DAY #10: Loving God in Your Thinking | June 21-Day Firm Foundation Devotional: “Renewing the Mind”

Monday, June 10, 2024 Bryan Hudson 0 Comments

June 21-Day Firm Foundation Devotional: “Renewing the Mind”

DAY #10: Loving God in Your Thinking

Devotional reading from “Winning the Battle for Your Mind,” Chapter Five ~ Creativity is a Key to a Healthy Mind

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Today’s Lesson

Mark 12:30, 'And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. 31 "And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these.”

What does it means to love God with all your mind? The sense of this text is that Jesus talked about about loving God with your entire being. But it is interesting that He stated we should love God with our soul and mind. Isn’t the mind part of the soul? It is, but this word “mind” used here specifically speaks to thinking.

There are several New Testament Greek words for "mind." The word used here is διάνοια (dianoia). It is defined as: The mind as a faculty of understanding; a thinking over; way of thinking, either good or bad.

The willingness to love God, like loving other people, changes our approach and attitude. Because I love my wife, I will go the extra mile and do anything to help her. Because I love God I am willing to make any changes and adjustments to serve Him. Along with loving God with our heart and strength, we should be willing love him with our thinking.

We don't normally "think" about thinking, so thoughts can become "loose" and unrestrained. When we plan to have guests visiting our home, we work a little harder to "straighten things up." Since the Lord lives within us, including our minds, so we should be willing to "straighten up" our thinking because of love.

Ultimately, anything we do to love God more fully, helps us to love other people (our neighbors) as well.

REFLECTION QUESTION

1. How can loving God with your mind change how you think?

ACTION ITEMS (What I will do with what I have learned):

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“Winning the Battle for Your Mind”