Lately, the Lord has been speaking very strongly about His great love. And all He wants from us is to respond to Him in love. The Old Covenant commandments were written on STONE because that?s how hard our hearts are!
Ezek. 36:26 ?A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh??
The Old Covenant commandments were to give us concrete examples of what it looked like to love God and to let that love of God flow to others around us. But Jesus gave us a new commandment, one of love.
1 John 4: 21 ?And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.?
And if we love Him, we WILL keep His commandments, for we will desire to please our Lord and Savior!
John 14:23-25 ??If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings??
The difference between the Old Covenant (the Law) and faith is the difference between outward and inward - between going through the motions or doing FROM THE HEART. God wants our hearts ? He has always wanted our hearts!
Duet. 30:16 ?In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments?.?
He reaches out to us in love, and He desires that we respond in love, not out of obligation. God still expects obedience, but not merely outward obedience, but obedience from the heart ? because we love Him! Then, what is in our hearts will manifest in our actions toward God and toward others.
I greatly fear that what people are learning in most churches today is to go through the outward motions.
Matt. 15:8-9 ?This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.?
The people learn to do and say all the right things, but for the most part we don?t teach and they don?t understand that it has to be done out of a heart of love for God or it is worthless.
Isaiah 66:3 ?He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog?s neck; he that offereth an oblation as if he offered swine?s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations.?
Isaiah 1:11,13 ?To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord:?I delight not in the blood of bullocks?Bring no more vain oblations??
Vain means "empty." I believe that means there's no love for God in it!
Much, much of what we do in churches is not pleasing to the Lord. Our churches should be places of loving Him ? houses of worship, houses of prayer. Instead, we have houses of behavior modification. In reality we are teaching eternal life is of works, not of faith?we teach people that they MUST go to church, tithe, work in the church, etc, and ?we have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith? (Matthew 23:23). We are measuring people by outward appearance and the works they do, not by their faith and love of God. Faith actually means loyal, stedfast LOVE.
Ephes. 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith? 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Galatians 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but FAITH which WORKETH by LOVE (emphasis mine).
And we have houses of entertainment and houses of merchandise?this program and that new study and evangelism classes and dinners for special days ?on and on and on?
?so many activities?
?when all He ever wanted was our hearts?
What God requires of us is not complex, it is simple. It's SIMPLE, but not EASY. It's like that "single eye" in Matthew 6:22 - without duplicity?.For we must abandon the idols that our hearts hold dear...repent and turn from those things we have loved but that are not pleasing to the One who must reign supreme in our hearts. Whatever, whoever, we love more than Him must give place to our Lord who has loved us with an everlasting love. This is the baulking point for most... "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Matthew 6:24).
My name is Mae Shurow. I live in eastern Kentucky with my husband, Jeff, and we have four children who are scattered across the country. Birthed into the Kingdom of God at the age of 36, I have been following hard after my Lord and Savior ever since. My articles are my feeble attempt to communicate the wonder, joy, and insights that God has been so gracious to bestow along the way during this tremendous journey.
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