Memory Verse
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights.
Habakkuk 3:19
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We have been so very inspired (perhaps revived?) as we have spent the past three weeks considering the character of the Great I AM as He has made Himself known throughout the Old Testament. How AWEsome is He!
The Great I AM deserves our all—our love, our obedience, our worship, our devotion, our service, our focus, our praise, our whole heart, our everything. Actually, He requires our all.
When Moses gave the Law to the Israelites, he said:
These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe…so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Deuteronomy 6:1-4 (excerpts)
The prophet Jeremiah was given a compelling message to send to the exiled Israelites who had been carried into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar and his army. Think about how comforted they might have been hearing God’s Words!
For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord,
thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil,
to give you hope in your final outcome.
Then you will call upon Me, and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear and heed you.
Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity]
and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
I will be found by you, says the Lord….
Jeremiah 29:11-14
Our Lord also gave this same convicting message to His followers.
And one of the scribes came up…and asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall 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: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:28-32
We know from the Scriptures that God desires us to–
- Trust Him with all of our heart (Proverbs 3:5 and 6)
- Work heartily as if for Him with all of our heart (Colossians 3:23)
- Seek Him with all your heart (Deuteronomy 4:29 and 30)
- Serve Him with your whole heart (1st Chronicles 28:9)
- Love Him with all our heart (Matthew 22:37)
Our author, Teresa, asks the following question today in our study…
What would it take for you to give service “your all?”
Go “all in?” Be “sold out” for God?
Have you answered that question yet? Would you share your answer (below in the comments) with all of us?
Friends, whether the anointed words of this song—this prayer—cause you to throw your hands in the air raised in praise, or fall on your face in humble submission, may you voice your commitment to the Great I AM with all your heart! <3
Praying for each of you!
♥ coleen
Let’s Pray:
Dear Lord, You have heard the cry of our hearts…we each do SO want to love You with all our hearts; to serve You with our whole heart; to obey You with our whole heart; to seek You with all our heart; to trust You, and You alone, with all our heart! We choose You, Lord…You are the Great I AM Who deserves our love with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength! May our words accompanied by our strong conviction, and commitment be pleasing to You!
Amen.
About coleen hayden
Coleen, what you shared is definitely from the heart of God. I certainly want to give Him my all. On a daily basis, I ask Him to help me serve Him by serving others. But I do get tired and frustrated and just want to do my own thing sometimes, not having any responsibilities to others or to ministry. Obviously, I don’t have my whole heart in what He wants me to do at that point. When I recognize that I have a bad attitude, I repent and ask Him to show me the ministry through His eyes and to see the potential of souls saved. When I’m lined up with Christ, I’m “all in.”
The song is certainly a prayer I could/should sing every morning!
Beautifully said, Clella!
Coleen, beautiful blog, and I agree with Clella; definitely from the heart. Thank you! Let me just say that for many years I’ve worked countless numbers of jobs for staffing agencies. For 12 years to be exact. Many positions, many different places. Not once was I ever fulfilled. Although, I felt like I gave 100% deep down I knew I wasn’t. I truly believe that the only way to live a FULFILLING and VICTORIOUS life is to SERVE the Lord. Not just serve him because you fill pressured to by someone, but because you have prayed, asked the Lord to place you where HE wants you to serve Him, Pray for confirmation from the Lord; Serve him with obedience, this cannot be part-time…You must serve Him with your all then you will truly be fulfilled. You must serve with a cheerful, loving, serving heart, not bitterness and the attitude of “why do I always have to do this”. This not only applies to our employment and our households, it applies to every aspect of our lives. A couple scriptures come to mind when I think of how we should serve our Lord: Joshua 24:24 The people said to Joshua. The Lord our God we will serve. His voice we will obey (Amplified), and Joshua 24:15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River; or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you swell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Amplified) “BE BOLD about your belief in God” and Luke 11:28 (Amplified) But He said, Blessed (happy and to be envied rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey and practice it! Amen and thank you for this blog today. It’s a great reminder of EXACTLY where our Fulfillment in Life truly lies. AMEN
amen, mary! thank you for putting those Scriptures before our eyes…it truly is the right attitude that makes all the difference AND pleases the Great I AM! <3
oh, dear clella…a prayer we each could and should sing to our Great I AM! thank you for allowing us to see your heart—your struggle AND your renewed mind! your being ‘all in’ brings honor and glory to your Lord!!! <3
In your closing prayer, you said: “We choose You, Lord…You are the Great I AM Who deserves our love with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength!”
It truly is a CHOICE, as we have read over and over this week. And Yes, He truly is deserving of our all. Your all may look different than my all, but when we give Him our all, He will truly bless whatever we do. I praise God that I live in a Country that I am able to give Him my all without concerns of being put in prison, or killed, for my love for Him.
We sometimes forget just how blessed we truly are to serve Him freely!
Thank you for this beautiful blog, Coleen!
yes, yes, christi…we are so blessed to serve and worship and love the Great I AM freely and openly! by His grace! <3
Beautiful words, Coleen, as always. Your words stir my soul! I agree, too, with Christi, that her all and my all don’t look the same. Also, my all this year and my all next year won’t be the same. The HEART of ALL never changes and that’s a good thing!
so true…if our Father is satisfied with our “all” that is the only thing, He is the only One Who matters. He knows the depths of our hearts, true? coLLeen, good point that giving our all may look differently in the seasons of our lives…never thought about that! <3
Beautiful Coleen. And it’s true. It’s a choice. No matter what’s going on in our lives we must lean into Him. And wait on Him to rescue. To redeem and bless you beyond measure.
amen, my friend…we must! <3
Laying my heart out there for God to change is huge but the bigger task is protecting it-and that is what I have surrendered to God this week – asking him to show me how to Live like Jesus in this world that so easily swallows us up.
anne, oh that is awesome…no One better for that task (protecting your heart) than your heavenly Father! that is definitely ‘all in!’ thanks for sharing that with us, anne! <3
Oh how I easily get overwhelmed & frustrated when I am not in His will. The best way for me to be all in for Him is to start each day with Him, doing my study, praying, reading my bible…. When I don’t do that it seems my day quickly spirals out of control and resentment & annoyance creeps in. But when I start with Him, it sets the tone for the day, I seek Him more, I praise Him more, I am able to feel His presence, conviction comes quicker so repentance comes sooner from me, I hear His voice, I have peace. By doing this it reminds me that no matter how mundane the task is before me, to serve & do it with a joyful heart so I can bring glory to my Abba-Father!
paula, i just LOVE how you have expressed what ‘all in!’ looks like for you! just beautiful…thanks for sharing! <3