Love God: It’s All about Relationship
First15 Devotional
First15
4.9 • 2.3K Ratings
🗓️ 18 May 2026
⏱️ 14 minutes
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Summary
This week we’re going to focus on the simplicity the Christian life is meant to be marked by. Jesus summed up our purpose with two statements: love God and love people. But in our humanity we have made complex what God designed to be peaceful, purposeful, and simple. A. W. Tozer remarks in The Pursuit of God, “Every age has its own characteristics. Right now we are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart. The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all. If we would find God amid all the religious externals, we must first determine to find Him, and then proceed in the way of simplicity.” May we discover the peace and joy that come from pursuing a simple Christianity this week.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This week, we're going to focus on the simplicity the Christian life is meant to be marked by. |
| 0:11.5 | Jesus summed up our purpose with two statements, love God and love people. |
| 0:18.4 | But in our humanity, we have made complex what God designed to be peaceful, purposeful, and simple. |
| 0:27.7 | May we discover the peace and joy that come from pursuing a simple Christianity this week. |
| 0:34.9 | Welcome to the First 15 podcast. |
| 1:16.0 | Thank you. this week. Welcome to the First 15 podcast. Our scripture for today comes from Matthew 22, verses 37 and 38. |
| 1:17.9 | Scripture says, |
| 1:26.4 | You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. |
| 1:30.5 | This is the great and first commandment. |
| 1:43.5 | The world is an exhausted place. We search constantly for what should be most important or what deserves our attention from moment to moment. |
| 1:46.0 | As the tides of societal values ebb and flow, |
| 1:51.0 | so do our affections. |
| 1:54.0 | We invest value and love into that which offers us nothing in return. |
| 2:07.4 | And unfortunately, the cares of this world have creeped into the people of God. |
| 2:13.1 | Our gatherings are often marked by complexity and exhaustion. |
| 2:22.3 | With program goals and achievements, we make complex what God intended to be so blessedly simple. We give our attention, energy, and love |
| 2:27.3 | to that which isn't always rooted in simply loving God. |
| 2:32.3 | When asked to highlight the most important commandment in all of Scripture, |
| 2:38.8 | Jesus responded, |
| 2:40.3 | You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. |
| 2:47.4 | This is the great and first commandment. |
| 2:52.1 | All of Christianity boils down to this one pursuit. |
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