I just wanna love you

"I just wanna love you, simply love you, the way it used to be when your love was new to me..." ~ Ginny Owens song

Yesterday, we went back to the basics at church. A wonderful missionary who has been working in Macedonia for years was back in the states on furlough and he brought us a pure and pointed message- to love God more. What else can God desire more than this one thing from us? He created man to be in relationship with Him- a thing so glorious, so unthinkable, yet that is what it all boils down to.

God loved us into existence, and He lovingly purchased our redemption for us when we turned away in sin. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him." John 3:16-17

In Deuteronomy 6, God tells the Jewish people through Moses to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts." Jesus adds to that list that you love the Lord with all of your mind. For all that God has done for man, this is the single most important commandment that He gives to us in return.

Our Macedonian missionary had some specific ways that we can love God more and grow in our love for Him each day. I thought all of this was a great reminder:

1) Remember the big moments with God in your past, and write down these blessings and memories. Do you have a specific moment where you remember accepting Christ as your Lord and Savior? Reflect on that time and praise Him for revealing Himself to you. Have you witnessed times in your life where God has performed miracles or rescued you from something? When He has provided for you in a special way? Thanking God for these things grows our love for Him!

2) Memorize the Word that He has given to us. How else can we best love God with our mind than to use that mind to memorize His precious Word? I confess that I have been ignoring this area for a long time, and I desire to get back into learning and remembering scripture.

3) Eliminate distractions and idols that get in the way of loving God. These can be sins that need to be confessed, good things that consume too much of our affection, and activities that steal our time and attention away from time with the Lord. I have been consumed with learning a lot of new things lately, and while what I am studying is good and necessary for me to learn, it has taken precedence over my quiet time. My priorities need to be switched!

4) Obey the command and LOVE. When you translate the verse from Deuteronomy, you are getting connotations of loving with your mind, emotions, body, and finances. Giving yourself fully to the Lord with these areas in your life can show God actively how much you love Him.

My prayer: Lord, I want to love you more.

I thought this was such a great focus to start 2010, and I couldn't help but share it with you, too.