Acts 17.28
[Paul said,] “For ‘In him we live and move and have our being.’”

By Samuel Annesley

If a man loves his life so much, why should he not love God more, by whom he lives, and from whom he expects greater things than this life? Love to God must go through and possess our whole nature, and all the powers of it.

Loving God With all your Heart
We are to love God with the whole heart positively and negatively. Positively, where all powers of the will are set to love God. Negatively, you shall so love God that nothing contrary to the love of God is entertained in thy heart. These things we cannot do perfectly while we are travelers in this world — we must await our heavenly country.

Loving God With all your Soul
Plainly, and in short: it is not enough to love God in our will, but we must not admit any thing contrary to the love of God in our sensual delights. Whatsoever sensualists do for the gratifying of their lusts and desires, let those things be drained from the dregs of sin and consecrate them all unto God.

Loving God With all your Mind
To love God with our minds is to have our understanding moved and commanded by the love of God. To assent unto those things that are to be believed, and to admit nothing into the understanding which is contrary to the love of God. We must always converse with God in our minds and thoughts; our thoughts must kindle our affections of love.

Our love to God must get above interruptions. All the powers of soul and body must be taken up into his service.

  • That our eyes, beholding the wonderful works of God — the sun, moon, and stars, the clear evidences of his Divinity, — may be in love with him.
  • That our ears, piously hearkening to his instructions, may be in love with him.
  • That our mouth may love to praise him.
  • That our hands may act for him.
  • That our feet may be swift to run the way of his commandments.
  • That our affections may be withdrawn from earthly things and delivered over to the love of God.
  • That whatever is within us “may be bound over to the service of God.”

– Excerpt from How May We Attain to Love God With all our Hearts, Souls, and Minds?

Today’s Readings
Judges 13 (Listen – 3:44)
Acts 17 (Listen – 5:28)