THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL:

LOVING GOD
CLP Talk No. 5

THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL:

LOVING GOD
IDEAL:
Supreme
Ultimate
Perfect

THE CHRISTIAN IDEAL:

LOVING GOD
IDEAL:
Supreme
Ultimate
Perfect
Ideals are important to move us on.
Goals direct our human behavior and plans for life.
*Money? Position? Fame?
Our goals become our ideal of life, influencing and directing
our lives.

WHAT SHOULD BE OUR IDEAL?

We can give our lives to pursuing good goals (e.g., a
better
society), but if loving God is not our ideal, then this falls short.

WHAT SHOULD BE OUR IDEAL?

We can give our lives to pursuing good goals (e.g., a
better
society), but if loving God is not our ideal, then this falls short.

We want to reach our

goals in life 100%

GOAL
KNOWLEDGE
HARDWORK
ATTITUDE
ABCDEFGH I J K L

O P
Z

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

K N O W L E D GE

11 14 15

23 12 5

H A R D W O R K
8

1 18

23 15 18 11

A T T I T U D E
1 20 20 9 20 21 4

100
%

LOVE O F G O D
12 15

22 5

15 6

7 15

96
%
98%

101%

WHAT SHOULD BE OUR IDEAL?

God wants us to make loving Him our highest ideal. Thus
God made it into a commandment of the highest priority.

Mark 12:28-30
And one of the scribes came, and having heard them
reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered
them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of
all?
29
And Jesus answered him, The first of all the
commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one
Lord:
30
And thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy
strength: this is the first commandment.
28

HOW DO SOME EXPRESS THEIR

LOVE FOR GOD?
Psyching up pious feelings.
Humanist or philanthropic endeavors.
Acts of piety
These are not wrong actions, but they are also not adequate
expressions of loving God.

What It Means To Love God With All Our

Heart

1.First understand what Jesus meant by heart.

a) Modern day understanding = feeling or emotion.
b) Biblical understanding of heart: the seat of intelligence
and decision. In English, we would use "mind" or
"will".
The heart is the symbol of the core of man, who the man is.
It includes intelligent thought and will, along with feeling.

c) The Biblical understanding makes more sense, because

the kind of love God requires cannot defend on
feelings,
which are changeable, but rather base on
commitment, a
decision to love.

2. To love God with all our heart is to be

totally committed to Him.

a) It is similar to the commitment we

make in marriage.

b) It is a decision to put God first, to be

loyal to Him, to place His will and
interest above our own.

3.How do we put the Lord first in our life?

a) It requires a decision to obey Him. Jn 14:15
If you love me you will obey my commandments.
b) We need to develop a personal relationship with
Him.
A personal experience arising from our relationship as His sons
and daughters.

c) We need to spend regular time with Him. in

prayer, in reading the Bible.

WHAT IT MEANS TO LOVE GOD

WITH ALL OUR MIND
1.To love God with all our mind means to serve Him
with the use of our mind, or simply to make
available our minds for His purposes.
2. Using our minds can have incredible
consequences for society.

It can be applied to contribute to world progress (e.g.,

science, neurosurgery).

WHAT IT MEANS TO LOVE GOD

WITH ALL OUR MIND
1.To love God with all our mind means to serve Him
with the use of our mind, or simply to make
available our minds for His purposes.
2. Using our minds can have incredible
consequences for society.

It can be applied to contribute to world progress (e.g.,

science, neurosurgery).
Or it can become an instrument for destruction
(e.g., nuclear bomb, biological warfare).

a. Keep your mind clean and holy.

Free of all evil thoughts. Mt 5:28

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has
already
committed adultery with her in his heart.

Free of uncharitable thoughts.

Mt. 7:15

Away from suspicion that can lead to

estranged relationships.

Mateo 7:1-5
Huwag Hahatol sa Kapwa
7Huwag kayong hahatol upang hindi kayo

hatulan.2Ito ay sapagkat sa hatol na inyong

ihahatol ay hahatulan kayo. Sa sukat na
inyong ipinanukat ay isusukat sa inyo.
3
Bakit mo tinitingnan ang puwing sa mata
ng iyong kapatid? Ngunit hindi mo
tinitingnan ang troso na nasa iyong
mata.4Narito, papaano mo sabihin sa iyong
kapatid: Payagan mong alisin ko ang puwing
sa iyong mata. At narito, isang troso ang
nasa mata mo.5Ikaw na mapagpaimbabaw.

b. Use your mind according to God's truths

and not according to the ways of the world.

The way we think and act must reflect the fact that we
are not just living for this temporal world but for God's
eternal kingdom.

Our decisions and choices must be guided by God's word

in the Bible.

Keep our minds be free of worries, because God

promises to provide and care for us. Luke 12:22-26

Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body,
what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than
clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no
storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable
you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to
his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry
about the rest?

c.

Let your mind be preoccupied with

the things of God.

How you can be holy, not just how you can be rich
materially.
How you can please God, and not how you can glory
in
the praises of men.

d. Protect and preserve your mind from

unholy influences so that God can use you
for His purposes.

Be very discerning in the use of T.V. and other media.

Fill your mind with thoughts of God.

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WHAT IT MEANS TO LOVE GOD WITH

ALL OUR STRENGHT
This means giving God all our resources- time , money,
energy, possessions, gifts, abilities.

WHAT ARE THE CONCRETE WAYS WE

CAN LOVE GOD WITH OUR RESOURCES?
Money

Develop proper attitudes

towards money.
Concrete steps we can
take:
Tithing. Mal 3:710.
Almsgiving.

We are stewards,
not
owners.

WHAT IT MEANS TO LOVE GOD WITH

ALL OUR TIME

Time

Have the proper

attitude.
Concrete applications

Seek God's direction as

to how you are to spend
your time.
Examine what you do
with your free time .
Volunteer to do
Christian service

LOVING GOD IS A VERY HIGH

IDEAL
Jesus showed us the way. Jesus is
our model in loving God.

CONCLUSION
Loving God is not as vague and
impractical as you might think.
Rather, it involves specific, practical
actions, decisions and commitments.

CONCLUSION
Loving God is not as vague and
impractical as you might think.
Rather, it involves specific, practical
actions, decisions and commitments.
But you cannot do it merely by
deciding to do it. What will make it
possible is the power of the Holy
Spirit.

Thank You Very Much for

Listening.

TO GOD
BE
THE GLORY