Read Colossians 3:1-2, 1 Peter 1:13-14
It’s fascinating that one situation can cause such different reactions and outcomes for two or more different believers. I’ve seen many people go through similar situations and come out the other side in vastly different areas. Take the death of a friend for example. Two unrelated believers may sadly go through the death of a friend (in similar conditions) and while one
may come out sad and bitter, the other may come out with hope and joy in the Lord. Why is this so? How does this happen?
We are encouraged in today’s passage to set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. This is not a mandate to put our head so far in the clouds that we are of no earthly use. It’s an encouragement to put our heads even further into the clouds so that we see the risen Lord, the victorious Lord Jesus Christ and are exceedingly useful and gracious and loving here on earth. What we are encouraged to do is to seriously think about the ascended Jesus and how that affects everything we do and say. We are to act, speak and react in accord with the resurrection victory of our Lord and Saviour.
What does that look like? When my friend suffers, I comfort them with the comfort that I have received from the risen Christ. When they are troubled, I encourage them with the words and the plan of the risen Saviour. If they are mourning a loss, I can mourn with them without losing my eternal hope and focus. If they are dying, I can give them the only true hope that is in Christ Jesus. When my enemy needs help or love or compassion I can be there because the victorious Jesus has loved me and given me eternal hope.
Jesus’ heavenly dwelling is not a call for believers to bury their head in the sand like ostriches. It’s not a call to run and hide in caves and to meditate on the issues of life. Jesus’ heavenly dwelling is a call to prepare our minds for action, to be ready to engage the world, to be ready to defend our faith and to walk forward in love and sacrifice. It’s a call, not for licentious living, but for self controlled deliberate lives that reflect the glory, the hope, the eternity of our Saviour.
Prayer:-
ÿ Pray that everyone in your congregation will have their mind set on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Pray that those who proclaim the Word to us this Lord’s Day will also have this mindset and be able to preach to us from this mind set. Pray that the Word changes us from the inside out.
ÿ Pray for our World Changers body to be wise and heavenly focused as they deal with the mission funds. Pray that their united desire would be to further the Kingdom of God. Pray that more and more people would be supporting World Changers.
To set your heart and mind on Christ in the heavens means to deliberately focus on them and to make them the centre of your affection and attention. List 10 things you can be doing to daily fix your heart and mind on Christ Jesus. Share this list with your cell group.
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