What are you looking at? In His Word 7-13-15
We can walk down any city street and see
the marvels of this world, the people, the things the buildings that cost
millions and some I am sure billions of dollars to build but all can come
tumbling down if God wills it.
I have a habit of looking at new car ads
and thinking about how nice it would be to drive this one or that one. But I
have a perfectly good car that gets me where I need to go. Even still we desire
new things in life we want to improve our lives and attain new things, to get a better life
than we have. Some people think if they can just have that new car it will
better their lives; dreams will come true, the perfect job, the perfect spouse,
etc. But God has changed us, He wants us
not to look at all the stuff we could get but to look to the Godly things He
has already given to us.
Since you have been raised
to a new life with Christ set your sights on the realities of heaven… Think
about the things of heaven, not things of earth. For you died to this life and
your real life is with Christ in God…So put to death the sinful earthly things
lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust
and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater,
worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is
coming. You used to do these things when you life was still part of this world.
But now is the time to get rid of anger rage malicious behavior, slander and
dirty language. Don’t lie to each other for you have stripped off your old
sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed
as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him. Colossians 4: 2-10
As children of God we have a responsibility to live up to His
goals for us, we need to desire to be like Him. The good news is that He puts
that desire in our hearts, and then He gives it to us!
Delight thyself also in
the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Psalm 37:4
When we
put our eyes on the right things, the word of God ,and Godly shows, or movies
our way of thinking changes. We no longer desire to look at the things of this
world that used to draw our eyes away from the heavenly things in our lives but
now we have become that new person. Even when someone razzes us for being so ‘spiritual’
or calls us a ‘goodie two shoes’ we can know that it is okay because God is
with us; and we are with God.
Since we
have accepted that Christ is the Lord of our lives we can no longer return to
the muck and the mire that was our lives before Christ but instead we must
start fresh with friends, hang outs, places to relax or work out. It has to be
a new beginning in order to break free from those old ties that bound us up
before we knew Him. Sometimes that means forgiving someone we felt we should
greatly dislike, because they hurt us.
… Forgive
anyone who offends you. Remember the Lord forgave you so you must forgive
others. Colossians 4:13-17
Don’t go
around trying to find fault in your old friends because all you are really
doing is finding fault in yourself. Try to walk like Jesus which includes
seeing the best in everyone. God does not look at your faults H e looks at what
you can become. We should learn to do likewise by keeping our thoughts clean we
will keep our eyes open to the goodness of God. By keeping our eyes off of the
things of this world we will keep our thoughts clean; it is a circle of life
giving principles. You love God and want
to be like Him because you love Him; you want to do the things He did. If you
did not love God then you would not care what He thinks or what He wanted you
to do; because we are in Christ we are no longer looking at the things of this
world we live in to attain them all but instead to attain the closeness, the
growth in Christ today.
So let’s
do it! Let’s stop looking at what we want, or what we don’t have and look to
Jesus and what He has given us! Rejoice in it!
Dear
Heavenly Father, help us to have eyes to see what Your Spirit has given to us,
and help us to walk in your path for us. In Jesus name, amen.
Suggested
reading: Colossians 3 1-25, Colossians 4:1-18, Psalm 100:1-5,and Psalm 37:1-40