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Your Affections Give You Away

Did you know that others can tell what kind of Christian you are simply by what you love.
So many today profess to be followers of Jesus, but are they really? How can we know for sure?

What a person loves says more about him than he may want others to know.

Let's look into the Scriptures and examine 5 basic items that determine the sincerity of our own Profession of Faith before the Lord.

1. Oh! How I Love The Lord Jesus

Deuteronomy 6:5 - "And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might."
Mark 12:30 - "AND THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY HEART, AND WITH ALL THY SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY MIND, AND WITH ALL THY STRENGTH; this is the first commandment."

To love the Lord with all of our hearts is to love Him unreservedly and entirely.
It is to have no other gods or rivals before Him - to delight in, depend on, and to be entirely devoted to Him.
It is to love Him above all others and things, constantly deriving great pleasure from being in His Presence, hearing from Him, as well as serving Him.

The question is - Do we love the Lord Jesus? How can we know?

One way is to reflect on our conversation throughout the day.
In Matthew 12:34, Jesus informed us with these words- "...for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."
Hence, we can know what has our hearts by the words which we speak.

If all we can talk about is sports, then sports has our hearts.
If all we can talk about is money, then money has our hearts.
If all we can talk about is what we saw on TV or in the movie theatre, then entertainment, amusement, and pleasure has our hearts.
If all that we can talk about is friends and having fun, then that has our hearts.
Or if all we can talk about is ourselves, our family, our ministry, etc. then that certainly has our hearts.
On the other hand, if all we could talk about is Jesus, then most definitely Jesus has our hearts.

This is how we know if we truly love Him. Anyone can say they love Him, but how many really do?

2. Oh! How I Love God's Word

• Psalm 19:8 - "The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."

• Psalm 119:20 - "My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto Thy judgments at all times."

• Psalm 119:97 - "O how love I Thy law! it is my meditation all the day."

• Psalm 119:103 - "How sweet are Thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

• Psalm 119:167 - "My soul hath kept Thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly."

The Word of God is so utterly amazing! It has the innate ability to make straight in us that which is crooked; to cleanse and purify our souls from corrupt tendencies; to subdue and mortify lusts and carnal affections; to bring us to an understanding of what is right or wrong - proper or improper - beneficial or harmful.

In reading and meditating on it, it fills our hearts with great joy. It is no wonder that David esteemed it as being more valuable than pure gold and sweeter than the rich honey droppings of a honeycomb.

His soul felt as though it was breaking into a thousand pieces at times for the extreme longings that it had for more of God. No earthly gratification could compare to that which he derived from the meditation of the Scriptures. With great intensity, he cried out unto others of his ardent affection for God's Word - "O how love I Thy law;" "...I love them exceedingly."

Oh! Christian! Do you have the same sentiments toward God's Holy Word?
What kind of reading material consumes your day?
Man's Words or God's?
What brings you greater delight?

Sadly, so many almost deem the Scriptures to be as disgusting as cod liver oil. They find that they have to force themselves to read its pages. They would rather do anything else or put off the reading of it to the last moments of the day when they are spent or totally exhausted.

Something is wrong here. How can anyone say that they truly love Jesus yet cannot "stomach" His Word? They have no problem watching TV, reading romance novels, or news journals for several hours each night yet they cannot crack open their Bibles for five minutes.

Matthew Henry said it this way - "He that loves God loves His Bible."
And may we add - He that can never find time to read the Bible does not really love God.

3. Oh! How I Love The Place Of Worship

• Psalm 26:8 - "LORD, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth."

• Psalm 27:4 - "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in His temple."

• Psalm 84:1 - "How amiable are Thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God."

A good question to ask ourselves at this point is -
If given the choice, would we rather go to a church service or to a football game, racing event, or amusement park?
Would we rather attend a campmeeting where an Evangelist will be preaching on the Endtimes and Judgment to come or attend a pro basketball game?
If given the opportunity, would we rather attend a Bible Study or go to the movie theatre?

David - a man after God's own heart - loved the place where His Presence was manifested. He expressed it this way - "How amiable are Thy tabernacles..." By this, he included any place where worship was being offered to God and where He manifested His awesome Presence as a result.

God's dwelling places - or the places of worship - were loved by David in such a fashion as to be comparable to the love between a parent and child or husband and wife. It was here that he beheld the "beauty of the Lord " - His splendor, graciousness, and divine favor. It was in this place of worship where he received answers from God.

It is important to note that it was not a special building that David was referring to for there were times when he was on the run from Saul and could not frequent the tabernacle. But it was the place where God chose to manifest His Shechinah - Glory and Presence - that he so earnestly longed for and pined after.

And this should be the very desire of every child of God who is in communion with the Almighty and dwells under His shadow.

4. Oh! How I Love God's People

Romans 12:10 - "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another."
1 Thessalonians 2:8 - "So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us."

With tender affection, all believers are to love their brothers and sisters in Christ. They are to be more concerned about promoting the respect and honor of their brethren than seeking for the superiority or pre-eminence themselves. They are to be deeply concerned about the spiritual well-being of others, even being willing to lay down their own lives for them.

O Saint of God! Do you love your brethren with such an affection? Are you willing to place them and their needs even before your own? Do you strive to excel or do you prefer others?

Whose fellowship do you enjoy most of all - the friendship of worldly people or that of God's redeemed people?

Here is something to think about - when you watch TV or movies, you are actually fellowshipping with those actors and actresses. You are inviting them into your home to consume your time and share their principles of life with you.

5. Oh! How I Love Heavenly Things

Colossians 3:2 - "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth."

Christians should have godly desires and pursuits.
Their thoughts should be preoccupied with heavenly things and ideals.
Matthew 6:33 - Their constant goal should be to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness..."

Unfortunately, for some, the opposite is the case. Many are distracted with earthly things. Their "affection" or minds are absorbed with this world and its treasures. They are entirely engrossed by them.

They cannot truthfully confess to be followers of Christ because they do not love or yearn for the things of God nor is their gaze directed toward the heavenly world.

How do you stand as a Christian today?
Do you truly love the Lord Jesus, His Word, His People, and the things pertaining to His Kingdom? Do you yearn to be where He is manifesting His Awesome Presence?

In Psalm 51:6, David acknowledged of the Lord - "Behold, Thou desirest truth in the inward parts..."

God doesn't want us to be phonies or pretenders. He wants our hearts and lives to match up with our confession and profession of Faith.

Why not take the time to talk to Jesus about where you stand on these five items?
Where you are weak, He will be your strength.


May God Bless His Word.
Connie

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