What matters to you most?

Hi friends,

Would you like to simplify your life and find greater satisfaction?

One thing that I admire about Jesus’ time here on earth is that He was laser focused.
Nothing seemed to deter Him from His mission. He always knew what to do and what to
say.

John 8: 28 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you
will understand that I AM he. I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught
me. 29 And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do
what pleases him.”

I love that last sentence “For I always do what pleases him. ” Wow, I wish I could say that
about myself, how about you? It is so easy for me to get distracted and eventually I find
myself thinking, “Why am I watching this show?” or “How have I allowed myself to waste
the last hour of my life reading a meaningless news article or just ‘spacing out’?” I know
that I am not perfect and that I’ll always fall short in one way or another, but the more
I’ve gotten to know God the more I’ve valued my time and realized that it is our most
precious asset. Our lives are so short and we can never get time back when it’s gone.

Psalm 103:
15
Our days on earth are like grass;
like wildflowers, we bloom and die.
16
The wind blows, and we are gone—
as though we had never been here.

I’d like to discuss some ways that might simplify our lives when it comes to making
decisions. As true believers in God and in His Son, shouldn’t our main focus in life be on
pleasing Him and spending eternity with Him? If this is true, then read how Jesus
simplifies things for this expert:

Luke 10: 25 One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this
question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
26
Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
27
The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your
soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28
“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

Can you imagine the expression on the expert’s face when Jesus gave him such a simple
solution to this most important question? “Say what?, are you serious?” is what I think he
thought to himself. But Jesus was serious. Of course these are the two greatest
commandments as found in Matthew 22:36-40 and Mark 12:30-31. That makes sense,
doesn’t it? Focus on the two greatest commandments and we’ll be OK.

Although I’ve known these commandments, up until recently I never really knew how to
love God, much less with my whole being. Now the question becomes “How do I love
God?”
How do we love anyone?
Hosea 6:
6
I want you to show love,

not offer sacrifices.

I want you to know me

more than I want burnt offerings.

By getting to know them.

This is especially true with God. You know how there are certain people that the more
you get to know them, the less you like them? That’s because you don’t see their true
personality and character through a façade and all it takes is a brief look behind the
curtain and their true essence appears.

But isn’t that each one of us? We put on our prettiest face and best manners in public,
but behind closed doors we may say and do things that we’d rather most people not
know about.

This is not the case with God.

To know God is to love God. The more I seek Him, read about Him, and know about
Him the more I am in total awe of Him. I can’t help but love Him because of all the good
things I’ve realized that He has done for me. He loves me so much that it’s really not fair.
I have nothing to offer Him but praise and thankfulness. Who am I that He cares for me?

Those that have just started to get to know Him can only love God so much. Different
people will love God in different measures and ways, this comes easier for some, yet
harder for others. This depends on how they’ve learned to love in the past. Perhaps for
those that were not blessed with a loving home when growing up, they might find it
difficult to love God the most. These people have the greatest need for your prayers, I
believe.

The key for all of us is to continue growing in Christ, which only leads to a deeper love for
Him. This is wonderful indeed. The person who just came to the Lord today can say “I
love the Lord with all my heart!” just as the person that has been diligently following Him
for 30 years. It’s all the same in God’s eyes. He looks at the heart and as long as our
heart is for Him, regardless of our knowledge, we are accepted by Him and can come
boldly before Him.

Ephesians 3: 12 Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and
confidently into God’s presence.

On this occasion, found in John 6: 26, people ask Jesus “We want to perform God’s
works, too. What should we do?”. Jesus replies “This is the only work God wants from
you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

You can’t get much simpler than this. This is shear brilliance on God’s part. This will
make some scholars look foolish. I say this because you can spend your entire life trying
to study and figure out God by reading all the right books and going to all the lectures
and not learn how to believe, love, or trust in God.
All we have to do is believe in Jesus, the Word. Believe is defined as: to have confidence
in the assertions of (a person).

How much confidence can we have in someone we barely know? Not much.

But if we get to know someone and spend time with them on a daily basis discovering
more and more that they are trustworthy we can have great confidence (faith) in them.
Do you get the idea?

I am convinced that if the Body of Christ took daily prayer and Bible reading (devotion to
God) as serious as they take their secular employment and or ways to make a living,
then we would have a vibrant and most powerful church. But we don’t. We have a
church, at least in North America, that by and large does not know their God. Which is
evidenced by it’s weakness and lack of love for their neighbor.

Your relationship to God is no different than any other relationship you

currently have. The more time and attention you put into your relationship with God
the more you will love God! His greatest desire is that all of you will get to know and
love all of Him. He had His only Son die for this to happen! Not only is this is in your best
interest but it will satisfy you in ways you cannot imagine. This is the intimacy that He
wants with you. This will lead you to greater works that only God can give you to do. This
level of intimacy will lead you to burst out in song in the middle of a prayer just because
you’ll be compelled to. When this happens you’ll know you’re on the right track.

In Jesus’ own words:

John 17: 20 “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe
in me through their message. 21 I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one
—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will
believe you sent me.
22
“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. 23 I am
in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will
know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. 24 Father, I want
these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the
glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!

Will you join me in believing in Him?

“Thank you heavenly Father! For you are too wonderful for me to comprehend! You give
us life abundantly and I am only beginning to understand this. I am sorry that some days
I do not spend the time with you that I could. I allow other things to get in the way and
I’ve failed to recognize it when it happens. Please help me to put you first. Teach me to
understand that you alone give me life and that my soul requires nourishment from you
daily in order to grow. Will you help me get to know you more? Will you draw me closer
to you? I want to love you as you’ve intended. Thank you in advance for teaching me and
molding me so that I can be more like your Son, which will lead more people to you. In
Jesus’ name, amen.”