Devotion 16

I’ve been enjoying reading lately. It is good!

It helps organizing my private world. Reading simply calms me down when I feel restless, anxious or impatient. It also helps training my mind. God wants us to love Him with all our heart – the emotional nature; with all our soul – the willing nature; with all our mind – the intellectual nature; and with all our strength – the physical nature. (Mark 12:30) Loving God 'with all our mind' is to exercise the mind, to think through. Intellectual growth is God-pleasing.

As a relatively new Christian, many times I feel being challenged with my faith walk and how my way of thinking is God-centered. I need to keep developing good filling system for my intellectual growth. Besides, it is indeed a beautiful thing to find insight and truth on every page of the books I read.

I read this today, "No vital Christianity is possible unless at least three aspects of it are developed – the inner life of devotion, the outer life of service, and the intellectual life of rationality." The third aspect is the easiest for many evangelicals to ignore, thinking it too worldly, but it is very important for us to equip our mind so that we will be ready to give Christ-oriented answers living in a challenging secular society.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will. - Romans 12:2

To be continued...