Mark 12:28-34

One of the teachers of the law inquired of Jesus which of the commandments was the most important. Jesus replied;

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this; Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

In Deuteronomy 6, Moses spelled out God’s message with similar words, and instructed the people of Israel to obey God, being careful to show His character to the world.

How do we carry on with only one focus? The Lord has given us with so many other responsibilities: children, homes, careers, finances, spouses, extended family, friends, the earth………

We use the gifts we have been blessed with, and as we rely on the strength of the Holy Spirit to be revealed through our weakness, it all comes together as it is meant to be!

1^st Peter 4:10 reminds us; “Each one should use whatever gifts he has received  to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”

It is our job to be creative in our approach to spreading the good news. To use our God given gifts and model for the world what is in our hearts. God already knows.

We are not expected to preach if our gift is not preaching, however our actions will speak volumes about who we are and whom we serve. What are your gifts?

We are to become who we were created to be, and strive to live as our Lord commanded. We will never reach perfection, but we can surely die trying. What a way to go!  

Matthew 7:15-23

A wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Looks can be deceiving.
Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Don’t believe everything you hear.
This is all good advice, but difficult to heed, as reality is often unclear. What is real and true is not necessarily obvious. We must seek it, because this world does not lend itself to God’s love and truth. It is easy to follow the phony, because that is what everyone else is doing. It makes us feel comfortable if we fit in, but think about this; our eternity is contingent upon the short life we have here on earth. The choices we make here determine our true forever! Be cautious.

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothes, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, and every bad tree bears bad fruit….” “Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

I urge you to view this video of Francis Chan.
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Read complete passage here
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