This most important commandment has been going through my mind recently. Loving God above all else. Above everyone else. Above everything else. Have you too discovered how easy it is to say “I love God,” but how much more difficult it is to actually live up to those words daily both publicly and privately? Yes sirree! Much more challenging. And considering the signs of the times we live in, it's going to become even more difficult to follow through on that all important First Commandment. 

Loving God With All Your Heart
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. -- Matt. 6:21
The more that I ponder what God has commanded us, the more I see that there is a priority in love that sets the course for all of life. If I love God with all my heart, then every decision and step of my life thereafter will be made to honor and protect my love for my Lord. Anything that God loves, should be a love of mine. What he hates, I should hate, and not allow into my heart. Proverbs 6:16-19 offers insight into what's on God's "Hate List."

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. -- Proverbs 4:23

Any other love in my life - people, places or things - must take a back seat to my love for God. If a friend or loved one asks me to compromise my relationship with God and his word, I should respectfully but firmly decline. Consider Joseph's response to his boss' flirtatious wife..

There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? -- Gen. 39:9

Any doubts about who came first in Joseph's life?

Loving God With All Your Mind
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. -- Isaiah 26:3

If our minds were suddenly audited, what would the results show? What do we think about most? Where does our imagination run off too? And what do we tend to feed our minds? What do we read, what do we watch, what do we search the web for? Would the audit reveal that we truly love God with all of our mind?

Loving God With All Your Soul
For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. -- Psalms 107:9

Do we hunger after God more than our favorite meal? Do we long for him more than our next leisurely vacation on sandy beaches? More than a promotion or retirement?

Loving God With All Your Strength
(A Psalm of David.) Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength. -- Psalm 29:1

I see “strength” here as anything that involves our physical and mental abilities. Our time, our back, our skills, our talents, and our sweat. Our strength can be in lifting heavy boxes, calculating mathematical formulas, cooking excellent dishes or fixing mechanical issues. Wherever our strengths lie, do we honor God with them? 

If we view the Fist Commandment to love the Lord our God above all else as a heavy burden of do's and don'ts, then we'll miss the blessings of the relationship. God is not a killjoy; He is a loving Father who only wants the best for us, and richly blesses obedience.

O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever! -- Deut. 5:29

In 2008, I saw a presentation that completely changed my understanding of how the internet works and how to work with the search engines for the highest ranking. Ever since then, my approach to people on the web has changed. My message hasn't changed but how I present it has. It's changed for both business and and ministry.

"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." Matt. 10:16

Let's talk about being wise. One of the most important yet often overlooked parts to reaching people on the internet is doing keyword research before creating content. Keyword research means exactly that: researching keywords that people type into the search engines to find things. Believe it or not, there are tools available that will reveal what specific words and phrases people use to find information. I've included resources below so keep reading.

Why is that important? Consider this: Let's say that you felt to write about preaching the gospel on the church blog. You entitle your 500-word write up, “How To Preach Like Rev. Bill E. Bob” and hit post. Poof! It's it up for the world to see right? Well, sort of...

Here's the reality: Your post will probably only be seen by those who visit that blog frequently or who get a direct link to that post. It may never get beyond those chosen few. If that's your goal, great! You can stop reading now.

By contrast, if you performed keyword research first, you might have discovered that the phrase “Preaching The Gospel” has nearly 400 Google searches every month. If you taylored your content around that specific keyword phrase, not only would you have your regular blog readers checking it out, you're likely to be found by many others month after month. A slight change in your approach may drastically change how many souls you reach.

I use keyword research EVERY time I post to any of my blogs and I'm regularly surprised at what people search for. From “how to save my marriage” to “why get baptized” to “gospel preaching” thousands of Americans turn to Google – not the church – for advice and answers to some of life's most challenging questions. That's heartbreaking, but it reveals an opportunity for those of us who want to reach the lost for Christ via the web.

If you feel led to start your gospel preaching online and to reach souls on the web, please consider doing some research to magnify your impact. Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus: "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Eph. 5:15-16. One way to redeem that time is to match your message to your audience with keyword research!

Jesus Christ came to this world seeking to save people from sin, from themselves and from eternal ruin. Anyone who receives his words and obey his voice will find a more abundant life now and in the end, life eternal. 

Oddly, he came to his own people, but they rejected him. Apparently, Christ didn't come the way they expected. He didn't arrive on a white horse with a gleaming sword to rescue them from their earthly enemies. 

No, he came in under the radar of even the learned of the day as a baby born of a virgin. He grew into a hard working carpenter until it was time for his life's ministry. He personally hand-picked a dozen men to travel with him and to preach the message of his kingdom. One of those twelve betrayed him. He was falsely accused, severely beaten, and crucified on a cross. Not because he was guilty of anything; but it was all part of the unfolding plan of God to save mankind.

Listen to The Gospel of Jesus Christ in 5 minutes

Christ died for the sins of the world according to the scriptures. He was buried in someone else's tomb, and three days later, he rose from the dead. For the next forty days he showed himself alive to as many as 500 of his followers. He then commanded his remaining disciples to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth.

The gospel of Jesus Christ they preached some 2000 years ago in Jerusalem is the same life saving gospel today. It hasn't changed one bit. It is the gospel of death and burial and resurrection. It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believeth. It is the strait gate and the narrow way that leads unto life everlasting. Is that what you want today? Eternal life?

Just as Christ died for our sins, so we must lay down our own lives. Jesus said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. (Matthew 16:25) Losing our lives this way is called repentance. It is confessing and forsaking our sins and a turning away from our wicked ways to receive mercy.

And just as Christ was buried, so we must be buried with him by baptism in Jesus' name for the remission of our sins. Sin is not traded away or wished away, but must be washed away by the perfect blood of the Lamb of God that was slain from the foundation of the world. Every single soul recorded in the scriptures was baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.

Just as Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, so we must die. Just as Christ was buried, so we must be buried with him by baptism. And just as Christ rose from the dead, so we should rise to walk in newness of life.

When Peter preached the first gospel message to the guilt ridden crowd gathered in Jerusalem, he said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. (Acts 2:38-39)

Don't stop short of receiving all of God's promises for and your family! Receive the Holy Ghost today! Ask the Lord for it. It is the Spirit of Truth which the world cannot receive, but is given by God to them who obey him. It is the Spirit of Christ in us offering comfort and life changing power that will one day quicken our mortal bodies to escape this world and to be ever with the Lord.

Friends, the wrath of Almighty God is fast approaching this world. And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:26-27)

Don't let that day catch you unaware. Listen to the voice of God in your heart today, even right now. Believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Repent of your sins. Don't make excuses or try to justify yourself. Confess them and forsake them. Be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus and let the blood Christ wash away all the sin and filth of this life, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.

Begin a new life in Christ today!