Loving The Lord with Your Mind
One of the most important scriptural texts in the Old Testament is the Shema, a prayer commandment given to Israel, through Moses. In response to a questioning scribe, in Mark 12:29-30, Jesus points to this beautiful prayer as the greatest of the commandments.
“Hear, (“Shema”, in Hebrew) O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
Recently, while mediating on this verse, I asked the Lord to teach me how to love Him with my mind … almost daily, reminding Him of my desire. While my type-A personality knows all about loving God with my strength, I was far less sure about whether I was loving Him with my mind, but still longing to know how to worship Him with every part of me.
My journey is in progress, with much still to learn, but my starting point was found in the heart of the Shema itself: what am I hearing?
We are uniquely designed by God with “gateways” into our inner being. What we SEE and HEAR are two of the primary ways our minds acquire information, subsequently, to form thoughts, which then impact our physical life, in terms of behavior.
Loving God with my mind is, therefore, cultivating thoughts that spur me onto ways of living in the world that glorify Him and optimize my ability to discern His voice (hear Him) in every area of my life. That is my path to prosperity in ALL things.
The first thing I had to confront was the constant barrage of information presented to me everyday that is “out of tune" with the frequency of joy and peace, which is mine in the kingdom. This caused me to reflect on the battles of anxiety, fear and insecurity many in the church today are experiencing.
Is it any wonder that anxiety, even among Christians, is surging?
One scroll through YouTube or social media reels and you will have your answer. We are constantly lured into listening to experts “sound the alarm” on what foods are going to kill us, what supplements will certainly save us, what leaders are apostate, and, forgive me, what outlandish conspiracy theories (on just about anything) are headed our way to reap destruction.
All week long, we’re opening our “ear-gates” to fear, producing mental content; then, we show up on Sunday morning, needing the pastor to free us from the spirit of fear … and, so the cycle goes.
The Lord has revived in me the golden verse of Philippians, found in Chapter 4:8 (AMPC).
“Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s Word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart].”
Isn’t that the best scripture ever??
God’s remedy is not that complicated, but certainly requires intentionality and discipline. It also means we need to love the Bible … because how can we know what is true without it? Paul says it plainly: “whatever is confirmed by God’s word … think continually on these things!”
Loving God with my mind starts with guarding what I let into it! And, Holy Spirit placed His loving finger on ways that I had let my guard down. I used to be bit of a news junkie, but in the past several years, I had to give up my favorite “drug”, simply because the quality of the content is so spiritually compromising.
You may be thinking, does she want me to be out of touch with the world and just put my head in the sand? Maybe, if that’s what it takes to “guard your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:7 AMP)
One thing I know for sure, God’s desire is for us to dwell in peace.
Words are incredibly powerful, and we need to safeguard ourselves from anything that stirs up anxiety in our minds.
Many of us like to stay informed — and to do so is not evil. However, many of us still need to be careful. We ferociously avail ourselves to TONS of information everyday, thinking the more we know about something, the less that something out there can hurt us. The truth is, the word of God is filled with God’s covenant promises of protection for us. It is a far greater use of our minds and our time to think on what He is saying, rather than the supposed solutions the world is offering … which, by the way, many turn out to be wrong!
Jesus warned us to “pay attention to what you hear” (Mark 4:24 AMP) and it is probably the greatest piece of wisdom we can assimilate into our lives. Paul told the Christians in Rome “… to be heavenly-minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6). Filling our minds with His Word, good reports, faith-filled truth and lovely things is a wonderful way to live. I can attest, I am less anxious, more Christ-centered and hear the Lord more clearly now.
I pray the Shema commandment of Jesus will be revived in your own heart, the way it has been in mine, this season.
Let’s love God with ALL that is within us, but especially our minds. He is truly worthy of it all.
Stay on Fire!
AK