THE HEART AND MIND OF GOD


Have you ever known someone so well that you could predict their next move; know 
what they were going to say; or even correctly predict what their response would be to a 
host of situations?  If you've been married very long, you are likely able to do that with 
your spouse—because you have become ONE with that special person.  And perhaps you 
have a dear friend with whom you've spent so much time over the years that you can 
almost read their mind—because you've known them all their life.  In either case, our 
knowledge of someone else is predicated on our having spent an enormous about of time 
with that person.

Now let me ask a second question:  How well do you know God?  Could you honestly 
answer the popular question—What would Jesus do?  If so, it is because you have spent 
an enormous amount of time getting to know him through the pages of Scripture.

Sometimes Christians struggle to truly know the God that we claim to serve.  We may be 
able to quote a few scattered verses or tell the content of a few of the parables of Jesus, 
but do we really know the heart and mind of God.

If that is one of your goals in life, then let me make a simple suggestion that will help you 
in your quest—revisit the Old Testament.  Go back and reread many of the stories you 
heard as a child.  Turn to the pages of books you have long since neglected and 
rediscover the heart and mind of God.

The apostle Paul reminds us, "For everything that was written in the past was written to 
teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might 
have hope" (Romans 15:4).  As I read of God's gracious love for ancient Israel, I am 
reminded that God will be patient and extend loving-kindness to me as well.  When I 
notice the foibles of the patriarchs and the weaknesses of the kings and realize that God 
worked through them anyway, it gives me hope that He can accomplish worthwhile 
things through me as well.

If your desire is to be transferred and transformed into the heart of God, then spend some 
time in the thoughts of God in the pages of Holy Writ.

God bless!

Les