Read Matthew 22:37-40

There is love, truth and hope in the red letters.

What if we learned to love God and one another with nothing in return?

A musician named Noel Regney walked through the streets of Manhattan. He had just seen hopelessness and pain on the faces of the people that he passed on the street. It was 1962. There was a war of words and government operations called The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. The Cold War was approaching the nuclear boiling point! The Soviet Union had missiles in Cuba, capable of striking the USA, just 90 miles away. It was the Cuban Missile Crisis. There were underground bunkers and tunnels that were built in both countries for protection. It was a place to hide.

Regney came home from his walk and, along with his wife, Shayne, wrote the carol “Do You Hear What I Hear?” Together. It is now a Christmas favorite. This carol’s lyrics are about the baby Jesus, loving God and praying for peace.

“Listen to what I say, pray for peace people everywhere.”

To love God with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength is to love God with everything you have to give.

WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART

The heart is the seat of affections in the Bible (Psalms 62:10b). It is also the seat of intellect (Genesis 6:5b) and of the will (Psalms 119:2b).  The heart is a muscular organ which pumps blood through the blood vessels of our circulatory system. Jesus is talking about loving God with all your heart, all your affection, all your intellect and all your will. Are you “all in?”

WITH ALL OF YOUR SOUL

With praise:

“Praise the Lord, oh my soul.” (Ps 101:1)

With priorities:

“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matt 26a)

Without fear:

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” (Matt 10:28)

WITH ALL OF YOUR MIND

Fix your eyes on Jesus (Heb 3:1). Be thankful.  Keep Jesus Christ in the front of your mind! Spend time in the scriptures every day.

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF

Do you pray for your neighbor? Can you bring goodness and light to your neighbor?

There is love in the red letters.

There is truth in the red letters.

There is hope for the hopeless,

peace and forgiveness!

There is life in the red letters.

Tom Weckesser