With all your mind
Philippians 4:8
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 thing.
God hold us responsible for what we think. I can make choices about what i think that literally change the direction of my life.
Whatever is true? Meditate on God's truth.
Whatever is noble? Appreciate God's worth.
Whatever is right? Cooperate with God's plan.
Whatever is pure? Appropriate God's cleansing.
Whatever is lovely? Anticipate God's abundance.
To think about whatever is lovely is to let God entertain you. This may sound strange, because entertainment means sporting events, movies, television, plays and concerts. But couldn't the greatness, the abundance, the gifts of God entertain you in a different way- in fact, in a much greater way? - the sense of deeply enjoying something. Whatever you're doing- whether with your family or on vacation or at work- enjoy the abundance and the goodness of God. When looking at a blue sky or at the clouds drifting across, take a moment to be entertained by the creativity of God. Enjoy who he really is.
Whatever is admirable? Communicate God's encouragement.
If you're going to love God with your thoughts, you have to love the people he made in the same way. It's all to easy to see the faults in others. Loving God with all your mind involves looking for what's best in others and telling them, " i see something of God's character in you."
If anything is excellent, be motivated by God's greatness.
If anything is praiseworthy, celebrate God's goodness.
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With all your strength
To love God with all your strength, there are 3 truths you must embrace.
1. you must have complete confidence that God can do absolutely anything. John 14:12
2. you must be completely convinced that you can do absolutely nothing of ultimate and eternal significance without the power of Jesus Christ. John 15:5
3. you must trust God to turn your weakness into his strength. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.
There is a difference between an honest admission of weakness and self-focused feeling of inadequacy. The chaos in my family taught me at an early age that there were things I wanted to change but had no power to do so. That experience, along with my personality and perspective, has made it all too easy to go down the road of focusing on my own inadequacy. It's a lot easier for me to see what i think God couldn't do through my life than to see what he surely can do.
I'm learning to make choice to accept my feelings of inadequacy as a weakness and to lean on God's strength.
Pray something like this, "Father you know how I'm feeling about myself right now. I'm tired of pretending i'm strong, so i ask you to use me in my weakness. I trust in your truth: when i am weak, you are strong. Amen."
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what's written by Tom Halladay in this book couldn't be more true to me. This year i've unknowingly stop myself to be entertained by God, i stop gazing into the night sky and praise God for such a beautiful bed of stars. i stop looking at flowers along the way as i walk to school and thank Him for that day. i stop looking around me to see that God is such a breath-taking God.
This week is study week break, i made a decision to go to beach, somewhere i can just sit and gaze and be amazed once again, and let praises springs forth from my heart again.
And i learn that i can make choices about how or what i think that literally will change the direction of my life.
As learning to love God with all my strength, it is true, that me coming from a broken family background, knew that there were things i wanted to change, but had no power to do so. Somehow the experiences as i grow up made me a much self-reliant person, who wants to work things out independently, refusing and shutting myself of other people's help, and when cant, decide to not have it at all.
God healed my heart and my brokenness, yet i am to fully change my old ways of living, not to be self-reliant in some situations in life.. but to really depend on Him, and sometimes to be humble enough to accept grace from people around me.
The journey of 40days of love has just begun, but day after day, it has "renovation day" for me, for my heart, my thoughts, actions, decisions and life.
Indeed, the lesson of love is a lifelong learning process, to learn to love like He does.
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