JANUARY

WEEK 3 — The Greatest Commandments (Matthew 22)

“Though our feelings come and go, God’s love for us does not.”—C.S. Lewis

Overview
The only way that we can possibly hope to love ourselves and others in a healthy way, is if we see the value that the Almighty God places on us with His love for us. God loves each one of us and has made each one of us uniquely. We are special to Him and He loves us with an unconditional love. The love of God changes our view of ourselves, we begin to see our value and worth. We begin to like ourselves, and receive the love that God gives to us freely. This changes our view of God, and we begin to love Him because He first loved us. The love of God fills a void in the heart of every man - and completes the longing we experience in life.
The love of God changes our view of others, when we realize how special that people are to God we begin to see humanity in a different light. Instead of looking down on others for all sorts of things, or feeling insecure all the time because we never feel like we measure up, we rest securely in the love of God for His special creation. It helps us love those who many people would deem unloveable, because we too were unloveable - but yet Jesus loved us!
We can live a life of love, because of Jesus - Love is the Answer.

Memorize
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your mind.’

Matthew 22 (NKJV)
1 And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’ 5 But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6 And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them. 7 But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.
9 Therefore go into the highways, and as many as
you find, invite to the wedding.’ 10 So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.” 15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. 16 And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. 17 Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19 Show Me the tax money.”
So they brought Him a denarius.
20 And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.
23 The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 24 saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 25 Now there were with us seven
brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. 27 Last of all the woman died also. 28 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. 31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.
34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the
Law and the Prophets.”
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 saying, “What do you
think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?”
They said to Him, “The Son of David.”
43 He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’?
45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” 46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

Confession
God I thank You for the love that You demonstrated for me on Calvary. Thank You for Your grace that is at work in my life. I am grateful for forgiveness and mercy. Please help me to be convinced of Your love for me every day, and to live with the assurance that nothing can separate me from Your love. Let me search the Bible each day with a desire for You to speak into my spirit. I will not try to hide or avoid You when You are dealing with me. Please help me this week to allow the Holy Spirit to take control of my thought life and decision making so that I can be alive in the Spirit.

THOUGHTS…INSIGHT…What is the Lord saying to me?

Project 52 Devotional (2021)
by Amazon.com Services LLC
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