Good morning. It’s Monday, February 23rd, aka National Tootsie Roll Day.

🥳 Congratulations on starting today with God, and thank you for letting us be a part of it.

— Matthew 22:37

In Matthew 22, Jesus is in Jerusalem during the final week before His crucifixion. He is teaching in the temple, and the religious leaders are questioning Him in front of the crowd.

The Sadducees (a Jewish priestly ruling group who denied the resurrection, Acts 23:8) had just tried to challenge Him and failed. After that, the Pharisees (a Jewish religious movement known for strict observance of the Law, Acts 26:5) gathered together.

And here is how Matthew records what happened next:

Matthew 22:34 (NIV)

“Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together.”

Matthew 22:35 (NIV)

“One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:”

Matthew 22:36 (NIV)

“‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’”

Matthew 22:37 (NIV)

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’”

Matthew 22:38 (NIV)

“This is the first and greatest commandment.”

Matthew 22:39 (NIV)

“And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Matthew 22:40 (NIV)

“All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Jesus takes hundreds of commands and boils them down to two relationships: your relationship with God and your relationship with people. If those are right, everything else starts to fall into place. If those are off, no amount of rule keeping will fix it.

To better visualize this, think of all the commands in the Bible as dominoes lined up in a row.

The first domino you need to knock over is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

Then you use that domino to knock over the second, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

And once those two are knocked over, the rest begin to fall into place too.

So remember these two things: love God, and love your neighbor.

When you’re not sure how to pray, A.C.T.S. gives you a simple path to follow: Adore, Confess, Thank, and Ask.

Adoration: Lord, You are worthy of all my heart, soul, and mind.

Confession: I confess I often focus on other things instead of loving You first.

Thanksgiving: Thank You for clearly telling us the greatest commandment.

Supplication: Help me knock over the first domino today by loving You fully, and let that shape how I love others.

In Jesus name, Amen

“I Can Only Imagine” by MercyMe

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See you tomorrow,

Zach | Start With God