Living from Heaven

Colossians 3:1-2 (NIV) Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

It’s not that we’re to be so heavenly-minded we’re no earthly good. Instead, we realize that our supply, our strength, our value and purpose don’t come from earth, but from heaven. That’s why we set our eyes on heaven.

In heaven, there is no lack. In heaven, there is no sickness. In heaven, there are no critics. In heaven, you have value that men might never see when judging you by their values.

Doug

Deny Yourself

Luke 9:23 (NIV) Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me….”

As I was preparing the message for this past Sunday, the Lord said to me “If you’re not willing to deny yourself, you won’t take up your cross, and you’ll follow from afar.”

He pointed out that “denying myself” was not asceticism or a “vow of poverty” done towards attaining greater spirituality, but it was making choices with the idea of doing what is “right” rather than what I want.

- When God wants something you have, you have a choice.
- When you want something that’s wrong, and you know it.
- When you choose to serve, when you’d rather be served.
- When you choose trust God’s goodness in the midst of an unanswered prayer or calamity.

Self-control is as much a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) as love is.

More on this in my 6/20 sermon audio.

Doug

Two very different people

Our Lectionary readings for 6/13 covered two very different people, both of whom were recipients of God’s mercy:

In 2 Samuel 12, Nathan the prophet addresses King David, after his adultery with Bathsheba and arranging for her husband Uriah to be killed in battle. He was “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22) that did some very wrong things.

In Luke 7, we read about a sinful woman – possibly but not certainly a prostitute. She worshiped Jesus without concern for the way people thought of her, particularly Simon the Pharisee, the dinner host. Unlike David, she had a “track record” for wrong living.

Neither the quantity of sin, nor the severity of sin, kept them from God’s grace. Both of them received forgiveness and mercy. I elaborated on this more in my sermon from 6/13. The audio is available.

Doug