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In my studies so far I have not found any specific scripture stating exactly how much time we are to devote to God. Although there are many scriptures which shed light on this subject. Mark 12:30 KJVR (30) And thou shalt love [25] the Lord thy God with all thy heart, [2588] and with all thy soul, [5590] and with all thy mind, [1271] and with all thy strength [2479]: this is the first commandment. [25 to love (in a social or moral sense): - (be-) love (-ed)] [1271 deep thought, its exercise: - imagination, understanding] [2479 ability, might, power] [2588 the heart, (figuratively) the thoughts or feelings (mind)] [5590 breath, that is, (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely] I think this is a very important scripture. I mean there's not much room for interpretation on this one. Jesus said love the Lord thy God with ALL thy heart, soul, mind, and strength. All is a pretty conclusive word. This is also Jesus speaking here. You must understand that by saying the exact combination of things to commit to God here, Jesus has covered every part of a human. Your heart, which covers your emotions and thoughts. Your soul, which covers your spirit. Your mind, which covers your imagination and the use of your brain. Finally your strength, which covers all your abilities and use of your body. You must understand that your abilities include everything, all your senses, everything you do. Everything you try and accomplish, everything. Romans 8:6-9 KJVR (6) For to be carnally [4561] minded is death; but to be spiritually [4151] minded is life and peace. (7) Because the carnal [4561] mind is enmity [2189] against God: for it is not subject [5293] to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (8) So then they that are in the flesh [4561] cannot please God. (9) But ye are not in the flesh [4561], but in the Spirit [4151], if so be that the Spirit [4151] of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. [2189 hostility; by implication a reason for opposition: -enmity, hatred] Ah, here's an interesting scripture. To be carnal is death; spiritual is life and peace. We must walk in the spiritual to live and have peace. Then it goes even further by saying that the carnal mind is enmity against God. To have a carnal mind is to be an enemy of God. Well this brings up an interesting question can we have a carnal mind when we are saved? The answer is no, the very next scripture shows that we are not in the flesh any longer, but in the spirit, if we actually have God's Spirit in us. You must understand this scripture correctly. If you have the carnal mind you are an enemy of God. God's spirit does not dwell in His enemies. (1 John 2:15, Romans 5:10, Psalms 21:8-12), If you have any of the world in you, you are an enemy of God. GOD WANTS ALL OF YOU. 1 John 2:15-17 KJVR (15) Love [25] not the world, [2889] neither the things that are in the world [2889]. If any man love the world, [2889] the love [26] of the Father is not in him. (16) For all that is in the world, [2889] the lust [1939] of the flesh, [4561] and the lust [1939] of the eyes, [3788] and the pride [212] of life, [979] is not of the Father, but is of the world [2889]. (17) And the world [2889] passeth away, and the lust [1939] thereof: but he that doeth the will [2307] of God abideth [3306] forever. [25 to love (in a social or moral sense): - (be-) love (-ed)] The biblical definition of the love of things - to be well pleased, to be contented at or with a thing Love not the world or anything in it. If you love the World the love of God is not in you. This scripture is saying that if you love anything in the world then you do not love the father. IF YOU LOVE ANYTHING IN THE WORLD. How can you love God with everything in you, if you still have ties to this world? This is a call for total obedience. Every waking moment should be dedicated to furthering the kingdom of God. Every moment. How can you love God and yet seem to think that you can do things that do not glorify Him? To be well pleased or to be contented with a thing, that is what the word love here means. If you are even contented with things of this world than you do not love God. Romans 12:1-2 KJVR (1) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present [3936] your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, [40] acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable [3050] service. (2) And be not conformed [4964] to this world [165]: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will [3536] of God. [40 sacred (physically pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially consecrated)] Another scripture that, put into the correct context, means so much more than what it has been made into. We must present our bodies, first, a living sacrifice. A sacrifice is not partially killed it is destroyed. It does not survive. We must offer our bodies to be killed by God, completely not without holding back anything. The second part is to be holy. The word here is consecrated. Totally perfect, the definition is saint, most holy thing. Not much room for misinterpretation there. The third is acceptable, which is defined as well pleasing and fully agreeable. You must be fully aligned with God's will for you to be acceptable to Him. Be not conformed to this world, do not be like the world, do not align yourself with there ways. Then it says be ye transformed by the renewing or your mind. How do you do this? By focusing on the things of God, prayer, reading your Bible, and worshiping him are just a few ways. By doing this you will prove that God is real. Why, because if you live your life as He would want you to, then you will began to love the way He does. You will began to act like He does, do the things that He does, and be blessed the way He is. Ephesians 4:17-24 KJVR (17) This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk [4043] not as other Gentiles walk [4043], in the vanity [3153] of their mind, *If you'll notice the next scripture defines what "vanities of their mind" means* (18) Having the understanding [1271] darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: (19) Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness [766], to work all uncleanness [167] with greediness [4124]. (20) But ye have not so learned Christ; (21) If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: (22) That ye put off concerning the former conversation [391] the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; (23) And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; (24) And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. [167 impurity (the quality), physically or morally] This is Paul calling on the Ephesians to stop walking the way they used to. To stop walking the way the unsaved of this world does. The unsaved are alienated from God because they have been separated from God. We have learned a different walk from Christ. We are to walk in the way that He walked. Which was perfect and holy. We are to move on and remove the former behaviors. Stop acting like we used to and began to act like Christ. WE ARE TO WALK AS JESUS WALKED. 2 Timothy 2:4 KJVR (4) No man that warreth [4754] entangleth [1707] himself with the affairs of this life [979]; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. [979 the present state of existence; the means of livelihood] If you were in the middle of a war, you wouldn't let yourself be distracted by arbitrary things. You wouldn't worry about where you were going to eat, or what you would drink. He's focused on the will of the person who has called them to be a soldier. Why are you worried about the things in this world. God will take care of you if you are truly his (Matt. 6:31-33). Your mission in life is to love God with everything. If you're doing that you will obey what He says to do. Paul compares a Christian to a soldier. He was showing us how to treat our Christianity. It would be very ignorant for anyone to assume that God just wants them as army reserves. You are not a weekend warrior. We are to fully devote our time to God as a soldier, because we are in a war. We are fighting satan and every other spiritual being that is an enemy of God (Ephesians 6:12). Luke 9:59-62 KJVR (59) And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. (60) Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. (61) And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. (62) And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit [2111] for the kingdom of God. [2111 (figuratively) appropriate: - fit] Jesus is talking to people who continue to bring excuses for not leaving at that moment. He basically tells them all to drop everything and follow Him. Do what He has called them to do. Let the dead (spiritually dead) bury their dead, obviously the physically dead can't bury the physically dead. No man putting His hand to the plow and looks back is fit. You can not let anything hinder you from moving on for God. We can not let ourselves be distracted by the world. Jesus is saying that we must focus on the Kingdom of God, and that's all. Luke 8:14 KJVR (14) And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked [4846] with cares [3308] and riches [4149] and pleasures [2237] of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. [2237 sensual delight; by implication desire: - lust, pleasure] Jesus talks about the seed that was thrown in the field. One of which grow and take root, but after they have began to grow were destroyed because of the weeds. This scripture is explaining this reality compared to that of a Christian life. The Christian heard, was saved, and grounded themselves in God. Then as they were growing they were distracted by the cares (worries), riches (possessions and abundance), and pleasures (fleshly desires) of this world. After this they fall away. They bring forth no fruit. Jesus cursed a tree that did not bear fruit in the Bible. It doesn't say that this tree brought forth bad fruit, but it says it did not produce good fruit. We must not let the distractions of this life take us away from God. Jesus said my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matt. 11:30). If you focus on Him and do His will, He will take care of you. We must get rid of every trace of the world and focus completely on God. Psalms 39:5-8 KJVR (5) Behold, thou hast made my days as a hand breadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity [1892]. Selah. (6) Surely every man walketh in a vain show: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them. (7) And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee. [1892 emptiness; figuratively something transitory and unsatisfactory] Nothing you can do in this life will amount to anything of importance if it is not God glorifying. We must have Jesus working through us to accomplish anything of importance. Even at our best state we are worthless. We need to do God's will. We save money and don't know where they will end up. We do all these things which will be for nothing. The writer then says that His hope is only in God. We must place everything in god, because nothing we do is worth anything. Colossians 3:1-4 KJVR (1) If ye then be risen [4891] with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (2) Set your affection [5426] on things above, not on things on the earth. (3) For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. [4891 to rouse (from death) in company with, (figuratively) to revivify (spiritually) in resemblance to: If you are truly saved, you should seek those things that are from God. We must set our desires on the things from God. We must not seek the things in the world. We have died with Christ, so our life belongs to Christ. So what should you do? What would Christ and God have you do? Jesus said that He was here to do the will of His father. What is the Will of His father? GOD WANTS US TO REACH EVERYONE WE CAN. THERE ARE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE EVERYDAY DYING WITHOUT EVER HEARING THE GOOD NEWS. THERE ARE PEOPLE GOING THROUGH HELL, WHICH THEY DESERVE, BUT GOD WOULD HAVE THEM IN HIS FAMILY BEING BLESSED. WE DON'T SAVE THESE PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY DESERVE IT WE DO IT BECAUSE GOD DESERVES THEM. WE MUST FOCUS COMPLETELY ON GOD. HE WANTS ALL OF US NOT PART OF US. WE ARE TO GIVE HIM A SACRIFICE, OUR WHOLE LIFE. |