Saturday, September 24, 2016

With all your Mind – Part One – Meditate on these Things


Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

Last Sunday, we were blessed to have guest Preacher Dr. Kirk Mackie, retired pastor of our sister church – Wilshire Community church. Dr.  Mackie pointed out how scientists have tried for decades to simulate our brain function. Yet, it takes 40 minutes of super computer artificial intelligence runtime to replicate one second of human brain thought. How amazing our brain is! It is the most incredible and marvelous thing in the universe. Thought, intricate data knowledge and complex information transfer cannot spontaneously generated, so there is no possible way that the brain could not have evolved by Darwinian Evolution. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth, and everything that lives and breathes. And God wants us be good stewards of our brain. What do you put into your brain? The brain records and remembers everything you look at, so what images are you putting into it. Are you intentionally eating and drinking the “right” nutritious foods and drinks for your mind and body? Also, are you also putting anything (any smoke, drugs, alcohol, et cetera) that harm your body and brain?   “Meditate on these things.”


Mark 12:28b-30 “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 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.


The Holy Scriptures say: “Whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy” ... but today, it is the radical, the nutty, the over-the-top, the malicious, and the immoral that seems to be the new normal and it is harming people, our culture and our society as these vices reprogram and rewrite our minds and associated thoughts. How do we love our God with all of our mind? Is what we think and do hindering us in our relationship with God? The whole mess that we live in today began with an idea. Original sin was the idea that God could not be trust; that our heavenly Father is holding back something really good from us. This is the essence of all temptation. That is the devil’s lie, putting doubt about God’s goodness in our mind (Genesis 3). Do you have any devil’s in your life telling you lies about God?

Let's continue my notes on Dr. Mackie's sermon on "Renewing our Minds" on the next post.
In Christ, Brian

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