KEEPING OUR HEARTS ON THINGS ABOVE
KEEPING OUR HEARTS ON THINGS ABOVE
Colossians 3:1-2
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.
The first morning of of guiding during elk season is always an exciting time. We would scout for a few days and locate some good bulls and be close come daylight that first morning of season. 2014 was looking like a great first day. Way up high in the headwaters of a small stream there was a valley with water, food and... BIG BULLS.
At daylight we looked up from the valley floor, up to where the bulls had been, and there they were up on the ridge a mile above us at about 12,000 ft. They were higher than they had been all week but we didn't have time to get to our backup location so we decided to climb up to the elk. It was a hard climb and very strenuous. If the bulls had not been in sight above us, I might not have made it. With every step I struggled with continuing the climb. I looked up and kept pushing. Eventually we got to where the bulls had been, but we never got close enough to take a big one with the archery gear that our hunters were carrying.
Life is an ongoing struggle and climb. Many days it is just one step after another all day long. It seems as though it's an endurance race to get up the "mountain" that we face day in and day out. I've learned that as a Christian man, I must keep looking up that "mountain" each day and look to God to get me through. I must fill my mind with godly and heavenly thinking.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
We fill our minds with so much that isn't godly or good... So much that doesn't build us up. Our world around us and bombards us with that which is not; "true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy". Satan is certainly ruling this world right now and is working overtime to bring us down.
Consider what life could be like if we had our hearts set on these heavenly things day by day. What would life look like if our eyes were lifted up to look for God Himself as we climb through the drudgery of daily life. If we truly had "heavenly thinking" all the time.
My prayer for you (and for me) today is that our minds and our eyes will be set on "heavenly things". It will change our lives.
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