God's Greatest Desire - Day 81 Through the Bible

We are blessed to live in an area with many servant-heart people.  This beautiful, brilliant young woman - who speaks 4 languages fluently - would make a long drive from her internship near Mt. Celo Church on her day off to serve as a volunteer babysitter in our hometown so that the children's young mothers could study English. 

My Lessons and Applications from Today's Readings:  We have learned in our studies that the Bible says that the root cause of all sin is unbelief.  The Bible also shows that the root cause that propels the powerful, transformed life to glorify God is love - an all-encompassing, predominating love of the LORD.  God often takes His saints through great trials and sufferings in accomplishing His Will, His Plan.  Am I willing to do, to endure, whatever God calls me to in this life - out of love for Him?  Does God know that my relationship with Him - my love for Him - takes precedence over all else?  The Bible says THIS is God's greatest desire - that we love Him.

Loving Him Enough to Hear, Learn, Teach, Be Careful, Observe, Keep, Do - (Deuteronomy 5 and 6) These are God's commands to His people in regard to His statues, laws and commandments before they enter the Promised Land.  They are reminded that things will go well with them (OT Mosaic covenantal blessing, but see below for NT)...their days will be prolonged...they will be multiplied greatly IF they obey His laws. The laws are made to honor God and to protect His people.  Diligence is required (6:7) at all times...talking...sitting...walking...lying down...rising up - the warp and woof of our lives.  Obedience flows naturally when we love God with our whole being.

Loving Him is His Greatest Desire - The Shema - (Deut. 6:4-9) God's greatest desire from us is that we love Him with all of our heart, soul and strength.  This always touches me so deeply when I read of God asking us to love Him...not to work for Him (that will be a natural outflow of love)...just love Him.  All that we are reading from Genesis through Revelation is Holy, Almighty God working throughout history to bring sinful man into a redeemed state, able to dwell with, love, and adore Him through eternity.  His own Son confirms this in the NT (Matt 22:37-38): "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment."

5 Antidotes to Fret and Envy of Evildoers (Psalm 37:1-4) - 1) Trust in the LORD 2) Do good 3) Dwell in the land (NT would be to dwell on His promises/His Word) 4) Feed on His faithfulness 5) Delight yourself in the LORD.  Proverbs 12:8 segues into this:  This good man will be considered wise; the evildoer (the perverse heart) will be despised.

Love That Produces Great Faith / Persevering Faith Among the Most Despised - (Luke 1:21-38) On a few Biblical NT women: We have read of the deep faith of Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, who had a more profound faith and knowledge than even the disciples (and she was chastised for it); of the depth of faith of the woman with the long illness who knew just touching the hem of Jesus' garment would make her well (but she, too, was chastised by the disciples); the determined trust of the Gentile woman who thought if she could just have the crumbs Jesus tossed out in His teachings, she would be saved (also chastised); of Mary Magdalene who had 7 demons cast out of her (and was herself an outcast),stays with Him at the crucifixion and is the first person with whom the risen Savior speaks; of "righteous" Elizabeth's son, the Forerunner of Christ, who will be beheaded for telling the truth to a drunk king - as a favor to his wife of incest; and now the very young virgin Mary, who is willing to bear the shame, outrage and disgrace of her society to serve her LORD faithfully with the courageous, immortal words: "Behold the maidservant of the LORD.  Let it be to me according to your word." This woman, "blessed and highly favored by God", will be as an outcast in her culture, will endure long tortuous travel near the time of birth which will be in a stable with animals, and will watch this Promised Son, without sin, be cruelly abused and crucified.  Her blessing comes later.  "Favored" in the NT does not equate with the meaning of that word in the world.  All of His people -often the despised, forsaken, outcast - are told that they are chosen, elect, and that they will share in His sufferings on this earth as well as His rewards eternally.  Great was their love for the Lord; greatly they were/are loved by Him.   We love Him because He first loved us. (1 John 4: 19)

The grace of God reveals One who loves us so much as to have made Calvary possible, but who hates sin so much as to make Calvary necessary. - T.S. Mooney 

(for a wonderful story about T.S. Mooney told by Alistair Begg on Truth for Life)