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Prepare Your Heart

To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.

Read God’s Word

Psalm 42-45
Romans 8:31-9:13

A Verse for Today

Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.

Psalm 42:1-2 (CSB): “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so I long for you, God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God?

Reflecting on God’s Word

I’m sure you will know the answer to the following question: “What is the greatest and most important commandment? In other words, if we mess all of the commandments up and can only get one right, what is the one we dare not get wrong?”

Matthew 22:37-38 (CSB): “He said to him, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command.'”

Since loving God with everything we’ve got is the most important commandment, that means that the greatest sin is not stealing, or adultery, or murder. The greatest sin is failing to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Think about that: The greatest sin you could commit is failing to love God with all of your being.

That point is reaffirmed when we look at Revelation 2:1-7 where we read Jesus’ letter to the church in Ephesus. In that short text, we observe that they were doing some incredible things. They knew their Bibles, they were rooting out false prophets, they were working in the Kingdom to the point of exhaustion, and were even enduring persecution and weren’t giving up.

But they had one thing wrong. As a result, God was going to “remove their lampstand.” That symbolized the fact that Jesus was no longer going to recognize them as one of His churches. He would no longer care for them. What was their offense?

Revelation 2:4-5 (CSB): “But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. Otherwise, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”

They were doing things for Jesus, but they had lost their love for Jesus. In other words, they were doing all of the right things but failing to do them with the right motive. They should have done everything they were doing because of a deep, enjoyable love for Jesus. But they lost their love and were threatened with the removal of their lampstand. That simply means that if they didn’t get their love for Jesus back, He would no longer see them as one of His churches, and He would no longer provide for them.

Clearly, God takes the greatest commandment seriously. He loves us so much that He sent His Only Son to die on the cross so that we might be forgiven and made right in His eyes. If we don’t reciprocate that love, He threatens serious consequences.

But, is it actually possible to love and enjoy our God?

All we need to do is look at places like Psalm 42:1-2. The psalmist was clearly enjoying his God. Loving his God wasn’t a duty. It was a delight!

Psalm 42:1-2 (CSB): “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so I long for you, God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I come and appear before God?

The psalmist’s desire for God was akin to a deer whose parched tongue caused it to think of nothing else but to satisfy its thirst at a flowing stream.

Do you enjoy God that much? When He seems distant, do you find yourself thirsting for Him and not relenting until you are satisfied in Him? Friend, God is certainly worthy of that kind of desire.

Spend Time in Prayer

  • Ask God to help you experience His love for you.
  • Ask God to help you reciprocate His love by pursuing Him in a love relationship.

Going Deeper

If you want to dig a little deeper into what it means to know Jesus, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:

“Knowing Jesus vs. knowing about Jesus—what is the difference?”

Sharing

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Matt Ellis is the pastor of White Hall Baptist Church in Richmond, Kentucky (whitehallbaptistchurch.org)