Thinking Set Your Heart Your Mind On Things Above

Thinking

Set Your Heart Your Mind On Things Above

What are you affectionate about

If you could have what your heart desires

If you could have what your mind thinks about

What would it be?

As good as your desires and thoughts may be remember this

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.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Keep your mind and heart on things above

Don’t let things of this world eclipse the glory of things above

Let your affections for things above grow and grow and grow

Until you can’t wait to get there

Set Your Heart Your Mind On Things Above

A pastor found out after preaching the

Sunday morning message that one of the

church families suffered an unthinkable tragedy

while preparing to go to church that morning.

This young couple’s four year old son

had an accident in the home and died.

 The loss and pain is beyond explanation

and it all happened while preparing

to go to church and worship.

The pastor arrived at the home of these

parents whose future was full of light

and hope, but now is so dark and

filled with anxiety and pain.

What can you say?

 What can you do?

The Pastor did his best, as his heart was also crushed,

 to comfort these parents living their worst nightmare.

The Pastor told the parents…

 “Your son is with the Lord,

 he is where we all strive to be.”

These were not just words from a pastor…

These words were real and powerful.

These words took the family, who could

not see for the darkness of their world,

to heaven where light shines forever.

When I had heard of what this pastor had

said to these parents, it gave hope to me, too.

This story rocked our whole family

because the family, the church,

the pastor are those we know.

Colossians 3:1 & 2 tells us to set our

hearts, our minds on things above.

  

  When Jesus ascended into heaven He

left His disciple here in the world.

A world full of darkness,

suffering and pain.

Although Jesus left us here,

we are not to forget His resurrection

and that we have been raised with Christ.

Colossians 3 tells us though we are in the world

we do not set our minds and heart on the world.

We may not have ascended to heaven yet,

but we who have given our lives to Christ,
have died and our life is hidden with Christ.

Raising a family, working for a

living, planning for retirement…

Are all important things we do in this world,

 but we should keep the end in sight.

We will all leave this earth.

Our affections, our desires, our hopes in our

minds and heart need to be “set on things above”.

I am not a good loser.

I do not like to lose things

and people I love in this world.

Losing is discouraging.

Winning also comes with a price.

I have worked at least two jobs at a time,

 since I have been in 6^th grade.

I get up every day and go to bed

every night thinking about what I need

to do to take care of my earthly needs.

It is easy to set our affections on the things

of this world because this is where we live.

When death comes to a loved one,

the reality of where our affections

should be are put into prospective.

It is not just when death comes,

 but every day of our lives we need

to have affections for things above.

Where is the glory of the

person who is hidden in Christ?

It is where “Christ is seated

at the right hand of God”.

    

How much of our affections are

on heaven where Christ dwells?

How many thoughts a day do

we have about things above?

The father and mother of the 4 year old boy

will not see their son run into their arms

as he comes home from school, or

embrace him at graduation, or his wedding

day or the joys of starting his own family…

But if they set their minds on things above

they will see the greatest sight of all…

They will see their son running into the arms of God.

The thing we should be most affectionate about…

  

There is no accomplishment on earth

No experience in this world

As the family prepared to go to church

and worship the Lord, their 4 year old

son ran into the arms of Jesus.

Is that not the goal for our children and

for us, to run into the arms of Jesus?

Keep your mind and heart on things above.

Don’t let things of this world

eclipse the glory of things above.

Let your affections for things

above grow and grow and grow…

Until you can’t wait to get there.

Scripture Reading

Colossians 3:1-4 NIV

3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.