Pastor's Desk
April 30 , 2006
LOVING GOD WHOLEHEARTEDLY and loving our neighbours as ourselves is a part of the vision of life in the kingdom of God that the scriptures present to us. But because we have been influenced (or shall I say poisoned) by the kingdoms of this world which are under the control of the devil, we may find that fulfilling this great commandment is not as easy as it sounds. We also need to take into account the sway that the sinful nature (the flesh) has in us. The sinful nature continues to try to oppose the purposes of God in our lives even after we have decided to submit to God’s rule. “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.” (Galatians 5:17)
For this reason we need to actively take control of different areas in our lives, such as our thoughts, our emotions and our bodies. The main battleground is our mind, particularly in the area of our thought life. The world, through the influence of the devil and at the invitation of our flesh, presents to our minds ideas, images and information which if we dwell on them long enough will tend to drag us away from God. These ideas often clash with a godly perspective, the images are usually enticing alternatives to God’s will and the information presented is frequently incorrect, incomplete and deliberately erroneous.
The means by which we intentionally counter these things is the truth which comes to us through the revelation of God and his word. When Satan comes to us and places doubts about God’s good intentions into our minds, we need to need to affirm the truth that God is a good God and wants what is best for us. When Satan tempts us to bow down to misleading images of his making, we need to affirm our intention to worship God alone and love Him wholeheartedly. When Satan floats his bald-faced lies across the radar screens of our minds we need to use the sword of the Spirit to demolish those deceptions and tear them down, “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)
This is all a part of what the word of God encourages us to do when it says: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2) As believers we must with the help of the Holy Spirit take charge of what our minds dwell on. “Finally, brothers, 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 about such things.” (Philippians 4:8) As we learn to do this we will find that it will be easier to control our emotions, our tongues and our bodies. We can live a victorious life by accessing the resources that God has given us through his Spirit, his word and the decisive victory that Jesus has already won over the world, the flesh and the devil.
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Love the Lord your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your mind
and with all your strength.’
This page was last updated on Friday, April 28, 2006