4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
10 The LORD’s anger was aroused that day and he swore this oath: 11 ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old or more who came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob-- 12 not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the LORD wholeheartedly.’ 13 The LORD’s anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the desert forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone.
9 “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the LORD has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.”
22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven 23 and said: “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below--you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. 24 You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it--as it is today.”
14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15 We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 18 O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. 19 And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”
7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.
“No one has ever lost out by excessive devotion to Christ.” H. A. Ironside
“Spiritual work is taxing work. We sometimes become lax in our praying, and do not realize the peril until the damage has been done. Hasty devotions make weak faith, feeble convictions, and questionable piety. To be little with God is to be little for God. To cut the praying short makes the whole Christian character short, miserable and careless.” E.M. Bounds
“Acts 1:11 says, ‘This same Jesus, . . . will come back.’ What a motivation! The one who loves us is coming back. Perhaps He will look you in the face and ask, ‘How did you use the opportunities I gave you to witness for Me? Did you keep quiet with your coworkers, neighbors, and friends, or did you tell them about My salvation for you—for all people?’ While we wait for the Lord, we are to work diligently and wholeheartedly for the Great Commission, the mission of God, and our very purpose. God will bring the harvest as we are faithful.” Michael Youssef
“All work is sacred work for the child of the King. There is to be no difference between the secular and the sacred. The believer brings the glory of God and the sweet aroma of Jesus to every job – every encounter - working wholeheartedly as unto the Lord – not for man - through the achieving power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. All jobs from motherhood to medical to janitorial to legal to businessman to student to server to whatever – makes no difference the “what” rather the motivation behind why we do what we do which is to bring God all glory. It is His desire for us to work and take care of His world – just as He told Adam before the fall – and bring the Good News to others in our spheres through both our actions and words. This is for our ultimate good BTW, satisfying both heart and soul. We live our lives for an audience of One and our goal is to hear a ‘well done good and faithful servant.’” BHY
“The spirit of devotion removes religion from being a thin veneer and puts it into our souls. With devotion in our soul, religion stops merely doing a work and becomes a heart, beating with the pulsations of vigorous and radiant life. Dear Lord God, through a spirit of devotion I can bring glory to Your name. Please grant me a heart beating with vigor for You. Amen.” E.M. Bounds
“No one who really wants to count for God can afford to play at Christianity. He must make it the great business of his life. Whether he is set apart for special ministry – as a missionary who is going to a foreign land, a laborer in the gospel in home fields, or whether he remains in business (or home) and seeks to witness for Christ there – he needs to give himself entirely to a life of devotion to the Lord.” H. A. Ironside
“It is one thing to love the ways of the Lord when all is fair, and quite another to hold to them in the face of discouragements and difficulties. The kiss of outward profession is very cheap and easy, but the practical clinging to the Lord, which must show itself in holy devotion to truth and holiness, is no small matter.” Alistair Begg
“We’re pilgrims on the journey Of the narrow road And those who've gone before us line the way Cheering on the faithful, encouraging the weary Their lives a stirring testament to God’s sustaining grace. Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses Let us run the race not only for the prize But as those who’ve gone before us Let us leave to those behind us The heritage of faithfulness passed on through godly lives. After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone And our children sift through all we've left behind May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find. Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful May the fire of our devotion light their way May the footprints that we leave Lead them to believe And the lives we live inspire them to obey Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.” Steve Green
“Grant this one prayer more, O Lord, that You would give us all that is lacking in us; intensify our hunger and fire our devotion; take the indifference from our spirits; and have within us Your wonderful way and perfect will, O God, we pray. Amen.” Frances J. Roberts