Colossians 3:2
Set your mind (or affection or hearts) on things above, not on things on the earth.
If you get a chance to read through Colossians 2, Paul talked about the different dangers that threaten to pull us away from Christ. These dangers led to believers only demonstrating an outward Christianity. When Paul gets to Chapter 3 he is telling it like it is. Paul is letting us know that if we truly want to live a Christian life that is real and not just an outward Christianity filled with traditions of men; we are going to have to go back to basics. As the Ten Commandments stated in Exodus and as the Christian walk always stresses we are to make sure that Christ is first in our lives. He is to be our focus!!!! We are to seek those things which are above, that we are to focus and realize that all things come directly from the Lord.
The Bible is reminding us that everything on this Earth is temporal. Our help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. Yes, as believers we say that is true but when push comes to shove we worry and we take our focus off the Lord. That word worry comes from the old English term which means ”to choke” or “to strangle”. That is very appropriate since worry strangles the mind, which is the seat of our emotions.
The word even fits the notion of a panic attack. Are you aware that people, even in the Bible worried about what they were going to eat or drink or wear? What do we say? I am not worrying about extravagant or luxury items I am just worrying about the basics.
But if you read through the Bible we learn that God wants His children preoccupied with Him and not with the mundane, passing things of this world. He says: “Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on the earth" (Colossians 3:2). So if Our Lord is telling us that then He is freeing us from worrying about the basics. He will take care of that. Yes, we must work and do our part but He will take care of the rest.
“Set your minds (or hearts or affection) on things above, not on earthly things.” There are a lot of similarities between the heart and our minds-but there is a basic difference. What the heart dwells upon and what the mind dwells upon can be quite different. The heart is led by our emotions that is why salvation is referred to as giving your heart to Jesus. But salvation is more than just an intellectual decision. Certainly, a person could reason the issue out and come to the logical conclusion that it makes more sense to live for Jesus than it does for the devil and the world. But true conversion is more than just a mental decision. It involves the center of our emotions, our heart. Then when the heart is transformed, Romans says, our mind will be renewed.
The secret to a godly life is simple we are to have a proper relationship with Christ. A relationship that is not dependent on me, myself or I; but on the power of the Almighty God that we serve. For we see that possessions, wealth, power, honor and pleasures are more important to our culture today. The end result has been that we have moved “out of the way” all those things that the Bible says is important. Yes, we have even moved out of the way our belief in God. Paul reminds us that when we desire the things on this earth more than we desire to things of God we are making a big mistake. Yes, as believers we all have ambitions, values and affections but Christ now directs those ambitions, values and affections.
Paul is telling us how to focus our lives. We need to be connected to a source of life above us just as a deep sea diver must keep hold of his air line in order to breathe. Whenever we feel down or get discouraged or feel endangered, we are to fix our hearts, our minds and our affections, not on what surrounds us but what sustains us. The very life force of Jesus should flow through us because we are connected to Him and we will not only survive but we will triumph in this life.
Set your mind (or affection or hearts) on things above, not on things on the earth.
If you get a chance to read through Colossians 2, Paul talked about the different dangers that threaten to pull us away from Christ. These dangers led to believers only demonstrating an outward Christianity. When Paul gets to Chapter 3 he is telling it like it is. Paul is letting us know that if we truly want to live a Christian life that is real and not just an outward Christianity filled with traditions of men; we are going to have to go back to basics. As the Ten Commandments stated in Exodus and as the Christian walk always stresses we are to make sure that Christ is first in our lives. He is to be our focus!!!! We are to seek those things which are above, that we are to focus and realize that all things come directly from the Lord.
The Bible is reminding us that everything on this Earth is temporal. Our help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. Yes, as believers we say that is true but when push comes to shove we worry and we take our focus off the Lord. That word worry comes from the old English term which means ”to choke” or “to strangle”. That is very appropriate since worry strangles the mind, which is the seat of our emotions.
The word even fits the notion of a panic attack. Are you aware that people, even in the Bible worried about what they were going to eat or drink or wear? What do we say? I am not worrying about extravagant or luxury items I am just worrying about the basics.
But if you read through the Bible we learn that God wants His children preoccupied with Him and not with the mundane, passing things of this world. He says: “Set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on the earth" (Colossians 3:2). So if Our Lord is telling us that then He is freeing us from worrying about the basics. He will take care of that. Yes, we must work and do our part but He will take care of the rest.
“Set your minds (or hearts or affection) on things above, not on earthly things.” There are a lot of similarities between the heart and our minds-but there is a basic difference. What the heart dwells upon and what the mind dwells upon can be quite different. The heart is led by our emotions that is why salvation is referred to as giving your heart to Jesus. But salvation is more than just an intellectual decision. Certainly, a person could reason the issue out and come to the logical conclusion that it makes more sense to live for Jesus than it does for the devil and the world. But true conversion is more than just a mental decision. It involves the center of our emotions, our heart. Then when the heart is transformed, Romans says, our mind will be renewed.
The secret to a godly life is simple we are to have a proper relationship with Christ. A relationship that is not dependent on me, myself or I; but on the power of the Almighty God that we serve. For we see that possessions, wealth, power, honor and pleasures are more important to our culture today. The end result has been that we have moved “out of the way” all those things that the Bible says is important. Yes, we have even moved out of the way our belief in God. Paul reminds us that when we desire the things on this earth more than we desire to things of God we are making a big mistake. Yes, as believers we all have ambitions, values and affections but Christ now directs those ambitions, values and affections.
Paul is telling us how to focus our lives. We need to be connected to a source of life above us just as a deep sea diver must keep hold of his air line in order to breathe. Whenever we feel down or get discouraged or feel endangered, we are to fix our hearts, our minds and our affections, not on what surrounds us but what sustains us. The very life force of Jesus should flow through us because we are connected to Him and we will not only survive but we will triumph in this life.
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