Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “Timely Teaching for Turbulent Times”
Week 4 of 6: “The Impact of Love!”
Full Sunday message, CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: LOVE God! How?
“Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“If only I could read your thoughts.”
Our thoughts are very private. We can think things that no one else will ever know. We fear the ability of technology to “read our thoughts.” We want our thoughts to remain private.
However, our thoughts are not private…to God.
Loving God with all our mind is to align our minds to a loving God.
Our sinful nature can hijack our minds. It loves our thoughts to be selfish. It loves our thoughts to lead us to desire those things that are self-satisfying.
Ephesians 2:3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
So what does it mean to love the LORD with all our mind?
a) We fill our minds with the things that reflect the mind of God:
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, 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.
b) We allow our minds to be molded by the thoughts of God’s Word
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
c) We allow our minds to always be focused on Jesus.
Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.
d) All our thoughts are filtered through a Christ-centered view point.
2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Research is varied, but some suggest we have about 20,000 thoughts a day. To align all those perfectly to the Lord is impossible for sinful human beings. We need and have been given forgiveness. To align each of those thoughts to love the Lord, needs the power of the Holy Spirit. For that we pray!
Apply: What inputs are affecting your thoughts? Evaluate the inputs to your mind and allow only those things that will lead you to make choices that allow God and his Spirit to affect your thoughts more and more.
Prayer: Take my intellect and use every power as thou shalt choose…Take my will and make it thine; it shall be no longer mine. AMEN