Deuteronomy 1 ; Mark 12:28-44

Scripture -  Jesus said, "The first in importance is, 'Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.' And here is the second: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.' There is no other commandment that ranks with these." Mark 12:29-31

Observation - When asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus does not hesitate, and responds "Love the Lord God with all..." That word all seems to be the key one in all of this.  Later in the reading for today, he commends the widow who put into the offering all she had (even though that was a mere two cents), and in Deuteronomy the Israelites miss out on entering the Promised Land because they did not give God all their trust.  They trusted God to a point, but once they got to the border of the Promised Land and they saw that entering the land would not be easy because of the inhabitants there, they didn't trust that God would help them prevail.  Even after God had done so many other miraculous things to get them to this point.

Application - Where have we failed to give God our all?  Where have we held back from God some of what he deserves and desires?  What action are we called to do, which might seem difficult or impossible, but our trust in God's presence and help is not complete?  How can we, like Caleb, feel the confidence to go for it, because we know if God goes with us ultimately we will be victorious?