How many thoughts do you think each day? Have you ever counted them. Well, that would be impossible, wouldn’t it. Experts say that on average, you and I think somewhere between 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts a day. That’s a lot of thoughts.

In Matthew 22:37 Jesus gives us what we call the “greatest commandment.” He said we are to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. Did you catch that? He said we are to love God with all of our mind. I’ve heard a lot of sermons about loving God with all of our hearts, but have you ever heard one about loving God with your mind?

Why did Jesus say we are to love God with all of our minds? The mind is the place of our thoughts, our judgements, and our intention. It’s in the mind that we can use logic, be rational, weigh evidence, develop opinions, and make decisions. Our minds allow us to worship, praise God, repent, obey, and trust.

But to love God with our minds? Is this possible?  Isn’t love an emotional thing? Can we love God with our rational mind? Yes.

Love is a decision. That decision is made in the mind.

A couple of things critical to our discussion of loving God with our minds:

God knows our thoughts. “The Lord knows the thoughts of man.” (Psalm 94:11) For some people their reaction to this truth is, “Oh no, God knows what I am thinking!” For others it is a comfort. “He understands what I am going through.”

“You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.” (Psalm 139:2)

The Bible teaches us we are responsible for our thoughts.  We tend to think of our thoughts as our private life…so why does this matter.

Our thought life is the foundation on which our actions are built.

The mind is like a sponge - it absorbs whatever it is immersed in. Evian water, muddy water, sewer water. It doesn’t matter. It will be full of whatever it is saturated in.

Whatever we immerse our minds in is what our minds will be full of.

Loving God with our minds is so important, because our action follow our thoughts.

We learn to love God with our mind as we meditate on His truth.

Meditation has never been more popular in our culture than it is today, but there is a vast difference in Eastern meditation and Biblical meditation.

Biblical meditation is not about emptying the mind, it’s about filling the mind. You are going to fill your mind with something, the question is: what will it be?

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Joshua 1:8)

When you think on the powerful truths of Scripture, God uses His Word to change your way of thinking. The Bible teaches that our minds can be renewed.

“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 about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)

Today’s Challenge: We have to ask God to help us to monitor our thoughts.  We pray something like this… “Lord, this morning as I begin my day, I want my entire life to honor you…what I do, what I say, and even what I think… Father, if I am thinking things that conflict with your Word, reveal them to me.” Help me to love you with all of my mind.

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