We live in a very spiritual time. Even though Atheism gets a lot of press, a belief in a higher power still dominates the minds of about everyone who lives on the planet. The current generation growing up that is beginning to enter the workforce (The Millennials), are more spiritual than their parent’s generation. If this is the case then why is the Church in decline? “According to church consultant Bill Easum, 85 percent of the churches in the United States have either plateaued or are dying,” says Dave Kraft in his book Leaders Who Last. Kraft continues by asking the question, “When are we going to wake up and deal with ego and insecurity and humbly take roles that God intended for us, rather than those we desire for the wrong reasons.”

What am I getting at? Being spiritual makes us feel better. It does not make us more obedient. Being spiritual makes us feel better about our lives the way they are. Being obedient to Jesus means we become more obedient to His example and follow His call.

Unfortunately, many church organizations have become more focused on giving a spiritual experience instead of calling to the people as Jesus did, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” – Matthew 28:19-20 ESV.

Understand that Jesus did not give this charge to just pastors. It is logistically impossible for pastors to do all the discipling. He gave this charge to everyone who would claim Jesus as their Lord.

It must be noted that Jesus said “Go” before He said “make disciples.” “Going” is not attending a building on Sundays and coming out feeling spiritual. Attending a building on Sundays is doing us no good unless it is empowering you to “Go.” The call of God is to everyone. Very few respond.

Do not be spiritual. Be obedient to Jesus, who came to save us from ourselves. Jesus concludes His call to us in Matthew 28 by telling us to observe what He taught.

Go disciple others with what He taught.

Everyone at one time, or all the time if you are like me, wonder what it is all about. Does living the life following Jesus really matter? Am I truely making an impact in peoples lives? Do I matter? You do everything you can to serve people. Because serving everyone is how you live a great life (according to Jesus). Like me, I am sure you thought a simple thank you would be nice. Or you thought it would be swell if someone actually helped you when you really needed it. You go out of the way for many people, but that’s it. No thank you, a pat on the back, or even props on Facebook.

Many people will leave a church organization because they were never thanked for what they did. People have turned their back on God because they did not get the recognition they thought they deserved.

No one stood at the cross to thank Jesus for what he was doing or what he did for them while he was breathing his last few breaths.

If you are looking for praise and recognition in following Jesus, then you are on the wrong path. You are missing the point. Yes, I realize I am being slightly harsh, but it is the truth. To seek out praise from people means you are seeking something for self.

Jesus told us ”Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” -Matthew 6:19-21 ESV

You might be thinking, “How can moth and rust destroy the thanks and recognition of people?”

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“Get this book into your gut; get the words of this book moving through your bloodstream; chew on these words and swallow them so they can be turned into muscle and gristle and bone.” – Eugene Peterson, Eat This Book

In the modern American church organization there is a drive to have the right look, the right smile, the right music, the right lighting, the right media, the right delivery, the right whatever else. Modern Americans are even very interested in spiritual things. But, what spiritual things? Christians have become very spiritual, apposed to the works-based, dry, ridged attitude of decades past(this attitude still exists in a major way, but we will not get into that right now). You could even say there has been a spiritual resurgence over the past couple decades. But, what has this done to change the condition of our lives and our culture. Not a whole lot, but I am not an expert.

Why? Why isn’t the condition of our culture improved? We are more spiritual. We are more relevant. We threw out the organ. We had a young, hip graphic designer craft our new logo. We use Apple computers. Our guitar players have Telecasters and delay pedals.

Being spiritual only does one thing. It makes us feel better. That is it. It makes us feel better about the same life that we lived before we became spiritual. Being spiritual does not save the world. It does not lower the divorce rate. It will not keep your kids off drugs. Being spiritual may raise Sunday attendance and will cause a short term change in one’s life, but not long term. Being spiritual is about feeling better about yourself. That feeling will come and go. Now doesn’t that shed light on all these come and go Christians?

These come and go Christians are responsible for their own lives, but it is perpetuated on Sundays with it’s snazzy feel good packaging.

How am I following Christ today? I grew up with the organ on Sunday mornings. We had no gaming systems in our youth room. The church I grew up going to had all the dry and traditional things that get complained about. But, it had one thing. The most important thing. My pastor, Sunday school teacher, and youth leaders “Ate this book.”

Eat what book?

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The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.

(English Standard Version)

One of my goals is to write in a way so I do not confuse anyone. I am very interested in writing on complex subjects but not at the expense of confusing anyone.  I am sorry when I fail you. I agree with Seth Godin when he says “Embracing complexity is a scare trait, worth acquiring.” He also encourages to “Teach complexity over time, simply.”

This post will be referencing Greek words used in the original text of the Bible. I am no Greek scholar. Thankfully, Greek scholars have given us tools that allow us to learn complex things, simply.

We limit the capacity of how much God can use us because we do not love Him with our minds.

Jesus told us “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” – Matthew 22:37-38

Before we discuss the mind, let’s get some context for the whole verse. What does it mean to love God with our hearts? To love (Agapao) God with all your heart (Kardia) is to esteem, cherish, honor, respect, to be loyal to God without hypocrisy or reservation. To love God with our soul (psyche) is to esteem, honor, respect, to be loyal to God with your entire affection and united in will. The heart and soul represent the seat of emotion, desires, feelings, affections and passions.

Loving God with my heart, soul, and mind is not meant to be separated. It is an expression of total devotion to God. The heart, soul, and mind are not meant to be seen as separate compartments. It is a reference to the whole person. Loving God with your mind is like the glue that holds it all together. Yet, it is the most neglected part of loving God in our time.

To love God with my mind (dianoia) is to esteem, cherish, honor, respect, to be loyal to God with your intellect, understanding, and imagination. In Matthew 22:37 the Greek word that is translated with “mind” is “dianoia.” Dianoia is the thought process, the operation of reason, deep thought; it is the part of the inner person that thinks and processes information into understanding, including the making of choices.

I absolutely love that “dianoia” can be translated in certain circumstances to “imagination.” Love God with all you heart, soul, and IMAGINATION. That is so awesome! All the smart Greek people translate it in this case to “mind.” Dianoia put simply is to love God with our mind, understanding, and imagination.

How does this play out in our lives? I do not think I can give a complete answer, but I can tell what I have learned so far.

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People that know me well might find it odd that I would write about the King James Version of the Bible in a good light. There are some serious issues with it’s beginnings and how it has shaped church world. Those issues do not cover the fact that countless people have come to know Jesus through hearing the Gospel message through this translation. The message of Jesus is clear.

Wikipedia has a good write up about the King James Version. I encourage you to go read it. It is well reference and will give you a good overview. This Wikipedia article is a huge source for this part. What I have here is a brief and quick overview of it’s history.

Many of you might have a relationship with the KJV that extends only to your grandma and how when she read it she did not talk like she normally did. You may have received a copy from grandma when you were little and it confused you to try to read it. Out of the 788,258 words in the KJV the word “unto” is used 8,326 times, “thou” 4563 times, “thee” 3162 times, “Ye” 3058 times, and “Hath” 2154 times. That can be confusing since these words are not commonly used today. They were commonly used back then. As common as President Obama uses the word “uh” when he talks without a teleprompter (sorry, I just could not resist).  For many of the past 400 years people were educated in such a way where the language of the KJV could be understood, even as the culture’s use of words changed. We do not educate this way anymore and therefore has made the language use of the KJV irrelevant.

Soon after King James I of England took the throne of England he entertained a proposal for a new English translation. All the English translations up to this point had been led by men who are considered Reformers. The Church of England at this time was Catholic (the Church of England had done some flip flopping between Protestant and Catholic loyalties). There had not yet been a Catholic sponsored translation from the original Hebrew and Greek into English. The translators  used the Bishops Bible as a main reference as they also referred to other translations to there aid.

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Have you ever nearly been in a car accident and it would have been your fault if it happened? Someone else saw your mistake and took action not to hit you. After they took the action to avoid you they may have had choice words or hand motions for you. Every once in a while they will just wave and move on. This does not happen very often, but it does occasionally. It is like they understood that you made a mistake and it really does no good to rage about it. They show grace.

Sin has put us on course for a cosmic car wreck. It can be avoided. Jesus has came to earth to intervene and put His hand of grace up if we accept it.

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” – Romans 10:9-13

Yep. Its that simple.

I really like how my pastor begins his sermons. Before he gets into the thick of the sermon he has everyone take their Bible and repeat after him, “This is my Bible. It is God’s Word to me, I will read it and believe it. And I will live it.”

Hands down. God’s Word changes lives. Sometimes after repeating this with the pastor I get a little depressed. How many actually read it? Believe it? Live it? The church I go to has been consistently growing, but what would happen if everyone truly meant what the pastor had us repeat? To read, believe, and live God’s Word changes every life who does it. To live God’s Word means living different with different motivations. Living the words of God means living an extraordinary life.

It would be hard pressed to find someone who does not want to live a life full of meaning and purpose. Living the extraordinary life that God’s Word will challenge you to do will give you meaning and purpose.

Do not be intimidated by the Bible. Yes, it is full of weird names and hard to understand passages. The point is not to understand everything from the get go. The point is to start an amazing journey with God using the written Word He has given us.

Go read it, believe it, and live it.

Have you read part one? You will need to because this post is an extension of that one.

The commonly known approach to giving or generosity is backwards.

You may have heard this statement before, “You do not have to clean yourself up before coming to God.” The idea is God changes our hearts. When we are changed inside, it will find its way out. This would include giving too, right?

Instead of giving being an act of obedience from the heart that is given with an open hand, many Christians feel like someone is looking over them to ensure that they are in line with the laws of tithing. Are we not to keep each other accountable? Yes. My concern is for the overwhelming emphasis that many organizations place on money and giving in their services. This is quite self serving and I believe explains Jesus’ approach to the subject in dealing with the religious people of his day. The religious people during Jesus time on Earth were the Bible guys. The religious people in New Testament times where not that unlike us and our church leadership today. I know that will draw disagreements across the board, but the more I learn about the Jewish religious leaders the more I see the similarities. That discussion is for another day.

On many occasions I have been the scribe. I have ungracefully tried to enforce the commands of God on people like the pharisees. It has taken Jesus growing my heart for me to become more obedient.

Let us take a look at some verses when Jesus talked about the subject of money, giving, and generosity.

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“Actions speak louder than words.” You have heard it before. In a similar vein St. Francis of Assisi stated “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” We all agree that what we do in life, our actions are very important.

I live in the music world. Specifically, the Christian music world. You would be hard pressed to find anyone in Nashville who knows my name. You can live in a world and not be noticed or known.

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