I feel ridiculous for asking this question

I feel ridiculous for asking this question

Saturday night, I was reading the Bible. One of the gospels, don't remember which. One of the verses I specifically remember reading was, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Sunday morning, on my way "home" (I didn't actually go home, you'll see) I was listening to a song on my CD. One of the song's major focuses was "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul with all your mind, and with all your strength."

For SOME reason, I can't even tell you why, I out of the blue decided to go to a church I've never been to, instead of going home right away. I NEVER go to places I've never been by myself, and this wasn't even something I'd been contemplating. It just was random, and I went. I got there, turns out I was just in time! (I had let the sun wake me up, and that occurred at 9:30. The service was at 10:30)

The sermon paper they handed me, on the back was "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul with all your mind, and with all your strength". Then, I realized the entire sermon was about loving God.

I was blown away!!!

Obviously, God's trying to tell me something.

My question is-HOW DO I DO IT! How do I love God! I want to so bad, more than anything! But I don't understand why the Bible tells us to just love God more than anything else, just like that. Like I can turn love on and off. I don't even know HOW to love God. I know how to love my mom. I see her every day. She gives the best hugs. She is tangible. She's my MOM. I don't, as much as I'd love to, know how to love God. I am at a loss right now. I accepted Him, yes. But this love did not come automatically to me.

Somebody, please explain this to me. And tell me how you came to love the Lord, because I sure can use some answers here.

Thanks =]
 
First of all, no question is ever to ridiculous or stupid to ask.
We are only stupid if we don't ask the the question that is burning in our mind.

I am new here to the Forum and really seeking the same for me in my life.

I became saved in December 2004. I was born and raised Lutheran, but what have really come to see in my lately, what is more important is that I have a relationship with God.

I came to love God when I realized that trying to live my life my way was getting me nowhere.. I quit college at the age of 19, got married, had 3 kids, 12 years later, was divorced, entered my own path of dating, internet dating, seeking for someone to love me, seeking acceptance, ended up in an alchohlic relationship with an older man for 3 years, that ended.. which brought much pain.. through all of this, I finally realized I could no longer do it on my own.. I asked Jesus into my life..

Since then, my path has taken a different journey, but I still had that piece of me that I could not let go of.. Until it finally dawned on me that all along Mr. Right was right in front of me.. the Lord... he can give me everything.. now that was pretty awesome.. So I started faithfully to be in his word, to seek others out, to pray, to find a church which would uplift me, and the Pastor there said.. find a bible verse for 2008 instead of a new years goal..
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, acknowledge him in all ways and he will make your paths straight.. that is why your post caught my eye!

It is true.. if we seek him and let him in our heart, he does give us strength for everything we face.. sure I still struggle, but with even having faith, we will have persecution and suffering.. but the best part is.. there is one who loves me through all of this.

I no longer have to seek for a man to love me, I no longer have to seek for folks to accept me.. I am loved, for who I am a child of God. I am no longer alone in life.. I wake up every day and before stepping my feet on the ground.. I pray for the Lord to show me my direction.. if I listen there is prodding there..

But just so ya know.. Satan sure tries to get in .. especially when things are going well.. he does not want me to love God.. he tries so hard in alot of ways to destroy my life...

Have a great evening.. and keep on trusting
Jeremiah 29:11 I have a great hope and future for you says the Lord.

Faithwoman
 
IHeartLarrytheCucumber how does one develope any realtionship and fall in love. First you are drawn to that person and you began to realize there is something special there you simply must have. Your attention turns more and more to the object of your affection until you want to spend all your time with them. Soon almost every waking moment is spent with that beloved or in thoughts about them. You become enthralled with the love letter He has sent you (His Word) and you long for even His fragrance and touch. You do the things that please your love not out of duty or requirement but because it is a joy to bless the One you love so dearly. It only gets better from there!!!!!!!
 
Cant get any better than the 2 above posts! AMEN!!!
smile.gif
 
Me and you both IHeart. I struggle with the same thing. I feel so distant from God, and just so passionless in my life in general.
 
I really can't explain why I love the LORD like I do. I don't just love Him because he showers me with gifts, I don't just love Him because He answers my prayers - I love God because of the great things He has done for me and my family.

God loves me for who I am - He created me and made my the person I am today. I don't have to look a certain way for God to accept me, or sacrifice an animal or burn a candle for Him to protect me or my family.

God is kind, merciful, and loving. Somehow, even though I can't "see" him physically, I can sense his presence - I can almost "see" in my mental mind Him looking down on me or even protecting us.

Like in Church Saturday, I almost could see God behind me, and I could see his figure standing there, surrounded in a halo of clouds and light. Of course it physically wasn't actually there, but in my heart I knew He was there.

And, a couple of times, when I'm really said, I get this warm, cuddly feeling as if someone is hugging me - and I know it's not my dog giving me a hug, or any of my family members, even my other pets. I know it was God hugging me.

Don't worry IHeart. The love we feel for God doesn't only come from our hearts but from Him Himself and the in dwelling of the Holy Spirit.

:):groupray:
 
Well, for one thing He loved you first. Read the quote you have at the bottom of your post. To trust our Heavenly Father is to love Him. How can we trust someone with our most sacred positions (our life) and not love Him. He only does what is good for us whether we see it or not and it is out of love FOR US!
Agape love (unconditional) so should we not return the feeling, after all He only gave His life for us. When we are ripped apart inside who can we turn to that will understand completely and comfort us back to a gentle peace.
 
Excellent question and excellent answers, all I can add is that for me (and I often fail at it) loving God, means putting Him first in everything!
 
Answer the Call, that's all

Jesu is calling. . . Answer the call. That is all we need do to get closer to him. Just answer the call.:)
You don't kno's calling????
Read Isaiah 53 and the four gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.( The Bible"s Caller ID;))
You see him in the distance???? Walk tward him. Focus your eyes on him
Losing site of Him???? Find out where he come from, were he's going and were he is.
Read God's day planner (The Bible) and know were to meet Him and live with him for ever:dance:


What a freind we
have in Jesus.
Brother
Cliff
 
Hi Theo!!!!!! WOW!!!! Ain't God Awesome!!!!!!! He works in mysterious ways!!!!!;)
I've got so many thoughts jumblind in my head at one time so bare with me, ok?
Biblegateway.com; type in the key word search: love, heart, soul, strenght, worthy,& more. Matt. scriptures begin on page 79. When you begin to read the NT scriptures with these key words you will BEGIN to understand about love concerning how we are to GIVE IT. Jesus showed us how first by example as well, how the heart works vs the soul and mind and our strenght; not so much physically but by resolve or faith.

It's truly obvious that God HIMSELF intervened when no one else would do it/or obey. HE caused a succession of events to occure. Not sure if anyone "witnessd" to you before this, maybe wayback. Any seed(s) that were planted in your heart came to full harvest and the time(ing) was ready/ripe for YOU! Today is the day of salvation.

You'll probably start soaking in all kinds of info now being "awakened" in your soul.

How do you begin to love the Lord with all you heart, soul, mind and strenght? By faith. By trust. By taking the first step and God proving to you that He is the I AM and is with you. You will find later that "tests" will come and it will feel like He as "left the building" sort of, but He wants all of you NO MATTER WHAT the circumstances, good or bad happening in your life. It takes time to love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul,and strength. It comes by testing and time, building that trust up.
When you ask Him anything with a sincere heart, He will answer. Choose to hear/learn His voice, by reading His word, then you will be able to distinguish the different "voices" that give advice and teaching to you in the future.

Also, I'm tring to find the scripture about loving Him more than your family menbers....is not worthy of me...

He's not saying to stop loving them or to abandon them, but He's tring to check you. Some family can say, ok hon, you're getting fanatical and too religious and your scaring us, or son, I will disown you if you believe in this Jesus. At that point will you back down thinking that if you disobey your parents (being old enought now) that God would disaprove? Jesus said if you deny me before others, I will deny you. Am I making any sense? ok, chime in soon Brother Theo.
Patty
 
Love God with everything you have -

-by obeying His commandments.

-by loving your fellow man.

-by worshipping only Him (not money, not American Idol, or the such)

-by speaking with Him regularly on a daily basis (He loves hearing from you)

-by hearing from Him - reading His word and applying what you learn to your own life.

-by doing good to your fellow man - what you've done for the least of your fellow man, you've done for Him.

-by being a servant - men like to build themselves up, become higher than others; but the greatest among us is our servant. Even the Son of God came to us as a servant.

-by never judging - leave that one up to God Himself.

-by thinking...whose the person you love most in this world? Your husband? Wife? Best friend? Mom? Dad? Baby sister? Boyfriend? Girlfriend? And then think and pound it into your heart, even as much as you love these people, love God even more.

-by never taking credit for the good things in our lives; got a promotion? Never feel proud of it, never feel boastful...God has given you the good things, so He deserves the credit.

-by never tempting Him: "God, I really need this...if you just do this one thing for me, I promise that I'll ___________ "

-by never worshipping anything or anyone other than God. He's a jealous God.

-by honoring your parents.

-by never taking His name in vain.

-by fearing Him. When we fear Someone as much as we fear God, then we're afraid of displeasing Him.

Sounds like He spoke a wonderful message to you. You know, not many people can recognize when God is speaking to them...but you seemed to nail it!

You're very blessed, you know?

Thanks for sharing that story - it was uplifting.
 
Learning to obey is another way to love Him.

It means that you truly believe His Word; and His wisdom and direction for our lives.

It means that you trust Him.

It means that He is the deciding factor and obeying Him gives Him His rightful Lordship. Bowing our knee.

I think that these things show our reverence for His authority and that He feels loved by it!
 
Wow, thank you all for your answers!!!!

I guess it does come down to faith. I mean I would love any person if they saved my life, why wouldn't I love Jesus for saving my life?

I'm going to be reading the Bible like crazy.

Thanks everyone.

PS-AmericanAngel you're not an idiot!!:rolleyes:
 
Nope:D Why should I be????? Ain't like I ain't ever written to the wrong one:rolleyes:
Besides I learned something about Bible Gateway I didn't know.;)


Respectfuly
HIS
Cliff
 
Saturday night, I was reading the Bible. One of the gospels, don't remember which. One of the verses I specifically remember reading was, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Sunday morning, on my way "home" (I didn't actually go home, you'll see) I was listening to a song on my CD. One of the song's major focuses was "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul with all your mind, and with all your strength."

For SOME reason, I can't even tell you why, I out of the blue decided to go to a church I've never been to, instead of going home right away. I NEVER go to places I've never been by myself, and this wasn't even something I'd been contemplating. It just was random, and I went. I got there, turns out I was just in time! (I had let the sun wake me up, and that occurred at 9:30. The service was at 10:30)

The sermon paper they handed me, on the back was "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul with all your mind, and with all your strength". Then, I realized the entire sermon was about loving God.

I was blown away!!!

Obviously, God's trying to tell me something.

My question is-HOW DO I DO IT! How do I love God! I want to so bad, more than anything! But I don't understand why the Bible tells us to just love God more than anything else, just like that. Like I can turn love on and off. I don't even know HOW to love God. I know how to love my mom. I see her every day. She gives the best hugs. She is tangible. She's my MOM. I don't, as much as I'd love to, know how to love God. I am at a loss right now. I accepted Him, yes. But this love did not come automatically to me.

Somebody, please explain this to me. And tell me how you came to love the Lord, because I sure can use some answers here.

Thanks =]

hey there!! :)

it seems to me that at least part of the difficulty you are having, especially when you said something about turning love on and off like a switch.... is to not think that the love that God requires of us is really all that concerned about personal subjective feelings... feelings like you have for your mom, your father, any brothers or sisters you may have, or a close friend, etc etc.... you love all these people, and that evokes an subjective emotional response we call "love", and while you will of course experience this emotional response when you love God, when you think of all that He has done for you etc, but it is important to remember that loving God (and others for that matter) is so much more than merely that feeling we get when we feel close to someone.... so if you don't think of this as a command to conjure up emotions of some kind on a constant steady basis, the pressure you are wrongly putting on yourself should dissipate. When you love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, you are loving God while you are simply living out your life.... you love him with all your heart, soul mind and strength when you do the dishes, mow the lawn, shovel snow, read your bible, cook food, share time with friends and family, sing hymns of praise in church or out, when you read a commentary on a given book of the bible, try to understand Greek verb usage, read a book on systematic theology or on any given subject or doctrine covered in the bible, you can love God even if you are reading fiction providing of course that there is nothing inherently ungodly about the book, but you can love God when you brush your teeth, etc etc etc..... because the bible says to glorify God in all that you do...

1Co 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

a little phrase that has helped me in this regard is this:

Coram Deo which means "before the face of God", that is to say, we live out our entire lives before the face of God... Martin Luther, when he used this phrase, was trying to dispel the idea that we can compartmentalize our lives... that this part of our life is "sacred", here we go to church, we pray, we sing hymns, we do bible studies, etc..... and then there is the "secular", here we go to work, we go to school, we buy and sell, we engage in business transactions, etc etc. Luther said that it is totally wrong for us to split our lives up like this, we might say today that this is a bit schizophrenic!! Its like having a multiple personality disorder..... in the end though, its simply just wrong... its unscriptural... Luther wanted farmers to remember that when they walked behind their plows, they were Coram Deo, when the seamstress sewed, she was Coram Deo, that every job we do in our lives, no matter if it seems meaningless to us, no matter how boring it may seem to us, the job can take on eternal significance if we do that job Coram Deo.... the world viewed in that way can make street sweeping a beautiful thing!!!! so I commend the phrase to you in hopes that by keeping this simple phrase in the forefront of your mind, the life changing, deep and challenging meaning behind it will help you to love the Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength.

blessings,
Ken
 
A few things to concider.
Relationships with family and freinds are unstable. The reason being that as individuals we are inconsistant. one moment happy the next not so much, weak forgetful, stubburn, learning. Two bodies in movement and transition.
My wife and i have been married for 38 years and I love my her dearly. But there are moments when I look at her a see a stranger or someone I literaly despize. There are times when we can finish each others thoughts and sentances and other times when we are strangers. Times when we are going tward each other ,times when we are going away from each other,times when we butt heads, times when one is coming and the other going. Times when we can't get close enough and times when we are simply way too close. Times when we want what we have and times when we don't. The thing is we don't always feel the same way every day.
But like the Willy Nelson song says.
"But, you are always on my mind. . . You are always on my mind.
"
Thats the essence of Love. Love is when the other person is always on ones mind.

IHeartLarrytheCucumber,

Jesus is on your mind. It shows in your post. In your concern for that relationship.

Granted Jesus is not visable as are those we have with us today. But jesus is a couple of things they are not.
For instance he is everywhere.
A new born baby's smile, the tears shed over a loved one, all of creation that is about us. A mother,s hug, a fathers dicipline,a brother's or sister's kindnss. The rebuke when we deserve it The kind word that touches the heart. The exact right word spoken at the precise moment it's needed. Every little thing that is good is Jesus showing Himself. He is visible in a million ways every day.
And Jesus /God the father. . . is consistant The same yesterday today ,tomorrow, and always. So when you feel distant, it's not that he has moved from you but you from Him. He's not going to be here one day, there the next. Never going to turn his back on you ,never going in a nother direction.
Unlike people Jesus is not a moving target. He's not going to dodge you when your angry or shun you when your bad, or push you away when you need him. His mind is never going to be some place else. He never wants anything less than the best for you. He knows every hair on your head ,He know's how good you can be and exactly how bad you've been and he loves you anyway.

In our relationship with our heavenly father it is always us that has moved. that has placed or let distance grow between us. We are always on His mind, so all we realy have to work at is moving ourselves tward him. ,keeping him "Always on our mind"


Sincerely His
Cliff
 
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