When one of the religious scribes asked Jesus which
commandment is most important, He answered: “The
most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind and with all your strength”
(Mark 12:28–30)
Over
the next few days I will be unpacking the core of Insight 360. As I’ve
mentioned before in video and on this blog as well as our Facebook page the
idea of “360” is that the command by GOD to love him with all of our heart,
soul, strength and mind is not random. When I think about these “core” 4 it
makes perfect sense to me because they really are the 4 corners of our life. As
you take a look at the original Hebrew and Greek you will find that they are
all very interconnected and draw off of one another as well. For example the
Hebrew word for Heart and Mind are actually the same word; “Leb”.
In my
opinion this is exactly where we all live our day to day and yet so often we do
nothing to care for our hearts, souls, mind or strength. This was my life for…well,
most of my life. I just sort of let life take me by the hand and lead me where
it wanted. While I was certainly a believer and for many years from age 16 on
into my late twenties I strived to live my life for the lord. I practiced Quiet
Times, became a member of a church, served in small groups, led worship at the
church, etc….but as there was no focus on the “4” I wasn’t living from that
place. It was more about the works and activities. While those were absolutely
important they were somewhat shallow
attempts and as a result fell away quickly. Along the way through many ups and
downs (more downs than ups it seemed) I struggled with my faith.
Thanks
be to God that now the Spirit has gotten a hold of me and I practice the presence
of God and preach the Gospel daily to myself by focusing on these 4 areas of my
life. After all The Lord isn’t casually asking me to love him HE demands it.
They have become my non-negotiables for daily living for the Lord and the
result is my vision statement of “Having Faith, Living Free and Living Fearlessly”.
So let’s
start with the Heart. I’m including Mind because in the original Hebrew and the
original command of God in Deuteronomy the word is the same.
Heart:
Hebrew:
“LEB”
·
Means – Mind, Will, Inner-Self
Greek:
“Kardia”
·
Means – The seat of physical and spiritual
life. Character, Inner-Self, Will and Intention.
Mind:
Hebrew:
“LEB” or “LEBAB”
·
Means – Mind, Will or Inner-Self
Greek:
·
Feminine form is “Dianoia” – Understanding,
Movement, Choosing, Make things happen
·
Masculine form is “Nous” – Will, Reason,
Intellect
Interesting
isn’t it when you start digging into this. So while very similar they are
somewhat different to a degree which is why I think the Lord and Jesus separated
these out from each other.
Not
being a biblical scholar or pastor it’s my perspective that the idea here is
that God is calling us to “love” him
and “live” for him with intention. To choose to follow him daily and
make it happen. Obviously due to the fall we are broken and fallen people and
can’t not live up to this standard. We miss the mark constantly but we as
believers have been given the Spirit of God and by his power we can strive to live in this way. It’s
hard but doing the hard things builds confidence and empowers us to live a life of self-control.
Instead
of allowing life to “rule” you and master you YOU get to decide how you will
live because you’ve been set free from Sin and Death. We can live with
intention. If you don't determine how you will spend your time, then others
will decide for you. As it says in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 15-16 "Be
very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of
every opportunity, because the days are evil."
To
live with Intention means that you also have to have a spine. You need
character. Humans, fail because they lack character. They lack things like courage,
honor, integrity, self-control and commitment. They lack the very foundations
of character and as a result seek advancement or improvement without the means
to become better people, better husbands, better wives, better neighbors, sons,
daughters…Better disciples and followers of Christ. Better versions of
themselves. A boat full of people together floating around without a rudder.
When
you’re living with Christ like intention, choosing quality over quantity then
the quality of the commitments you end up making will be better and more Christ
centered. The world, culture and society encourages “the busy”. It’s hectic and
hurried. The world encourages gain, selfishness and excess with a focus on
comfort. Jesus calls us to be disciples and that will cost you something. He
also calls us to love him with our Hearts and our Minds. That will cost you as
well. His grace is not cheap.
You
have to spend time with Jesus and determine what this will look like for you.
That said, here are some steps you can take to start the process.
·
You
can not be intentional in life unless you’re first intentional
with Jesus. He’s your King and you’re a Son of the Father. Create space for
yourself and HIM. Let the Father be a Dad and father you. Spend time in the
Word of God and Prayer. Be still and know that HE is your GOD.
·
Examine
yourself: Understand your identity in Christ as a child of the
living God. Give time and energy to this process. What lies are you believing
about yourself that are not true? What idols have you been worshipping? What
are you looking to outside of Jesus to bring you full satisfaction? What does
your “inner-self” look like? Is it a mess or aligned with the Heart of Jesus.
Do you strive to find satisfaction in Christ alone?
·
Who or
what are you surrounding yourself with? What kind of people do you spend
the most time with? It’s been said that you are the average of the 5 people you
spend time with the most?
·
YOU
are not stuck. You have choices every single day to make?
Which one will be your first? Yourself or The Lord? Every day is a new day to
be lived in HIS grace and practically you get to pick your attitude and your
decisions. You do not have to allow the circumstances of your past or even
present to rule you because there is only one God and King in your life now and
he has set you free.
Practically Speaking:
·
There
is only one life to live. Get to it. Get off the couch of life
because that big cushy couch is a big fat lie.
·
Know
this
if you’re thinking “this sounds great but I don’t know what the purpose of my
life is”. You have a purpose and it’s been spelled out in Scripture: What is the chief end of man? Your chief
end is to glorify God (1 Cor. 10:31), and to enjoy him forever (Ps. 73:25-26)
and Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, Soul, mind and strength
(Deuteronomy 6:5, Mark 12:30-31).
·
Set
some goals for yourself that are directly in line with your defined
purpose. They will introduce living with intention into your life.
·
Stay
focused and stay in the fight. Life in general is already a
fight but to live it for Jesus will put you at odds with the world and culture
and the evil one. It’s time to go to war so prepare yourself and stay in the
fight. Don’t give up.
·
Be
willing to fail all the time at this. You are not perfect but
Jesus is perfect for you and in your weakness he is your strength. You will get
busy and forget to spend time with the Lord, you will forget to pray for
someone. You will lack the courage to meet your neighbor. Again, you are free
from Sin and Death you have nothing to fear so take some risks. U.S. Navy Seals
say that the only easy day was yesterday. Get out there, be willing to fail,
learn from it, get to it again and again and again.
Here are a few things I do to live for and love The Lord:
- I get up at 4:30am everyday Monday through Friday and 6am on Saturday and Sunday and during that time I spend about 45 minutes or more in a devotional or the scripture.
- I also try to set aside a few days in the week for some meditation (another blog entirely)
- Take time to be still and be quiet or take a walk and pray
- I have a handful of Podcasts that I listen to in the mornings, afternoons or evenings and sometimes if I'm out for a run. (Ransomed Heart, Order of Man, Rick Warren, Donald Miller, Become Good Soil, Relevant Podcast and Theology Refresh by Desiring God ministries or John Piper).
- I try to read every night for at least an hour. Books will fill you heart and mind with new things. Use the brain God gave you.
- I intentionally joined a ministry at church training kids in fitness and how to run track. These kids are from all over the world. By being intentional with my time I’m adding value, having an impact and preaching the gospel to Muslims, Nepalese, Latinos and other kids from other nationalities. I’m learning more about the immigration issues in this country
instead of complaining about it.
The worst thing you could ever do is waste your life so love The LORD with all of your heart and mind.
Have Faith, Live Free and Live Fearlessly !!
Gordon
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