Category: Daily Prayers

 

 

Jhn 17:19  And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Eph 5:26  that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

Tit 2:14  who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

1Pe 2:24  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

Col 1:22-23  he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast

Heb 2:11  For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source.

Jhn 15:5  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Gal 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control

Love (tenderness, attachment, devotion, passion, appreciation, compassion, warmth, unselfishness, benevolence, zeal, caring, kindness, treasure, deep affection), 

Joy (rejoicing, happiness, delight, radiant, satisfaction),

Peace (calm, quietness, still, composure, at rest, contentment, security, joy, harmony, untroubled, at ease), 

Long suffering (patient, tolerant, uncomplaining, accommodating, forgiving, meek), 

Gentleness (tenderness, lenient, mercy, forgiveness, understanding, sympathy, compassion, love, mild, peaceable, considerate),     

Goodness (respectable, purity, just, fair, benevolent, decency, compassion, tender, kind, helpful, thoughtful, polite, nice),

Faith (trust, belief, conviction, reliance, dependence, hope, persuasion, confidence),    

Meekness (humility, humbleness, obedience, softness), 

Temperance (self-restraint, restraint, moderation, self-control, self-discipline, self-denial)

Sanctification is a reality that will always be seen. Like the great Head of the church, from whom it springs, it “cannot be hid.” “Every tree is known by his own fruit” (Luke 6:44). A truly sanctified person may be so clothed with humility that he can see in himself nothing but infirmity and defects. The very idea of a man being “sanctified” while no holiness can be seen in his life is flat nonsense and a misuse of words. Light may be very dim; but if there is only a spark in a dark room, it will be seen. Life may be very feeble; but if the pulse only beats a little, it will be felt. It is just the same with a sanctified man: his sanctification will be something felt and seen, though he himself may not understand it.

Sanctification is a reality for which every believer is responsible. In saying this I would not be mistaken. I hold as strongly as anyone that every man on earth is accountable to God and that all the lost will be speechless and without excuse at the last day. Every man has power to “lose his own soul” (Matt. 26:26). But, while I hold this, I maintain that believers are eminently and peculiarly responsible and under a special obligation to live holy lives. They are not as others, dead and blind and unrenewed; they are alive unto God and have light and knowledge and a new principle within them. Whose fault is it, if they are not holy, but their own? On whom can they throw the blame, if they are not sanctified, but themselves? God, who has given them grace and a new heart and a new nature, has deprived them of all excuse if they do not live for Him. The Word of God always addresses its precepts to believers as accountable and responsible beings. If the Savior of sinners gives us renewing grace and calls us by His Spirit, we may be sure that He expects us to use our grace and not to go to sleep.

Sanctification is a thing which admits of growth and degrees. A man may climb from one step to another in holiness and be far more sanctified at one period of his life than another. More pardoned and more justified than he is when he first believes he cannot be, though he may feel it more. More sanctified he certainly may be, because every grace in his new character may be strengthened, enlarged and deepened. If there is any point on which God’s holiest saints agree, it is this: that they see more and know more and feel more and do more and repent more and believe more as they get on in spiritual life, and in proportion to the closeness of their walk with God. In short, they “grow in grace.”

 

 

Jhn 17:19  And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Eph 5:26  that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

Tit 2:14  who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

1Pe 2:24  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

Col 1:22-23  he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast

Heb 2:11  For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source.

Jhn 15:5  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Gal 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control

Love (tenderness, attachment, devotion, passion, appreciation, compassion, warmth, unselfishness, benevolence, zeal, caring, kindness, treasure, deep affection), 

Joy (rejoicing, happiness, delight, radiant, satisfaction),

Peace (calm, quietness, still, composure, at rest, contentment, security, joy, harmony, untroubled, at ease), 

Long-suffering (patient, tolerant, uncomplaining, accommodating, forgiving, meek), 

Gentleness (tenderness, lenience, mercy, forgiveness, understanding, sympathy, compassion, love, mild, peaceable, considerate),     

Goodness (respectable, purity, just, fair, benevolent, decency, compassionate, tender, kind, helpful, thoughtful, polite, nice),

Faith (trust, belief, conviction, reliance, dependence, hope, persuasion, confidence),    

Meekness (humility, humbleness, obedience, softness), 

Temperance (self-restraint, restraint, moderation, self-control, self-discipline, self-denial)

Sanctification is the invariable result of that vital union with Christ which true faith gives to a Christian. The branch which bears no fruit is no living branch of the vine. The union with Christ which produces no effect on heart and life is a mere formal union, which is worthless before God. True faith works by love. It constrains a man to live unto the Lord from a deep sense of gratitude for redemption. It makes him feel that he can never do too much for Him that died for him. Being much forgiven, he loves much

Sanctification is the outcome and inseparable consequence of regeneration. He who is born again and made a new creature receives a new nature and a new principle and always lives a new life. A regeneration, which a man can have and yet live carelessly in sin or worldliness, is a regeneration invented by uninspired theologians, but never mentioned in Scripture.

Sanctification is the only certain evidence of that indwelling of the Holy Spirit which is essential to salvation. “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9). The Spirit never lies dormant and idle within the soul: He always makes His presence known by the fruit He causes to be borne in heart, character and life. The Spirit is compared to the wind; and, like the wind, He cannot be seen by our bodily eyes. But, just as we know there is a wind by the effect it produces on waves and trees and smoke, so we may know the Spirit is in a man by the effects He produces in the man’s conduct. It is nonsense to suppose that we have the Spirit if we do not also “walk in the Spirit”

Sanctification is the only sure mark of God’s election. The names and number of the elect are a secret thing, no doubt, which God has wisely kept in His own power and not revealed to man. It is not given to us in this world to study the pages of the book of life and see if our names are there. But if there is one thing clearly and plainly laid down about election, it is this—that elect men and women may be known and distinguished by holy lives. Of course, it is hard to know what people really are; and many who make a fair show outwardly in religion may turn out at last to be rotten–hearted hypocrites. But where there is not, at least, some appearance of sanctification, we may be quite certain there is no election.

 

 

Jhn 17:19  And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

Eph 5:26  that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

Tit 2:14  who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

1Pe 2:24  He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

Col 1:22-23  he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast

Heb 2:11  For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source.

Jhn 15:5  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Gal 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control

Love (tenderness, attachment, devotion, passion, appreciation, compassion, warmth, unselfishness, benevolence, zeal, caring, kindness, treasure, deep affection), 

Joy (rejoicing, happiness, delight, radiant, satisfaction),

Peace (calm, quietness, still, composure, at rest, contentment, security, joy, harmony, untroubled, at ease), 

Long suffering (patient, tolerant, uncomplaining, accommodating, forgiving, meek), 

Gentleness (tenderness, lenient, mercy, forgiveness, understanding, sympathy, compassion, love, mild, peaceable, considerate),     

Goodness (respectable, purity, just, fair, benevolent, decency, compassion, tender, kind, helpful, thoughtful, polite, nice),

Faith (trust, belief, conviction, reliance, dependence, hope, persuasion, confidence),    

Meekness (humility, humbleness, obedience, softness), 

Temperance (self-restraint, restraint, moderation, self-control, self-discipline, self-denial)

Sanctification is that inward spiritual work which the Lord Jesus Christ works in a man by the Holy Spirit, when He calls him to be a true believer. He not only washes him from his sins in His own blood, but He also separates him from his natural love of sin and the world, puts a new principle in his heart and makes him practically godly in life. The instrument by which the Spirit effects this work is generally the Word of God, though He sometimes uses afflictions.

He who supposes that Jesus Christ only lived and died and rose again in order to provide justification and forgiveness of sins for His people has yet much to learn. Whether he knows it or not, he is dishonoring our blessed Lord and making Him only a half Savior. The Lord Jesus has undertaken everything that His people’s souls require: not only to deliver them from the guilt of their sins by His atoning death, but from the dominion of their sins, by placing in their hearts the Holy Spirit; not only to justify them, but also to sanctify them. He is, thus, not only their “righteousness,” but their “sanctification” 

If words mean anything, they teach that Christ undertakes the sanctification, no less than the justification, of His believing people. Both are alike provided for in that “everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure,” of which the Mediator is Christ. In fact, Christ in one place is called “He who sanctifies,” and His people “they who are sanctified”

 

 

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14

Anglican pastor John Stott said, “Pride is your greatest enemy, humility is your greatest friend.” When it comes to the national revival we need in the family of God, pride is the greatest obstacle. Humility is the open doorway. It’s impossible to confess our sins if we’re not humble enough to recognize and acknowledge them.

Is there a sinful habit quenching the Holy Spirit in your heart? Is there an attitude that is grieving Him? Could it be a secret life of pornography, bitter attitudes of anger toward someone, lack of physical discipline when it comes to eating or drinking, impure sources of entertainment, or neglect of church and Bible reading?

We can’t accommodate recurring known sin and at the same time experience revival. Ask God to show you the changes you need to make today.

We are to humble ourselves. Should we not be humbled by the fact that after receiving so much love we yet transgress? O Lord, we bow before Thee in the dust and own our grievous ingratitude. Oh, the infamy of sin!

 

 

Rev 3:14-17  “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

What causes “Lukewarm”, unconcerned, unresponsive, unmoved, coolness, uninterested, passionless, complacency….. in lives of those who call themselves Christians? We could start a list which would turn out to be quite lengthy, but at the root is something substantial and it is affecting the lives of those so inclined.  God’s Word is full of examples and warnings about forgetting God and things of God which leads people to being lukewarm at best and completely useless and void of any good at its worst. 

it escapes their notice

who intend to make My people forget

and forgot the Lord their God

For My people have forgotten Me,

And being satisfied, their heart became proud; Therefore they forgot Me.

and forget what is decreed

I forget to eat my bread

all the abundance will be forgotten

I have forgotten happiness.

And my intimate friends have forgotten me.

I am forgotten as a dead man

And forgot the God who gave you birth.

But they forgot the Lord their God

They forgot His deeds

did not remember the Lord their God

And did not remember Your wondrous deeds

They did not remember Your abundant kindnesses,

“Now consider this, you who forget God,

But they forgot the Lord their God

For you have forgotten the God of your salvation

And have not remembered the rock of your refuge.

They quickly forgot His works;

They have forgotten the Lord their God.

It shall come about if you ever forget the Lord your God

has forgotten his Maker

then watch yourself, that you do not forget the Lord

 so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen

“Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God

They did not remember His power,

Paul said to keep our eyes focused on Jesus Christ, stand firm, and be fully committed because of the grace, mercy, and love God has shown through His Son, Jesus. When a person is drawn by God to knowledge of the need for salvation, redemption, and forgiveness I doubt it is ever a subtle thing. When we are exposed to this need it is only because of God revealing it to us. 

Think about that for a bit. The creator of everything, almighty, everlasting, ever-present, all-powerful, unlimited…… reaches out, knocks on the door or our heart and speaks truth of our sin and need for salvation, asking to come into our hearts. Who are we that “God” would do such a thing? And yet, people take it so lightly. I can hardly write this without humbly bowing as low as I possibly can get, for the presence of His holiness in light of my sinfulness leaves me speechless. Were we to just get from God, a visit and a knock on the door, with nothing said, it would be beyond our wildest dreams that He would even think to stop and knock at our heart’s door.    We might say, Who’s there?, or Go away, I’m busy, or just not even give concern and turn a deaf ear to it. But it says God knocks and speaks. Wow! The God of all there is in the universe, knocks on your heart’s door and speaks, asking to come in. 

Sometimes I hear pastors give an invitation to come to Christ like this, “if you want what Jesus offers, If you are feeling like something is missing in your life, If you want a change because things are not going well for you, with all heads bowed and eyes closed, raise your hand, I am not going to embarrass you, I just want to pray for you, Ask Jesus to come in and He will.”

I have heard this type of invitation from more than one pastor. There is no speaking of sin and the need for forgiveness or repentance. There is talk of benefits in your life now and eternal life. 

When Peter proclaimed the word of God on the day of Pentecost the people were cut to the heart and said, “What must we do?” Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  There was no “with your heads bowed and eyes closed raise your hand”.  There was no embarrassment from those who understood their need for forgiveness of their sin to ask what they needed to do. Their hearts were cut and bleeding out, as it were, and they needed immediate attention for they knew they were dying and as close to death as a person could get. If a pastor is worried about someone being embarrassed for seeking “What must I do” then the pastor is not proclaiming the need for salvation, but rather a shallow gospel of what can I get out of this deal. Raise your hand so I can pray for you. I can’t even come close to understanding this in light of an invitation for salvation.  Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ”

How is a person to understand the depth of the punishment Christ endured was exactly what they deserve? How is a person to understand the holiness of God without understanding sin and its ugliness and the need for repentance? 

Too often pastors want to show numbers. People who raised their hand and people who got baptized. Too often pastors do not want to offend people by talking about sin so they talk about comforting thoughts of the promises of God that are bestowed on believers. They do not talk of sin in light of the holiness of God and the need for repentance as this will make people uncomfortable. You can fill up the seats by making people comfortable about their lives. How many lives crab hold of this shallow invitation without a single conviction of sin? I am sure there are those, over time, and through the Holy Spirit have come to a saving grace knowledge of Jesus Christ, but it is not because the pastor proclaimed the Word of Truth boldly. 

How easy is it to forget God when there is no thought of sin, no understanding of the penalty, and no repentance? How easy is it to neglect the Word of God and things of God when there is no understanding of the need for forgiveness?  When God is only proclaimed as a reservoir of benefits and freely giving out blessings, without the knowledge of a person’s sins and the due penalty before a holy God, then the shallowness of their need will manifest in their life. There will be no light of Jesus Christ shinning. In fact, people seeing them and hearing them proclaim they are “Christian” will not see much difference in their lives as their own. If this is all they see what is the need for the benefits and blessing from God they already have worldly peace, prosperity, good health, a nice family, a good job, and help others when they desire to do it. They will not hear from the Christian who repented when they became aware of sin, that their sins were forgiven, how they lived prior to salvation, how they are filled with the Holy Spirit, how they are growing in understanding and knowledge of the grace, mercy, and love of God. 

Without an active discernment, knowledge, and awareness of sin and its sinfulness in light of the holiness of God, there will be no growth and maturing (sanctification). God will be forgotten. The world and what it has to offer will become the norm. The signs of the times will pass them by and when the bridegroom returns I wonder if they will be watching and ready. 

How are they to understand Hebrews 10:31. “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God”?  How are they to understand God’s grace, mercy, and love if they do not understand His judgement, wrath, anger, hell, and torment? 

There should be no shallowness in the understanding of sin. When we understand it then the Gospel of Jesus Christ, repentance, forgiveness, and salvation set our hearts and minds on the great cost bore by Jesus that was our just reward for our sins, and the great grace, mercy, and love of God.  Instead of forgetting God our hearts and minds are seeking to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions. 

You can not understand the depth of God’s blessings without understanding the depth of your sinfulness.

 

 

Yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord…. “In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”
Zechariah 8:22-23

It has been ruled by Canaanites, Egyptians, Jebusites, Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Crusaders, Ottomans, and British. It has been destroyed at least 2 times, besieged 23 times, captured 44 times, and attacked 52 times. It is one of the oldest cities in the world and is holy to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. It remains the most contested piece of real estate in the world—Jerusalem—the so-called “City of Peace.” ¹

The most besieged city in the world will indeed become a city of peace when the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) sets up His Millennial Kingdom: “And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east…. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth” (Zechariah 14:4, 9).

Remember to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6) as she awaits the arrival of the Prince of Peace.

Indeed, the destiny of the world is tied to the future of Jerusalem.

 

 

Good News –  Gospel –  Repentance –  Forgiveness –  Redemption –  Salvation –  Eternal life

Jhn 3:16-17   “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

  Condemn –  Perish –   Saved –  Eternal Life   

Jhn 3:19  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

Loved Darkness –  Evil –  Judgment

Rom 1:20-22  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

Invisible Attributes –  Eternal Power –  Divine Nature –  Clearly Perceived – Creation

Without Excuse –  Did Not Honor God –  Did Not Give Thanks To God – Futile Thinking – Foolish – Darkened –  Fools

Rom 1:24  Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity

Rom 1:28-31  And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Lusts –  Impurity –  Debased Mind –  Unrighteousness –  Evil –  Covetousness –  Malice –  Envy –  Murder –  Strife –  Deceit

Gossips –  Sladerers –  Haters of God –  Insolent –  Haughty –  Boastful –  Inventors of Evil – Disobedient – Foolish – Faithless

Heartless –  Ruthless

Rom 1:32  Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Rom 3:18  “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

 Psalms 36:1   Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.

 Proverbs 8:13    The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

 Proverbs 23:17     Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.

No Fear of God – Pride – Arrogance –  Evil – Perverted Speech –  Envy

Psalm 119:78. May the arrogant be ashamed, for they subvert me with a lie; But I shall meditate on Your precepts.

Isaiah 45:16   They will be put to shame and even humiliated, all of them

Jeremiah 17:13.  O Lord, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You will be put to shame.

Ezra 9:6  and I said, “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens.

Job 8:22  “Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,

Daniel 12:2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

 Psalms 35:26   Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who rejoice at my calamity! Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me!

Arrogant –  Ashamed –  Lie –  Humiliated –  Forsake You –  Embarrassed –  Guilt –  Hate you –  Disgrace

Everlasting Contempt –  Disappointed

How can the Gospel be preached, spoken, and offered without the proclamation of the need due to our sin? God’s grace, mercy, and love are truly blessings beyond our imagination. We do not fully understand their depth and width due to our limited understanding of the absolute Holiness of God, yet our need for them in light of our sin. 

We begin to scratch the surface of it when we begin to understand Sin. Without a basic understanding of sin, there is no application for the Gospel in our lives. We can not understand the basis for God’s grace, mercy, and love. There is no reason to fear God. Without this basic understanding of sin being jointly proclaimed and declared with the Good News of Jesus Christ people will shallowly come to God seeking the benefit of eternal life, but not for the forgiveness of Sin. The need fo repentance will not be recognized. The brutality and cruelty of all the physical violence Jesus bore on His body will not be understood. The penalty He bore was OURS! It was due to our SINs! His agony and death to redeem us and give us eternal life. How can the need for the Gospel be presented without the declaration of Sin?  It can not.

A person should feel shame, guilt, hopelessness, despair, conviction, worry for their souls, helplessness, unworthy, fear, judgment, etc…. in light of the Holiness of God and hearing of the Gospel when the understanding of sin is exposed to their hearts and minds.  The fullness of God’s grace, mercy, and love is only understood in the light of His holiness and our sinfulness. Sanctification, growth, and maturing in a Christian’s life continue in this understanding of sin and holiness until their death. 

 

 

For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty…. Together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
Revelation 16:14, 16

Napoleon Bonaparte is reported to have called the plain of Jezreel “the most natural battleground of the whole earth”—a place where “all the armies of the world could maneuver their forces.” This vast plain in central Israel spreads out from the base of Mount Megiddo. Mount in Hebrew is har—added to Hebrew megiddon it results in Armageddon, the site of the final battle when Christ returns to judge the nations and establish His Kingdom on earth.

This battle will occur at the end of the seven-year Tribulation when Christ returns to earth from heaven with the armies of His saints. Most of the nations of the world, deceived by the Antichrist, will array themselves to fight against Christ but will succumb to His judgment (Revelation 19:11-21). Following this victory over evil, Christ will inaugurate His thousand-year, righteous rule centered in Jerusalem.

Thank God today that a final battle is coming when righteousness will triumph over evil—and peace will prevail.

 

 

If you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

–Colossians 3:1

How do you maintain your focus as a citizen of heaven while you’re still a resident of earth? It all comes down to understanding what it means to be heavenly minded. In Colossians 3:1–2, Paul wrote, “Keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”

You may have heard the popular criticism that some Christians are so heavenly minded that they’re of no earthly good. But that’s a false dichotomy. The only way we will be any earthly good is by being heavenly minded–as long as we understand what that means.

Most of us think of our lives in two parts: life on earth right now and life in heaven after we die. We imagine a line of demarcation between the here and now and the hereafter. But when Jesus spoke about eternal life, He was not talking about a period of life that begins the moment you die. He was talking about a quality of life, not a quantity of life. Eternal life begins the moment we’re saved and extends beyond the grave into eternity.

So what does it mean to “keep seeking the things above, where Christ is,” as Paul said in Colossians 3:1? It doesn’t mean focusing on things in heaven, such as the angels, pearly gates, and streets of gold. No, to be heavenly minded means to set your mind on Jesus Christ and to become like Him so that you can experience the same joy He experienced here on earth. Even when people were seeking to destroy Him and the world was collapsing around Him, Jesus experienced inexplicable joy. He had fulfillment in His earthly life and assurance about His future because He was in a right relationship with His heavenly Father.

Paul was saying you don’t have to wait until you die to enjoy the benefits of heaven; you can experience the same quality of life that Jesus experienced by becoming like Him. To be heavenly minded simply means to conform your affections, attitudes, and actions to those of Jesus Christ. When you’re a heavenly minded Christian, you love what Jesus loves, think like Jesus thinks, and act like Jesus acts in every situation. Being heavenly minded is not about your location in life; it’s about the foundation of your life, and that is Jesus Christ.

__________________________________________

What is missing in this devotion is the ultimate purpose, reason, and meaning of “Heavenly minded” – “Seeking Things Above”.  The purpose, reason, and meaning  – “To honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions – all of the time”.