Read Online What is the Point?: Discovering Life's Deeper Meaning and Purpose by Misty Edwards - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Misty Edwards
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in a constant conversation with other people. Some people are texting all day long.
If you are in a perpetual conversation with other people, that conversation is getting in the space where you were created to talk to God. It is like the Lord cannot get a word in edgewise, and then we look up and accuse Him of silence. Yet we don’t stop talking long enough to listen to Him, and we don’t actually talk to Him. Even in our quiet times when we are alone, we are tweeting, texting, Facebooking, e-mailing, and searching the Internet. Obviously some of this is good, but if you are like me and have a tendency to be compulsive or addictive, beware, because days will go by, and they will turn into weeks and then months and years, and you will rarely talk to God or even think about Him in a direct way. That most holy place of your mind will be full of junk piles that will take great effort to clean out.
I have the fear of the Lord concerning being held accountable for my mind. All too often we think that we are at the mercy of our imagination or at the mercy of our thoughts, but we must learn to take the reins of our mind, renew it with the Word, and be transformed because of it.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that . . . perfect will of God.
—R OMANS 12:2
The mind is the seedbed for life. Both righteousness and wickedness start in the mind. Jesus said adultery starts in the mind. All manner of sin starts here, and so does righteousness. We set our mind on things above (Col. 3:2), and we become what we behold in our minds (2 Cor. 3:18). This means that what we look at, what we mediate on, and what we fill the sacred space of our mind with we become. This is a scary idea and one that most do not take very seriously. It is also a powerful idea when applied to righteousness.
H OW TO L OVE J ESUS W ITH Y OUR M IND
First, you must see that He loves you with all of His mind. What He is asking from you is not what He Himself doesn’t already do (1 John 4:19). Imagine, how vast is God’s mind? Look at the universe and all of its intricacies; from the galaxies to the dandelion, creation is stunning. Yet He loves us with His mind.
Secondly, you must believe that He sees your mind, and what goes on in your head matters to Him. He is looking at the thoughts and intentions of man, not just their actions. He actually has capacity to see your mind. No human can do this. I cannot see what is going on, on the other side of your face, even when I am sitting directly in front of you. I do not know what you are thinking until you tell me, but Jesus sees it all (Heb. 4:13).
Thirdly, you have to believe that it is not only possible to love Him with all of your mind, but also that you will be most happy and fully alive as you pursue this.
Fourthly, you must not give up. You will not love Him with “all” the moment you set your intentions to do it. It is a lifelong journey He wants you to go on. Trust me, this loving Him with all of your mind will cause you to make many life decisions that will alter the course of your life. It is stunning to me how well He knows us. He knew if He started in the center of man, it would affect the whole man and all that is around that man. Jesus starts in the center, confidently knowing it will shape the entire man into an image of love He could have never attained if He started on the outside. Again we are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:2).
Loving God with your mind includes what you believe about God, His personality, His essence, everything about Him. It includes the pursuit of truth and ideas. It is what you come into agreement with concerning the truth about God, yourself, life, your worldview, your philosophy, and your theology. The mind is the intellect, but it is not only the intellectual, it is also theatrical. It is a movie screen with continual images and a perpetual conversation.
The mind is designed
If you are in a perpetual conversation with other people, that conversation is getting in the space where you were created to talk to God. It is like the Lord cannot get a word in edgewise, and then we look up and accuse Him of silence. Yet we don’t stop talking long enough to listen to Him, and we don’t actually talk to Him. Even in our quiet times when we are alone, we are tweeting, texting, Facebooking, e-mailing, and searching the Internet. Obviously some of this is good, but if you are like me and have a tendency to be compulsive or addictive, beware, because days will go by, and they will turn into weeks and then months and years, and you will rarely talk to God or even think about Him in a direct way. That most holy place of your mind will be full of junk piles that will take great effort to clean out.
I have the fear of the Lord concerning being held accountable for my mind. All too often we think that we are at the mercy of our imagination or at the mercy of our thoughts, but we must learn to take the reins of our mind, renew it with the Word, and be transformed because of it.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that . . . perfect will of God.
—R OMANS 12:2
The mind is the seedbed for life. Both righteousness and wickedness start in the mind. Jesus said adultery starts in the mind. All manner of sin starts here, and so does righteousness. We set our mind on things above (Col. 3:2), and we become what we behold in our minds (2 Cor. 3:18). This means that what we look at, what we mediate on, and what we fill the sacred space of our mind with we become. This is a scary idea and one that most do not take very seriously. It is also a powerful idea when applied to righteousness.
H OW TO L OVE J ESUS W ITH Y OUR M IND
First, you must see that He loves you with all of His mind. What He is asking from you is not what He Himself doesn’t already do (1 John 4:19). Imagine, how vast is God’s mind? Look at the universe and all of its intricacies; from the galaxies to the dandelion, creation is stunning. Yet He loves us with His mind.
Secondly, you must believe that He sees your mind, and what goes on in your head matters to Him. He is looking at the thoughts and intentions of man, not just their actions. He actually has capacity to see your mind. No human can do this. I cannot see what is going on, on the other side of your face, even when I am sitting directly in front of you. I do not know what you are thinking until you tell me, but Jesus sees it all (Heb. 4:13).
Thirdly, you have to believe that it is not only possible to love Him with all of your mind, but also that you will be most happy and fully alive as you pursue this.
Fourthly, you must not give up. You will not love Him with “all” the moment you set your intentions to do it. It is a lifelong journey He wants you to go on. Trust me, this loving Him with all of your mind will cause you to make many life decisions that will alter the course of your life. It is stunning to me how well He knows us. He knew if He started in the center of man, it would affect the whole man and all that is around that man. Jesus starts in the center, confidently knowing it will shape the entire man into an image of love He could have never attained if He started on the outside. Again we are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:2).
Loving God with your mind includes what you believe about God, His personality, His essence, everything about Him. It includes the pursuit of truth and ideas. It is what you come into agreement with concerning the truth about God, yourself, life, your worldview, your philosophy, and your theology. The mind is the intellect, but it is not only the intellectual, it is also theatrical. It is a movie screen with continual images and a perpetual conversation.
The mind is designed
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