Any Other Lovers in Your Life?

One-line explainer: God’s covenant love calls us to undivided devotion—repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus the Christ (the Anointed One, the Messiah), and ordering our whole lives around Him.¹

Hear—and Love—the LORD

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (ESV)
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. …You shall teach (these words) diligently…bind them as a sign…they shall be as frontlets between your eyes…write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”²

God’s first claim is your first love. When the heart is split—between lovers, passions, and pursuits—we cannot fully surrender to the Lord. Consider the rich young ruler who ran to Jesus yet left sorrowful, “for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:17–22). Divided affection breeds divided obedience.

Freedom in Full Surrender

Freedom is found in giving up everything to the Lord. Your life becomes a fragrant offering to the Father; let Him be your daily delight.

Proverbs 3:5–6 (ESV)
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.”

A simple prayer:
Heavenly Father, help us surrender what we withhold. Lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, that we may run the race with endurance (cf. Heb 12:1–2). In Yeshua’s holy Name. Amen.

Present Your Whole Self to God

Scripture calls us not to coddle sinful desires but to present ourselves to God:

Romans 6:11–14 (ESV)
“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus… Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God… For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

This is the grace-empowered way of the cross (Gal 2:20), where our debt was “nailed to the cross” (Col 2:13–14).³ The practical posture is not self-harm but Spirit-enabled self-discipline and re-training of desire (cf. 1 Cor 9:27, ESV).

Draw Near—Lean on His Heart

Have you “loved on” the Lord today? Learn from John, who leaned upon the Master and rested (John 13:23–25). Draw near until His heart sets the rhythm of yours. Don’t straddle the fence—give it all to Jesus and ask Him to “renew a right spirit” and “restore…the joy” of salvation (Psalm 51). Read Psalm 37 and let delight in the LORD reorder your desires.

Beware Lip-Service; Build on the Rock

Jesus rebuked religious lip-service that masked far-off hearts:

Matthew 15:7–9 (ESV)
“This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”

Instead, hear and do His words:

Luke 6:46–49 (ESV)
“Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?… (The one who hears and does) is like a man…who laid the foundation on the rock… (and) could not be shaken.”

How We Respond—Acts Anchors

The earliest preaching in Acts keeps it clear and simple:

Repent and believe the Gospel. “Repent and be baptized…for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38; cf. 3:19 “repent…that your sins may be blotted out”).
Jesus alone saves. “There is salvation in no one else” (Acts 4:12).
Believe in the Lord Jesus. “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).
A whole-life turn. “Repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with repentance” (Acts 26:20).
Keep learning and worshiping together. The church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).⁴

Two Closing Prayers

Consecration:
Abba, make Your church alive at this hour—an overcoming Bride who has made herself ready (cf. Rev 19:6–10). Let our righteous deeds be pleasing in Your sight. To You alone be blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might forever and ever. Amen.

Commission:
Righteous Father, saturate our hearts with Your agapē by the Holy Spirit. Move us with compassion to fulfill the Great Commission (cf. Matt 28:18–20). Quicken our mortal bodies to serve You faithfully all our days. In Jesus’ mighty Name—Amen and Amen!

Footnotes & Helps

Christ / Messiah. “Christ” (Greek Christos) means Anointed One, the Hebrew Messiah—God’s promised King and Redeemer.
LORD in small caps renders the divine name YHWH. “Frontlets” refers to visible reminders of God’s words, worn near the eyes/forehead; the point is whole-person, everyday remembrance.
Precise wording: ESV 1 Cor 9:27 says, “I discipline my body and keep it under control,” not “beat…into submission.” The biblical call is sober self-control by the Spirit, not self-harm.
Finding a church. Join a Bible-believing congregation that upholds Scripture as the final authority—adding nothing and taking nothing away (cf. 2 Tim 3:16–17; Rev 22:18–19). Look for clear Gospel preaching, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, prayer, accountability, and loving obedience to Jesus.

Any other lovers in your life?