Jesus Fulfilled the Unfulfilled.

Deuteronomy 5:29 - [The Lord said,] 'Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me, and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever.
The Ten Commandments are more than God saying, "Here is My Law for you"---- they are God saying, "Here is My love for you."

And three times the Israelites say yes, this we will do---- we do, we do, we do. God gives His people this gift, these two tablets of stone with His handwritten commitment to love, and He aches. "oh, that they had such hearts..... Oh, that--- this expression of unfulfilled longing in the Hebrew. God longs: "Oh, that your heart would obey Me not because of Law, but because of love." God knows how we say I do---but don't. God longs that our hearts would be inclined to be in wonder and awe of Me, enraptured by Me-- that is what fear means in the original Hebrew. God knows how we say we wonder and we worship---but we don't.

The Ten Commandments are a command to relationship. To love vertically, to love horizontally, to love relationship. God's unfulfilled longing spills through time.

Jesus.

Jesus, the Love who seven days later went to the Cross to fulfill the unfulfilled, to pay the price for our broken love like we never could, to love God for His unbroken love like we never have.

Jesus, The Love who hangs on a Tree, who cries out our yes to the covenant: “My God, My God.” Yes, You are mine. I am Yours. Yes, you are the Lord my God. Jesus, the Love who doesn’t just die the death we deserved to die; He lives the love we’ve desired to live. God gives the Commandments to us----and God gives God to keep the commandments for us. God gives us the commitment of love at the top of Sinai, and He staggeringly keeps our commitment to love at the top of Calvary.

Who needs more than being loved to death?

“Love is the greatest thing God can give us, for himself is love.” - Jeremy Taylor

“And [love] is the greatest thing we can give to God, for it will also give ourselves…. The apostle calls [love] the bond of perfection. It is the old and it is the new, and it is the greatest commandment, and it is all the commandments, for it is the fulfilling of the law.”

God gives God. And Jesus fulfills all the Law, all our love.

From Ann Voskamp’s Christmas Devotional, “The Greatest Gift.”

Today I woke up in a horrible mood, I wanted nothing more than to stay in my bed and sleep the day away. I didn’t want to read my devotional, it was already one of “those” days.. Then I read this chapter today. And God convicted me big time. He put me right in my place. Bowing before His feet for forgiveness. For grace over my heart. Humility to just fill my heart. I had never thought of that verse in Deuteronomy that way. Those few words, “Oh, that.” I never saw that as Gods longing. His longing for my love. It broke my heart, when I realized how many times I say, “I will.” or “I do.” to the Lord, and never actually did something about it. Truly recognizing His sacrifice for love, brought my heart to a state of true humility, to a state of awe. He aches every time I say, “yes, lord, I will.” out of an empty heart. He weeps at the sight of a lukewarm heart. He longs for you to wake up everyday say the words, I love you, to Him, and mean them. He didn’t just say those words to you. He meant them. With His arms stretched from side to side, between noise of the slamming hammer and the pain of tearing veins and the strong piercing of the thorns. Jesus, just barely being able to breathe, saying those last words, “It is Finished. Forgive them Father.” bowing His head, giving up His life, He was saying, I love YOU.


He wants a genuine love. Get rid of the evil, the lies, and the pride in your heart. Stop saying I will, start doing. Start acting. I know I need to start acting more. Acting out of love. I need to start recognizing more that I need to give this Love, know this Love, and cherish this Love. Cherish the One who is Love.

So, wherever your heart is, whether you woke up in a bad mood like me or theres something else going on. Remember the commitment of love. The love that Jesus fulfilled. The love He gave. The Gift He gave. God gives God. He gives Love, and wants your love. Your heart. Your being. He wants all of you. He longs for you. He weeps for you. He wants to know you. He loves you…

He so Loved YOU.

His Vision. My Provision.

Genesis 22:1-2, 6-18 (NIV)

Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” He said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from Me your son, your only son.”

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”

15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by Myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me.”

　

This passage has come up 6 times in the last week. I think you could say God is trying to get ahold of my heart? And boy has He! God has shown me several things through this passage . But, the one thing He has brought to my attention the most, is laying down my fear and worry on Marriage. Marriage is something I long for and can’t wait for. Its something I find so beautiful. Something so precious. Its not something I’m looking for satisfactory in, or to fill a hole. Its something that excites me, the fact of doing life with someone you love is an amazing journey. Its not out of selfishness or fleshly desires. Its just something I purely long for. Sharing stupid jokes with someone, sharing a life God has given both of us. Serving along side another. Sharing in the glory of the Kingdom. Its an exciting part of life. But also, on another hand it is also something I fear and am worried about. Something that is very hard and scary. I’m always thinking about it, and thinking about my future husband. Questions that often ponder my mind are, “who will I marry?” “Do I know him?” “is he even saved yet?” “Will our families get along?” “How will we meet?” “God when?”

Am I crazy?

But, God has finally grabbed hold of this part of my heart. He sees, He hears. He knows. He’s observing my heart, and my actions. His vision is my provision. He sees to it. He provides it, according to His will. Abraham laid down his only son. He didn’t follow God’s command worried, and he didn’t question what God was doing. Abraham didn’t walk faithless, and or hurried. He walked in full obedience, trusting and knowing his Mighty God was going to provide a sacrifice. He knew God was going to be faithful. He obeyed the Fathers voice. The Lord blessed his servant because he diligently served His God.

And this passage doesn’t just apply to this. We should live everyday in this example of surrender. Sacrificing everything. Everything and anything. God wants all of us. He wants every once of our hearts. Every inch of our being. He wants us. Sacrifice is an act of worship. We are sacrificing ourselves to pursue Him, to rid anything of ourselves so we can worship Him out of a pure heart. Sacrificing those things that are sinful, or causing us worry, and weariness, is going to draw us closer. We will be able to feel and experience more of Him, with all these distractions out of the way. When we trust in His plan, His word, His voice, He will bless us. He will fill us. We will be made well, and full of joy.

God showed me throughout this week, studying this passage, that He will bless me, he knows the desires which take place deep in the depths of my heart. He knows the longing for marriage which I hold in the innermost of me. He’s showing me to being those feelings before His alter, before His throne of love and mercy. And lay them down. He wants me to focus on becoming the woman my husband longs for, the wife he will need. The wife he desires. I know he will provide. In HIS time..
 As men and women in Christ, we need to focus on the love story already set in our hearts. The love story and pure romance between us and our Savior. As He delights in us, in our presence, and how He’s joyful to hear our voice. We need to delight in His presence, be joyful at the sound of His voice. Sharing our hearts with Him. Loving the one who IS love. Delighting in the ultimate bride groom. He’s already pursuing us, are we pursuing Him? Our ultimate longing should be an intimate romance and relationship with the One who gave Himself freely for us because He loves us so dearly! He longs for that. He longs for us… Isaiah 62:5 “..And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, So shall your God rejoice over you.”



He rejoices in our being. There’s a special bond between God and His children. A beautiful love story of such purity. And God’s desire for earthly marriages is to reflect that. So, with all that. God has been revealing to me, what the purpose of marriage is. How it is suppose to reflect Jesus and his bride, the church. He cares for, looks after, pursues his people. And the church obeys and summits themselves to Jesus. Serves Him. That’s the same for a marriage between man and woman, the man pursuing, loving, serving, and caring for his wife. And the wife summits and serves her husband. Both of them unconditionally loving one another. Reflecting the ultimate love story. Gods, preparing me. He’s preparing my husband, in this time of waiting, serving, and longing for our God. He’s preparing our hearts for one another. Once we are strong and completely satisfied in our Jesus, loving Him, serving Him, delighting in Him, our hearts hidden in Him, we will be ready for an earthly romance with the one God has for us.

I need to give this area of my heart daily to Christ. I need to guard my heart, and protect it. Save it for my husband. Become a virtuous woman of the Lord, and wait for my ultimate prince charming. Let God, mold me, shape me, let Him have FULL control. He has a purpose for everything He calls us to, and in order to experience all that purpose holds, we need to sacrifice the things that we desire out of self, and fill our hearts with His desires that will bring Him glory. He promises to satisfy us all in all. His promises are sure and powerful. He is mighty. He will provide for the longing soul.

　

　

He holds our hearts in the strong grip of His hand. And He holds it close to His heart, with perfect care and compassion. Protecting it.