Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Let’s close our ‘D-Love’ of God appreciation, by emphasizing His ‘Devoted-Love’ requirement of us.

In today’s scripture, Luke 16:13 (NLT), Jesus emphasized…
[13] “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”

Consider…
One of my favorite preachers is Dr. Tony Evans. The reason that I appreciate him so much is because he emphasizes Kingdom prioritization above everything else.

Dr. Evans’ emphasis aligns with the Apostle Paul’s exhortation in Philippians 1:27 (NLT), where he wrote…
[27] Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.

Notice the verse says we MUST live as citizens of Heaven.

And in Matthew 6:33 (NLT), Jesus emphasized…
[33] Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Jesus’ emphasis also highlights that God’s Kingdom and standard of living must be our lives primary pursuit.

Furthermore, the Apostle Peter weighs in with 1 Peter 2:11-12 (NLT), which admonishes…
[11] Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. [12] Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

Notice Peter reminds us that we’re “temporary residents and foreigners” in this world. In lieu of that reminder, we’re told to live in ways that give honor to God.

Peter’s admonition was no doubt inspired by Jesus’ declaration in Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT)…
[14] “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. [15] No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. [16] In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

God says we’re to live in a way that inspires others to praise Him!

Yet, despite God’s clear expectation, believers still seem to remain enamored with this world. I say that because I tend to hear more outcries for justice than I see humble sacrifices of love. Indeed I witness more obsession with exposing our enemies than I see loving and meeting the needs of them.

In my opinion, I see too many believers more focused on what the world does than who God is AND what He requires.

In case we need a reminder, Micah 6:8 (NLT) articulates God’s requirement…
[8] No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

God says…

• Do right (Ephesians 2:10)
• Love MERCY (Matthew 5:7)
• Walk humbly (James 4:10)

One thing that stood out to me about God’s requirement, is that He requires individual responsibility to Him.

That immediately brought Romans 12:2 (NLT) to mind as the perfect companion scripture to Micah 6:8. The Apostle Paul wrote…
[2] Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

You see…

• God says do what He requires, whereas the world thinks do what you want
• God says love mercy, whereas the world thinks get even
• God says walk humbly with Him, whereas the world thinks you don’t need Him at all

…the Holy Spirit is emphasizing God and the world don’t see eye-to-eye.

In fact James 4:4-5 (NLT) emphatically rebukes…
[4] You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. [5] Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him.

It doesn’t get more clear than that, God will not share our affections with the world or anyone in it!

That’s emphasized by Jesus in Luke 14:26 (NLT), where He said…
[26] “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.

I think as believers we sometimes forget that God is passionate about His ongoing relationship with us. Exodus 34:14 (NLT) is still applicable today…
[14] You must worship no other gods, for the LORD, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.

This means, nothing and no one can be focused on or lived for besides God!

Like Jesus said in Mark 12:29-30 (NLT)…
[29] …“The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. [30] And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’

God is saying through the lyrics of Forever Jones…

And He says love me, love me with your whole heart
He wants it all today
Serve Me, serve me with your life now
He wants it all today
Bow down, let go of your idols
He wants it all today
He wants it all today
He wants it all today
He wants all of you
More of you, more of you
He wants it all today, oh oh oh oh
More of you, more of you
He wants it all today, oh oh oh oh
More of you, more of you
He wants it all today, today, today
He wants it all today
He wants it all today
So give it all

The Holy Spirit just used those lyrics to covict me of the fact that we love to declare, ‘God is good all the time, and all the time God is good’, yet we’re not always good to or for Him! 🤔. Forgive us Lord for not reciprocating Your goodness.

The Holy Spirit added to sister Jones’ lyrics that God also wants to hear us sing with sister Tasha Cobbs Leonard…

Give me one pure and holy passion
Give me one magnificent obsession
Give me one glorious ambition for my life
To know and follow hard after you, hard after you

God is passionate about us and He desires, rather requires us to be passionate about Him too!

It’s God’s ‘Devoted-Love’ requirement that we know and follow hard after Him!

Today’s song is…
One Pure And Holy Passion

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)