Soul Sleep

(This post is part of a series.  To start at the beginning, click HERE, and then scroll up the page, reading chronologically.  When you get to the top of the page, go all the way back to the bottom to click on "newer posts".  Start reading at the bottom of the page, again, working your way up.  Confused yet?  Me, too.)


Mark 12:30
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.


If the heart is the place where we feel the deepest feelings and treasure the deepest thoughts and live out the deepest love, then the soul is the eternal, live-giving part of us that connects us to the life-giver.  Even deeper within than the heart, the soul is the actual connection point between the here-and-now and the forever.  Everlasting life has already begun, and we are on a journey to join that eternal part of us (which now resides in a temporary body) with the Creator for the consummation of all He has promised to those who love Him.


I wish I could say the journey is always energizing and I'm always propelled in the right direction.  Some days, though, I can't even get out of bed. I know it's time to get up.  I know what I need to do, but it's as if my soul is still asleep and can't wake up and the connection between the eternal part of me and the Eternal One is cutting in and out because I keep hitting the snooze button.  As with the disciples in the garden who were about to face untold upheaval, Jesus calls out to me to wake up and pray. He said to them, "Why are you sleeping?  Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."  (Luke 22:46)

Wake up, oh my sleeping soul, wake up.

A Devoted Heart

I am inspired by the devotion of the prophet Daniel.  Though pressed into the service of the Babylonian king who did not know or follow God, Daniel demonstrated what it means to love God with one's whole heart and live in the world while not succumbing to the ways of the world.  Daniel was committed to living out his devotion to God no matter who decreed the only acceptable prayers were those offered to the King.  When Daniel got wind of this newly signed decree, he went straight away to his room, opened the windows and prayed toward Jerusalem three times a day, just as he had done before.

I admire this about Daniel.  He chose to be devoted to God no matter what the cost.  To me, this is what a fully devoted heart looks like.

I think that sometimes we evangelicals try so hard to not look like legalists that we forget the power of disciplined devotion.  Daniel could have rationalized that God, knowing the heart of all men, would be fine with mid-day prayers being conducted from the bedside instead of the window.  The words would have been the same - what is the difference where they are prayed?  No, Daniel chose out-loud devotion above personal safety and refused to compromise that devotion for any reason.  I, on the other hand, find it all too easy to choose personal comfort over wholehearted devotion while absolving my cowardice to any lame excuse.

I want Daniel's committed devotion.  I want to fearlessly be the right person at the right time, demonstrating my wholehearted love in a way that brings a smile to my Savior's face.

A Thankful Heart

My heart, which has been a little dead of late, is coming back to life.  As I have been working my way through the first phrase of the first and greatest commandment, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength," I find my heart refreshed and renewed.

It is no chore to love the Lord with all my heart.  All I have to do is stop and remember that He loved me first and best.  When I consider what He has accomplished for...me...I am overwhelmed with thanksgiving and gratitude and praise.

Several times in the past week, as Flyboy and I sit side by side in our recliners after dinner like a little old couple, I have found myself crying tears of joy, overcome by God's provision for us.  What am I so thankful for?  First of all, that Flyboy made it to his 60th birthday and is currently maintaining good health.  This is not a blessing taken for granted.  We both have jobs and are able to enjoy the gift of giving. Having been on the receiving end an awful lot when we were young and poor during our early years in ministry, the ability to share with others brings us great joy.  Our children, each one, know the Lord - and the singular most important task we were entrusted with at their birth has been realized.  Our two married children chose very, very well, and the blessing of seeing them married to their soul mates leaves me breathless.  We have three amazing grandchildren and a fourth on the way.  And, for the second year in a row, I am able to fly to London over spring break to be with them.  Unspeakable joy!  We shake our heads at the material blessings we have enjoyed this year, feeling unworthy but incredibly showered with God's love.

I could write pages on the thankfulness pouring from my heart right now.  And it is this thankfulness that reminds me of the fact that loving God with all my heart is not such a hard thing after all.  All I have to do is stop and recite a litany of thanksgiving and I remember...He who has done more for me than I can think or imagine is deserving of my whole heart.  I offer it to Him.

Psalm 148

 ¹ Praise the LORD.

   Praise the LORD from the heavens; 

   praise him in the heights above. 

² Praise him, all his angels; 

   praise him, all his heavenly hosts. 

³ Praise him, sun and moon; 

   praise him, all you shining stars. 

⁴ Praise him, you highest heavens 

   and you waters above the skies.

 ⁵ Let them praise the name of the LORD, 

   for at his command they were created, 

⁶ and he established them for ever and ever— 

   he issued a decree that will never pass away.

 ⁷ Praise the LORD from the earth, 

   you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, 

⁸ lightning and hail, snow and clouds, 

   stormy winds that do his bidding, 

⁹ you mountains and all hills, 

   fruit trees and all cedars, 

¹⁰ wild animals and all cattle, 

   small creatures and flying birds, 

¹¹ kings of the earth and all nations, 

   you princes and all rulers on earth, 

¹² young men and women, 

   old men and children.

 ¹³ Let them praise the name of the LORD, 

   for his name alone is exalted; 

   his splendor is above the earth and the heavens. 

¹⁴ And he has raised up for his people a horn,

   the praise of all his faithful servants, 

   of Israel, the people close to his heart.

   Praise the LORD.

Heart Check

“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”  Proverbs 4:23 NLT

heart [hahrt] (dictionary.com)

• the center of the total personality, especially with reference to intuition, feeling, or emotion: In your heart you know I'm an honest man.
• the center of emotion, especially as contrasted to the head as the center of the intellect: His head told him not to fall in love, but his heart had the final say.
• capacity for sympathy; feeling; affection: His heart moved him to help the needy.  

The God who created us knows us through and through. He knows that most of the time our heart  dictates the path we take.  Thus the admonition to guard our hearts...if my heart determines the course of my life, I better take extra care to keep my heart in check.  And what is the best way to do that?  By making sure my heart (the center of who I am) is focused first on what is most important: loving God with all I am.

But experience shows me that my heart cannot always be trusted. Sometimes I think I know what I'm about when I realize I've gotten off the track.  Forgetting to guard my heart, I get sucked in to whatever feels right at the time.  Then it's time to take a step back, remember what I'm called to do, and turn my heart back towards Jesus. 

So how do I know if my heart is in the right place?  By conducting a little check-up...by asking a simple question: is it my deepest desire to love God with all my heart? 

First and Foremost

It seems to me that perhaps one of the reasons why "love the Lord with all your heart" comes first on the list is because our heart is the place where we first recognize our need.  We all come to God broken before anything else, and it is the first thing He heals in us.  Before we ever cement our belief system, we realize we have a problem we cannot fix.  It is our brokenness that draws us to God from the start, and in our brokenness we realize the fact that before we ever realized how broken we were, He loved us first and has provided everything we need to be put back together again.  All we have to do is open our heart to Him and receive what He freely offers.  It is an amazing thought, that no matter what the mess I've made, God forgives me and gives me a new start.

We always sing this song at Thanksgiving time, but the message is powerful every day of the year.  This is the first and most important reason why I want to love Him wholeheartedly, holding nothing back.

My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who bore my pain;

Who plumbed the depths of my disgrace

And gave me life again;

Who crushed my curse of sinfulness

And clothed me in His light

And wrote His law of righteousness

With pow'r upon my heart.

My heart is filled with thankfulness

To Him who walks beside;

Who floods my weaknesses with strength

And causes fears to fly;

Whose ev'ry promise is enough

For ev'ry step I take,

Sustaining me with arms of love

And crowning me with grace.

My heart is filled with thankfulness

To him who reigns above,

Whose wisdom is my perfect peace,

Whose ev'ry thought is love.

For ev'ry day I have on earth

Is given by the King;

So I will give my life, my all,

To love and follow him.

"My Heart Is Filled with Thankfulness"

Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

Copyright © 2003 Thankyou Music

One and Only

[This post is part of a series...click HERE to start at the beginning.]

So what is it, really, that keeps me from loving Jesus with my whole heart?  What robs my attention from Him?  What pulls on my time and my energy?  What would whole-hearted devotion look like and how does that look different from where I live?

I think that when I truly love Jesus with my whole heart His great name is the first to roll off my tongue when I wake up and the last one when I go to bed at night.  Pleasing Him is the benchmark for everything I do.   He is the first one I run to with a funny story or a question or a concern or an issue.

But truthfully, I more often run to Google first.  Having the knowledge of the world at my fingertips is a little intoxicating to an information junkie.  Somehow, I think the Creator of all the universes we could ever hope to discover has the answer to any question I could possibly imagine.  And so much more.

When I am tempted to stop anywhere else first, I need to remember WHO it is that I'm yearning to get home to. HE is the One who loved me first, HE is the One who loves me most, HE is the One who loves me best, and HE is the One who deserves my whole-hearted devotion.

Natalie Grant sings the most beautiful song about the One and Only - why wouldn't I love Him with everything I have and am and hope for?

Lost are saved; find their way; at the sound of Your great name 
All condemned; feel no shame, at the sound of Your great name 
Every fear; has no place; at the sound of Your great name 
The enemy; he has to leave; at the sound of Your great name 

Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and Man 
You are high and lifted up; and all the world will praise Your great name 

All the weak; find their strength; at the sound of Your great name 
Hungry souls; receive grace; at the sound of Your great name 
The fatherless; they find their rest; at the sound of Your great name 
Sick are healed; and the dead are raised; at the sound of Your great name 

Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and Man 
You are high and lifted up; and all the world will praise Your great name 

Redeemer, My Healer, Lord Almighty 
My Savior, Defender, You are My King 

Jesus, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for us, Son of God and Man 
You are high and lifted up; and all the world will praise Your great name

Yes! Yes!

There are certain prayers we pray that are guaranteed to be answered.  Others...not so much.  Let's take a little quiz.  Which prayer might God be inclined to answer and which one might He ignore?

• "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."
• "Oh Lord, would you buy me a Mercedes Benz?"

We set ourselves up for disappointment and failure when we pray out of the will of God.  On the other hand, we set ourselves up for success and a joy-filled life when we offer up the kinds of prayers that make God smile.  This is a pretty easy concept for any parent to understand.  Which request from one of my children would I be more inclined to smile about?

• "Mom, I need you to take me to the mall.  And I need money for the movie, food, and those jeans I've been wanting."
• "Mom, after all you've done for me today, how about you sit down with a cup of tea and let me do the dishes?"

Well, it COULD happen...

In the course of pondering Mark 12:30 ("Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all you strength."), I came upon a fascinating verse that gives us a clue how to begin this process:

"The Lord will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart and all your soul, and live." (Deuteronomy 30:6)

This verse shows up about twenty chapters after one similar to it:

"Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer." (Deuteronomy 10:16)

One verse says God will do the circumcising while the other one tells us to do it ourselves.  Rather than get hung up on any imagined contradictions, I choose to interpret it as a both/and, rather than an either/or.  Both are important.  When we see something that needs to be dealt with in our lives, we need to act on it immediately.  When we don't, a covering begins to encase our heart and we become harder and harder to the things of God.  At the same time, we need God to do the heavy work, and we need to cooperate with His work in our life.

I am praying everyday that God would circumcise my heart - that He would cut away whatever stands in the way of my complete love for him - the "with all your heart" kind of love.  I believe this is the kind of prayer that God is dying to answer, and as I pray it with all my heart, He will carve away at anything that stands between me and His perfect will for my life.