Of One Mind with the Father

March 16, 2015 Monday Message:

When a Pharisee lawyer asked Jesus which is the greatest commandment, Jesus answered from the shema, something every Jew would know: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul...” And then Jesus made an addition to the list: “…and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37 ESV

The ‘heart’ means our physical being. Our earthly bodies should be ‘all-in’ for God. Our ‘soul’ refers to our eternal spiritual being. It too should be ‘all-in’ for God. But now Jesus tells us to also use our minds. How does that work?

Loving God with our minds starts with wanting to know more about God, and then diligently scrutinizing everything we learn – digesting it, if you will, because every truth we learn about God is, in fact, a little piece of God.

God claims that David was a man after his own heart. You too can be a member of that group. Pretend you discover that the earth is round. Therefore God, when designing the planets, must have said something like, “Hey, let’s make these round!” Imagine that – now you’re on the same page with God! The words you’re now thinking are the same words God spoke at creation!

We’re imperfect, just as David was, and a millennium later, Paul. The human condition doesn’t change. But David, Paul and you and I can all be part of God’s team, by using the same words, going the same direction, doing our best to be of one mind with the Father.

That’s what Jesus said to do – to worship God with our minds!

Norton Lawellin

Let’s worship together! Every Sunday, Jesus in the City Fellowship (JICF) gathers at 10 a.m. in the North end (gym) of the Oliver Ministry Building, 2647 Bloomington Ave., Minneapolis. This week, March 22, we’ll get the inside scoop on Zacchaeus, Luke 19. Bring your Bibles!