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Are you fit for the kingdom?
Pastor's corner
pastor corner

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

We are now at the end of April and those who made the New Year’s resolutions to lose weight have now turned that conversation into the statement that begins with the words "next year."

To be fair, it is not just those who make the New Year’s resolution who falter on the road of healthy living; it is also those who say it throughout the year. The problem occurs when people say they want to lose weight, but fail to make the commitment to healthy living.

In order to live a healthy life, you have to change your mindset, eating habits, snacking habits and sleep patterns. You must make time to exercise which may need to be adjusted because of the busy lifestyles of today.

Unfortunately, many are in the same situation in their Christian journeys. We say we want a deeper relationship and deeper connection with God, but we fail to make a full commitment. Commitment to Christ is also more than just saying "I want to be a Christian." It is a lifestyle change.

In the Scripture above, Jesus is questioned by teachers of the law in hopes they could lead him into making a mistake of the law. They ask him about the most important commandment and the above scripture is the answer of Jesus. Notice Jesus did not say, "Thou shalt have no other God before me," but that you should love God will all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength.

He moves upon this man’s heart so much so that he could not deny that Jesus was right. Maybe this man "examined his own heart" and realized that he was coming up short.

Have you examined yourself lately? Are you just speakers of the word, or are you doers of the word? Have you given your all? Maybe you are just like those who have committed halfway to healthy living, but fail to change how they live. You must commit your all to God to get all of God and all that he has for you. You have to change your mindset.

You have to be fully committed to not look like the world. The Bible says, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:2).

To be fit for the kingdom, you cannot just say you want to be like Christ. Time is now that we go into the spiritual gym fully committed to drop this worldly fat. We must change our snacking habits from "little" sins that nobody else sees to the "fruits of the spirit." We must have the mind of Christ. That means to love like Christ, forgive like Christ, to give our all like Christ.

Harper is a member of the United Ministerial Alliance.

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