God's Word on That

Tag: christianity

  • Let Us Seek Wisdom

    “Christ” = literally “The Word” meaning the Messiah, the wisdom and power of God and the first cause of all things; God’s personal expression of Himself to man. (The Living Bible, note on John 1:1)

    Let us seek God’s Wisdom, since He created the universe around us.

    “God is with us”. When I walk with this knowledge, I find that even though all of life is the same, everything is different.

    Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise (Psalm 111:10).

    “I owe no one anything,” God declares. “Everything is mine.” God owes no explanations, no excuses, no help, no favors, nor debts. — But He still gives.

    Grace = God’s work; His idea; His expense; His discretion.

    For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly – as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith (Romans 12:3).

    For if anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself (Galatians 6:3).

    By shear faith in Christ Jesus we gain access to all God’s treasures: joy, peace, wisdom, eternal life… (What is left?)

    If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:5).

    All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness – that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

    Scripture will make you wise; wiser than people around you. Notice I said wiser, not more knowledgeable. A wise man is one who can distinguish what is fundamental from what is trivial; who knows what life is about and who acts appropriately whatever the circumstances.

    Thus says the Lord: “let not the wise man glory in his wisdom; let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches. But let him who glories glory in this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

    All that is physical is passing away. As long as I keep holding on to it, I continually set myself up for disappointment. If all I see is how you look and what you have, I will miss the point that you – like me – are a hurting spirit looking for home.

    Put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge – into the image of its creator (Colossians 3:10).

    The Bible reveals God has a plan for every life, and if we live in constant fellowship with Him, He will direct and lead us in the fulfillment of that plan.

    Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him (Luke 8:18).

    God transformed you into a new person — live like it!

  • The Perfection We Seek

    One Scripture says “God is love” (1 John 4:16), but another says “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). How do we reconcile these two? We must understand just as God is perfect in love, so He is also perfect in holiness.

    Our God is both Love and Holiness. We must try to understand this.

    God does not compromise His holiness to accommodate anyone. He placed Adam and Eve in a beautiful garden, but drove them out after they sinned. He appointed Aaron’s sons as priests but destroyed two of them when they offered “strange fire” (Leviticus 10). Ananias and Sapphira were among the earliest Christians but God punished them for lying (Acts 5:1-11). Even in the New Testament age, God does not tolerate sin in His presence.

    We need to understand something of God’s holiness before we can understand His love. If we grasp how holy God is, it helps us to see that He must have a tremendous love for us, since He gave His own Son to save us.

    God proves His own love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

    God’s love does indeed give us a reason to smile, but it s not an indulgent love that is satisfied to let us do as we please. It is rather a redemptive love that yearns for us to be holy as God Himself is holy.

    You must be made perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48).

    Following Jesus is not a “do it yourself” endeavor. We cannot be perfect, no matter how hard we try. It is the Father who is engaged in the work of perfecting us. Our role is to fully cooperate with His work in us. If we try by our own efforts to be perfect, we sentence ourselves to a lifetime of repeated frustration. Rather than focusing on, “How am I doing?”, we instead should ask, “Father, what do You want me to do?”

    “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

    She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His words… Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her (Luke 10:39, 42).

    Devour God’s Word.

    Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of Hosts (Jeremiah 15:16).

    So that you may will know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the Living God, the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15).

    Do good works because you love God not because people expect them.

  • What Is Truth?

    It is good to remember that conventional wisdom is usually concerned with justifying itself, not with finding truth. (Rev F. Everding)

    God’s Word is all we need.

    Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

    Send forth Your light and Your truth. Let them guide me; let the bring me to Your holy mountain, to the place where You dwell (Psalm 43:3).

    Your Word is truth (John 17:17).

    God’s economy is upside down from ours! God says: the more hopeless your circumstances, the more likely your salvation; the greater your cares, the more genuine your prayers; the darker the room, the more need for light.

    Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law (Psalm 119:18).

    Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path (Psalm 119:105).

    The unfolding of Your Word gives light, it gives understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130).

    Turn or burn. Turn and learn.

    The entirety of Your Word is truth, and everyone of Your righteous judgments endures forever (Psalm 119:160).

    Give ear and come to Me; hear Me, that your soul may live (Isaiah 55:3).

    The Ten Commandments were given for us to enjoy life better, not to make it worse.

    Jesus did not come to abolish the old law and give a new one. He came to redefine the law — so we understand it was meant for our hearts, not our minds.

    That you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days (Deuteronomy 30:20).

    They are not just idle words for you — they are your life! By them you will live in the land (Deuteronomy 32:47).

    God deserves the best we can give: our finest possessions, our most valuable articles, our precious time.

    We live in an age which everything is working against the things we hold dear… In this evil day, we need constant reminders of the Truth. If we are not careful with our time, we will allow others to fill it up for us, and there will be none for God.

  • God – Our Father

    For us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things come and for whom we live. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things come and through whom we live (1 Corinthians 8:6).

    Our Father loves us so!

    Christian life begins with obedience, depends on obedience and results in obedience. To really love God means living out His commands no matter what the cost.

    But You are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us; You, O Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer (Isaiah 63:16).

    Blessed are you, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever (1 Chronicles 29:10).

    Is He not your Father, your Creator who made you and formed you? (Deuteronomy 32:6)

    Your life is entwined with the God who gave you birth. Frail dust, remember you are splendor!

    But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay and You our Potter. All we are the work of Your hands (Isaiah 64:8).

    Behold! What manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called “Children of God”! (1 John 3:1)

    Because You are sons, God sent the spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out “Abba, Father”. So you are no longer a slave but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir (Galatians 4:6-7).

    The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ Jesus, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may share in His glory (Romans 8:15-17).

    You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

    Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children. And live a life of love (Ephesians 5:1-2).

    Live as children of the Light (Ephesians 5:8).

    For God (who said “Let light shine out of darkness”) made His Light shine in our hearts to give us the light of His knowledge: of the glory of God in the face of Jesus the Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

    Make us aware of how precious Your Word is. Bless those who transport it to far-off places. Thank You, Father, for giving us this source of light and strength and for the opportunities to uncover the jewels waiting to be discovered in Your pages.

  • A Study on Abiding in Jesus

    There are so many verses on the way to live as a Christian. I have compiled a few small collections of them, and will try to put them into some kind of cohesive service.

    Let us study to find God’s pathways.

    Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how His ways will really satisfy you (Romans 12:2 LB).

    Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful (Joshua 1:8).

    Many seek the God they want, but do not know the God who is.

    How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your Word (Psalm 119:9).

    If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:31-32).

    This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life! (Deuteronomy 30:19).

    The Secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law (Deuteronomy 29:29).

    Throughout the expanse of creation, God has hidden things for us to discover, to enjoy, and with which to perceive the nature of our Creator. No one can understand all the ways of God. However, by studying the Bible and His creation, we can serve Him and find fulfillment in our work.

    What is man that You care for him? The son of man that You think of him? Man is like a breath, his days are like a fleeting shadow (Psalm 144:3-4).

    What is man that You are mindful of him? The son of man that You care for Him? You made him a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor (Psalm 8:4-5).

    And the Lord commanded us to observe all these statues, to fear the Lord our God, for our own good always, that He might preserve us alive as it is this day (Deuteronomy 6:24).

    Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all things will be provided for you (Matthew 6:33).

    God is never irritated by the candle of an honest seeker. God reveals Himself to those who search for Him. God often communicates His desire for us by counsel of parents and mentors. Seek God’s wisdom so you are slow to condemn but quick to show compassion.

    Aun Aprendo

  • Some Parting Thoughts on Fruit

    In my studies, I have bumped into many quips that I had written down (mostly without noting how or when or from whom I attained them) to help me focus on my many different paths. I list a few here that may help us remember how important the Fruit of the Spirit must remain in our lives.

    Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb… that’s where the fruit is.

    Everything God created was created to give forth fruit.

    We were placed on this earth not to accumulate but to give away. Everything we own owns us, Why would we want more things?

    Blessings are like hugs from God to let you know how much He loves you. Counting blessings is like hugging God back.

    The God from whom all blessings flow — what a name!

    The blessings of Israel is to draw attention to the God of Israel.

    As the parable of the sower demonstrates, all biblical truth comes in seed form.

    It may take awhile but no prayer goes unanswered and no good deed fails to produce good fruit.

    Love

    Love is the most powerful force in the world.

    God loves us not because of something in ourselves, but because of something in Himself.

    God is a God of relationships. He prioritizes love over labor.

    Joy

    Joy is essential to the spirit life. Whatever we may think or say about God, when we are not joyful, our thoughts and words cannot bear fruit.

    If we refuse to give up hope, we will keep our joy. If we keep our joy, we will keep our strength. Hope takes us into the spiritual realm where God is.

    Like the special smell that comes with a drought-breaking rain, God loves the aroma of His children’s joy — especially when He is the source of its delight.

    Peace

    Nothing can rob you of your hold on grace, or your claim to peace, or your confidence in God without your permission.

    Patience

    Learn to marvel at God’s patience! And try not to try His patience any more!!

    It will go hard with murmurers! God always chastises His children twice if they do not bear the first stroke patiently. [Personal lesson!]

    Let nothing trouble you. Let nothing frighten you. All is fleeting. God alone is unchanging. Patience obtains everything. — The one who possesses God lacks nothing, for God alone suffices for all.

    Kindness and Goodness

    Be kinder than necessary – because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

    Never underestimate the value of any act of kindness.

    What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?

    Kindness always pays, but it pays best when not done for pay.

    Kindness is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back.

    Faithfulness

    Faith breaks the peace between what is and what ought to be.

    Faith is a heart full of action, not a head full of facts.

    Greatness in God’s eyes is being faithful to God in the best way we know how for the situation we are in at the moment.

    Gentleness

    God gives preference to children, and the child-like mind.

    Give a quiet, calm attention to all those things assigned to your care by Providence.

    Self-Control

    The person who maintains the reins of his heart and controls the patterns of his mind impresses God.

    No matter how discouraging or hopeless or pressing the situation may seem, there is some truth about God that can encourage me, give me hope and bring me back triumphant!

    Circumstances do not change us; they expose us.

    We live like the person we see ourselves to be.

    If God is goodness and beauty and truth and love, I’d do better by reminding myself of this each and every day — so I’ll look for these things in my daily life.

    Always remember: Forbidden fruits create many jams.

  • Let Us Abide in Love

    Dear friends, let us love one another; for love is of God.  Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love…  This is love!  Not that we loved God, but He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:7-10).

    And so we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us.  God is love.  And the one who abides in love abides in God and God in him.  By this, love is perfected within us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.  There is no fear in love.  Perfect love casts out fear because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.  We love because He first loved us.  If someone says “I love God” and hates his brother, he is a liar.  For the one who does not love his brother (whom he has seen) cannot love God (whom he has not seen).  And this commandment we have from Him: the one who loves God should love his brother (1 John 4:16-21).

    Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8).

    Her many sins have been forgiven, for she loved much.  But he who has been forgiven little, loves little (Luke 7:47).

    I remember the devotion of your youth; how as a bride you loved Me and followed Me through the desert… (Jeremiah 2:2)

    You have left your first love! (Revelation 2:4)

    Do you truly love Me more than these?  …  You know all things; You know that I love You. (John 21:15-17)

    Jesus looked at him and loved him… (Mark 10:21)

    If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teachings.  My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him (John 14:23).

    Whoever keeps [God’s] Word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected! (1 John 2:5)

    And though you have not seen Him, you love Him… (1 Peter 1:8)

    If anyone loves God, he is known by Him… (1 Corinthians 8:3)

    I love You, O Lord my strength (Psalm 18:1).

    For God is not unjust so as to forget your … love which you have shown toward His name (Hebrews 6:10).

    The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life (John 12:25).

    Set an example for the believers in… love (1 Timothy 4:2).

    Follow the way of love… (1 Corinthians 14:1)

    That their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love… (Colossians 2:2)

    Add to your faith… and to brotherly kindness, love (2 Peter 1:5, 7).

    Love the Lord, all you His saints! (Psalm 31:23)

    Let love of the brotherhood continue (Hebrews 13:1).

    Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us (1 John 4:11-12).

    The one who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him (1 John 2:10).

    We continually remember before our God and Father… your labor prompted by love…  For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you (1 Thessalonians 1:3-4).

    For the love of Christ controls us… (2 Corinthians 5:14)

    Do everything in love (1 Corinthians 16:14).

    Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance (Jude 1:2).

    May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all (2 Corinthians 13:14).

  • We Are To Abound In Love

    Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion…  Put on love, which binds [all virtues] all together in perfect unity (Colossians 3:12-14).

    You have heard it was said: Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.  But I tell you to love your enemies.  Bless those who curse you.  Do good to those who hate you.  Pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven…  If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?  Are not the tax collectors doing that? (Matthew 5:43-46)

    But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies…  Even sinners love only those who love them (Luke 6:32, 37).

    But love your enemies.  Do good to them and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.  Then your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High God (Luke 6:35).

    Be devoted to one another in love… (Romans 12:10)

    Show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in Egypt (Deuteronomy 10:19).

    Do not love the world, nor the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15).

    If there is any consolation of love… make my joy complete by being of the same mind; maintaining the same love… (Philippians 2:1-2)

    But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects… for the whole body … promotes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love (Ephesians 4:15-16).

    [Be] hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled (Titus 1:8).

    Teach the older men [who come to you] to be temperate… and sound in faith, in love, and in endurance (Titus 2:2).

    Encourage the young women [you care for] to love their husbands and to love their children (Titus 2:4).

    That you esteem them very highly in love because of their work (1 Thessalonians 5:13).

    Greet one another with a kiss of love… (1 Peter 5:14)

    We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brethren.  He who does not love abides in death (1 John 3:14).

    But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love… (1 Thessalonians 5:8)

    Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another…  Love as brothers… for “whoever would love life and see many good days must keep his tongue from evil…” (1 Peter 3:8, 10)

    Since you have, in obedience to the truth, purified your souls for a sincere love for your brothers, fervently love one another from the heart (1 Peter 1:22).

    Showing forbearance to one another in love (Ephesians 4:2).

    Love the brotherhood (1 Peter 2:17).

    And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another… (1 Thessalonians 3:12)

    And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).

  • God’s Kind of Love Is Unfailing

    [God’s kind of] Love is as strong as death; its jealousy unyielding as the grave.  It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.  Many waters cannot quench [His] love.  Rivers cannot wash it away (Song of Songs 8:6-7).

    May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love… (2 Thessalonians 3:5)

    What a man desires is unfailing love… (Proverbs 19:22)

    Though He brings grief, He will show compassion – so great is His unfailing love (Lamentations 3:32).

    For the Lord disciplines those whom He loves, and chastises every child whom He accepts (Hebrews 12:6).

    Those whom I love I reprove and discipline… (Revelation 3:19)

    For whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father the son in whom he delights (Proverbs 3:12).

    Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge… (Proverbs 12:1)

    Now as to the love of the brothers… you are taught by God to love one another (1 Thessalonians 4:9).

    God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us (Romans 5:5).

    For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7).

    Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life (Jude 1:21).

    We know love by this: He laid down His life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  But whoever has the world’s goods and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?  Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in both deed and truth (1 John 3:16-18).

    If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames but have not love, I gain nothing.  Love is patient.  Love is kind.  It does not envy.  It does not boast.  It is not proud.  It is not rude.  It is not self-seeking.  It is not easily angered.  It keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails…  Now these three things remain – faith, hope and love.  But the greatest is love (1 Corinthians 13:1-8, 13).

    That through faith Christ may dwell in your hearts in love. With deep roots and firm foundations may you, in company with all God’s people, be strong to grasp what is the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ’s love, and to know it, though it is beyond knowledge. So may you be filled with the very fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17-19).

  • His Command To Us

    What does the Lord require of you but to act justly; love mercy, and walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8).

    And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you this day for your own good? (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)

    You shall therefore love the Lord your God and always keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments (Deuteronomy 11:1).

    That you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live! (Deuteronomy 30:6)

    To love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees, laws; then you will live… (Deuteronomy 30:16)

    Love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul (Deuteronomy 11:13).

    Love the Lord your God, walk in all His ways and hold fast to Him (Deuteronomy 11:22).

    Love the Lord your God and … walk always in His ways… (Deuteronomy 19:9)

    Take careful heed … to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul (Joshua 22:5).

    This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life so you and your children may live and you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him… (Deuteronomy 30:19-20)

    So be very careful to love the Lord your God (Joshua 23:11).

    Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap the fruit of unfailing love (Hosea 10:12).

    But the world must learn that I love the Father and I do exactly what My Father commands Me (John 14:31).

    If you love Me, you will obey what I command (John 14:15).

    Whoever has My commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves Me.  He who loves Me will be loved by My Father.  And I too will love him and show Myself to him (John 14:21).

    As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you.  Now remain in My love.  If you obey My commands you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commands and remain in His love (John 15:9-10).

    This I command you: that you love one another (John 15:17).

    This is My commandment: that you love one another; just as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this: that one lay down his life for his friends (John 15:12-13).

    A new commandment I give to you: that you love one another even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  By this all men will know you are My disciples if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35).

    For this is the message you heard from the beginning: that we should love one another (1 John 3:11).

    And this is His command: that we believe in the name of His Son – Jesus Christ – and love one another just as He commanded us (1 John 3:23).

    That we love one another.  And this is love: that we walk according to His commandments.  This is the commandment: (Just as you have heard from the beginning) that you should walk in it (2 John 1:5-6).

    Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.  And everyone who loves the Father loves His child as well.  This is how we know we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands.  This is love for God: to obey His commands; and His commands are not burdensome (1 John 5:1-3).

    Let no debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love one another.  For he who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law.  The commandments… are summed up in this one rule: Love your neighbor as yourself.  Love does no harm to its neighbor.  Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:8-10).

    To love [God] with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength; and to love your neighbor as yourself – is more important that all burnt offerings and sacrifices (Mark 12:33).

    Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might (Deuteronomy 6:5).

    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 (Mark 12:30-31).

    Love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord (Leviticus 19:18).

    The stranger who resides with you… you shall love as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.  I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 19:34).

    Also foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to serve Him, to love the name of the Lord and to worship Him… Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer (Isaiah 56:6-7).

    If, however, you are fulfilling the Royal Law (according to scripture) – you shall love your neighbor as yourself – you are doing well (James 2:8).

    Do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  For the whole law is fulfilled in one word; in the statement “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”. (Galatians 5:13-14)

    The goal of this commandment [actually all His commandments] is love, which comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith (1 Timothy 1:5).