Loving God with My Mind

In James 1:22 I read, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (NIV)

We’ve been looking at Mark 12:30: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (NLT). One way to restate this verse is love God with all your talk, all your feelings, all your thinking, and all your doing.

Although every person is called to do all of these things, God created each person to be stronger in one area. That means God has shaped you more naturally to be a talker (heart), feeler (soul), thinker (mind), or doer (strength).

Today let’s look at the thinkers, who most readily love God with their minds.

I can love God with my intellect. When I develop and strengthen my mind, it’s an act of worship.

One way you can recognize a thinker is by this: When thinkers become believers, they fall in love with the Bible.

Psalm 119:97 says, “How I love your law! I think about it all day long” (GNT).

There is no other book in the world like the Bible! It has the answers to life’s questions, including why God put you here on earth.

Thinkers are needed because the world needs consideration. Somebody has to be thinking through complex issues and the implications of what the rest of us are doing. We need people who think through tough problems and bring solutions to the table.

But thinkers need to be careful to also practice humility. The Bible says, “Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom” (Proverbs 3:7 NLT). Why? Because God is God, and you’re not.

Humility is a choice. James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord” (NIV). Humility is something I do to myself. And it’s not denying my strengths; it’s being honest about my weaknesses.

Thinkers also need to be careful to practice what they know. If you know it, then do it! James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (NIV).

My personality is unique and precious to God. When I use it to serve him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, I bring him glory!

In summary, I shouldn’t just merely listen to the word, and so deceive myself. I need to do what it says. I am to love God with all my talk, all my feelings, all my thinking, and all my doing. God created each of us to be stronger in one of these areas. That means God has shaped me more naturally to be either a talker (heart), feeler (soul), thinker (mind), or doer (strength). If I’m a thinker, I can love God with my intellect. When I develop and strengthen my mind, it’s an act of worship. Thinkers are needed because the world needs consideration. Somebody has to be thinking through complex issues and the implications of what the rest of us are doing. We need people who think through tough problems and bring solutions to the table. But a thinker also needs to be careful to also practice humility, in other words, Not be impressed with my own wisdom.” Humility is a choice and is something I do to myself. And it’s not denying my strengths; it’s about being honest about my weaknesses. Lastly, thinkers also need to be careful to practice what they know. My personality is unique and precious to God. When I use it to serve him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, I bring him glory!

It is important to listen to what God's Word says, but it is much more important to obey it and do what it says. I can measure the effectiveness of my quiet time by the effect it has on my behavior and attitude. Am I putting into action what I have studied?

Father, I need you. Please give me Your strength for today and remind me in little ways that I can believe in, have faith and to trust you in everything including being the authority for my life, my self-worth and my future. You have my best interests in mind. Help me to embrace the way you’ve made, gifted and given me a passion for. I want to serve and fulfill the mission you have in mind for me. I ask you for wisdom and guidance in this and for my day, my work, my leadership, my interactions with others, my preparation for a future job role and for leading a small group. I pray these things through you Son Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Loving God with My Soul

In Psalm 42:1 I read, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.” (NIV)

Mark 12:30 reminds me “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (NLT).

While all love God in all four of these ways, each of us tends more naturally toward one than the others. God has shaped me primarily to be a talker, a feeler, a thinker, or a doer. Talkers most easily love God with their hearts. Feelers love God with their souls. Thinkers love God with their minds. Doers love God with their strength.

Today I’ll focus on the feelers, those who are strongest at loving God with all their soul.

The world can’t get by just on communication from talkers, consideration from thinkers, and contribution from doers. It also needs the compassion of the feelers who love God best with their souls.

The word “soul” is used many different ways in the Bible. But most of the time, it’s used as a synonym for emotions, as seen in the Psalms.

Psalm 42:1 says, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God” (NIV).

Every emotion known to humanity is in Scripture. The Bible talks about souls that are downcast, disturbed, satisfied, yearning, troubled, forlorn, joyful, bitter, thirsty, hungry, rejoicing, and delighted. Can you hear the passion in those words? Soul people feel their emotions.

God also feels emotions. He gets angry, happy, sad, and everything in-between. I have emotions because I was made in God’s image.

God is passionate, and feelers represent that part of him in the world. They care deeply about issues, about people, and about knowing God. They can empathize with other people’s pain and problems.

They’re great examples of Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (NLT).

Feelers offer God’s compassion to the world. But, just like every other personality, they have their weaknesses. Feelers tend to be manipulated by their moods. Instead, they need to let God lead them.

The Bible says, “Let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature” (Galatians 5:16 NLT).

When feelers are led by God’s Spirit, they still have feelings, but they’re not controlled by them. They let God’s Spirit lead them in deciding which feelings to follow and which to resist.

If I’m a feeler, be a Spirit-led one. Let God guide me to share with the world the passions he’s given me.

In summary, my soul pants for you, my God.” I am to love the Lord your God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength.” Each of us tends more naturally toward one of these than the others. God has shaped me primarily to be either a talker, a feeler, a thinker, or a doer. Talkers most easily love God with their hearts. Feelers love God with their souls. Thinkers love God with their minds. Doers love God with their strength. The world can’t get by just on communication from talkers, consideration from thinkers, and contribution from doers. It also needs the compassion of the feelers who love God best with their souls. The word “soul” is used as a synonym for emotions, Soul people feel their emotions. God also feels emotions. I have emotions because I was made in God’s image. God is passionate, and feelers represent that part of him in the world. They care deeply about issues, about people, and about knowing God. They can empathize with other people’s pain and problems. Feelers offer God’s compassion to the world. Feelers tend to be manipulated by their moods. Instead, they need to let God lead them. When feelers are led by God’s Spirit, they still have feelings, but they’re not controlled by them. They let God’s Spirit lead them in deciding which feelings to follow and which to resist. So let God guide me to share with the world the passions he’s given me.

As the life of a deer depends upon water, so my life depends upon God. As I seek and long to understand him, I will find a never-ending life. When I feel lonely or depressed, I can meditate on God's kindness and love.

Father, I need you. Please give me Your strength for today and remind me in little ways that I can believe in, have faith and to trust you in everything including being the authority for my life, my self-worth and my future. You have my best interests in mind. Help me to embrace the way you’ve made, gifted and given me a passion for. I want to serve and fulfill the mission you have in mind for me. I ask you for wisdom and guidance in this and for my day, my work, my leadership, my interactions with others, my preparation for a future job role and for leading a small group. I pray these things through you Son Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Loving God with My Heart

In Mark 12:30 I read, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” (NLT)

One day a man asked Jesus which, of all the commandments, was the most important. Jesus answered him like this: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (Mark 12:30 NLT).

That’s what it all comes down to. God didn’t put me on this planet to mark things off my to-do list. He put me here to learn to love him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. But what does that really mean, and how do I do it?

Loving God with all my heart often happens when I’m talking, it’s how I share the gift of communication with the world. Loving God with my soul happens when I’m feeling, when I’m sharing compassion. I love God with my mind as I’m thinking, when I’m giving consideration to people or ideas. And, finally, loving God with my strength happens as I’m doing, when I’m making a contribution to the world.

Another way to say it is that I can love God with all my talk, feelings, thinking, and all my acting.

God calls each person to love God in all four of these ways. The world needs communication, compassion, consideration, and contribution from every follower of Jesus.

But the reality is that my personality causes me to tend more naturally toward either the heart, soul, mind, or strength. For the next few days, we’ll take a look at the strengths and pitfalls of each of these four areas.

Today we’re going to focus on the communicators, the people who most naturally love Jesus with their hearts.

Heart people are talkers, and they have a hard time being quiet. When you’re a heart person, you’ve got to let it out. You’ve got to tell other people. Heart people love to tell stories. They love to sit and converse, especially in heart-to-heart conversations.

The world needs people who are communicators. We need people who can lead discussions and who can verbalize what the rest of us feel. We need teachers, counselors, and coaches who can teach us and direct us. We need comedians. We need preachers. We need all of these people who are built on verbal skills and who are able to move the world forward.

The Bible says, “Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (Ephesians 4:29 NLT).

When talkers use the right words at the right time, they can restore, encourage, build up, and heal broken hearts. They can also use their abilities to guide, direct, and point us in the right direction. But God’s warning for talkers is this: You also have to act.

Proverbs 14:23 says, “Hard work is worthwhile, but empty talk will make you poor” (CEV).

This means I eventually have to act on what I’ve been talking about. Some people never get past the discussion stage.

What things have I been talking about doing? How long have I been talking about it?

Don’t just talk about it. Start doing it! And see how God uses my words and actions to make a difference in the world.

In summary, I must love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Jesus said of all the commandments, the most important is “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.” God didn’t put me on this planet to mark things off my to-do list. He put me here to learn to love him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. But what does that really mean, and how do I do it? With all my heart often happens when I’m talking, it’s how I share the gift of communication with the world. Loving God with my soul happens when I’m feeling and when I’m sharing compassion. I love God with my mind as I’m thinking, when I’m giving consideration to people or ideas. And, finally, loving God with my strength happens as I’m doing, when I’m making a contribution to the world. God calls me to love Him in all four of these ways. Communicators, they are the people who most naturally love Jesus with their hearts. This type has a hard time being quiet and has to let it out or tell others. They tell stories, sit and converse, especially in heart-to-heart conversations. The world needs people who can lead discussions and who can verbalize what the rest of us feel. We need teachers, counselors, and coaches who can teach us and direct us. Also it’s important to remember to let everything you say be good and helpful, so that my words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” When talkers use the right words at the right time, they can restore, encourage, build up, and heal broken hearts. They use their abilities to guide, direct, and point us in the right direction. But you can’t just talk, you also have to act. So don’t just talk about it. Start doing it! And see how God uses words and actions to make a difference in the world.

God's laws are not burdensome. They can be reduced to two simple principles. Love God and love others. When I love God completely and care for others as I care for myself, then I have fulfilled the intent of the Ten Commandments and the other Old Testament laws. According to Jesus, these two commandments summarize all God's laws. Let them rule my thoughts, decisions, and actions. When I am uncertain about what to do, ask, which course of action best demonstrates love for God and love for others.

Father, I need you. Please give me Your strength for today and remind me in little ways that I can believe in, have faith and to trust you in everything including being the authority for my life, my self-worth and my future. You have my best interests in mind. Help me to embrace the way you’ve made, gifted and given me a passion for. I want to serve and fulfill the mission you have in mind for me. I ask you for wisdom and guidance in this and for my day, my work, my leadership, my interactions with others, my preparation for a future job role and for leading a small group. I pray these things through you Son Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

How to Make the Most of my Abilities

In Luke 12:43 I read, “When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed.” (NCV)

I have unused abilities and at this point I’m still figuring out what they are. They may even be abilities I’ve abandoned or ignored because of life circumstances.

God gave me those abilities for a reason: He wants me to use them to serve him and others! There are three ways I can start engaging my abilities so that they are being used for good and for God’s glory.

1. Estimate my abilities by doing an assessment of them. What am I good at? Make a list. Know my strengths and weaknesses. Consider the capabilities God has given me. If I have trouble identifying my abilities, ask someone close to me for help!

2. Dedicate my abilities. “Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him” (Romans 12:1 GNT). Tell God, “You gave me these abilities. Now I’m going to give them back to you. I want to use them for the purpose for which you gave them to me.”

3. Cultivate my abilities through practice, improvement, sharpening, and development. Any ability God has given me can be improved with use. Ecclesiastes 10:10 says, “If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success” (NIV).

I get skill by practicing. I sharpen my ax and work smarter, not harder. Sharpening my abilities, my aptitudes, and my skills. It is a spiritual responsibility.

God has invested enormously in me. First, he created me. Second, he shaped me with spiritual gifts and a unique personality. Then, he sent Jesus to die for me.

God has made an incredible investment in my life! And he expects a return on the investment. He’s going to ask me one day, “What did you do with what you were given? How did you use your abilities to honor me, to serve others, to make a living, and to be an example?”

Jesus says, “When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed” (Luke 12:43 NCV).

God wants to bless my life! When God looks at me, he wants to see me using my abilities in the ways he intended so that I will experience his blessing.

In summary, when the master comes and finds me doing his work, I will be blessed. I have unused abilities and at this point I’m still figuring out what they are. God gave me those abilities for a reason: He wants me to use them to serve him and others! There are three ways I can start engaging my abilities: First, estimate my abilities by doing an assessment of them. What am I good at? Make a list. Know my strengths and weaknesses. Secondly, dedicate my abilities by offering myself as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. Tell God, You gave me these abilities. Now I’m going to give them back to you and use them for the purpose for which you gave them to me. Lastly, cultivate my abilities. Any ability God has given me can be improved with use. I get skill by practicing. I sharpen my ax and work smarter, not harder. God has invested enormously in me. He expects a return on the investment. He’s going to ask me one day, “What did you do with what you were given? How did you use your abilities to honor me, to serve others, to make a living, and to be an example?” God wants to bless my life! He wants to see me using my abilities in the ways he intended so that I will experience his blessing.

Jesus promises a reward for those who have been faithful to the Master. While I sometimes experience immediate and material rewards for my obedience to God, this is not always the case. If so, I would be tempted to boast about my achievements and only do good for what I get. Jesus said that if I look for rewards now, I will lose them later. My heavenly rewards will be the more accurate reflection of what I have done on earth, and they will be far greater than I can imagine. 

Father, I need you. Please give me Your strength for today and remind me in little ways that I can believe in, have faith and to trust you in everything including being the authority for my life, my self-worth and my future. You have my best interests in mind. Help me to embrace the way you’ve made, gifted and given me a passion for. I want to serve and fulfill the mission you have in mind for me. I ask you for wisdom and guidance in this and for my day, my work, my leadership, my interactions with others, my preparation for a future job role and for leading a small group. I pray these things through you Son Jesus’ name, Amen.