Beyond the Weekend

June 24 | Love the Lord Your God

June 24, 2016

Deuteronomy 6.4-9

The Ten Commandments can feel like God just wants us to abide by a list of rules. But God wants so much more for us. He wants a relationship with us. He wants to shower his love on us and he wants us to love him in return. Pastor Jeff Manion has said, “Relationship precedes rules.” This is an awesome reminder that God’s acceptance of us has nothing to do with how we’re performing. We all struggle to obey the rules perfectly. But if we love God and are living in his perfect acceptance of us, we have freedom to grow into our relationship with him.

This all starts with Jesus. We’re only accepted by God because of what Christ has done on our behalf. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. Our sin no longer exists as a barrier between us and God. Instead, Jesus now stands beside us and helps us take intentional steps to live the holy and righteous lives he’s mapped out for us.

It starts and it ends with love. God first poured out his love on us. Our mission in life is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Today, take a few minutes to thank God for his incredible love for you and express your love back to him.

 

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