Deuteronomy 6:1-25
Monday, 21 June 2021
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” -Deuteronomy 6:4-5
The key verse for today is the greatest of all the commandments which the Lord instructed those who were crossing over, to observe in the land they were going to possess- a land flowing with milk and honey which they did nothing to deserve. These instructions were to be hidden in their heart, remembered constantly and also to be inscribed on the doorposts and gates. This was to be done so that they could instruct their generations, and everything maybe well with them in the Promised Land.
Similarly, for us, who have crossed over from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of light, the same commandment applies. Jesus reiterated in 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.” Like them we also did nothing to deserve the Kingdom of God. We too have to instruct our future generations in the way they should walk (Proverbs 22:6) so that everything will be well with us and them.
Jesus expounds on this Old Testament Scripture by commanding us to love the Lord our God with all our mind. He is not stating anything new here. Mind is part of the soul. For the soul consists of mind (which includes the conscience), the will and the emotions. Jesus knows that the mind- our intellect, is where the battle takes place. Our mind is to be submitted to the will of God. God has already blessed us, who are regenerated, with a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” How can we give our undivided attention to God? The Bible teaches us to do something, to keep the focus of our minds on God. For, loving God with all our mind (thinking of Him and His Word in every situation) is so crucial to leading a victorious life in Christ.
Pull Down The Strongholds Of The Mind
2 Corinthians 10:4-6 says to pull down the strongholds of the mind by capturing every rebellious thought that is contrary to the knowledge of God and bringing it to obedience to Christ. Accept what the word of God says and not what the enemy or your own will compels you to think. It is a constant fight and it is to be won with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Set Your Minds On Things Above
Colossians 3:1-2 encourages us who are raised with Christ to seek and set our minds on the things above where Christ is seated and not on things of this world. Since thoughts leads to actions (Proverbs 23:7) the most practical thing to do is to think of the things of above which in turn will change our thought life and give us the mind of Christ. When the mind is renewed, we will be able to abandon our old ways. For Romans 12:2 promises us that when we are renewed in the mind we will not conform to the patterns of this world.
Finally –We are the ones who decide what we want to think about in the privacy of our own thoughts— the choice is ours. But God makes it very clear in His Word as to what kinds of thoughts He wants us to dwell on. He will not force His will on us. But He has given us His Holy Spirit to help us. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8)
Prayer: “LORD Almighty, help me love You with my whole being. Amen.”