Give Him Your Mind

Since childhood, people have told me many times that God wants our hearts.

I will not dispute that.

But the truth is, God wants more than that.

In simplest terms, God wants all of us.

That means he wants our minds as well.

Here, we certainly must be careful.

Scripture offers both praises and warnings about wisdom.

The warnings, however, also tend to be about the dangers of pride.

We must never for a moment think we are wiser than God.

All told, God gave us a heart.

He expects us to use it.

He also gave us a mind.

He expects us to use that as well!

In our daily affairs we should use our intellect as well as our heart.

This applies to our relationship with God.

It also applies to our relationship with our fellow man.

Jesus alluded to this in his two-fold answer to an expert in religious law.

This man asked Jesus which of the commandments was the greatest.

Matthew 22:37-40 (NET) - Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

Christ tells us plainly that our minds play a role in loving God.

He also understood that if we kept these two commandments, we would in effect keep them all.

There is one more verse I wish to share with you.

It comes from the parable of the talents.

Luke 12:48 (NET) - But the one who did not know his master’s will and did things worthy of punishment will receive a light beating. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked.

Give God your heart.

Make certain you give Him your mind as well.

C. S. Lewis said, "He [Christ] told us to be not only 'as harmless as doves,' but also 'as wise as serpents.' He wants a child's heart, but a grown-up's head.”

John Amos Comenius put it this way: “The mind is a great gift from God and to use it properly can be nothing less than an act of worship.”

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, July 5, 2019.

I’ll be back here on Friday, July 12, 2019

Just Two Words

Loss.

We have all experienced the loss of a loved one.

Often the pain we experience is compounded.

Perhaps this is due to the circumstances surrounding the loss.

Perhaps this is due to the age of the person.

Perhaps this is due to the number of recent losses we have experienced.

Perhaps this is due to the sheer number of tragedies a family has already experienced.

It is no secret that scripture is a tremendous source of comfort in times of loss.

There are verses about Jesus having conquered death.

There are verses about His going to prepare a place for us.

There are verses about the wiping away of every tear.

There are verses about the resurrection.

There are verses about eternal life.

Verses upon verses in scripture are there ready to provide comfort.

That said, is it okay for us to cry when a loved one has died?

Jesus demonstrated that it is okay to shed tears.

In fact, Jesus shed tears after his friend Lazarus died.

He traveled to Bethany and met with his sisters, Mary and Martha.

When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had already been in the tomb several days.

Mourners were present.

Some of the words spoken to Jesus could be considered harsh.

Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead with a spoken word.

But before all this, Jesus did something quite profound.

The moment is captured for us in the shortest verse in scripture.

That verse contains just two words.

But these words speak volumes.

John 11:35 (KJV) - Jesus wept.

Christ shed tears for his friend.

His tears were genuine.

If Christ shed genuine tears, we may also do likewise when we lose someone special.

Blessings,

Jim Pokorny

The Other Brother Jim

Look for me at http://faithfulfeetteam.blogspot.com/ on Friday, June 21, 2019.

I’ll be back here on Friday, June 28, 2019