"Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."
v2 of Colossians 3:1-2 NKJV
These two verses in Colossians 3, give us a good insight into focusing all we have on Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith. We have been raised with Christ. Those who have been baptised by submersion, symbolically died with Jesus as they went under the water and as they re-surfaced, they were raised to a new life in Jesus. Baptism is an outward sign to the world that we belong to Jesus. Don't worry though if you haven't been baptised. It won't prevent you getting into heaven. If you've accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour then you have died to your old life and been raised to a new life in Him. Baptism is a symbolic example of belonging to Jesus. Maybe if you haven't been baptised, you may want to do this at some stage.
Now that we belong to Jesus, we are to set our minds on Him. The world has relatively nothing to offer like Jesus has. We have His DNA; we have identified with Him by being born again. Therefore, we need to make a daily habit to focus on the things above where Jesus is. On the earth, things are all gloom and doom; there's endless news on Covid 19, political arguments, violence and deep unrest all over the place. It doesn't draw us to it and is definitely, not edifying. Newspapers are just full of stuff that can lead our thoughts away from what matters the most.
What we think about affects us more than we realise. Unimportant things can take our minds over. Whenever we hear gossip, we should nip it in the bud straightaway before it takes a hold and we begin to see it as the truth. All through our day, we encounter things that want to misguide us and lead us in the wrong direction. We become wound up over something that really does not matter, such we take the dog out and it begins to rain - heavily. On the walk, despite being saturated, the dog decides to do, 'his business', right in the middle of some grass which has now become quite muddy. 'Why can't you do it next to the path?' you exclaim as the dog looks at you wondering what you're saying. Think, yes you're wet and you're now covered in mud; but is it really worth losing the peace of God.
Be in control of your thoughts; focus on Jesus - on the spiritual reality of heaven. Let this control your motivations. Make it a daily habit, rather than being caught up with earthly things. When you set your mind on things above, you are setting your mind on higher things - Jesus, the Holy Spirit and all He wants to show you today.
Make it a habit to speak in tongues more and more. You may not understand it and the devil definitely doesn't understand it and he hates this fact and becomes paranoid that you may be plotting something against him. But you're probably not; he's not that important anyway because you're speaking to the one who really matter, Jesus Himself; and He totally understands what you're saying.
Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard
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