LEARNING DAILY

 

Luke 10:27, So he answered and said, “You shall love the Lord your god with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (The emphasis is mine.)

 

This statement was made by a lawyer who was testing Jesus on the subject of inheriting eternal life.  Jesus had asked him what was written in the law. The lawyer quoted a verse from Deuteronomy 6:5. The lawyer added to the verse “with all your mind”. That is the subject of today’s blog.

 

Have you ever considered the power and complexity of your mind? I have read staggering things about its ability to receive, comprehend, and send on information that is very complex. I would give you some quotes about the mind but they are far beyond what I have in my head. But the interesting thing I have read about your mind and my mind is that it can do what no computer is able to do. It has the potential to “possess the mind of Christ through the ministry of the Holy Spirit” (a quote written by R. Kent Hughes in the book The Disciplines of a Godly Man).

 

Let’s look at some verses that allow us to do this. Colossians 3:2, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Psalm 26:2 states, “Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart.” Philippian 4:8 tells us to think on things that are true, just, pure, lovely, of good report, and anything praiseworthy. God’s desire is that you and I are very careful about what we put into our mind, what we think about and see. In James’ letter, he writes about temptation leading to sin. He states we allow ourselves to be tempted when “drawn away by our own desires and enticed”. We can only be tempted by what we see and hear. The solution is found in Ephesians 6:17; you and I must take and put on the helmet of salvation to guard our minds. The helmet was the part of the armor that protected the soldier’s brain. Since the warfare you and I fight everyday is spiritual, the assurance of our salvation defeats the doubts Satan tries to attack us. It helps us to keep our mind on His thoughts and His desires as we fight to put away from every temptation that so easily causes us to fail.

 

I am amazed that the area between my ears has the capability to read God’s Word, study it, and follow it. No computer or other device has that ability. My concern is too many Christians today are not guarding their minds; we continue to see too many fail in the Christian walk. Perhaps the pastor of CBC is right when he states too many do not transfer their head knowledge fourteen inches to their heart. Another thought is that we, as Christians, be very concerned about what we watch on television and other devices because of what it fills our minds with. What are we reading? The solution goes back to how we follow Philippians 4:8 above.

 

In these last days, you and I must be careful that what we allow our mind to dwell on does not lead us away from the knowledge of the truth. God help each of us!