Wednesday, November 24, 2010
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Jeremiah 10-12 and 2 Timothy 1
BIBLE IN A YEAR: Jeremiah 10-12 and 2 Timothy 1
THE LONGING TO BE WHOLEHEARTED
SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 22:37 (NIV) 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.
Most people take this verse as a command yet this is not just a command but it is a prophetic statement from Jesus to His followers. The time is coming when followers of God will follow Him with wholehearted love, not mindless ritual or casual indifference. His people will be people who love Him radically and passionately. Yes, God will have a people who love Him with all their energy. There is a joy in being lovesick for Jesus. Spiritual boredom makes us vulnerable to destruction but God gives us the power to be passionate, because He is a passionate God. God has given us the longing to be wholehearted and when we allow Him and ask Him to empower us to be wholehearted then He responds to our wholeheartedness – He loves and gives Himself to us with all His heart. We soar to the height of our human potential only when we fully love God! Our emotional capacity for love is immense, we were created for love and God will empower us to receive His love, love Him in return and love others. It takes God to love God and it takes our receipt of God’s supernatural power to give us the capacity to love Him.
PRAYER AND MEDITATION
1. How would you rate your love for God on a scale of 1-10? Are you spiritually bored, radically passionate or in-between?
2. In listening prayer, ask God if there is any sin that is preventing you from loving Him wholeheartedly or experiencing His love. Confess as necessary.
3. Pray that God will supernaturally empower you to experience His love and to wholeheartedly love Him in return. Ask Him to help you grow in this area. Praise His for His desire to grow you in love.
