Loving God with ALL Your Mind ~ guest post by LJG

In the last few weeks as The Hunger Games fever began to rise, my friends and I have had many discussions as to what Christians should or should not be viewing. The following post, written by a close brother in Christ, is an incredibly thought provoking article outlining just what it means to love God will all our mind and how that should apply to media. Regardless of your position on The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Twilight, or any popular media, I hope you will be blessed, encouraged, and challenged by LJG's heartfelt words. :)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good."

                                                                                      (Romans 12:9)

In the midst of pressures and influences dictated by popularity and emotions, the Christian identity has been compromised under the flag of cultural assimilation and personal subjectivity. Religious syncretism is rife. "Toleration" and "love" have been made excuses for defying absolutes and accountability. Paul here in Romans admonishes believers to love without hypocrisy, a real genuine affection and action of godly sacrifice. But he then further writes to "abhor what is evil" and "cling to what is good." That statement defies most banners we have flown over our lifestyles and decisions as a nation, as individuals, and sadly at times as the church.

Gray has blinded the lines of what is right and wrong too often. We take things from the world and slap a Christian label on it. We rationalize. We justify. We excuse ourselves from truly rejecting darkness, and we have our list of reasons. But can we honestly look God in the eyes and say what we have allowed to be "ok" is acceptable according to Him and His Word?

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 grows a bit on the same thought in Romans, "Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil."

"From every form of evil? Test all things? Well if my church is doing it, it must be ok, right?" "Oh come on; it can't be that bad!" We have all heard that little voice trying to sanitize and Christianize what we know is not right.

When it comes to popular media, we desperately need a fresh look at God's Word. If God has so called us to love Him with all of our mind, we need to know what that looks like. Therefore, we need to know how to discern popular media so that we are not sucked into compromising our Christian identity of solely living for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. This topic is touchy, I know. But I believe we are only so sensitive because we have compromised the standard we are called to live by in God's Word so much to fit what we want and hunger. Let's dive into a couple passages of Scripture.

1 Peter 1, "Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Here believers are to hold fast to their calling. They are to gird, prepare or guard, their minds resting fully upon the grace that God has been blessed upon them. Then, Peter continues that we are to do so "as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'"

"In all our conduct?" Yes. In all our conduct, we are to be not conforming to our former lusts but be pursuing holiness. Not for us, however. We live holy by and for the only Holy One as we live in Christ Jesus.

Deuteronomy 23 also talks about this, "When the army goes out against your enemies, then keep yourself from every wicked thing...For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you."

Although God was commanding the Israelites to be clean in a physical aspect, the command can also be seen with a dual instruction of also being spiritually clean as He taught them in previous texts. God's people are to live under the Lordship of God, for is He imminently involved in our lives. Do we as believers view popular media as if He is watching and reading it with us? Would He find it pleasing? Does He find it glorifying Him and having us all the more focus on Him?

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." Here Paul lays out the ultimate criteria. Does what we view display all of these traits? What we watch at home and in theaters, what we read printed on pages, will be meditated in our minds. What our we meditating on?

Paul continues in verse 9,"The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you." God shows here an organic relationship between what we think and what we do. What we fill our minds with will inevitably influence how we choose to live. Therefore, what content and images we open into our minds will bear great significance.

For example, although popular opinion says Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games are all great movies to watch, can we honestly admit that these movies line up to the above criteria? I challenge you, as I am challenging myself, to refine what we mean by loving God with all our mind. He views every thought. Would He be pleased and glorified? Or is there something else stealing the attention and adoration He so deserves?

In the mentioned movies, there is blatant murder, gore, sorcery, false romance, nudity, sensuality, and the glorification of what is darkness in the eyes of our Lord.

"Oh, but there is a good side and bad side, and the good guys always win!" Good and evil is defined by who in this work? The secular author with no biblical standards or convictions?

"Oh, but it's real. This really happens in the world around us!" Well, sex slaves, abuse, homosexuality, lewdness, satanic activity and worship with many more forms of evil are real and rampant in our world, so is that an excuse to go view it and fill our minds with it?

"Oh, well I'll just close my eyes on that part." Why would you watch a movie that you have to close your eyes on? You are still going to get a glimpse of that image.

A great analogy I once heard was brownie baking. If the cook decided to cook the brownie with a little feces, would you eat it? You can try to spit out the junk, but guess what, the poop is mixed into all the brownie as these secular authors mix all their junk throughout their stories.

Here is another example. A friend of mine went to go watch a Marvel movie with his youth group when it first hit the cinema. The film was based off on one of his favorite old superhero, kid comic strips. The comics were innocent; how bad could the movie be? Plus, if the youth group is going, hey, it must be ok, right? During the movie, he stood up and walked out. Why? That large screen displayed a naked woman, and as the Word of God commands, that is not an image he is to allow into his mind. What would his wife think if he allowed his eyes to stare at this bare actress? What would our future spouses think of similar images we accept into our minds? Purity of mind is of utmost priority.
Isaiah wisely warns, "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20) Whose standards are we living by? Ours? Or Jesus'?

1 John 2:6, 28-29, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked… And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” Is this us?

After telling the Thessalonians to test all things, abstain from every form of evil, hold to what is good, Paul begins to close off with the following words and so will I as I pray you will open your heart and surrender to God. He will lead you to live as He wishes for you to live, a life that wholly worships Him.

Life is not about us. Life is all about Him. We are to have the mind of Christ. Is that what we are holding to? Are we walking and thinking in the Spirit or in the flesh?

Remember, ultimately what we think will lead to what we do. The mind has such an influence into how we live. We need to follow the words of Scripture as it shows that if we are to think biblically we will live biblically. We need to love our God and Savior without hypocrisy. God should get the glory as He so deserves it. Is that our goal in how we live? Is that our goal in how we intake cultural media?

"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
~LJG

Diary of a speech...

For all my speech and debate friends who wanted to know the story of my struggles with my Original Oratory…

February 21, 2012- I had given up.

Over the last three months I had written over six speeches for competition in the category of Original Oratory in the STOA Speech and Debate League, but had never felt a sense of peace or satisfaction in any of these speeches. None of them seemed to be blessed of God. Frustrated and exhausted, I threw myself on my bed sobbing and crying out to the Lord.

“God, I don’t understand. I’m willing to speak on whatever topic you choose, but you aren’t giving me direction. I have prayed, waited, and taken the action I thought you wanted me to take, but you have closed every door. And now God, with the biggest tournament of the year only eight days away, if you want me to give an Original Oratory, you have to give me the new topic by tomorrow morning.”

February 22, 2012- Puffy red eyes.

After a night of crying and praying I walked into the kitchen and my mom called to me excitedly: “Sarah, I have an idea for your speech!” I wasn’t interested. I had tried so many ideas before, why would this one be any different?

“What if you did one on protecting your heart?” she said. “You could talk about what you are always telling me; that love is something we should walk into, not fall into.”

It was an interesting idea, but I had tried something similar before and it didn’t work. So I merely shrugged my shoulders and sat down for our family devotions. That morning my dad decided to listen to a message on love by one of his favorite pastors. As the sermon began, my eyes grew big. He was talking about the importance of viewing love not as an irresistible feeling, but rather a choice. I started to wonder… was God trying to show me something?

Once we were done with our devotions, I sat in front of our computer and as I logged into my gmail account I saw a note from a close girlfriend. Opening it, I found she was encouraging me in my efforts to protect my heart.

I laughed a little, bowed my head with a sigh, and finally whispered, “Okay, Lord. I get it. Emotional purity it is.”

Then began the sensation that would plague me for the next two weeks. My heart started to race with incredible speed. I felt short of breath, dizzy, and at times, lost my vision completely. The attack lasted for about 5 minutes, leaving me weak, shaky, and a little scared.

February 29, 2012- The first day of the tournament.

The time had come for me to present my speech. I stood outside the room with a few close friends. As the last speaker exited the room and I prepared to go in, that familiar feeling hit me again; heart racing, heavy feeling in my chest, shortage of breath, and my vision beginning to cloud. I knew it had to be a spiritual attack. I quickly told my friends and they prayed for me. “Satan has no power over you,” one of my girlfriends whispered in my ear before she sat down.

I walked in front of the judges and began to speak. Suddenly my vision cleared and my heart began to beat normally. I smiled and gave the message God had given to me. When I finished, several young girls came up to me, crying. “Sarah,” each one sobbed. “That’s exactly what I needed to hear right now.”

March 1, 2012- Another pre-elimination round.

The same attack as the previous day came before I walked in the room. But just like the first time, the moment I began to speak, God took away all the physical attacks; my vision cleared, my heart stopped racing, and my breathing slowed. And again, after the presentation I had young women crying on my shoulder, whispering just how much they needed to hear my message.

March 2, 2012- Speech Breaks (announcements for quarter finals)

As I waited to hear the announcements for quarter finals, I suddenly heard a voice inside my head whisper, “I am going to take this speech farther than you could ever dream.” But I thought it was just my own hopes getting the better of me, so I shook off the feeling. Yet there was my name being called. I had made it to the first out-round.

March 3, 2012, 11:00 am- The final round.

I couldn’t believe it; God had taken me to the top 8. Giving it all I had, and fighting yet another one of Satan’s attacks, I delivered my last speech. When I came to the conclusion, I said one of the lines out of order and began to panic. But with God’s strength, I gave the conclusion impromptu style, speaking entirely from my heart. By the end, I was sobbing. As I walked out, so many members of the audience came to share their stories with me and to tell me just how much the speech meant to them. I was so happy. God had used me to touch people. And now I was done. But… He wasn’t.

7:30 pm- Awards ceremony.

When I stood with the other finalists, listening to the names being called from 8th up to 1st, I was so angry at my adversary. He was still attacking me. My heart was going crazy. I was afraid it would grow worse and I’d lose my vision while on stage. We were down to the top two. Then it really hit me… I was in the top two! When the 2nd place speaker was announced, I nearly fainted. I had won 1st place. Or rather, He had won 1st place. As I stood there sobbing, my heart was beating worse than ever. My vision was completely gone again and I felt so dizzy. But I started to laugh.

“Face it, Satan…” I whispered. “You’ve been defeated. My God triumphed!"

To view my speech, go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeGi1VOJ_wo

Reaching for His Highest

I fall back into my seat; stunned. After so many years of waiting, was this moment actually here? Scarcely breathing, I pinch myself, wondering if it is nothing more than a dream. But no, a sharp pain shoots through my arm from where the flesh has been stung. This is reality. I let out a deep breath. A slight smile illuminates my face. “I have done it…” I whisper. “I finally got a blog.”

Shocking, I know. I have considered starting a blog for several years, yet time (or rather the lack thereof) has consistently thwarted my plans. But now, as I finish my senior year of high school and begin preparation for college, I will naturally have much more time to write long, rambling articles that will most likely be read by only one other than myself (thanks, mom). Yet in this first post I shall keep my rambling to a minimum by simply explaining the purpose of this blog and the meaning of its title.

From the time I received Christ as my Master three years ago, He has gently been humbling me by showing me exactly what it means to be a Christian and revealing to me just how far I fall short. For as Christians we are called to follow and obey. We are to be like Christ; to imitate Him. This in and of itself is a huge mission. But I have come to learn there is even more to this calling than we immediately realize.

Many consider being a Christian to simply mean you don’t watch R-rated movies, must save sex for marriage, and go to church every Sunday. Yet being a Christian is so much more than following a list of do’s and don’ts. Having Christ in our lives should change our attitude; our perspective. Sadly, so many Christians (including myself), live a life as though we want to be as close to evil pleasure as possible without actually “sinning”. Yet we should be going the opposite direction, actively fighting to be as close as possible to purity and holiness. It is not enough to just say “no” to sin; we must crave and run after righteousness. This desire for what is right should permeate every aspect of our lives. It should affect what we read, watch, listen to, wear, say, do, and even think!

I hope that this blog will be a place where I can encourage others in their pursuit of godliness by sharing my daily journey of surrendering every facet of my life to the will of God. Each post will center around the mindset of raising our standards. Whether that be a biblical movie review, an essay on theology, or an article discussing what a Christian response should be to various cultural issues.

According to the world, I have extremely high standards. According to most Christians, I have extremely high standards. But according to God's standards, I completely miss the mark. To Him, my good is nothing but filthy rags. It is not enough to meet the world’s highest standard, nor Christian’s highest standard. We must Reach for His Highest.