Savior, and the Mediator of the new covenant. God's Word has always been spoken and written through Jesus and that is why we need to keep His commandments!

(All scripture from The New King James Version. Copyright (c) 1982, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

God’s solution to restore relationship - Jesus

“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)

“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. “ - 1 John 4:9-10 (NKJV)

“And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ " - Matthew 3:17 (NKJV)

God loved us so much that He sent a part of Himself, His Son Jesus, to the world that “They” had created together to die for our sins and to give us close relationship with Him again. So, what is sin and why did Jesus have to die for our sins?

The basic definition of sin that I see in the Bible is disobeying God by doing what I desire instead of what He has commanded me to do or not to do. This is seen in Genesis chapter 3, the story of the serpent deceiving Eve and Eve’s and Adam’s decision to eat the fruit, despite what God had told them.

Sin leads to broken relationship, which is separation, and separation leads to death (see James 1:14-15). Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God, their relationship with God was broken, and that broken relationship has been passed down to us (see Acts 17:26, Romans 5:12-14, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:18-19, Ephesians 2:1). We are not without sin because we are born with it. It is in our blood and it is our curse (see Deuteronomy 30:19). Instead of just destroying all of mankind or leaving us to die in our sin, God decided to give us all a second chance with His Son, Jesus (see Romans 5:8-9, Ephesians 2:4-5).

Jesus became the blood sacrifice that was needed, according to God’s Law, to cover all of our sins (atonement) and to give us eternal redemption (see Leviticus 16:29-34, Leviticus 17:11, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:13-14, Hebrews 9:11-14, Isaiah 53:6-7). His appearance was marred more than any man (see Isaiah 52:14). He was despised and rejected by men (see Isaiah 53:3). He experienced our grief, carried our sorrows, and was wounded and bruised for our iniquities (see Isaiah 53:4-5). Jesus did all of that just so we could have a close relationship with God again (see Ephesians 2:13, Romans 5:10-11, Colossians 1:19-23).

That kind of love just overwhelms me! We can’t help but to fall in love with Jesus after knowing what He gave up and went through for us! God extended His grace to us when we didn’t deserve it. He loves us that much!

(All scripture from The New King James Version. Copyright (c) 1982, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

How does Jesus fit into the picture if there is only one God?

FIRST COMMANDMENT – Part One: The Lord our God is One!

"Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment of all?" Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one." - Mark 12:28-29 (NKJV)

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!" – Deuteronomy 6:4 (NKJV)

Both God and Jesus stated in this 1st commandment that the Lord God is one. In John 10:30 (NKJV) Jesus says, “I and My Father are one." If I am to know Jesus in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, then how does Jesus fit into the picture if we are only supposed to believe in one God? Was Jesus there with God when the world was created?

Jesus said that He shared God’s glory before the world was ever created. John 17:1-5 (NKJV) states, “Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: "Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. “

If Jesus was there with God when the world was created, then there should be some reference to Him in the story of creation, which is found in the book of Genesis. The story tells that God spoke His Word to create all things (see Genesis 1:1-3,6,9,11,14,20,24,26). It also states this in Psalm 33:8-9, “Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Jesus spoke of God’s commandments, so how would God’s commands, God’s Word, relate to Jesus?

Searching on “Word”, I came across some scriptures that define “God’s Word”. John 1:1-2 (NKJV) states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. “ In John 1:14 and 17 (NKJV) it goes on to explain, (v.14) “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (v.17) “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” God’s Word is not just speech, but a living being! Jesus is God’s Word that created us and became flesh to live among us (see Ephesians 3:8-9). We were made through Jesus, and in Him there is life (see John 1:3-4, Colossians 1:15-16).

This brings new meaning to the Proverb: "Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (see Proverbs 18:21).

(All scripture from The New King James Version. Copyright (c) 1982, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.)