Luke 10: 27 “So He answered and said, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbour as yourself.”
Dear God,
I give thanks that You are a personal God to all and I can also call You my God. You invite me to accept You each day, and in these minutes before dawn, I do so again. I have found my portions of scripture very uplifting and thank You for the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit that we are invited to ask into our hearts each day. He leads me in my reading and gives me understanding and self-application that is new and fresh, with each reading; for which I am very grateful.
King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:31, had gone out against the Amalekites, at God’s command, but had not completely obeyed God, about killing the entire enemy and all the animals. It was the practice of the surrounding heathen people, to bring back the king and the best animals as trophies of war. You had asked Saul not to follow this practice, but Saul as the ‘big man’ had done so. Apparently You had been giving him another chance to be obedient, after previous disobedience. Even now Saul did not admit his wrong and defended his actions, and blamed his men, and piously maintained that the animals were ‘for burnt offerings to the Lord’. To which Samuel replies, that it would be God’s delight when He was obeyed, for it was not the sacrifices that gave God delight. In strong words, he also chastised Saul with the words, ‘rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft” and “stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”
Saul now was rejected by You as being fit to be king of the Israelite nation; who were Your chosen people. These people had been chosen to be an example of Your love within the heart of mankind and the abundant blessings that were poured out on Your faithful own; for the surrounding heathen nations to see. For these chosen people, and any one claiming to be children of God, it was Your requirement that they (we) give their (our) hearts in love and obedience. From Your heart of love, the blessings were bestowed abundantly upon any loving obedient person in response. This is because You just love to please, cherish and love us; as is the way of love. All through history You have freely forgiven any transgressions, but not the person who is unrepentant of their sin, rebellion and disobedience and continues on that path.
It is sobering to consider that rebellion against God shows for me at that time at least, have given my allegiance to Satan, and to be stubborn against Gods requests is not only sin, but means I have made myself as an idol, above the one true living God. Please continue to strive with me, so that I will see when I need to repent and in prayer continue to ask for the infilling of Your Holy Spirit, so that I can be obedient to You, no matter the cost to my own idea’s.
Another example of the difficulty of giving allegiance to You first or instead to our self, is given by Jesus, when a young lawyer came to test him, as given in Luke10:25 “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life”, in answer, Jesus got the young man to interrupt God’s law, which he did, in the passage of Luke 10: 17, revealed his understanding, that You want me (all) to love Him with all heart, soul, strength and mind, then our neighbour is to be loved as our/myself. Thereby it is evident that when I have given You my all, I will delight to do as asked, and care for any fellow human in need, that comes my way.
Only You can change my heart dear Lord, and because I am willing and have asked, I know You are with me in this and all such prayers.
Amen