Mark 12:30 - The First and Great Commandment.
Mark 12:30 (NKJV) 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. This is the first commandment.
Mark 12:30 (NIV) Love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your mind and with all your strength.'
Mark 12:30 (NLT) And you must love the LORD
your God with all your heart, all your soul, all
your mind, and all your strength.
INTRODUCTION
The law of Jehovah dating back to creation,
was comprised in the two great principles, "Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,
and with all thy strength. This is the first
commandment. And the second is like, namely this: Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none
other commandment greater than these." These two
great principles embrace the first four
commandments, showing the love of man to God, and the last
six, showing the love of man to his fellowman.
1BC1104 mod.
The Ten Commandments can be divided into two
categories: those dealing with love for God (the first
four Commandments) and those dealing with love
toward other people (the last six Commandments).
The same may be said for all the Law and the
Prophets. [Nelson SB re Mat. 22:29-31 mod]
To the Shema Jesus joined the commandment
from Lev 19:18 to show that love for neighbor is
a natural and logical outgrowth of love for
God. [NIV SB]
Todays Scripture passage is important
to both Christians and Jews. Christians
recognize it because when Jesus was asked concerning
the greatest commandment of the law, He set
forth Deuteronomy 6:5, with its love to God.
But that passage was important to the
Jews before Jesus was born. It was important
because it was part of the Shema. The Shema
consisted of three short passages of Scripture -
Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21; and Numbers 15:37-41 - that
had to be recited in prayer fashion by every dew
every morning and every evening.
The Shema wasn't the only prayer the Jews
had to recite every day. They also had to recite
what became known as The Eighteen, which
consisted of 18 prayers. The Eighteen had to be
recited three times a day - once in the morning,
once in the afternoon, and once in the evening.
The Jews were a people of prayer. They
took their praying seriously. Not only did they
have the daily Shema and The Eighteen, but they
had prayers for nearly every event in their
lives. Thus they had prayers before and after every
meal; and there were prayers connected with such
things as light, fire, lightning; on seeing the new
moon, comets, rain, storms; at seeing the sea,
lakes, rivers; on receiving good news; on using new
furniture; on entering or leaving a city, and so on.
Everything had its prayer.
As Christians we have something to learn
here. We need to also see the sacredness of
everything that exists or that happens in our lives. We
need to have a sense of God's presence
constantly. We ought also to live lives inundated with
prayer.
But we also must be aware of the dangers
that the Jews fell into. Satan can pervert even
prayer. But Jesus can do one better. He can
resurrect prayer and sanctify it in our daily lives.
[Walking With Jesus By Knight]
COMMENTARY PEARLS
Loving God With All Your Heart.
Thats what it all comes down to. God
didnt put you on this planet to mark things off
your to-do list. He put you here to learn to love
him with all your heart, soul, mind, and
strength. But what does that really mean, and how do
you do it?
Loving God with all your heart often
happens when youre talking - its how you share
the gift of communication with the world. Loving
God with your soul happens when youre feeling
- when youre sharing compassion. You love
God with your mind as youre thinking - when
youre giving consideration to people or ideas.
And, finally, loving God with your strength
happens as youre doing - when youre making a
contribution to the world.
Another way to say it is that you can
love God with all your talk, all your feelings,
all your thinking, and all your acting.
God calls each person to love God in all
four of these ways. The world needs
communication, compassion, consideration, and contribution
from every follower of Jesus.
But the reality is that your personality
causes you to tend more naturally toward either the
heart, soul, mind, or strength. For the next few
days, well take a look at the strengths and
pitfalls of each of these four areas.
Today were going to focus on the
communicators - the people who most naturally love Jesus
with their hearts.
Heart people are talkers, and they have a
hard time being quiet. When youre a heart
person, youve got to let it out. Youve got to
tell other people. Heart people love to tell
stories. They love to sit and converse, especially in
heart-to-heart conversations.
The world needs people who are
communicators. We need people who can lead discussions and
who can verbalize what the rest of us feel. We
need teachers, counselors, and coaches who can
teach us and direct us. We need comedians. We need
preachers. We need all of these people who are built on
verbal skills and who are able to move the world
forward.
The Bible says, Let everything you say
be good and helpful, so that your words will be
an encouragement to those who hear them
(Ephesians 4:29 NLT).
When talkers use the right words at the
right time, they can restore, encourage, build up,
and heal broken hearts. They can also use their
abilities to guide, direct, and point us in the right
direction.
But Gods warning for talkers is this:
You also have to act.
Proverbs 14:23 says, Hard work is
worthwhile, but empty talk will make you poor (CEV).
This means you eventually have to act on
what youve been talking about. Some people
never get past the discussion stage.
What things have you been talking about
doing? How long have you been talking about it?
Dont just talk about it. Start doing
it! And see how God uses your words and actions
to make a difference in the world. [Daily
Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
Loving God with Your Soul
Weve been looking together at the
different ways you can love God. You can find these
ways in Mark 12:30: You must love the Lord
your God with all your heart, all your soul, all
your mind, and all your strength (NLT).
We all love God in all four of these
ways, but each of us tends more naturally toward
one than the others. God has shaped you
primarily to be a talker, a feeler, a thinker, or a
doer. Talkers most easily love God with their
hearts. Feelers love God with their souls. Thinkers
love God with their minds. Doers love God with
their strength.
Today were going to focus on the
feelers - people who are strongest at loving God
with all their soul.
The world cant get by just on
communication from talkers, consideration from thinkers,
and contribution from doers. We also need the
compassion of the feelers who love God best with their
souls.
The word soul is used many
different ways in the Bible. But most of the time,
its used as a synonym for emotions. You see this
a lot in the Psalms.
Psalm 42:1 says, As the deer pants for
streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my
God (NIV).
Every emotion known to humanity is in
Scripture. The Bible talks about souls that are
downcast, disturbed, satisfied, yearning, troubled,
forlorn, joyful, bitter, thirsty, hungry, rejoicing,
and delighted. Can you hear the passion in those
words? Soul people feel their emotions.
Can you guess who else feels emotions?
God. He gets angry, happy, sad, and everything
in-between. You have emotions because you were made in
Gods image.
God is passionate, and feelers represent
that part of him in the world. They care deeply
about issues, about people, and about knowing God.
They can empathize with other peoples pain and
problems.
Theyre great examples of Ephesians
4:32: Be kind and compassionate to one another,
forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave
you (NLT).
Feelers offer Gods compassion to the
world. But, just like every other personality, they
have their weaknesses. Feelers tend to be
manipulated by their moods. Instead, they need to let
God lead them.
The Bible says, Let the Spirit direct
your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires
of the human nature (Galatians 5:16 NLT).
When feelers are led by Gods Spirit,
they still have feelings - but theyre not
controlled by them. They let Gods Spirit lead them
in deciding which feelings to follow and which
to resist.
If youre a feeler, be a Spirit-led
one. Let God guide you to share with the world
the passions hes given you. [Daily Devotional
by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/ re Psalm 42:1]
Loving God with Your Mind
Weve been looking at Mark 12:30:
You must love the Lord your God with all your
heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your
strength (NLT). One way to restate this verse is love
God with all your talk, all your feelings, all
your thinking, and all your doing.
Although every person is called to do all
of these things, God created each person to be
stronger in one area. That means God has shaped you
more naturally to be a talker (heart), feeler
(soul), thinker (mind), or doer (strength).
Today lets look at the thinkers, who
most readily love God with their minds.
Do you know that you can love God with
your intellect? When you develop and strengthen
your mind, its an act of worship.
One way you can recognize a thinker is by
this: When thinkers become believers, they fall in
love with the Bible.
Psalm 119:97 says, How I love your
law! I think about it all day long (GNT).
There is no other book in the world like
the Bible! It has the answers to lifes
questions, including why God put you here on earth.
We need thinkers - because the world
needs consideration. Somebody has to be thinking
through complex issues and the implications of what
the rest of us are doing. We need people who
think through tough problems and bring solutions
to the table.
But thinkers need to be careful to also
practice humility. The Bible says, Dont be
impressed with your own wisdom (Proverbs 3:7 NLT).
Why? Because God is God, and youre not.
Humility is a choice. James 4:10 says,
Humble yourselves before the Lord (NIV).
Humility is something you do to yourself. And its
not denying your strengths; its being honest
about your weaknesses.
Thinkers also need to be careful to
practice what they know. If you know it, then do it!
James 1:22 says, Do not merely listen to the
word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it
says (NIV).
Your personality is unique and precious
to God. When you use it to serve him with all
your heart, soul, mind, and strength, you bring
him glory! [Daily Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/ re James 1:22]
Love God with Your Strength
Jesus said the greatest commandment is to
love the Lord your God with all your heart, all
your soul, all your mind, and all your
strength (Mark 12:30 NLT).
As weve learned, God expects every one
of us to mature in all of these areas. But he
also knows each one of us tends to lead in one
area. This means God has shaped you to most
naturally be a talker (heart), feeler (soul), thinker
(mind), or doer (strength).
Today were going to focus on loving
God with all your strength.
Doers love God with their strength.
They're energetic activists - the achievers, the
accomplishers, the workers. They push things forward and
make things happen in practical ways.
What is the purpose of doers in the
world? Doers are here because the world needs
contribution - and doers can get the job done! They have
initiative, energy, action, and a drive to achieve. In a
practical sense, they often serve as the hands and
feet of Jesus in the world.
But we all have flaws, and for doers,
its overwork. Doers are always working. They
have trouble stopping to think or feel. They are
always busy!
Psalm 127:2 says, Its useless to
rise early and go to bed late, and work your
worried fingers to the bone. Dont you know he
enjoys giving rest to those he loves? (The
Message). If youre a doer, that would be a good
verse to put up on the mirror in your bathroom.
God wants his loved ones to get their proper
rest.
When you become a believer, your past is
forgiven, you have a reason for living, and you have a
home in heaven. But theres something that
doesnt change when you come to Christ: Your
personality doesnt change. God doesnt slow a doer
down when you come to him. He just changes your
direction. In fact, he wants to empower you. Remember,
you got your personality from him.
Colossians 3:23 has great advice for
doers: Whatever you do, work at it with all your
heart, as though you were working for the Lord and
not for people (GNT).
If God made you a doer, then he wants to
use you to get stuff done in the world. But
youre not meant to do it all, and you should never
try to do it in your own strength.
Its okay sometimes to do less - not
less for God, but less in other areas so youll
have more time to do what matters most. [Daily
Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/ re Col. 3:23]
COMMENTARY
Priority of the First and Great Commandment
Like many other people, I enjoy social
media, television, reading, and talking on the
phone. Until recently, the first thing I did every
morning was look at social media and see what was
going on with my friends. I enjoyed sending
birthday and anniversary greetings. Afterward, I
would say my prayers. But I began to I realize, I
was spending more time posting on Facebook than
talking to Jesus or reading His Word.
The things I enjoy are not sinful. Work,
family, relationships, and hobbies are good things.
But sin comes creeping in when we make these
things a priority over Jesus. The first commandment
says for us to have no other gods before Him. I
had literally put my entertainment before Jesus.
Matthew 6:33 (ESV) instructs us, But seek first
the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and
all these things will be added to you.
When I evaluated my time, I realized that
all of my time was really His time. I rearranged
my priorities and put Him first.
Since I have reorganized my priorities, I
begin each day by praying and connecting with
Jesus. I read my Bible and devotions daily and
listen to Christian music while Im working or
driving. Throughout the day, I talk to Jesus. Since
Jesus has become first in my life, everything else
is falling into place. His peace is filling my
heart. I still enjoy Facebook and chatting with
friends, but I dont let them rule my life and
time. by Katie Minter Jones
Faith Step: Evaluate how much time you
spend doing other things and if Jesus is your
priority. [Mornings With Jesus 2020 Devotional by
Guideposts and Zondervan]
The Bee Gees sang, How can you mend a
broken heart? Elvis lived down at the end of
Lonely Street at Heartbreak Hotel. Bruce
Springsteen said that everybodys got a hungry
heart. Tom Petty was tired of people dragging his
heart around. And Selena Gomez sang that the heart
wants what it wants.
But heres the problem with our hearts.
They can lead us in the wrong direction. In fact,
the Bible tells us in Jeremiah 17:9, The
heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked; Who can know it? (NKJV). The
Message puts the same verse this way: The heart
is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that
no one can figure out.
Jesus, showing the potential darkness of
our own hearts, said, For out of the heart
proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies
(Matthew 15:19 NKJV).
Our hearts are dark. Our hearts are evil.
And our hearts can mislead us. Thats why we
need to let our minds step in and help us.
Jesus said, You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, with all your soul,
and with all your mind (Matthew 22:37 NKJV).
The Hebrew word for soul would be closer to our
use of the word heart. It speaks of something
deep inside a person.
Our love for God needs to be emotive and
intelligent. One doesnt cancel out the other. We need
to love the Lord with all of our hearts. We
need to love God with our emotions and our
intellect. And we need to love God with our strength.
We need to love Him with our time and
resources, with everything that we have.
As Christians, the objective is not to
focus on our hearts. It is to focus our hearts on
God. [By Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com]
There are a lot of people who say they
love God, but sometimes we wonder about that
because their actions seem to contradict it.
Matthews Gospel tells us about an
occasion when the religious leaders came to Jesus
with a trap. They were trying to get Him to
identify the greatest of the commandments. But
instead of answering their question, He tells them
how to love God and what it actually means.
Jesus said, You must love the Lord
your God with all your heart, all your soul, and
all your mind. This is the first and greatest
commandment. A second is equally important: Love your
neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the
demands of the prophets are based on these two
commandments (Matthew 22:37"40 NLT). Jesus got to the
heart of the matter about loving God.
To loosely paraphrase, Jesus was saying,
Guys, instead of trying to focus on all of these
rules, try this. Just love God. If you love God as
you ought to love Him, then everything will fall
into its proper place.
That is why Augustine, one of the early
church fathers, said, Love God, and do as you
please. That almost sounds insane, but it isnt.
If you really love God in the way the Bible
tells you to love Him, then youll want to do
what pleases Him.
When you love God with all your heart,
all your soul, and all your mind, it means
that you love Him with every part of your being.
To the ancient Hebrews, the word heart did not
refer as much to the emotions as it did to the
core of ones being. For the Christian, the
objective is not to focus on your heart; it is to
focus your heart on God. [By Greg Laurie from
Harvest Ministries; https://www.harvestdaily.com]
I prayed fervently and persistently for
God to fulfill a deep desire. Over time the
pleas grew deeper and more desperate, and the
desire grew larger in my own mind. In fact, it grew
so large that I eventually realized it had
become almost as important to me as God was. I had
been desperately praying for God to fulfill my
love for something that would rival Him in my
heart.
We do that often, though usually so
subtly that we hardly notice. We treat God as our
Cyrano de Bergerac, who was put in the painful
position of helping another man win the heart of
someone Cyrano himself loved deeply. We ask God for
those objects of our affection, forgetting that He
desires to be an even greater object of our
affection. We provoke His jealousy in our prayers for
His blessings. God then has to choose between
either watching our heart delight in His gift
rather than the Giver or disappointing us by not
giving us our heart's delight at all. In His mercy,
He often gives anyway, but our joy in our
treasures often overshadows our joy in Him.
There's a way around this dilemma, of
course. It's to always treasure God over and above
the things we ask of Him. But that's easier said
than done, considering our common misperceptions
of His goodness and glory. Hannah was able to
maintain her priorities by offering the gift, her
child Samuel, back to God. And in a sense, that's
what we have to do with every request we plead.
The God who loves us passionately offers us
extravagant blessings, as long as we love Him more
extravagantly than them all.
Lord, please forgive me for exalting my
requests above You. I want You to fulfill my desires,
but not more than I want to fulfill Your
desires. My greatest affections belong to You -
always. [The One Year Experiencing Gods Presence
Devotional by Chris Tiegreen re 1 Samuel 1:11]
ILLUSTRATION
Staying Close to the Master
Both dogs and cats have taught me lessons
about faith.
A dog loves unconditionally, accepting
discipline and holding no resentment. A dog follows its
master and likes to be right at his or her feet.
Our dog Shabah was always where we were. When we
went upstairs to bed, he planted himself right in
our doorway. In the morning, he sat on my feet
or Rick's while we did our devotions together.
He was easily trained because he wanted to
please us. If he needed something, he let us know
through his manner and his "puppy dog look": "I have
to go out." "Please please please throw
the tennis ball." "Give me a scratch." We always
responded. Shabah died, but now Sarge is much the
same.
I had numerous cats when I was a child,
and cats are lovely but independent. They don't
need to be with the "master" at all times. In
fact, cats seem to think they are the masters of
their own realms. "Here, kitty, kitty," doesn't
always bring them running. Sometimes cats will look
at you with that "what do you want?"
expression, and sometimes they'll find a nice quiet
place and just plain ignore you. On the plus side,
petting them is said to reduce stress. Who can
resist that nimbly purring sound they make when
they're being stroked? But affection has to be on
their own terms. They'll come when they're called
as long as you're offering food or milk. If
there isn't something in it for them, they'll come
when they please.
Don't get me wrong; I love both dogs and
cats. But in matters of faith, I don't want to be
like a cat, thinking I can call the shots and do
my own thing. I want to be like a dog. I want
to be at my Master's feet. I want to serve Him
the way the apostle Peter describes: "willingly,
not grudgingly - not for what [I] will get out
of it, but because [I am] eager to serve God."
When I hear God's quiet voice, I want to come
running, grinning from ear to ear, ready to do
whatever He asks.
Lord God, I want to be wholehearted in my
devotion to You, loving You fully and unconditionally
because You are my God and You care for me. Teach me
to be loyal, to remain close to You, and to be
eager to do Your will. May I serve You with my
whole heart, not out of duty but out of pure love
for who You are. [Earth Psalms by Francine
Rivers re 1 Pet. 5:2]
CLOSING THOUGHT
How do you get into a swimming pool? Some
people dip in their toes to test the water's
temperature. Others walk to the shallow end and slowly
ease themselves into the water. Then there are
those who leap off the side of the pool and do a
cannonball into the deep end.
In the early 1980s, cannonballs were more
than a way to jump into the water. They were a
source of competition at the World Belly-Flop and
Cannonball Diving Championships. Contestants dressed in
funny costumes and bright bathing suits, hoping to
make a big splash. Each competitor - some weighed
over 250 pounds - performed three jumps from a
one-meter diving board where they earned points based
on six criteria: height of splash, water
displaced from pool, degree of difficulty, artistry,
personality, and color of swimsuit. The winner received
an amazing array of prizes, including a green
bathroom, a trophy, a bowling bag, a set of wrenches,
and a bag of cash. Not to mention bragging
rights as the world's best cannonballer.
A silly contest might appear to have
little to do with our faith in Christ. But when it
comes to following Jesus, he wants us to dive in!
Dipping your toe into Christianity can be an okay
way to start, but until you take the plunge and
give your whole life to Christ, your faith can
leave you feeling cold.
During Jesus' time on earth, a teacher of
the law asked him which of the commandments was
the most important. Jesus answered, "Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your mind and with all
your strength (Mark 12:30). Notice that Jesus
said all your heart, all your soul, all your
mind, and all your strength. We can't effectively
live for Christ when we just dip in our toes.
Doing a cannonball into a life with Jesus Christ
can seem scary. You might risk people thinking
you're a little weird. But in reality, diving into
your relationship with God isn't risky at all.
When you take the plunge and wholeheartedly
commit to Christ, you're guaranteed to never
belly-flop but always make a big splash. [Case For
Christ For Kids by Les Strobel]
ONE LINERS
Love is not the work of the Holy Spirit, it
is the Holy Spirit - working in us. God is
love, He doesn't merely have it or give it; He
gives Himself - to all men, to all sorts and
conditions. Joseph Fletcher
Make Christ first and last and best in
everything. Constantly behold Him, and your love for Him
will daily become deeper and stronger as it is
submitted to the test of trial. AH106
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS TOPIC
Matthew 22:36-40 - The Greatest Commandment.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2015/20150203-1138.html
Matthew 22:36-40 - Loving God With All Your
Heart, Soul And Mind.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2018/20180426-1041.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
Steps to Peace by Billy Graham:
https://stepstopeace.org/
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David
DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides:
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The
Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible
Revelation Now by Pastor Doug Batchelor:
https://www.revelationnow.com/
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
