I wanted to write this article to share what the Bible tells us about loving God and putting Him first. I am writing to inform anyone who wants to love God that it is not impossible, and I will show you how to love God with all your heart KJV (King James Version).
Please follow along and be touched by the Holy Spirit as I reveal through scripture that it is by the power of the Holy Spirit who births real deep love for Jesus in our hearts.
Loving God With All Your Heart
- Deuteronomy 6:15
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength”.
The Bible starts out telling us about the pathway into great blessings and peace by loving God almighty first above everything and everyone. One of the very first commandments tell us to put God first and love Him with all our hearts. It is the Spirit of the Lord that sheds this supernatural love into the hearts of men and women.
- Joshua 22:5
“But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
We see here that Joshua urges us to keep that love fresh in our hearts and never forget Him. In today’s busy world it is so easy to get tied up in everything but Gods love. That’s why it is so important as a Christian to separate yourselves and get alone with the Lord and ministry to Him through worship and reading the word every day.
The Power of Putting God First In Your Life
- Matthew 22:37
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
This is for those who like to say, “well that is Old Testament, I only go with the New Testament” First I must say the Old Testament is as important as the new. Jesus said I did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it. Matthew 5:17. The Old Testament was the shadow of things to come, and the New Testament is the fulfillment of that shadow. Those who ignore the Old Testament will find themselves in bondage.
Notice three areas that Jesus mentioned when talking about loving God Almighty. 1. Heart, 2. Soul, 3. Mind. With all your heart means nothing and no-one comes before Him. (I will get into this later) With all soul, this is where the fear of the Lord comes in, hating sin, hating the worlds way, hating the celebration of sin, and living a clean life with the help and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Then we have with all your mind, this speaks of renewing your mind through the word of God. Colossians 3:16 tells us to “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord”.
Putting God First Above All
- Romans 5:5
“and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us”
Here it is, the secret behind loving God with all our hearts. It is done by the Holy Ghost, God’s Spirit, for it is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord of host. Zachariah 4:6. This is why some of the most harden people who came to Christ were changed and walked in the Love of Jesus Christ. It was the Holy Spirit that shed this love in the hearts of men and women.
- Jude 1:21
“keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life”.
The Lord Wants No-One to Come Before His Love
- Genesis 22:1,2
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
Some do not understand why God would ask Abraham to sacrifice his only son like this. To understand this portion of scripture you must know God’s nature. Too love God with all your heart is more then just something you say, it must truly be deep within you and God will test you in different ways, He won’t tell you to sacrifice one of your children, but He will test that love you say you have.
The reason Abraham was tested like this is because we serve a jealous God who demands that no-one comes before Him. This may be hard for some to get but it is a Biblical fact that Jesus wants to be first in our lives and anyone who makes that commitment will see great blessings and favor in their lives.
The Lord Wants Nothing to Come Before His Love
- Mark 10:17 -30
“And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life”?
So many misunderstand this portion of God’s word that they use this as a weapon to shame others who live in financial blessings of the Lord. I wanted to use this story to show you how the Lord wants us to put Him first above all things. I will try to keep this short; I could write a book on this subject.
First the rich man tells the Lord he keeps all the commandments, and the Lord tells him to do one last thing, “go and sell all that you have and give to the poor”. You know the story; the rich man leaves sad because he has much. Jesus says, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle then a rich man to enter into heaven”
Sadly, many believe this means being rich is evil, which it cannot because Jesus had rich disciples like Joseph of Arimathaea Matthew 27:57, John 19:38, a very honorable man who is the one that took the body of Christ after the cross and bought a tomb to put the body.
The fact is that the Lord was making it clear just like God telling Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. He wants no-one to come before Him and nothing to come before Him. It is very simple to understand, Jesus wants your heart before anything including your business, ministry, career, children, mother, father, son, daughter.
Giving Up Life For The Gospel Brings Rewards
Later we see Jesus tells His disciples “ Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, 30but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. I always wonder who the persecutors in this verse were; until the Lord began to bless my life, I realized they are religious people who are ignorant of God’s nature and His word.
The whole point to the story is how to love God with all your heart in the KJV of the Bible that I used. We see Jesus just wants to be first in our lives, nothing holding us back in obeying Him and loving Him. It really is that simple once you get that miserable religion out of your life and begin to enjoy the Lord.
Blessings That Follow Those Who Love God
- Romans 8:28
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”.
When you put Jesus Christ first in your life you are showing the love of god with all your heart. Those who truly love Him will surrender to Him completely. Then will you see God’s favor and blessings in your life. You will not have to worry about tomorrow or how you are going to pay bills. For the Lord makes all things work together for the good in your life.
- 1 Corinthians 2:9
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, The things which God hath prepared for them that love him”.
- 2 Timothy 1:7
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”.
What an ending to this article to see all the blessings the Bible promises to those who love the Lord with all their hearts and put Him first. You do not have to live in fear, worry about what’s going to happen tomorrow or any day because Jesus has everything under control. Trust Him today and pursue Him to know Him deeper than you ever dreamed.
