FAITH CAPSULE: Do not hold back your love from God.

Deuteronomy 6, Numbers 25


To fear of God is the reason of God’s commandment. Deuteronomy 6:1-3, “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, that you may fear the LORD your God…” Fearing God is to love Him. Encased in loving God is obedience to all His commands. Failure to obey God is a failure to fear Him and not to love Him. God expects us to love Him, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) God is the Master creator and He does not demand from us what cannot be done in all of His word.
The book of 1Timothy also points it out that love (fear of God) is the purpose of the command. It is written, “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith.” (1Timothy 1:5) God’s standard is set in His word which does not return back to Him void and we are to live in compliance to His standard. Ones that keep their heart with all diligence will no doubt love with pure heart. Loving with pure heart is the only access to His presence just as stated by Jesus, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)
An acclaimed faithful without good conscience is fault-full and falls short as expected by God’s standard. Paul the apostle acknowledges the importance of faith with good conscience when he testified before the council, “Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” (Acts 23:1) As an acclaimed faithful, one must avoid becoming fault-full by consciously engaging faithfulness with good conscience.
Loving from sincere faith is to be living with passion for the name of God like Phinehas the son of Eleazar who turned back the wrath of God from the children of Israel. The Israelites, while under God’s judgment for their harlotry in Moab, one of the children of Israel came with a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the entire congregation who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. Phinehas reacted when he rose from among the congregation; he took a javelin and went after the man of Israel and killed him and the woman. God acknowledge Phineas’ zeal (Passion) and the plague stopped among the Israelites. (Numbers 25:6-11) Love is sincere; sincere faith is without reservation for God’s glory. True love for God is to fear God Know the purpose of God’s command; do not hold back your love from God.

Prayer for today: Ask God for the grace to enable your heart to retain His words; that you may keep His commands and live.