Mark 12:30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
God created us with a heart so that we would love Him wholly and absolutely. Today, however, our hearts love many things besides God. The good news is that we can change that at any moment! We can turn our hearts to the Lord Jesus by praying to Him and spending time in His Word. These simple practices can restore our fellowship with the Lord and rekindle our love for Him. We don’t have to remain passive toward God. We can turn our hearts to Him at any time. He will revive us and bring us back to Himself as our first love.
The love in our hearts is determined by wherever we find valuable and is our greatest treasure.
Matt 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.”
In order for us to love Jesus completely, we have to treasure Him above ALL else. Our affections are the outcome of what we treasure. When we truly encounter the Lord in His glory and worth, loving Him with all our hearts will be the end result.
For the Apostle Paul, Jesus was THE treasure of his life. The loss of everything else was nothing compared to gaining Christ.
Phil 3:8 “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”
Eph 3:8 “…this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ”
We have to diligently decide to pursue Him. To get to know Him and His character. Pray to the Lord: “Jesus, I long for You to be my ultimate treasure.” Spend time with Him. He delights in you. He wants to be with you and reveal Himself to you. He enjoys you! Set time aside to be with Him only. If you do this daily, you will see your heart begin to love Him more and more.
Jeremiah 29:13 say’s You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
1Chronicles 16:11 says Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.
James 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Lamentations 3:25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Psalm 119:10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments!
1 Chronicles 16:11 Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!
Psalm 34:10 The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
