An expert in religious law asked Jesus, “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him with a question that the religious teacher would obviously know. And, the skilled teacher answered Jesus with great agility. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and, Love your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10:27
This passage of scripture is filled with living life on all levels. Let’s focus our attention and dialogue on ‘with all your mind.’
How do you love the Lord with all your mind?
Does this mean our conscience and sub conscience mind?
Do we develop this through a reasoning process? If so, why do some of us run so hard from the school of reasoning? This being studying and developing our minds to think like Jesus taught and modeled.
thedailylily.com 
In 1 Corinthians, Chapts. 2 and 3, Paul puts it pretty succinctly about how we have been equipped to love GOD with our minds IF, IF we walk as spiritual men and not worldly ones.
But as Scripture says: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him. But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.” But look! There’s hope.
Because, ” we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.
But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate ALL THINGS, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. For, “Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach Him?” But we understand these things, for WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST!”
That is a powerful Scripture…WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST. I believe that the man/woman who” studies the Word of God and strives to develop his personna into the image that God’s will has for each of us, ( a workman worthy of his study of the WORD) who is sincere in seeking after the Lord will NOT ALLOW himself/herself to be deceived.
Those who know something of the Word of God and His ways are able to discern the deceptions of this world. We can know what is of God and what is NOT. James says, Such (worldly) “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is of the earth, the flesh and the devil.” Sara pointed out recently, that if it is not spiritual it is Demonic. Pure and simple. So those of us who are “kidding ourselves” that is….self-deceived, like it a lot and have convinced ourselves that it is ok because GOD loves everyone. And He does!….EVERYONE, THAT IS…”.who does the will of MY Father.”
So, the Scripture song goes…”TRAIN YOUR MIND TO FOLLOW AFTER HIM.
HOW? “Day after day, take every thought that exalts man, and exalts itself against the POWER AND KNOWLEDGE of GOD, take it captive.”…rebuke it. Cast it out and refuse, reject it by saying what God says about a thing or about a person or whatever the demonic thought or temptation might be. Bring your thoughts into the subjection of the Word of God and Jesus Christ.
Once you ENTERTAIN IT it has captured YOU!
“Do we develop this through a reasoning process?”
Reasoning is often thought of as a ‘higher order thinking skill’. God apparently values this skill because He invites us to participate in Isaiah 1:18 “ Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the LORD, “ Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land” (NKJ)
Apparently both pre-requisites, willing and obedient, have to do with showing love for the Lord with our mind. I Cor 12:8: “For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.” And “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,…He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Phil 2: 5-8
“He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8. The Word spells it out for us pretty clearly. Just as the Scripture that Debi posted says….” He HUMBLED Himself”…this has been repeated by Paul from of old….from God’s previous message that He gave to Micah. To humble oneself, is to submit to the Word, to God’s way of thinking and doing. Maybe to think like Jesus, to have the mind of Christ….first involves submission and humility; to respond to godly correction; Training our conscious thinking is quite a task. But truly, BY FAITH, we must submit our “sub-conscious” to the Lord’s command. For our sub-conscious mind will try to deceive us if do not discipline our consciences to think like, and follow and be obedient to the Word of God, no matter what.
Could it be we are just too lazy to learn and practice skillful living according to the standard that God has given us through the Book of Life?
“Finally, brothers and sisters, 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, USE YOUR MIND TO THINK about such things.”
Sara, that was primarily what I thought to write as I was thinking about the above Scripture in Phil. 4:8. He has told us what is good to think about. But if I prefer to entertain thoughts of revenge or rejection, or envying or jealousies or anxious thoughts…and keep being drawn back to those surmisings, I am just being too lazy to keep my thought life in order. We would rather let our thoughts float around in dangerous and indiscriminate territory . It would seem that we just “like” to think about those things. It takes diligence to keep one’s thoughts pulled up in order as we are being assailed from every side, constantly, and distracted daily by the devilish works of the world around us and opposers to the truth and God’s Word.
We have to WANT to preserve our thought life every moment.
MEDITATE (Free Dict.)
To reflect on; contemplate. TO PLAN IN THE MIND; intend: .
To engage in devotional contemplation, especially prayer.
To think or reflect, especially in a calm and deliberate manner. to plan, consider, or think of or think of doing (something)
I get that WE MUST PLAN WHAT WE THINK ABOUT!!
Ps. 145:5 , David tells us what to do…. “On the glorious splendor of Your Majesty and Your wondrous works will I meditate (think about) all the day.”
I agree, we must plan and think about what we are going to think about! Now that is getting down to action. Then draw a boundary around your thoughts and fly to new heights of joy! My husband calls it ‘mind habit’ and I call it ‘border control.’
“Could it be we are just too lazy to learn and practice skillful living according to the standard that God has given us through the Book of Life?”
Lazyness reminds me of idleness and there is a saying “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” An idle mind sounds like a passive mind (one definition of passive being “not active or not participating perceptibly in an activity”). In order to participate with God it would seem we must have to be engaged and focused, flexible and teachable.
Interesting blog, Sara. I asked my son if he thought it was possible to love God with his mind? He said yes, as I reiterated the scripture “love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. I asked him why people wouldn’t love God with their minds, and his words were: “because they don’t want to.”
I couldn’t help but search for scripture, about the “mind.” I found a scripture in 2Timothy that I’d like to share. It’s in chapter 4 and verse 5, read with me: “But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out this ministry God has given you.” Now let me share the footnotes with you: “To keep cool when you are jarred and jolted by people or circumstances, don’t react quickly. In any work of ministry that you undertake, keeping a clear mind in every situation makes you morally alert to temptation, resistant to pressure, and vigilant when facing heavy responsibility.”
Many books have been written on the battlefield of the mind. Joyce Meyer comes to…’mind’. And there are others. Because, the tryst for the mind, especially of a believer, is a trophy in the devil’s award cabinet. That is why the Word admonishes us to serve and love God with all our….MIND !
“LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. He that backbites not with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor. ”
“God desires the heart (and mind) of an individual, and if we make a decision (with our minds) in favor of we learn and understand from His Word, we will reap the wonderful promises of God, and obtain a sure footing for the battles of life.”
“If our intentions and purposes are lined up with those of God’s, we will profit in everything we do, and obtain God’s deliverance from all evil.
Hopefully, the righteous will continue to acknowledge their mistakes and change their course or direction in life. A true believer is in a continual state of repentance by putting off the works of the flesh constantly and continuing in the things of God. A Christian may suffer from his or her errors, but to remain in a state of condemnation and retardant growth because of them does not work the grace or righteousness of God and frustrates the grace of God. . God looks at the intent of the heart and not our weaknesses and failures. The World, the flesh, and the devil are in opposition to Christ. We are forewarned to put on the whole armour of God so that we can overcome these obstacles through the power of God. This is also a part of the Christian walk; your heart may be in place but so is your spiritual battle.” ______BattleinChrist.com
Gary and Sara taught…”either you are obedient or you are NOT. There is no in-between!” If the world/flesh/devil gets a toe hold in our minds it opens the door to fear, anxiety, frustration and depression. We must NOT allow the world/flesh/devil to touch our thinking and thought life. It belongs to Christ and Christ alone.
Needles, sounds like your son got to the heart of the matter.
A lot to be said for power of choice.
Great wisdom from the mouth of your son, Needles. Hum, twin Needles.
It seems the Lord has our best interests at heart also when He commanded us to love Him with all our minds. Putting parameters on our thinking makes us healthier and better able to love and serve Him.
“People with their minds set on you,
you keep completely whole,
Steady on their feet,
because they keep at it and don’t quit.” Isaiah 26:3 Message