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in conclusion...

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:53:30 +0100

           I've been focusing on Mark 12:30 for the past several weeks. It is the foundation of all of God's commandments, and it is so easy to miss.

          I used to be jealous of people who were always so joyful when they worshiped God. I'd think, "but what if I'm not cheerful? What if my moods change like the weather? What if I simply can't muster up enough happiness to smile? Does that mean I don't love God?"

         Absolutely not. Moods are a part of our bodies. Anxiety attacks, depression, mood swings, sometimes even happiness, are often based on physical condition.

        Love is deeper than the way we feel.

        Love is deeper than what we believe.

        Love is deeper than what we do.

       There is a reason Jesus was specific in the way we should love Him. We cannot love Him with just our hearts. Passion withers away if left to itself. As we think about and know God, we love Him more and more with our hearts because we simply can't help it. Our passion grows.

        We express our love with our thoughts and by seeking wisdom and discernment. But thinking and learning and believing is nothing if it's only stored away in our minds.

        Passion is nothing without action. But action is also nothing without passion.

        All three must be connected, but none can exist without the fourth.

        Our souls.

        When we asked Jesus to live in our hearts, He built His home there and re-constructed us from the inside out. Without Him, our love for Him would not exist. He is the one Who enables us to love Him.

        Because of this, I pray everyday that He will help me to love Him more. And I can pray this with confidence.

        Because He wants to have a relationship with me.

        I can do nothing without Him. I strive and strive to break my idols, to cleanse my thoughts, to strengthen my faith and love, but I fail. Only He can do these things.

        Therefore, we do not do what we do to get saved. We do these things because we have already been saved.

        If we look at what He's done for us, we can't help but love Him. And if we love Him, we can't help but love Him with our whole being.

love in action

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:23:08 +0100

The Message translation of this passage says "love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy."

When I'm obsessed with something, I put all of my energy into it. I spend all my time working on it, whether with my hands or with my mind. I sometimes forget to eat. I stay up at night thinking about it.

Imagine what it would be like to used all of our time and energy loving God. What would that be like?

As a disciple of Christ, I am a victim of falling asleep in the garden of Gethsemane, and Jesus has to shake my shoulders and say, "Are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

How do we love God with our strength and energy?

We devote our time to Him. We serve Him in everything, no matter how insignificant the act is.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord (Colossians 3:23)."

We offer God our lives, and we obey the second greatest commandment, to love our neighbor as ourself. This is essential. If we miss this, we've missed the point, and Jesus will say to us:

"... I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me...Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me (Matthew 25)."

I strive to live up to Jesus' commands. I realize saying I love Him is nothng if I do not love my neighbor, and that loving my neighbor is nothng if I do not love Him. My prayer is that as we love God with "passion" and "intelligence," that we would put that love into action with all of our strength and energy.

renew your mind

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:20:45 +0100

"...with all of your mind...."

How can I love with my mind? Love is almost always associated with hearts, and yet God asks that we love Him with our minds.

I used to pass over this part of the verse, but when I began to think of it, it made perfect sense. Not that I love with my mind more than my heart, but that the two go hand in hand.

Think ill of someone and eventually you will hate him with your heart and vise versa. Think well of someone and
eventually you will love them with your heart.

To be honest, my thoughts are not always good. My mind thinks evil things that my heart knows are wrong. Likewise,
my heart feels things that my mind knows are wrong. Either can be led astray without the other. Thanks be to God! My heart and mind are His dwelling place! I'm not alone!

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:2)."

The more I learn about God and get to know know Him and focus on Him throughout my day, the more I love Him.

I believe to love Him with my mind is to clear my thoughts of evil, selfishness, pride, ignorance, etc, and to fill it with
thoughts of Him. It is to study His Word and set my mind on acting on it no matter how I feel.

"...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philipians 4:8)."

I believe God wants us to be watchful and wise, constantly re-reading His Word, keeping it in our minds, and seeking wisdom.

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves (Mt. 10:16)."

Don't be fooled. Don't be ignorant. Follow God in wisdom and truth. Do not seek false knowlege. Pray for wisdom from the Source. The more you know Him and set your mind on Him, the more you will love Him without effort. It is an act of love that can be done at any time, at any place. Simply look to the skies and say, "I'm thinking of You."

And it's the thought that counts.

love and feelings

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:20:32 +0100

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength (Mark 12:30)."

This verse has been on my mind for the past few months. In my strive to become a better Christian, I sometimes forget Who this is all about. I start reaching for perfection instead of the One Who is truly perfect.

I used to think I must not love God because I didn't feel all fuzzy and warm when I thought about Him. I distinctly remember standing in a Nazarene Youth Conference service and watching as my friends and over a thousand other teens raised their hands to God, some with tears streaming down their faces.

And I felt nothing.

My conclusion: I must not love God.

Since then, I've learned something very important:

Love has nothing to do with feelings.

C.S. Lewis, my favorite author, once wrote, "They are told they ought to love God. They cannot find any such feelings in themselves. What are they to do?....Act as if you did. Do not sit trying to manufacture feelings. Ask yourself, 'If I were sure that I loved God, what would I do?' When you have found the answer, go and do it (Mere Christianity)."

Feelings that move us to love is a gift from God, but they are not love itself.

To feel is to be emotional. To love with your heart is so much more.

So l've removed the popular idea that to love with my heart means to feel something all the time. If that were true, most of us would love God about once a year.

To me, loving God with all my heart means to find complete satisfaction in Him. Not physical satisfaction, but deep, real satisfaction. It is to treasure Him above all things, to never settle for less, for earthly desires and material possessions. It is to be completely devoted to Him. It is to turn to Him no matter how crabby I feel when I wake up in the morning. It is to trust Him. It is to know that He is Lord.

When I begin to fall away and fill my heart with idols, I cling to this prayer from Psalm 51:10-12, a cry of David:

"Creat in me a pure heart, Oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant a willing spirit to sustain me."

The beautiful thing is, God has already given us His answer:

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26)."