| January 2006 Devotion/Study |
Memory Verse
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Matthew 22:37
Beloved,
First, I apologize for being so late in writing this month’s devotion. So much is happening
here at UBM. As you can see from the staff additions and the changes to the web site, we
have been very busy. As well, I felt God wanted us to have a theme and clear direction for
teaching this year. He is so faithful to guide us and show us His heart, all we need to do is
ask and wait patiently for His answer. This year we will be focusing on Being whole and
Complete in Christ. Now how do we that? Well, Jesus said:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your mind.”
Matthew 22:37
Now, before you tune me out…I know we have all heard that verse a million times.
Truthfully, if you are like me, you have blasted by that verse a million times entirely
missing the point. We all know this scripture as the Great Commandment. Now Jesus
would not tell us it is the most important commandment if it was not, right. But, why is it
so important? Well, I believe that God gives us rules to protect us so it is important to
notice three things:
1. We are to love God with all our heart. Why? First, we put God first in our hearts,
so they will not be divided. Our feelings can lie influencing us to make decisions that are
not
God’s best for us. Second, we all have experienced the pain of broken heart. Did you
know that scripture tells us that God is greater than our hearts, and that he can help us
find rest, healing, and comfort? Jesus was sent to bind up the brokenhearted. We can
trust Him with deepest cry of our hearts. Putting the Lord first in our hearts can protect
us from making decisions that will lead to a broken heart, and help us to heal when our
hearts are broken.
2. We are to love the Lord with all our soul. There is never a soul beyond His reach
or His redemption. He can give our souls what they long for most. Some of us have been
praying for years for the soul of a friend, parent, child, or husband that has not found His
way home. I also know that some of us are ashamed and guilt ridden over our past,
wondering if God can really love us the way He says He does. Friend, I am here to tell you
that He can take the broken pieces of our lives and make something beautiful out of
them. You can look in His word and find peace knowing that you have been washed white
as snow and you do not have to doubt how precious you are to Him.
3. We are to love the Lord with all our mind. Our minds need to be renewed. We are
bombard with so much junk by the world. It, the world, lies to us, and says we have no
value or worth unless we are career driven, high powered, Victoria’s Secret model
beautiful, and we believe them. Then our thoughts influence our feelings, and eventually
our actions. Some us make choices that we think will gain us love and acceptance, only to
find that we are even more lost. That is why our minds need to be renewed – daily. We
need to let God’s word wash over us, we need to surrender our thoughts to him and take
captive every thought that is not in agreement with His word, or we are lost. If we do not
do that, then we will suffer with doubt and low self-esteem…I know ladies, I have been
there.
So this year, this is what we will be talking about in our devotions. It is the theme of our
retreats, and workshops as well. Women, we love you, and we know how much God
loves you . The first study in February will be on love. Then, we follow that teaching
with a study on the three points I just covered. We pray it will bless you. I am excited
to see what God has in store for us this year as we discover His heart for us.
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for
those who love him…”
1 Corinthians 2:9
Love you guys,
CJ
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Matthew 22:37
Beloved,
First, I apologize for being so late in writing this month’s devotion. So much is happening
here at UBM. As you can see from the staff additions and the changes to the web site, we
have been very busy. As well, I felt God wanted us to have a theme and clear direction for
teaching this year. He is so faithful to guide us and show us His heart, all we need to do is
ask and wait patiently for His answer. This year we will be focusing on Being whole and
Complete in Christ. Now how do we that? Well, Jesus said:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your mind.”
Matthew 22:37
Now, before you tune me out…I know we have all heard that verse a million times.
Truthfully, if you are like me, you have blasted by that verse a million times entirely
missing the point. We all know this scripture as the Great Commandment. Now Jesus
would not tell us it is the most important commandment if it was not, right. But, why is it
so important? Well, I believe that God gives us rules to protect us so it is important to
notice three things:
1. We are to love God with all our heart. Why? First, we put God first in our hearts,
so they will not be divided. Our feelings can lie influencing us to make decisions that are
not
God’s best for us. Second, we all have experienced the pain of broken heart. Did you
know that scripture tells us that God is greater than our hearts, and that he can help us
find rest, healing, and comfort? Jesus was sent to bind up the brokenhearted. We can
trust Him with deepest cry of our hearts. Putting the Lord first in our hearts can protect
us from making decisions that will lead to a broken heart, and help us to heal when our
hearts are broken.
2. We are to love the Lord with all our soul. There is never a soul beyond His reach
or His redemption. He can give our souls what they long for most. Some of us have been
praying for years for the soul of a friend, parent, child, or husband that has not found His
way home. I also know that some of us are ashamed and guilt ridden over our past,
wondering if God can really love us the way He says He does. Friend, I am here to tell you
that He can take the broken pieces of our lives and make something beautiful out of
them. You can look in His word and find peace knowing that you have been washed white
as snow and you do not have to doubt how precious you are to Him.
3. We are to love the Lord with all our mind. Our minds need to be renewed. We are
bombard with so much junk by the world. It, the world, lies to us, and says we have no
value or worth unless we are career driven, high powered, Victoria’s Secret model
beautiful, and we believe them. Then our thoughts influence our feelings, and eventually
our actions. Some us make choices that we think will gain us love and acceptance, only to
find that we are even more lost. That is why our minds need to be renewed – daily. We
need to let God’s word wash over us, we need to surrender our thoughts to him and take
captive every thought that is not in agreement with His word, or we are lost. If we do not
do that, then we will suffer with doubt and low self-esteem…I know ladies, I have been
there.
So this year, this is what we will be talking about in our devotions. It is the theme of our
retreats, and workshops as well. Women, we love you, and we know how much God
loves you . The first study in February will be on love. Then, we follow that teaching
with a study on the three points I just covered. We pray it will bless you. I am excited
to see what God has in store for us this year as we discover His heart for us.
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for
those who love him…”
1 Corinthians 2:9
Love you guys,
CJ
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