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Every time I read these passages, I am amazed that when Jesus was asked to give the greatest commandment, he replied by quoting two. The single greatest commandment in all of God’s will for us has two sides. We are called to love God, and to love people.

Now, it’s easy to understand (even if it’s hard to do) that we are supposed to love God. After all, we are supposed to love our parents for giving us life and caring for us, and God is the ultimate parent in that sense. He has given us life, he sustains our life, he cares for us and provides for us, and he really is that incredibly wonderfully awesomely holy and good and righteous and worthy of our love.

But what about my neighbor? What has he done for me? He didn’t give me life. He didn’t care for me. He isn’t all that incredible or wonderful or awesome. He certainly isn’t holy and good and righteous. He’s just a neighbor and I don’t even know him. Why should I love him?

Here are two reasons to love your neighbor:

1. God wants you to be a loving person.
2. God loves your neighbor.

One of the noisiest parts of our society is the noise that tells us to be selfish, to love ourselves, to please ourselves, and to do good to others so that good comes back to us. It’s all selfishness.

Jesus raises the point, however, that loving God necessarily requires us to become loving people, and we can’t be loving people without loving people. And since I don’t get to choose what kind of God I should love, I also don’t get to choose what kind of person I should love. I love the only God there is, and I love the people around me as they actually are. The only way to become a loving person is to simply start showing love.

If you are an emotional person by nature, spend some time with God in prayer asking him to cultivate in you positive feelings for the people around you. If you are a thinking person by nature, spend some time journalling on paper strategies for how to show other people how valuable they are.

BIG IDEA FOR THE DAY: Love others… feel it and do it.

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Our world is filled with noise. For many of us, from the time we wake up to our noisy alarm clocks to the time we turn off the noisy TV and go to bed, our lives are filled with the noise of car radios, retail Muzak, jobsite buzz, and wild children. It wouldn’t be much of a problem if we had the chance to get to a quiet place now and then to spend time with God, but we find that once we get to that quiet place, the noise in our heads just keeps going. Worries and concerns of responsibilities yet undone, projects yet unfinished, and decisions yet undecided swirl through our brains. Then, as if that weren’t enough, the “spiritual” noise of competing world philosophies, self-help gurus, and biblical interpretation all enter into the picture too.

What if we could cut through all the noise to get down to the one, two, or more essentials in life? What if we could identify and focus on just a few things well enough that the others would either fall into place or lose separate significance?

Well, that’s exactly what Jesus is talking about here. This week, we’ll consider four “essentials” according to Jesus—four things we simply must give our lives to—and to get us started, today we look at what Jesus calls the most important of them all. Jesus tells us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Elsewhere, Jesus has already said to “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness…”

In summary fashion, the point is that God must come first in every aspect of our lives. All priorities begin with the priority of putting God first. In my heart, my emotional life, God comes first. In my soul, from where intimacy comes, God must be first. In my mind, my thought life, God comes first. In my strength, how I use my resources, God must come first.

In our church, we express this priority by claiming God as our first core value, and this is what we mean by it…

Our number one core value is GOD himself. We put GOD at the top of every list, and we let him speak for himself. If he says something in the Bible, then we believe it and work to follow it. If he doesn’t say something in the Bible then we tread with great caution and do not put words in his mouth that he hasn’t spoken.

More than all other things, we want to get in touch with our creator and experience the real presence of GOD in our lives every day, and we recognize his Son JESUS, who died for us, as the only way to know him.

BIG IDEA FOR THE DAY: What will it take for God to take first place today?

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by Jack Hurless

The Simple Life

The “simple life”. Do these words sound foreign to you? Very few people would disagree that, within today’s culture, distraction and the fast-pace of each day dominate our earthly existence. And, honestly, I would have to agree with some that, these influences upon our lives are “enemies” to “life within God’s Kindgom” as Jesus describes it in the Gospel narratives.

“..No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back…” There is no way that the person, handling an animal-drawn plow in the field, even once looks behind him while plowing, ends up with properly-furrowed ground. His full attention must be directed forward attending to this one purpose–so it may be accomplished productively. In like manner, those who are members of God’s family must live “Kingdom life”, not distracted but with a “single eye”.

W. Glyn Evans comments, “The longer I live the more I realize that the Kingdom of Heaven must be ‘taken by force’. To enter the Kingdom is the easiest thing of all, but to let the Kingdom enter me is the most difficult… Some things I do in the Christian life are effortless–preach a sermon, lead a soul to Christ, write an article. Other things–vastly more important–are so difficult they command my whole strength and time–learn about God, know God, imitate and obey God. Those are the abiding things, like faith, hope, and love.“

“..is fit for the Kingdom of God.” So then, how do I remain “fit” in my journey with the Lord Jesus Christ? I suggest that you and I simplify our lives. You and I need to intentionally move toward a more resolute life, empowered by the indwelt Holy Spirit.

Again, W. Glyn Evans, “God… having begun [this life journey with You], I cannot turn back. That backward road leads to nowhere and to nothingness. To go forward is hard but it promises a reward… Life’s greatest reward is to know Him! The joy of the captured heart! There is no elation like that of knowing I am claimed, I am included, I am purposed…“

Take a moment now to talk with your Heavenly Father and ask Him to help you determine what needs to change in your life to experience a simpler, less encumbered life for the glory of Christ.

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Our sixth message finds us dealing with one of the most fearful of human encounters… personal conflict and confrontation especially in cases where one person has wronged another. Pastor Jeff brings Jesus’ words to life as we explore the truth that we cannot predict or control how others will act, think, or feel, but we can do what’s right on our side of things.

By Quentin Banks

I will never forget the first time I met him. I was sitting outside on the grass enjoying the warmth of the sun when all of a sudden I saw this HUGE intimidating-looking guy walking towards me. He was six foot four, well over 200 pounds, with a beard and long shaggy hair and his arms were covered with tattoos. “Probably a biker or a white supremacist” I thought. And then I noticed he had something tucked under his arm. What was that? Could it be…? No way! Yes! It was a Bible. He sat down on the grass next me and introduced himself. “Hi my name is Gene,” he said as he extended his hand. I sheepishly grinned back and shook his hand and introduced myself. We chatted for a while that afternoon. He showed me pictures of his children and his wife (who was an African-American). As days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, Gene and I became the best of friends. We met weekly for prayer and accountability and encouraged one another in our common faith in Jesus.

I am reminded of my initial experience with Gene as I look at this passage. The Jewish people had been watching and listening to Jesus and began whispering things about Him. Some said He was a good man. Others concluded that He was a deceiver. One crowd accused Him of being demon-possessed. This is surely one of the most misguided statements ever made! Jesus’ response is “Stop judging by mere appearances and make a right judgment.” (verse 24, NIV) In other words, we are not to judge superficially or at a glance but to look deeper so that we can make a righteous judgment. Other translations are worth noting here, “Stop judging by external standards, and judge with true standards.” (TEV) “You mustn’t judge by the appearance of things but by the reality.” (JB Phillips) “Look beneath the surface so that you can judge correctly.” (NLT)

This call to right judgment is a challenge to each of us, for we are all guilty at times of judging by appearances. The only way to avoid such shallowness is to be united with God of whom it is said,

“The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

In Isaiah we are told that the servant of the Lord “will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge…” (Isaiah 3-4a, NASB). As we go about our daily lives may we be mindful of this and not fall into the trap that I fell into in regards to my friend Gene or that the Jews fell into in regards to the Lord Jesus. Before we make a snap judgment about a person or a situation let us first take a moment and ask the Spirit of God for discernment so that we can judge on the basis of true knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.

“Spirit of God forgive us for judging others too quickly. Give us a purity of heart and clarity of vision so that we may see that which lies deeper than our emotions and imaginations and avoid the danger of judging by appearances and instead judge honestly and righteously. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.”

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