The Law Condensed

by Lilienne, teenage Morning Manna member

This morning, I was studying Matthew 22:36–40.

"Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Using Strong's Concordance, I looked up what the words meant in the original language. When I replaced key words with their meanings, I came up with this paraphrase:

"Master, which is the exceeding great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt agape (which means unselfish love) the Lord thy God with all thy thoughts and feelings, with all thy vitality (actions?), and with all thy deep thoughts. This is the chief and exceeding great commandment. The second is like unto it, Thou shalt agape anyone you come in contact with as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the old testament law."

Wow! So basically the law means, "Love God & love your neighbor," which then can be condensed into one word: Love.  

Do we love God that much? Do we put others before ourselves that much?

It's the one chief and exceeding great commandment!

Prayer of Surrender

Dear Father,

Here I am again, halting between two opinions.1 Please, let me wrestle through this one more time.2 I know we talked about this just last night; but, please, I need to reason this through with You again.3 Is Your way really the best?

Morning Manna

Lately, I've been reading through Testimonies for the Church, Volume 5. It's a power-packed book!

One morning while reading, I came across these pertinent thoughts: "The preaching of the gospel is God's chosen agency for the salvation of souls. But our first work should be to bring our own hearts into harmony with God, and then we are prepared to labor for others." {5T 87, 88}  

We know that we need Christ before we can share Christ; we need to be converted, etc. But this is a little different slant...it says we need to be in harmony with God. Being "in harmony" means having the same thoughts and opinions and living as He does. (It's a step beyond simply being forgiven!)

Then there's an example of a man who thought he was "with God"—who considered himself to be on God's side—but who wasn't in harmony. "When rebuked by the Lord through His prophet, Saul stoutly asserted that he had obeyed the voice of God; but the bleating sheep and lowing oxen testified that he had not."

Saul claimed to be an obedient believer, but his claims didn't make it true. He claimed to be loyal, but his actions denied it. How might we "assert" that we are loyal to God, that we are in His army, when we're not actually in harmony with Him? Here are some answers which aren't too hard to apply to our private lives: "In the same manner do many today assert their loyalty to God, but their concerts and other pleasure gatherings, their worldly associations, their glorifying of self, and their eager desire for popularity all testify that they have not obeyed His voice. . . . The consistent Christian is not only a new but a noble creature in Christ Jesus." {5T 88}  

I want my Christianity to be more than an assertion. I want to live in harmony, obedient. I want Him to make me not only new, but noble! Then, I'm prepared to labor for others!

Blessings to one and all,

Cheyenne Reiswig

From a post in YD's Morning Manna devotional sharing group.

The Cost of Love

by Kezzia Keener

I must admit it: I didn't quite know what I was asking for that day as I knelt beside my bed, asking God to teach me to love like He loved. Honestly, though, it didn't occur to me that maybe I should examine the cost a little more. I only knew that I had come face to face with Love Himself, and I just wanted to love like Him. 

About a year passed, and I found myself revisiting the topic. Progress in love seemed slow to me, and each day I seemed to find more and more things that I needed to surrender to Him. I still desired to love like Him, but the effort involved in learning His way seemed overwhelming. I’d gotten distracted along the way, making it seem even harder. Needless to say, my sense of failure left me feeling depressed. 

I thank God that He didn't leave me to my own devising. In the months since, I have begun to understand a little better what it means to “love like Him.”

I mean, who but God could come to a pile of filthy rags and rotting sores that smell very strongly of death, and simply love with a love strong enough to hold me—and all my unrighteousness—close to His heart, and call me His, beautiful, forgiven—before the transformation.

I don’t understand this love. I don’t begin to understand. But I still want to love like Him.

I know it won’t be easy. I’ll have to surrender and throw out and confess and struggle, but He’ll give the strength I need. My life is in His hands. I am His, and I can trust Him to make of me what He wants me to be. When I partner with His almighty power, there are no impossibilities.

My prayer has changed a little bit. Now I’m asking Him not just to teach me to love like He loves, but to purify me (with fire, if needed) and cleanse me from every stain. I still don’t think I know where this prayer will take me, but I want Him in my heart, forever, no matter the cost. So may I be broken if He may be glorified, and may His fire burn all my heart’s dross so His love can be mine.

Healing or Healer?

A couple of weeks ago in prayer, the Lord gave me a beautiful thought. I was praying for healing for my family through a tough situation, and He brought this text to mind: "But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings" (Malachi 4:2).

That's when I realized that instead of begging for healing, I should ask for Him to be present. Jesus' great desire is to gather us under His healing wings "even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings" (Matthew 23:37). When our lives are hid in Him, He brings healing. But to ask for healing apart from Him is pointless, because He is the healer.

So I've changed my prayer, because healing isn't really what we most need after all. We need Him!

Have a blessed Sabbath!

Cheyenne Reiswig