The New Covenant Spirit
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30). This means that you shall serve only Him, love only Him, obey only Him, please only Him, worship only Him, glorify only Him, and do only His Will. This means you shall only do those things that are pleasing in His sight (John 8:29; 2 Cor. 5:9). You shall do well, practice righteousness and patience toward others, and continually do acts of kindness and charity (Matt. 5:16; 1 John 4:7). This means you must put up with the short-comings of others, forgive everyone their trespasses against you daily, and practice all the fruits of the Spirit (Matt. 6:14; Gal. 5:22-23). You are to always be in a joyful mood and make every day a day you live for God. Then, when it is God’s day, it will be a good day.
Are all of your ways pleasing to God today? Are you going to please Him in all things or some things? Pleasing God in all things is being single-minded, not double-minded (James 1:6, 8). Are you going to do only God’s Will today, or a little bit of Satan’s too, by living to please the flesh? Are you bringing all your ways into subjection to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5)? Are you doing what Christ would have you do, or are you holding out a little? Is your heart pure before God, or partially pure? Are you off to a physical start each day, or are you off to a spiritual start by studying God’s word? Do you think of pleasing God all day, or do you even think about Him at all? What do you think about the most each day? Do you give God all of your troubles, or do you try to solve them yourself without His help (1 Peter 5:7)?
Are you still trying to do God’s job of converting your spouse (1 Peter 3:1)? Who do you think you are - God? Remember, God is the only one who can convert or change any person. He is the one who causes the growth (1 Cor. 3:7). We should teach by our example. Then we know that we have the log out of our own eye and are ready to give a good answer when asked (Matt. 7:3-5; 2 Tim. 2:15). Many religious people are trying to convert the world to their beliefs when they are still unconverted before God themselves.
We are to love the Lord wholeheartedly and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31). When we wholeheartedly serve others for the Lord, we are wholeheartedly serving the Lord (Matt 25:40). We cannot do one without doing the other, and when we do both, we are keeping the commandments in the New Covenant spirit.