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Loving Directions
From A Fathers Heart

Week 1 - No Other Gods
Week 2 - Don't Forget to Rest
Week 3 - The Best Blessed Command
Week 4 - Treasure Life
Week 5 - God's Fences - No foolin' Around
Week 6 - Don't Take What Isn't Yours
Week 7 - No Lies About Your Neighbor
Week 8 - To Sum It Up

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God's Fences - No foolin' Around

Message Study Notes
February 1 & 2, 2003
By Barry Braun

Today we study the seventh commandment and apply it to our lives. “You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14) I was thinking back to July 1995 when I went to my first rodeo in St. Paul, Oregon. The whole experience received mixed reviews from my family, but I had a great time. Have you ever seen a rider hanging on for dear life while riding on the back of a Brahma bull? The cowboy swings back and forth on the massive animal and often times ends up in the sawdust. Then his natural instincts kick in and he runs for the fence. At that point his greatest friend is the fence. After climbing over it, he may even lean over and give it a kiss. Why should a rodeo cowboy love a fence? Because the fence isn’t there to restrict or restrain the rider, it is there to restrain the bull. That’s what God’s commandments do for us; they protect us. There is probably no more important “fence” than the seventh commandment, and yet there is probably no other commandment that is being violated more often in our day than this one. In Hebrew tradition, the emphasis of this commandment focused on the preservation of marriage. Jewish culture interpreted adultery as that which could steal a spouse. The emphasis of this commandment is seen in a verse from Hebrews 13:4: “Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” The seventh commandment was meant to protect marriage. 1. Honor God’s Standards . . . You can protect your marriage and give it honor by making a commitment to maintain God’s standards. This means that you agree with God about what he says about sex. God’s standards have never changed. The Bible says that sex is for marriage only — and not before marriage, not outside of marriage. Psalm 119:9 has this question: “How can a person keep his way pure?” The answer is to live by the culture? No! Rather, as the verse says, “according to God’s word.” God’s standards are very clear. Adultery is never an option. Under no circumstance is it okay. There is no justification for it no matter what your background is. The prophet Malachi talked about the marriage covenant. He wrote these words: “Guard yourself in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.” (Malachi 2:15) The wavering allegiance in our day to the directives of God have weakened marriage. There will be very little affirmation to this principle in our world. You will not hear this message through modern day movies or the media of our day. Often times friends and associates in your business world will even ridicule you for saying “no” to the sexually-free culture we live in. But remember, God hasn’t changed his mind and he will honor you as you honor him by obeying his standards. 2. Treasure Your Spouse . . . “Drink water from you own cistern, running water from your own well.” (Proverbs 5:15) That verse left to itself doesn’t seem to apply very clearly. A parallel to this is verse 18: “May your fountain be blessed and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.” All of Proverbs chapter 5 pertains to the lure of adultery. Right in the middle of this chapter it teaches us how to say “no” to adultery. The message for us is to cultivate our marriage. Your marriage is a gift from God, meant to be nurtured, protected and affirmed day after day. God meant for marriage to be the place of closeness and intimacy. Solomon says to be captivated by your love for each other. In I Corinthians 7:3-5 the Apostle Paul directs us to give ourselves to each other for mutual satisfaction and the sharing of physical love. As I write this, I am sure that many are saying, “But you don’t know my marriage. My spouse is not meeting my needs. I feel frustrated and sad.” Married partners share these kind of statements with me all the time. I’ve noticed that as we struggle in marriage our mind begins to wander. The focus of marriage becomes blurry. We begin to entertain thoughts about how life could be better if I had someone different in my life. Recently Dr. James Dobson, in his newsletter, wrote about 5,000 married adults who were interviewed and out of that group 645 reported that they were “unhappily married.” Five years later, these same adults, some of whom had divorced or separated, and some of whom had stayed married were interviewed again. The results of these interviews were astounding. They revealed that a full two thirds of the unhappily married spouses who stayed married were actually happier five years later. Among those who initially rated their marriage as very unhappy but remained together, nearly 80% considered themselves “happily married” or “much happier” five years later. Surprisingly the opposite was found to be true for those who divorced. This study confirmed that divorce frequently fails to make people happy, because while it might provide a respite from the pain associated with a bad marriage, it also introduces a host of complex new emotional and psychological difficulties over which the parties involved have little control. They include child custody battles, emotionally scarred children, economic hardships, loneliness, future romantic disappointments and so on. This helps to explain why of all the unhappy spouses in the initial survey, only 19% of those who got divorces or separated were happy five years later. Give your marriage your complete attention and treasure your mate just like God has directed us. 3. Understand the Consequences . . . After reading Proverbs 1-9, it’s so interesting to see that the predominant subject is about illegitimate sexual relationships. The wise author Solomon warns his readers about the devastation of sexual promiscuity. “But the man who commits adultery is an utter fool, for he destroys his own soul.” (Proverbs 6:32) Just before writing these words, Solomon wrote, “Can a man scoop fire into his lap and not be burned? Can he walk on hot coals and not blister his feet?” Nothing damages emotions like sexual sin. It leaves permanent scars. The shame just doesn’t seem to go away. The sense of a loss to everyone involved is enormous. I’ve heard this statement over and over again. “I wish I could just turn the clock back.” So when God says “no adultery,” remember he has watched countless people walk to and fro across the surfaces of this planet from the very beginning. He has watched the pain and the consequence and the trouble that has come as the result of every violation of this commandment. How could a loving God do less than warn us? How could he do less than set his protective FENCE down around the landscape of our live s and urge us to walk safely within it? Even as I write that, what comes to my mind is the numerous couples who over the years have come to me with heartache over their sexual relationship in marriage. I’ve noticed an association with this heartache . More times than not, the couples admit to being sexually active before they committed themselves in marriage. Years later, they talk about sexual fear, emptiness and confusion. Don’t be deceived. Our world says, “If there’s mutual consent it’s okay. If you care about each other it’s okay.” But is doesn’t work out well. In America, if we taught drug education today in schools the way we taught sex education, we’d be passing out needles and teaching kids how to shoot up. The saying is, “We know they’re going to do it anyway, so let’s just show them how to do it safely.” Kid’s aren’t that smart. They need to know what God says about sex. The consequences are devastating. 4. Eliminate the Opportunities . . . When the Bible addresses this issue, it often times says to run away with the words “flee” or “shun.” It means to avoid it at all costs. If you don’t want to get stung, stay away from the bees. Don’t place yourself in situations where you know you could be tempted and compromise. Some of the most common situations that have devastated lives have been in business travel where we are away in a foreign city and nobody knows us there. Office relationships can be a prime place where we drop our guard. Everybody looks good and they smell good and they are on their best behavior. You don’t see them at home with curlers and diarrhea. Beware of friendships with the opposite sex. Don’t ignore some sense of electricity or chemistry that could cause you to drop your guard. Let Joseph in the Old Testament be your example when he was seduced by Potiphar’s wife in Genesis 39. He had every reason in the world to give into that temptation. He could have thought, “I’m young. I’m single. I’m in a foreign country. I have sexual desires. It would be acceptable in society. She wants me. I’ve been abused. My mother died when I was young. My father was overindulgent to me. My brother’s hated me and sold me into slavery.” He had a terrible family life. He was deprived of love in so many different ways. But his response was, “I will not sin against God.” (Genesis 39:9) The Bible tells us that he turned and ran. God wants to protect your marriage, so protect yourself from sexual sin. Before I end this study I want us to understand that Jesus said something about this important subject in Matthew 5:27 & 28. “You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Jesus teaches us something very important about this command. He tells us to look more deeply at what can cause sexual impurity. He tells us to beware of lust. In fact, he says to get rid of it even if you have to cut off your right hand. The way he says that is to show how important this is. The purpose behind this is that people won’t fall into immorality. You aren’t a moral, upright person today and by tomorrow you fall into immorality. It doesn’t happen that way. There’s a process. Jesus challenges us to look inside. The battle of sexual temptation begins in the mind. Temptation begins with one’s own evil thoughts and wishes. If you think about positive, good, happy, loving, kind things that’s the way you will act. If you think about lustful, dirty, trashy, obscene thoughts, that’s the person you will become. What you view with your eyes and what you think in your mind infects your heart. In Proverbs 4:23: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Your thoughts begin to direct your desires that distract your heart. “These evil thoughts lead to evil actions and afterwards to death.” (James 1:15) Eventually, because you’ve dropped your guard, you will act on your desires. So today, if this subject has relevancy to your life and you need to turn in a new direction I invite you to walk the pathway of purity. *Acknowledge your sin. *Break all ties to sexual impurity. And, *Run to Christ, the Restorer of your soul. He can, through the power of the Holy Spirit, make all things new. Let’s not pretend anymore. Let’s not live in the secrecy of these issues. Let’s open ourselves to Christ and each other so that we might be a holy people, a people that say no to adultery. This will protect marriage and set us apart as God’s people. References: James 1:14&15; I Corinthians 6:18-20, 7:3-5; Proverbs 4:23, 5:15&18, 6:32; II Timothy 2:22; Ephesians 5:3; Genesis 39; Psalm 119:9&11; Malachi 2:15; Hebrews 13:4; Exodus 20:14 Questions: 1. How did you receive your sexual education? Do you think it was communicated in a positive way or a negative way? Why? 2. In your opinion, how does God view sex? Why are his boundaries so important? 3. Of the four ways to protect your marriage, which has helped the most? Which one would you like to improve? Why? 4. What do you need to maintain sexual purity? What hasn’t worked? What steps will you take to honor God’s seventh commandment? Reading Schedule for February 3rd—23rd This reading schedule is not only important to you, it’s important to me. I read along with you and also journal my answers to the questions that I have presented. For the next couple of weeks I want to suggest to you some readings that will go along with the Ten Commandments. I have already referred to both Psalm 119 and the Sermon on the Mount. These Scriptures are filled with teaching about living out the commands of God. Psalm 119 has 22 poetic expressions of how important the law of God is in living for God. You could read each one of these sections in the next 20 days along with a reading from the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5 through 7. The Sermon on the Mount has approximately 15 sections that elaborate the teaching from the Old Testament and give us a truer sense of the purpose of God’s law. Psalm 119 — This is both the longest Psalm and the largest chapter in the Bible. It may have been written by Ezra after the temple was rebuilt (Ezra 6:14,15) as a repetitive meditation on the beauty of God’s Word and how it helps us stay pure and grow in faith. Almost every verse mentions God’s Word. Such repetition was common in Hebrew culture. People did not have personal copies of the Scriptures like we do, so people memorized his Word and passed it along orally. The structure of this Psalm allows for easy memorization. The Bible is the only sure guide for living a pure life. The first verse of Psalm 119 is: “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.” This sounds very much like how the Sermon on the Mount begins with Jesus teaching his disciples and others the timeless truth of God. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) The Sermon on the Mount — Matthew 5-7 is called the Sermon on the Mount because Jesus gave it on a hillside near Capernaum. This “sermon” probably covered several days of preaching. In it, Jesus proclaims his attitude toward the law. Position, authority and money are not important in God’s kingdom — what matters is faithful obedience from the heart. This sermon challenged the proud and legalistic religious leaders of the day. It called them back to the message of the Old Testament prophets who, like Jesus, taught that heartfelt obedience is more important than legalistic observance. I encourage you to memorize the beatitudes found in chapter 5, verses 3-12, one at a time. Each of these start with the word “blessed” which means to find happiness in the Lord. It announces the fortunate or enviable state of those who are in God’s kingdom. The beatitudes don’t promise laughter, pleasure or earthly prosperity. To Jesus blessed means the experience of hope and joy, which is deeper than any outward experience could ever give. In the kingdom of heaven wealth, power and authority are unimportant. Kingdom people seek different blessings and benefits, and they have different attitudes. Our attitudes reflect our real selves. When I speak on February 22nd and 23rd, I will be talking about the kind of attitude that God wants us to have. When the commandments address “covet,” they are talking about attitude. All the readings that I am suggesting, flow from the principles of the Ten Commandments and point us to internal obedience and attitudes that are honoring to God. Questions for reflection: 1. What are your first impressions as you read from God’s Word today? What do you think God is saying to you? 2. How is obedience to God’s principles expressed in the verses you read today? How would you live that out? 3. If God is wanting to build your character, and the character of Dayspring Fellowship, what will it look like if it is consistent with the teaching presented in Psalm 119 and Matthew 5-7? Pray that God will make this real in your life and in our church. God is calling us to have his kind of character so that our community can enfold and embrace the new ones who will respond to Jesus Christ through faith. May the Lord bless you as you read his Word daily and pursue him through faith and obedience.

Don’t Take What Isn’t Yours

Message Study Notes
February 8 & 9, 2003
By Paul Null

The Commandment: What stealing involves.

This weekend we come to the eighth of the Ten Commandments; “Do not steal.” Stealing, as it is portrayed here, is to take something that doesn’t rightfully belong to you, usually by stealth and deception. There are a number of words in the Bible that describe different aspects of stealing such as “cheating,” “with-holding,” “lying,” “defrauding,” “robbing,” and “exploiting.” They had to do with shady business dealings, faulty measures, withheld wages, unjust rulers, bribery, high interest rates, and exploiting the needy. Most stealing in the Bible had more to do with cleverly getting around the laws than directly violating them. Leviticus 19, which is known as “The Holiness Code” refers to a number of these aspects of stealing. Proverbs 11:1 says, “The LORD hates cheating, but he delights in honesty.”

The Implications: What stealing says about us and God.

Some general observations: The prohibition against stealing is almost always included when the Ten Commandments are summarized in the New Testament. Stealing is almost always included as a specific reason for God’s judgment in the Old Testament. Stealing is incompatible with relationship with God.

" 'Do you think that because the Temple is here you will never suffer? Don't fool yourselves! Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and worship Baal and all those other new gods of yours, and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, "We are safe!"—only to go right back to all those evils again? 11Do you think this Temple, which honors my name, is a den of thieves? I see all the evil going on there, says the Lord. Jeremiah 7:8-11

Two basic reasons people steal:

Sometimes people steal out of desperation. Excuses might be found for a thief who steals because he is starving. But if he is caught, he will be fined seven times as much as he stole, even if it means selling everything in his house to pay it back. Proverbs 6:30-31 People who steal out of desperation are not willing to wait for God’s provision.
Most often people steal because of greed. Don't try to get rich by extortion or robbery. And if your wealth increases, don't make it the center of your life. Psalm 62:10 People who steal because of greed are not satisfied with God’s provision.

There are two essential qualities missing in the lives of people who steal: FAITH and CONTENTMENT
This engenders two very personal and practical questions:

Can I believe that God will provide?
Am I content with what He does provide? THE PROMISE OF SCRIPTURE Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never forsake you." That is why we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper, so I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" Hebrews 13:5-6

The reality: Only people who are close to God trust Him and are satisfied with His provision.

My story:I was a thief! In the early years of my life, when I was far away from God, I was a thief. It was more than the simple venture that many young people take into shop lifting. What usually happens is because of a dare or maybe something they really want a young person will try to steal something from a store and then get caught, and that ends their venture as a thief. My wife did that when she was a young girl, and she got caught, and that ended her career. My daughter did too. When she was about five years old she stole a pencil from the pew in church. Her mistake was in telling her best friend Andrew, who, after promising not to tell went immediately to his mother and told her exactly what had happened. Kara had to take the pencil to my secretary at the time and turn herself in. She did so in tears and that ended her career as a thief.

The Hope: We don’t have to steal anymore.

Don't you know that those who do wrong will have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, who are idol worshipers, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, abusers, and swindlers—none of these will have a share in the Kingdom of God. There was a time when some of you were just like that, but now your sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God. You have been made right with God because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

With the Lord's authority let me say this: Live no longer as the ungodly do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their closed minds are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They don't care anymore about right and wrong, and they have given themselves over to immoral ways. Their lives are filled with all kinds of impurity and greed. Ephesians 4:17-19

If you are a thief, stop stealing. Begin using your hands for honest work, and then give generously to others in need. Ephesians 4:28

A Prayer of faith and contentment:

O God, I beg two favors from you before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, "Who is the Lord?" And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God's holy name. Proverbs 30:7-9

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No Lies About Your Neighbor

Message Study Notes
February 15 & 16, 2003
By Paul Null

If words could kill! We all know that words can be used to do great harm. The ninth commandment calls us to do no harm with our words. In fact, the last two commandments take us from commands that focus on what we do to direction regarding what we say and how we think. The ninth commandment emphasizes the importance of truthfulness in our words.

The Specific reference in the commandment is to false testimony in a court of law. Exodus 23:1-8 expands on this idea.

"Do not pass along false reports. Do not cooperate with evil people by telling lies on the witness stand. "Do not join a crowd that intends to do evil. When you are on the witness stand, do not be swayed in your testimony by the opinion of the majority. And do not slant your testimony in favor of a person just because that person is poor. "If you come upon your enemy's ox or donkey that has strayed away, take it back to its owner. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you struggling beneath a heavy load, do not walk by. Instead, stop and offer to help. "Do not twist justice against people simply because they are poor. "Keep far away from falsely charging anyone with evil. Never put an innocent or honest person to death. I will not allow anyone guilty of this to go free. "Take no bribes, for a bribe makes you ignore something that you clearly see. A bribe always hurts the cause of the person who is in the right.

But the application can be extended to include any situation in which untrue words are used to harm another individual.

What is called for is truthfulness in all areas of life.

To despise and abuse the truth is to despise and abuse God whose very being and character are truth. God is “the God of truth” (Isaiah 65:16). His words are true (Psalm 119:142, 151), and He hates “a lying tongue” and “a false witness who pours out lies” (Proverbs 6:17, 19).

There are lots of things that could be said about our words. Proverbs indicates that the tongue possesses the power of life and death (Proverbs 18:21). Our words have the power to help, heal and encourage or to damage, discourage or destroy. But the focus of this command is on the truthfulness of our words and our intention with them to help or harm our neighbor.

People lie for various reasons. Sometimes the intention is more to help ourselves than to hurt someone else. But untruthfulness always hurts someone else. It is possible to speak falsely without even being conscious of it. We can be so intent on telling our story, getting people on our side, or even getting them to listen to what we’re saying that we exaggerate the negative and lie against our neighbor. Lying can also be done by omission, by sharing only the parts of the truth that benefit our side of the story. We can feel so strongly about the rightness of our opinion that we almost instinctively embellish our story without any sense that we are lying whenever we do. Any clouding or distortion of the truth, whether it involves leaving things out, adding to, or telling an outright lie, comes under the umbrella of this command. Leviticus 19:11 simply says, “Do not lie.”

Perhaps the most dangerous time for any of us with regard to lying about our neighbor is when we are involved in everyday conversation. We tend to gossip. In its most innocent sense gossip is simply informal and chatty conversation that provides information about someone not involved in the conversation. But most often it is associated with negative information shared with malicious intent. In the Bible it is literally referred to as “talebearing,” i. e. telling stories about someone else, or “whispering,” i. e. secretly sharing exaggerated information so that it captures the attention of the listener. It is closely associated with “slander”, to say something false or malicious that damages someone’s reputation, and with “rumor,” which is a story circulated generally without facts to confirm its truth.

Just to provide an overview of what the Bible has to say about these words note the following:

TALEBEARING, SLANDER. These words translate, in the OT , expressions implying secrecy ( Proverbs 18:8 , ‘whisperer’), evil report ( Numbers 14:36 ), the giving out ( Psalm 50:20 ) or carrying ( Proverbs 11:13 ) of slander, or the (wrong) use of tongue ( Psalm 101:5 ) or feet ( 2 Samuel 19:27 ). In the NT the words translate accusation ( 1 Timothy 3:11 , diabolos ), speaking against ( 2 Corinthians 12:20 ; 1 Pet. 2:1 , katalalia ) or defaming ( Romans 3:8 , blasphçmeô ). All talebearing, whether false ( cf. Matthew 5:11 ) or not ( cf. Deuteronomy 3:8 ), malicious ( Psalm 31:13 ; Ezekiel 22:9 ) or foolish ( Proverbs 10:18 ; cf. 18:8 = 26:22 ; Matthew 12:36 ), especially between neighbors ( Jeremiah 9:4 ) or brothers ( James 4:11 ), is condemned ( Leviticus 19:16 ) and punished ( Psalm 101:5 ) by God, and causes quarrelling ( Proverbs 26:20 ). Slander springs from the heart ( Mark 7:22 ) of the natural man ( Romans 1:30 ), excludes from God’s presence ( Psalm 15:3 ), and must be banished from the Christian community ( 2 Corinthians 12:20 ; Ephesians 4:31 ; Colossians 3:8 ; 1 Peter 2:1 ; cf. [of women] 1 Timothy 3:11 ; Titus 2:3 ), which itself suffers slander ( Matthew 5:11 ; cf. Romans 3:8).

When you stop to think about all of the talking we do it might seem impossible to believe that we can come to the place where we do no harm with our words. Yet the Bible clearly calls us to this place. In Ephesians 5:17-32 the apostle Paul summarizes the purpose for all of our conversation:

With the Lord's authority let me say this: Live no longer as the ungodly do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their closed minds are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They don't care anymore about right and wrong, and they have given themselves over to immoral ways. Their lives are filled with all kinds of impurity and greed. But that isn't what you were taught when you learned about Christ. Since you have heard all about him and have learned the truth that is in Jesus, throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God's likeness—righteous, holy, and true. So put away all falsehood and "tell your neighbor the truth" because we belong to each other. And "don't sin by letting anger gain control over you." Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil. If you are a thief, stop stealing. Begin using your hands for honest work, and then give generously to others in need. Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. And do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he is the one who has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of malicious behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

It begins with relationship with Christ, acknowledging that everything that is truth resides in Him (John 14:6). It continues with spiritual renewal in our thoughts and attitudes, putting away the old life and energies and taking on the new life we have in relationship with Christ. This involves growing close to God and realizing, by faith that we don’t have to lie anymore. We then put away all falsehood and begin speaking only the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). We deal with anger in the right way so that our words are not used to damage or destroy. We resist the urge to “vent.” We commit ourselves to saying only good and helpful things so that every word is encouraging and life-giving rather than discouraging and death-dealing. We become thoughtful about our words, choosing even silence over words that hurt or empty words that do nothing more than fill the silence and most often evolve into gossip, slander and the spreading of rumors.

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To Sum It Up

Message Study Notes
March 1 & 2, 2003
By Barry Braun & Paul Null

Welcome to our 11th Birthday Celebration. The message we share today not only sums up the Ten Commandments, but it also is a great theme for our birthday celebration. We will study together Matthew 22:34-40.

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Love the Lord extravagantly . . . What comes to mind when you hear “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind?” Notice that each one of these aspects of the human intention are emphasized individually. This is speaking about a love that totally dominates our lives. One commentator says, “It means that to God we must give a total love, a love which dominates our emotions, a love which directs our thoughts, and a love which is the dynamic of our actions. All religion starts with the love which is total commitment of life to God.” (William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible). What should motivate us to love the Lord extravagantly? The Bible is very clear about where love begins: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins . . . We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:10, 19) “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son . . . “ (John 3:16) What keeps us from loving the Lord extravagantly? Some people simply refuse. There are those, who because of anger or self-will, simply refuse to love God. Perhaps because of some painful or tragic experience they have become embittered against God and want nothing to do with Him. Or perhaps they are so absolutely committed to living independently of God they reject any of His involvement in their lives. Many people are reluctant. There are many people who believe in God but want to keep Him at some distance. Perhaps because of life-style choices or things that they desire they don’t want to open themselves up completely to God. He might be called upon in a time of need but not loved with a total love. He might be tacked on to the life but not be the center. Most of us simply don’t remember. This was Moses’ concern when he wrote the book of Deuteronomy just before the people of Israel were to enter the Promised Land. In fact this greatest command, to love the Lord with all that we are, is found in Deuteronomy 6:5 and is part of what is known as “The Great Shema.” “Shema” is the command to “hear” in the Hebrew language and is the first word in this passage that calls upon God’s people to love the Lord with an extravagant love. And this command is followed by the warning that reverberates throughout the whole of this book written to God’s people as they are about to enter into the blessing promised by God. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (Deuteronomy 6:12) “Do not forget.” “Remember.” These commands are found throughout the book of Deuteronomy because the Lord was concerned His people, when they became occupied with all of the good things He had provided might forget the One who provided them. This is probably the primary reason God is not loved wholeheartedly by most of His people today. Is that true of you? Are you too occupied, too busy, too distracted to pause long enough to love God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength? He has provided us with several opportunities to do this. We have the command to remember as we celebrate the Lord’s Table. We have the opportunity to gather regularly for worship and study. We can make time during the day to pause and acknowledge Him.
Loving Others . . . “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) There is a connection between loving God and loving others. This is basically a New Testament teaching. Jesus connected Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. I John 4:20 & 21 show how these two commands are in some ways one and the same. “For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, who he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” Jesus portrays loving others as the fulfillment of loving God, and one of his disciples, John, writes it very clearly in these verses. So how does this happen? Received first . . . “as yourself.” We can only love as well as we love ourselves. It may be assumed that we each love ourselves, but the question is, “How do we love ourselves?” Do we love ourselves with the right kind of love? This question is very important. You see our love might be purely self-generated and thus shallow and self-serving. Being self-absorbed does not produce a love for a neighbor that is life-giving or even helpful. We are not called to love with teeth clenched and jaw firmly set, as if that would work. No, we need to share a love of another kind. “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love just as Christ loved us.” (Ephesians 5:1,2) You could put it this way, “We love others like we are loved.” This command begins with receiving God’s love. Return the favor . . . “love your neighbor.” “Dear friends, since God loved us that much we surely ought to love each other.” (I John 4:11) The teaching in the Bible about love is very profound. Every time you turn the page you will be seeing the message of loving a lost world and those in need, which will remind you that you can only love with a love that is greater than yourself. For example, Jesus tells us who our neighbor is in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus defines your neighbor as someone in need of help. If we love our neighbors as we love ourselves we shall want for them the treatment we should want for ourselves were we in their place. In other words, we are called to respond to people in the same way Jesus would if he were you or me. Another time Jesus reminds us that loving our neighbor is about feeding the hungry, or visiting the sick, or welcoming the stranger, or clothing the naked. Then he tells us when we do this to the least of these we do it to him. In this way we are returning his love back to him. But the strongest words are recited when Jesus tells us to not just love our neighbors, but also love our enemies. “if you love only those who love you, what good that? If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?” (Matthew 5:46,47 NLT) Where will you get this kind of love? — A love that helps; a love that reaches out; a love that loves the unlovable; nothing short of God’s love will do. Reward . . . a fulfillment. “All the law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. Hang on means suspended from or a summary of, in that all the other commandments are fulfilled when we follow the command to love. There is a sense of completion and conclusion which leads to fulfillment now and a reward in heaven. This week Mr. Rogers passed away. There was a sense of remorse and loss as he died. Words to remember from Mr. Rogers: “I’ve always wanted to have a neighbor just like you. Would you be mine? Please won’t you be my neighbor?” It is said that Mr. Rogers had a personal faith, and you and I observed that he lived out that faith. There was fulfillment through his life. And now I believe he is enjoying the reward of loving others as God has loved him. The message of our church proclaims that Jesus is the answer. God sent Christ to us because he loved us. Jesus became the bridge to God as he gave his life by dying on the cross. We can now, through faith, have a loving connection with God and be recipients of his love, enabling us to love others with his love. I call this the sweet spot of the cross, where through relationship with Christ we can be people that are “living loved.” This is a powerful summary to the Ten Commandments and a wonderful proclamation on our birthday that announces the message of Christianity.

References: Matthew 5:43-48, 22:34-40, 25:31, 37-40; I John 4:10-12, 19-21; John 3:16; Deuteronomy 6:4-12; Ephesians 2:4,5, 5:1,2

Questions:

How does love sum up the law? What does love do that the law can’t?
Why is it so easy to forget our love and devotion to God? How can you remember him with an extravagant love that is about heart, soul and mind?
Why is loving others so connected with loving God? How do we separate these? Why?
What does it mean that the sweet spot of the cross is “living loved?” Have you found the sweet spot of the cross? Why or why not?

Reading Schedule for March 3rd through March 11th

These readings pertain to the next series I will launch on Wednesday, March 12 at Dayspring Community. The series is entitled, “Forty Days of Learning How to Love.” Jesus said that the summation of the law was love . . . a love for God and a love for our neighbor. What is love? How will we possess it and how do we live it? Max Lucado recently wrote a book entitled, A Love Worth Giving. This book will be a resource during our 40 days leading up to Easter. I’ve given you five preliminary readings to this important series. Starting on March 12th I will have a reading for every day so you and I can seek God on a daily basis with all our heart, soul and mind. I like Max Lucado’s summary. “Finding it hard to love? Someone in your world hard to forgive? Is patience an endangered species? Kindness a forgotten virtue? If so, you may have forgotten a step — an essential first step. Living loved. God loves you personally, powerfully, passionately. Others have promised and failed, but God has promised and succeeded. He loves you with an unfailing love, and this love, if you let it in, can fill you and leave you with a love worth giving.”

Reading #1 Read Hosea 11:1-11
Reflect on this passage by journaling what the Lord is saying to you. This has always been one of my favorite Old Testament chapters. The prophet Hosea presents the theme of God’s intense love for Israel. God had always loved Israel as a parent loves a stubborn child and that is why he would not release Israel from the consequences of it’s behavior. All through Israel’s saddest history God repeatedly offered to restore the nation if it would only turn to him. God had consistently provided for his people. Even in God’s discipline he is being loving. He promises that they will return, and God will again be compassionate to their need and settle them in their homes.

1.How does Hosea describe the relationship God has with Israel? Which “words/phrases” are especially impressive to you?
What impact did the parental love of God have on Israel? Why will they be disciplined by God? How has God shown a parent’s love to you?
What comfort do you take in God’s enduring love? How will you share that with those who have yet to “come home”?

Reading #2 Read John 14:15-21
Reflect on this passage by journaling what the Lord is saying to you. There are two major themes in this paragraph. One is about obedience, the other is about the work of the Holy Spirit. I have chosen this paragraph because of the statement, “If you love me you will obey what I command.” Jesus said that his followers show their love for him by obeying him. Love is more than lovely words; it is commitment and conduct. If you love Christ, then prove it by obeying what he says in his Word.

How are obedience and the Holy Spirit connected? What is so challenging about obedience? What is so encouraging about the Holy Spirit?
What are the commands of Jesus that we should obey? How are we taught/comforted by the Holy Spirit?
In what specific ways can you show Jesus that you love him today?

Reading #3 Read I John 4:7-21
Reflect on this passage by journaling what the Lord is saying to you. These words from I John are very much like what we just read in the Gospel of John. Everyone believes that love is important, but love is usually thought of as a feeling. In reality love is a choice and an action. The word “agape” means to have an unconditional commitment to care. God is the source of our love: He loved us enough to sacrifice his Son for us. If we truly know God, we will love as he does.

What is the relationship between loving and knowing God? What is love according to the Apostle John?
How is love made complete? What does perfect love do? Why?
How can we demonstrate our love for God? How can we demonstrate our love for others?

Reading #4 Read Ephesians 3:14-21
Reflect on this passage by journaling what the Lord is saying to you. This is one of the most beautiful prayers in the Bible. At the center of the prayer are the words, “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge.” The Apostle Paul says that God’s love is total. It reaches every corner of our experience. I love the description where it calls God’s love wide enough to reach the whole world, long enough to carry us through life, high enough to celebrate and deep enough to touch the hard places in our heart. What a great prayer to pray for yourself. What a significant prayer to pray for others. The fullness of life with Christ is found in experiencing the expansive love of God.

Why did Paul want the Ephesians to be rooted and established in love? What does the love of Christ surpass? Why?
What is your understanding of Christ’s love for you? Do you think your understanding is too small or too big? Why?
What do you need to do to spread Christ’s love to others this week?

Reading #5 Read I Corinthians 13
Reflect on this passage by journaling what the Lord is saying to you. This important chapter will be the focus of our series. We will look at the definition of love and how important love is to the Christian community. The Apostle Paul gives evidence of the Corinthian’s lack of love verses their excitement to utilize the spiritual gifts. So, he writes chapter 13 to tell them about the most important part of one’s spiritual life. Love is more important than all the spiritual gifts exercised in the church body. Great faith, acts of dedication, our sacrifice and miracle working power produce very little without love. Love makes our actions and gifts useful. Although people have different gifts, love is available to everyone. Read this chapter several times to prepare you for a life-changing series entitled, “Forty Days of Learning How to Love.” There are forty days between March 12 and April 20, which is Easter. God has made it clear to me, as well as the other leaders of our church, that love is to be the focus of our attention this Easter season. Possibly that is because we are becoming a larger church and it is more difficult to love in a meaningful way. Yet, at the same time, Dayspring Fellowship is meant to be a family that shares loving connection with each other. I think the fruit of this series will be the exchange of love, given more freely within our church. Also, the result of this series will be a more loving concern for the people that we know in the Keizer-Salem community. My prayer is that God’s love will take root in your life in such a way that you have a fullness of love worth giving to others.

Who is the most loving person you know? Why do you think so? What qualities do you associate with love?
.What do you gain if you don’t have love? Why is love important?
What qualities does love have? Why is it the greatest of all gifts? How can you demonstrate love today?

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