Holy Spirit will take the teachings of Jesus, the truth of the Scriptures, and impart the deeper meaning to us. Only the Spirit of God gives us understanding, Spirit to spirit…deep to deep. He offers us a renewing of the mind.
Faith, belief, alone pleases God.
Luke 10:27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
Moses summed up God's law in Deuteronomy 11:13: "And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul..." (emphasis added). First5
“Judging a person does not define who they are. It defines who you are." (Thank you Jonathan Kestenbaum)
So. In a world we don't see or believe or wish or hope for... can we choose to change? Can we remove our blinders?
Can we choose to make a difference?
Can we choose to be instruments for what is possible?
Where there is darkness, can we sow light?
Here's the deal: The answer is yes.
Gratefully, the world is bigger and more full of grace than we “see”. So, it is no wonder moments of grace can surprise (and unnerve) us. Sabbath Moments
Walls separated Philip from the eunuch. The Ethiopian was dark skinned; Philip was light. The official hailed from Africa; Philip grew up nearby. The traveler was rich enough to travel. Philip was a simple refugee, banished from Jerusalem. Philip was the father of four girls. The official was a eunuch.
But Philip “preached Jesus to him…And the eunuch said,…“What hinders me from being baptized?’” (Acts 8:35-36 NKJV). Philip, charter member of the bigotry-demolition team, invited, “If you believe with all your heart, you may” (v. 37). Next thing you know, the eunuch is stepping out of the baptism waters, and the church has her first non-Jewish convert.
The cross of Christ creates a new people, a people unhindered by skin color or family feud. A new citizenry, based not on common ancestry or geography, but on a common Savior. Max Lucado
Matthew 22:34-40
34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.
35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Mark 12:28–34
28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” 29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” But after that no one dared question Him.
The New King James Version
The Pharisees again attempt to discredit Jesus—this time with a legal question. Among ancient Jewish legal experts, there was an ongoing attempt to prioritize the commandments. Their debates considered which laws were “light” and which were “weighty.” In this case, their goal was not to gain insight from Jesus but to induce Him to say something they could use to discredit Him.
A citation of Deuteronomy 6:5: The heart, soul, and mind collectively represent the whole person; one should love God with total love and devotion. It also was one of the best-known commands, as it was part of the Shema—an ancient prayer recited by Jews twice every day.
While the Hebrew text of Deuteronomy 6:5 includes three aspects of loving God, Jesus lists four, including a reference to the “mind.” In ancient Hebrew thought, the heart was the seat of human intelligence and will.
When the scribe (teacher of the law) restates the command, he refers to “understanding” rather than “soul” and “mind”. Jesus then recognizes that the scribe has answered “wisely” or “with understanding”.
Faithlife Study Bible
Undoubtedly the Pharisees were delighted to see their theological rivals muzzled; yet they were still intent on snaring Christ in some way. The lawyer was a student of the Law of Moses. He put the Lord to a test with a question designed to reveal how much Christ knew about the Law.
Four separate Greek words account for nearly all instances of “mind” in the NT. They all mean much the same thing: understanding, thought, mind, reason. While today we think of a person’s mind in a morally neutral way, in the NT the mind was clearly thought of as either good or evil. Negatively, the mind may be “blinded”, “corrupt”, and “debased”. On the positive side, humans may have minds that are renewed.
They may love God with all their mind and have God’s laws implanted in their minds. Since Christians have “the mind of Christ”, they are instructed to be united in mind. To answer the lawyer’s question, Jesus quoted from the great Jewish confession of faith called the Shema. The confession is called this because it begins with the Hebrew word shema meaning “hear:” “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!”.
The heart, soul, and mind represent the whole person. People naturally love themselves and are at least somewhat self-centered. Because we love ourselves, we want the best for ourselves; likewise, we should be concerned for the welfare of others.
The Ten Commandments can be divided into two categories: those dealing with love for God (the first four Commandments) and those dealing with responsibilities toward other people (the last six Commandments). The same may be said for all the Law and the Prophets.
The first commandment summarizes the first four of the Ten Commandments. The second is the essence of commandments five through ten, which relate to the treatment of other people.
The NKJV Study Bible
Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
Luke 10:25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
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