01 September 2005 Devotion for Today “Set Your Minds” Colossians 3:1-4
Martin Luther once challenged one of his students by saying, “I’ll get you a new horse and carriage if you can pray the Lord’s Prayer and concentrate on every phrase without losing your train of thought.” The young man thought, “no problem.” After he had prayed the prayer he however confessed to Luther, “all I could think about was the horse and carriage.” As much as he tried to concentrate on the Lord’s Prayer, his mind was drawn elsewhere.
Have you ever had nights like that - where you just can’t take your mind off of something? Maybe it was an upcoming surgery, or a job interview, or a big game - something that you just couldn’t get your mind off of. Unfortunately, when we get our minds stuck on things like that, they’re usually things we don’t want to think about or shouldn’t be thinking about. We know we shouldn’t worry about them, but sometimes we just can’t seem to stop worrying about it. If this is the case, heed the encouraging words of the Apostle Paul from Colossians 3:1-4:
1 So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth.3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God. 4 When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. (HCSB)
I must admit that it has been difficult the past few days to set my mind on things above- on heavenly things. So much of the world is in chaos. The war in Iraq and Afghanistan rages on, I can’t help but to feel the desperate plight of the hurricane Katrina victims on the Gulf Coast, and even now I am dreading going to the fuel station to fill my car up with gas which I know is going to cost me more than $3.00 a gallon- if I am able to find it!. These burdens can all but overwhelm my life if I allow them to, and I must not fall into it. It is because Paul reminds us today - your sinful flesh is crucified, and we have been raised. We don’t have to listen to it - because it’s dead! We have a LIVING Savior that we are connected with - who can make your dead arms and legs move. So in spite of our flesh, set our minds on heavenly things.
I thought of this last night: How would you like it if you were married, and your spouse always talked about his or her ex-boyfriends or girlfriends? That’s how God feels. He says, “I put your sinful nature to death! I raised you to life! It’s time to get out of the gutter! It’s time to live! You don’t have to think about that stuff anymore! Set your minds on heavenly things - on pleasing me - on learning God’s Word - on spreading my name! Think about those things!”
I know that we all have some heavy burdens to carry around with us, but be assured and be of good cheer- Christ has overcome the world! What- or whom- do you have your minds set on today? Have a blessed day!
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