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Head, Heart, Hands and Feet

Head, Heart, Hands and Feet

QUESTIONS

Have you ever felt that there must be more to Christianity than what you have been experiencing and witnessing?

Have you ever wondered, how can I direct my life so that you please God more?

Have you noticed that there are some Bible passages that most people rarely talk about or apply?

Have you considered why do so many Christians seem so imbalanced in their practice of Christianity?

Have you asked, “How can my life become more transformed to become like Jesus Christ through simple and practical principles that are clearly in the Bible?”

These are the kinds of questions I have been pondering for about 40 years. I have explored all sorts of avenues to find my answers to these question. And this article is a simple summary of the insights I gained from much personal exploration, Bible studies and observations.

INTRODUCTION

During the last 4 decades I have been a member of churches from various denominations. These ranged from conservative to liberal, from charismatic to fundamentalist, from mega church to home church. I listened to untold hours of Bible teachers on the radio. I have investigated many excellent Christian websites. I have read great books. God used these to give me an understanding of biblical Christianity that is both wide and deep.

Also I have studied church history. Each denomination has a history that leads to the ways they practice Christianity currently. Most of the time a denomination started because the churches at that time had gone astray from what the Bible teaches and got into serious imbalances. So in an attempt to get back to authentic Christianity, the founders emphasized the application of a few verses that had been neglected. The study of church history reveals this kind of pendulum swinging.

So let us find our dynamic balance instead of tilting to extremes. Let us consider the entire counsel of God’s Word from now onward. And one way to guide us toward that harmony is to look to these 4 elements: head, heart, hands and feet.

HEAD

The head in this context relates to the knowledge needed to live the life of a fully committed and growing disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the arena of biblical literacy. In order to know who Jesus Christ was then a study of the gospels is needed to know about His earthly life. A study of the epistles is needed; to know about how to relate with the risen Savior. There are lots of Bible passages that have been used in children’s church and at Vacation Bible Schools. These familiar tales reveal who God is and what He has done.

To appreciate the fullness of the Scriptures then it is useful to know the stories about the patriarchs, children of Israel, judges, prophets, apostles and other key players. It is good to know about the 10 plagues that led to the release of the Hebrews, the conflict between King Saul and David, as well as the missionary journeys of Paul. While they do not have obvious direct personal application; they do paint the picture of how God dealt with His people. The character of God has not changed; so we can trust that He is the same today as when those events happened.

We are fortunate to have so many resources: online, DVDs, CDs, software, Christian radio, Christian TV and in print. Every year hundreds of more Christian books are published. Plus there are great Bible Colleges and seminaries that offer courses both offline and online. A person could study to gain head knowledge for an entire lifetime. And still there would be enough materials untouched to full many more lifetimes that were never studied.

The understanding of all 4 perspectives of head, heart, hands and feet leads to the conclusion that biblical Christianity is far more than just head knowledge. There is a danger that a person could invest all their time and energy into learning without making the applications that the Bible commands. The Word exhorts us to be a doer and not just a hearer. James 1:22  http://biblehub.com/james/1-22.htm   Jesus said why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say? Luke 6:46  http://biblehub.com/luke/6-46.htm     

Head knowledge without personal application has often led to self-righteousness, pride and arrogance. There are those outside the faith that say the church is full of hypocrites. They say that because church goers say one thing yet do another. This behavior of right talk with wrong actions comes partly due to the imbalance of the head, heart, hands and feet.

HEART

When Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment, He answered, “To love the Lord your God with all our heart, mind and strength.” Matthew 22:37  http://biblehub.com/matthew/22-37.htm  Notice that both heart and mind are involved in loving God as He has commanded.. Then He went on to say, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matt 22:39 http://biblehub.com/matthew/22-39.htm  Love of God and the neighbor are expressions of the heart.  So this greatest commandment cannot be obeyed just in the head.

Is it possible to obey the new commandment of loving one another by just think loving thoughts? I suggest that such love involves the heart and not just the head..

The love that the Bible teaches about is not the romantic or sentimental kind of love that dominates movies, romantic novels, pop songs, greeting cards and Valentine’s Day.

We are to love others as God in Christ loved us. 1 John 4:19 http://biblehub.com/1_john/4-19.htm We are to become vessels of honor that demonstrate the unconditional love that is at the core of the gospel message. We are to extend His grace and mercy generously. This includes those that are easy to love as well as the unlovely and our enemies. Matt. 25:40 http://biblehub.com/matthew/25-40.htm , Luke 6:35 http://biblehub.com/luke/6-35.htm

The love chapter of 1 Corinthians 13 http://biblehub.com/niv/1_corinthians/13.htm  gives a complete image of what God means by the term love. It is not possible to live up to all of those high expectations all the time. However, with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and with spiritual maturity, it is possible to express the love of God much of the time. 

Paul said that the love of God compelled him. 2 Corinthians 5:14 http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/5-14.htm    There are many testimonies of missionaries who went to the mission field and remained there. They stayed despite troubles due to the love God had given them to reach that group of people. Recall John 3:16  http://biblehub.com/john/3-16.htm  “God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son.” That kind of love that motivated God is to motivate us as we engage with others even when it may become uncomfortable.

The head needs to work together with the heart. There are sincere and sweet people who are very relational. They are kind and supportive of others. Often they are involved in community outreach, hospitality or other ways to interact with others. Maybe their spiritual gift is mercy or service. And they are needed especially these days. They are valuable when there is so much isolation and loneliness. But they too need to study to show themselves approved to God a workman that rightly divides the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 http://biblehub.com/2_timothy/2-15.htm   They need to weave into their conversations the precepts of the Bible and the uplifting of Jesus Christ. They need to know how to pray according to the guidelines in the Bible.

HANDS

Becoming a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ involves more than just Bible study and social life. While learning and Christian fellowship are essential, they are not the whole picture.

The hands that express what is in the head thinks and the heart feels in the name of Jesus, is what will glorify God. The hands are needed to make things like sandwiches for the youth group, music for the worship service and Bible lesson handouts. Hands carry things like flowers to those who are in the hospital and meals to those recovering from surgery. Hands pass out gospel tracts and gospels of John at the community outreach events. Hands prepare the food, set the tables and clean up afterward during times that believers gather for a fellowship meal.

Each spiritual gift and personality type has ways to use hands in the service of God.

The hands can be used to bring the thoughts of the head and the feelings of the heart into this physical world. Then others can experience the truth and love of God. That is how we show and tell a watching world what it is like to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are vessels of His grace, mercy and love. Let your good deeds glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew %:16  http://biblehub.com/matthew/5-16.htm  

Note that I am using my hands on the computer keyboard to prepare this message for you. So when you use the computer or smart phone, then that is one way that hands fit into this dynamic. Everyday social media like Facebook, Twitter and forums are used by God for His children to contact skeptics, seekers and believers.

The Golden Rule says to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Matthew 7:12 http://biblehub.com/matthew/7-12.htm  That verse involves more than just using the head and heart. Actions become involved. So the hands play a part. 

Whatever your hand finds to do, then do that with all your heart. Ecclesiastes 9:10 http://biblehub.com/ecclesiastes/9-10.htm  So biblical Christianity is more than thinking or feeling. It is actions that involve the hands.

Jesus gave us a new commandment. We are to love one another as He has loved us. John 13:34 http://biblehub.com/john/13-34.htm We are to use words and deeds to express the love of God. 1 John 3:18 http://biblehub.com/1_john/3-18.htm  He said others will know that we are His disciples by our love one for another. John 13:35 http://biblehub.com/john/13-35.htm We are to bear one another’s burden and so fulfill the law of Christ. Gal. 6:2 http://biblehub.com/galatians/6-2.htm

It is said that idle hands are the devils workshop. When we are idle then there is inertia. We are more vulnerable to the temptations to sin with our thoughts, words and deeds.

I have found that the best antidote for depression, lust and lethargy is to get busy with my hands serving others in the name of Jesus. I find constructive, productive and creative ways to communicate the truth in love. Ephesians 4:15 http://biblehub.com/ephesians/4-15.htm   And for me that usually involves researching, planning, organizing, writing and publishing. Those activities fit my personality, spiritual gifts, passions, budget, schedule, calling and more.

FEET

The head, heart and hands are in the human body. And at the bottom of the body are the feet. The feet transport the rest of the person. If the person is in the church on Sunday then the feet were involved to get them there. If a person goes on a short term mission trip then the feet were involved to get them there. If a person just stays at home and does not participate in feeding their soul with biblical food nor taking the love of God to others in the forms of ministry, then the feet were involved to keep them there.

The reality is that most people are always busy. It often seems that there is too much to do and not enough time. There are far more appealing options to occupy their time than there are hours in the week. Therefore in order to grow in Christ and the knowledge of Him 2 Peter 3:18 http://biblehub.com/2_peter/3-18.htm  it requires making the intakes and expressions of biblical Christianity a high priority. Then the feet will carry the rest of the body to the green spiritual pastures where the head, heart and hands will function.

Feet also relates to direction. A person cannot walk both eastward and westward at the same time. If a person invests most of their evenings and weekends watching TV then that is direction their feet were pointed. If another person attends a Bible study group each week and goes with others on a community outreach one time a month then that is the direction their feet were pointing.

Feet relates to the long term impact that a person has and how that effects eternity. The lifetime of the oldest person is super brief contrasted to eternity. The Bible says that we are citizens of heaven Philippians 1:27 http://biblehub.com/philippians/1-27.htm . That is our homeland. We are just passing through this temporal realm as spiritual pilgrims.

Consider how most people invest lots of time and energy in planning a vacation, developing a career, buying a home and planning for retirement. In that context it would seem wise to also invest time and energy into developing a vision plus game plan for long term personal lay ministry. This can happen by using much prayer and lots of probing conversations with key people to find your niche. And then use your feet to discover and develop your unique niche in the body of Christ where you will bear much fruit for the glory of God.

Let us recall that the whole armor of God includes to shod the feet with the readiness to share the gospel. Ephesians 6:15   http://biblehub.com/ephesians/6-15.htm So the Word of God exhorts us to get ready so we will share the Good News. We are ambassadors of Christ with the message of reconciliation 2 Corinthians 5:19  http://biblehub.com/2_corinthians/5-19.htm  The Lord Jesus Christ gave us the Great Commission that starts with the word ‘go’. We are to go make disciples for Him Matthew 28:19  http://biblehub.com/matthew/28-19.htm Jesus Christ said that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Matt 4:13 http://biblehub.com/matthew/5-13.htm These passages relate to how God has ordained that we serve as His torch bearers in this fallen world. We are to take the light of the gospel message, the love of God and our Christ like character to serve as a beacon that dispels the spiritual darkness. Then others will encounter the grace and goodness of God in our words and deeds. They may ask questions so that we can share our testimony and His Word. Little by little they will come to know, trust and love God like we do. All of that involves the uses of our feet during ordinary daily activities as well as special events where we work together with fellow Christians. Then the we will be instruments of His grace and peace. This will put us in the position to fulfill the verse how beautiful are the feet that bring the gospel. Romans 10:15  http://biblehub.com/romans/10-15.htm

CONCLUSION

This passing world offers many ways to lure us away from following Jesus Christ by faith daily on the narrow road. There are hundreds of temptations to attract our attention and affection. We all have the three invisible enemies of the world, the flesh and the devil. These seek to entangled us in their webs of deceit, lies and sins. But God knew the issues we would face long before we were born. God did not leave us without suitable spiritual resources to address each challenge.

God loves us so much that He gave us His Word. In the Scriptures we learned that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Jesus is Lord. He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us and reveals God the Father to us. The Word of God contains many precious messages. These messages include the gospel of salvation. And there is much more to biblical Christianity than getting born again, attending church and personal prayer.

We were not saved to just wait until we die so we will go to heaven. There are many Bible passages related to the uses of each of the four: head, heart, hands and feet. In order to find a balanced spiritual life it is essential to understand and apply the verses related to each one.

It is easy to remain inside the comfort zones. Most Christians I have known over the decades are content to allow the standards of those they know personally set a low standard of acceptable Christian behavior. They have rarely been challenged to embrace the whole counsel God’s Word. That takes humility, faith and courage to be shaped by the Scriptures.  But pay attention to the exhortation in Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to the ways of this world. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. http://biblehub.com/romans/12-2.htm

During the last 4 decades as a Christian I have learned the hard way that I will give an account to the Lord Jesus Christ for the stewardship of my life. He will evaluate me based on the many clear and simple guidelines in His Word. I know that just because the Bible verse is simple to understand that does not mean that it is easy to apply. Therefore I must look to Him for grace and mercy. Plus I need to seek the support of fellow Christians along this pilgrim path.

We are all flawed humans and we live in a world system that is not always fair. There is pain, suffering and injustice all around us. There are hurts and hardships we will encounter. Each of us has special talents and spiritual gifts to offer in service of others. We have been bountifully blessed to have been born into this country where we have religious freedoms. We have born into an industrialized country and phase of world history when there is enough food, shelter, medicine, transportation and other real needs. Mostly our concerns revolve around our wants, comforts, conveniences, entertainment, pleasures, relationships and more.

God has not changed and His Word has not changed. If we come to the scriptures with humility, open mindedness and a willingness to obey then we will find that the Word has much to say about how we are to conduct our lives in order to best please God.

The 4 perspectives of the head, heart, hands and feet is a useful tool in understanding and applying the Word of God.

Questioning as a Path to Learning

Questioning as a Path to Learning

When I ask myself a question that interests me, then that leads me to seek my answers.

For many years I used the public library as my resource bank to investigate and explore.

There was a journey to the destination of finding a satisfactory answer to my questions.

Along the way I would often encounter other inspirational and informative materials.

They may have been in the books on the shelves beside the book the catalog listed.

I asked various people lots of questions.

I asked those that were considered experts and ordinary people .

I kept on seeking until I found my answer to my question.

And most of the time other questions arose along this path.

Some of those were intriguing enough for me to explore later.

So my times at the library and the books I checked out kept me engaged.

It was the way I gained the habit and life style of a lifelong learner.

During this process I became an interdisciplinary thinker.

That is because parts of my answers came for various fields.

I did not just seek in the psychology section or just in the self-help section.

I also explored the business management, marketing and creatively sections.

I gleaned insights from movies, magazine ads and TV shows.

When the Internet came along I used that for my resource bank instead of the library.

While preparing this article I searched online for the term ‘big questions’.

That took me to many sites.

Most of them did not help but a few did.

And I bookmarked the best ones to examine later.

During these journeys I came to highly value the power of questions.

I set out to collect the most challenging questions to ask myself and others.

I came to believe grappling with questions is the best way to motivate learners.

Some of the most challenging questions in my opinion are as follows:

UNIVERSAL

What is love?

What is reality?

What is truth?

What is beauty?

What or who is God?

What is art?

What is creativity?

What is the purpose of life?

What is the meaning of life?

What is justice and/or fairness?

What happens after a person dies?

What is right/wrong and good/evil?

What is worth dying for?

What is the best way to gain standards for morality and ethics?

How can we know anything?

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Why do good things happen to bad people?

If God is loving and all powerful then why is there suffering and injustice?

Why is there something rather than nothing?

Can truth be known and if so how?

What determines the life of each individual?

Which of the following factors are important?

Free will

Fate

Predestination

Higher Power

God

Destiny

Peer pressure

Media

Advertising

Propaganda

Role models

Heroes and heroines

Personality type

Luck

Chance

Coincidences

Serendipity

Survival of fittest

Socio-economic status

Who you know

Hard work

Self-discipline

Education

Experience

Astrology

Karma

Parents

Acting out on fears, resentments, urges, lust, greed, insecurity, pride, shame, guilt, vanity, etc.

Cause and effect

Choices and consequences

Nature and/or nurture i.e. genetic inheritance and/or environmental factors

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_versus_nurture

How can a person understand the following:

Soul

Spirit

God

Body-mind connection

Brain-mind-emotions connection

Health and emotions and memories and psychosomatic matters

Angels

Demons

Devil – Satan

Heaven

Hell

Faith

Reason

Intuition

Honor

Freedom

Liberty

Success

Wealth

Power

Virtue

PERSONAL

Who am I?

Where did I come from?

Where is my home?

Where do I belong?

Who is in my family?

Who is in my community?

Why am I here?

Who can I trust?

What is my purpose?

What am I responsible for and who am I responsible to?

Who loves me and cares about me?

Who do I love and who do I care about?

How can I make a difference during my lifetime?

How can I become involved in something bigger than me and my family?

What will be my legacy after I have gone from this life?

What does success look like for me?

If I had unlimited time and money then what would I do?

What are my passions?

What makes me happy?

What do I enjoy?

How can I find satisfaction?

How can I improve and increase my self-esteem, self-worth, self-image, self-respect, etc.?

What is worthwhile as an investment of my time and talents?

If you were diagnosed to die in a year with cancer how would you spend your last year?

How can a person improve and increase the following character qualities?

This list is useful for individual self-improvement, parenting and teaching.

Humility

Kindness

Honesty

Generosity  

Self-control

Love

Patience

Perseverance

Compassion

Empathy

Integrity

Tolerance

Curiosity

Courage

Respect

Dependability

Responsibility

Accountability

Flexibility

Gratitude

Mindfulness

Open mindedness

Thoughtfulness

Understanding

Friendly

Authentic

Here are many more personal questions.

http://journalingquestionshub.blogspot.com/

Here is a link to my collection of lists of questions.

They relate mostly to Christianity.

I noticed that very few pastors or church members even consider these matters.

http://www.freewebs.com/jsohub/questions.htm

There are more than enough questions here to get any person going on a quest.

There are some that will resonate strongly with you.

Choose a few questions then invest your time and energy to explore each one.

The Internet is a great place to start but that is not the only source of inputs.

Also ask lots of people from all kinds of backgrounds.

Many people truncate their learning by not allowing themselves to even consider certain questions.

It was Socrates that said an unexamined life is not worth living.

Questions are proven ways to examine your life.

Here is a list of provocative questions with an interactive interface.

http://askbigquestions.org/questions

Purpose, Core Values, Mission and Vision

The following is based on applying lessons from the book by a seminary professor I know.

Ministry Nuts and Bolts by Aubery Malphurs.

The tentative name for the for-profit business is John Oliver Lessons.

God has led me to apply the lessons in the book I have been reading to this enterprise.

PURPOSE – why your organization exists, the reason it does what it does

•     I believe God has gifted and called me as a writer, publisher and marketer; therefore I must make it my top priority  to discover and develop my God given talents related to these.

CORE VALUES – why you do what you do (Christian ministries get these from the Bible)

•     intention to cause in the readers

•     accountability

•     responsibility

•     purposefulness

•     character of the content

•     personal

•     helpful

•     educational

•     supportive

•     inspirational

•     challenging

•     respectful

•     empathetic

•     holistic

•     equipping

•     writing style

•     simplicity

•     clarity

•     honesty

•     directness

•     Christian core

•     grace oriented

•     faith producing

•     Christ centered

•     biblical based

•     God glorifying

MISSION – what you are supposed to accomplish, what you plan or intend to do

•     Faithfully steward my God-given talents for producing and promoting  my lessons using effective systems.

VISION – your picture of the future of the organization in the months and years ahead. The leader of the organization communicates the vision to the board and to donors.

•     Persistently learning and teaching the wisdom, knowledge and skills that God provides. 

•     Consistently writing and editing my lessons.

•     Publishing my lessons using suitable kinds of online and offline media.

•     Blending online with offline communication methods where most appropriate.

•     Designing and implementing systems for carefully laying the theoretical foundations, providing plenty of options for practical applications, organically growing mutually supportive communities, reaching out to those who could be served and periodically monitoring operations to guide continual improvements.

•     Continually improving systems for marketing my lessons that are synergistic, sustainable and scalable. 

•     Finding my sweet spot(s) in these processes to optimize, then hire out or delegate the rest. 

•     Gradually and gracefully developing ways to improve my personal productivity related to all of this.

•     Holding in tension the fact that I might live for a few more decades or a few more months. And so plan, prepare and produce within these extremes. 

•     Aiming for there to be ways my lessons will  become available to the most people.  Therefore in most cases there will be free versions  of my lessons available.  

•     Keeping in focus my intention to excel at creating and marketing digital content in order to best lead my by examples. Expecting to instruct and guide college students in gradually growing a passive income during their years of study. This is with the view for them to continue improving  their digital inventory and profitable services after graduation. Then they will have income insurance. They can freely choose get involved in for profit and or nonprofit enterprises without looking primarily to them for paying bills.

•     Accept and embrace that my nonprofit organization named Our Stewardship Community will offer Global Educational Canals. Those will serve as ways for my digital lessons to travel cross-culturally using Community Centered Libraries. 

•     Pioneer new pathways to earn a handsome online passive income in order to afford to have the time and energy to also contribute my talents generously to nonprofit. And along this way to maintain holistic balance in my personal life.

•     My physical body is mortal therefore there will come a last day on this earth. I do not know when or how. But I desire for my lessons to continue to spread after I am gone. This is my legacy to future generations.  So there will be self-funding systems to make this happen. 

•     The Lord Jesus Christ has blessed me with an abundance of ideas for lessons. Most of them are Christian based. I must take great care to present my lessons as true  to the Bible and honoring to the Lord Jesus Christ. I must be bold in proclaiming the pure and simple gospel message. I will take great care to effectively serve seekers, new believers and those willing to mature in the Christian faith.

STRATEGY – how you do what you do, how you spend your time attempting to accomplish in the MISSION

•     I have not yet studied this part of the book.

•     When I have finished studying this part I will fill out this section.