Mark 12:30-31 (NIV) “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Jesus, let love be my motivator; let it be my reason for why I do what I do. Help me see that You are putting love at the top of the list of God’s commandments. Help me give it full control over my motives so my heart is inspired to only do good things to me, other people, and God's plan. Teach me that this is the definition of righteousness.

Mat 15:8 (NIV) These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Jesus, let love cure this problem and put me in a place where I don’t want anything in my life that is fake, pretentious, or hypocritical. Show me that a motivation of resistance like that is very powerful. Teach me that the wonderful thing about God is, He NEVER requires me to do ANYTHING that He doesn’t provide me the resources and power to do.

Jesus, help me see that God requires love and He provides love: Rom 5:5 (NIV) And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, Whom He has given us.

Jesus, help me see what would cause me to not want to resist something the Holy Spirit is speaking to my conscience to resist. Show me that one of the major causes of people refusing to resist sin is extreme pleasure. They get so addicted and dependent on it that they find themselves refusing to resist it. Let my love for God, my love for those I am hurting, and my awareness of the damage I am doing to myself motivate me to resist.

1 John 4:4 (NIV) You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One Who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. Jesus, teach me that once love helps me want to resist, the Holy Spirit is there to empower me to not only resist, but to resist successfully. Jesus show me that if I find myself being tempted to get involved with a sinful relationship, or struggling with a damaging emotional situation, or mishandling my finances, or neglecting my spiritual growth, the power to prevent it from happening is important.

Jesus, when I am faced with a dilemma where if I don’t do something wrong, bad, or evil, I might lose my job, I might lose a close friend, I might not get a special deal, or I might fail to reach a goal. Show me that when the stakes are high, the power to resist is vital to my future. Help me understand that my final decision will set the stage for a good future or a bad one. Plus, show me that if I do decide to sin, the end results will not be as beneficial as I anticipate. And, it could put my relationship with God at risk. Teach me that the power to resist prevents me from having to suffer the consequences of a bad decision.

Jesus, make it clear to me that people who don’t prepare for resisting bad things coming into their lives often face failure. Jesus, You said in Matthew 26:41 (NIV): “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” Help me realize that those who think they are tough enough to handle any temptation are setting themselves up for pain, disappointment, and failure. As You take me into a study and prayer time of going through two men’s spiritual journey, help me grow through learning from their lives. Show me what happened when one loved You and what happened when the other loved money.