Philippians 3:18-21; Philippians 4:1 ESV
“For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.”
As followers of Jesus Christ we are not to be those who walk
as enemies of the cross of Christ, who deliberately and habitually sin against
the Lord, often premeditatedly and without conscience. We are not to be those
who follow after our own fleshly appetites and whose minds are set (determined)
on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven. And so we should be
heavenly minded, not have our minds set on the flesh. Instead our minds should
be set on Jesus Christ and on pleasing him in all ways.
And we should be looking forward to the day when our Lord
will return to take his bride to be with him for eternity. At that time our
Lord will transform these lowly bodies of ours to be like his glorious body.
But until then we should be dedicated to serving the Lord Jesus Christ with our
lives. Our desire should be for him to do his will. And we should be following
in his footsteps all the way, doing what he says to do. And in this way we are
standing firm in the Lord.
Philippians 4:4-7 ESV
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
We are to be happy in Jesus always. We should never grumble
against the Lord. We should be content with where he has us, doing what he has
called each of us to do, and we should thank him and praise him both in the
good times and in the bad. And we are to be reasonable people, people of good
common sense who are not being tossed back and forth by all winds of doctrine
of people in their deceitful scheming. But we should be steadfast in the Lord
and in our faith and in the teachings of the Scriptures.
And we are not to be fearful and anxious about anything, but
we are to trust our Lord in all things. And instead of worrying, we are to take
our requests to the Lord in prayer, with thanksgiving, believing that our Lord
cares about us and that he is watching over us and that he has a plan and a
purpose for everything he allows to come into our lives. And when we trust him
with our circumstances, and we don’t give way to fear, then the peace of God
will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:8-9 ESV
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
What we think about impacts our attitudes, our words, and
our actions. For we become what we think. So, that is why the Scriptures speak
much on the subject of our mindsets. For if our minds are set on the flesh, the
flesh is what will be produced, not the Spirit. But if our minds are set on
Christ and on things above, that will be reflected in who we are and in what we
say and do. For then we will have the mindsets of Christ and of his word and
not that of the flesh and the world.
Now our minds should be set on truth and not lies, but not
everything that is true constitutes things we should be thinking about. But we
don’t want to be entertaining lies in our minds, but we want our minds to focus
on what is truth in God’s sight, like the truth of God’s word. And our minds
should not be set on things which are dishonorable, but on things which are
honorable in the sight of God – things holy and righteous and morally pure.
Basically, our minds should be set on good things, the good
things of God, and not on anything evil. We should not be entertaining our
minds with the garbage and the filth of the world. But we should be taking in
the word of God daily into our minds, and then we must put the word of the Lord
into practice in our daily lives. So we need to be those who are diligent about
guarding our minds and our hearts against all that is evil and about filling
our minds up with the things of God. For what we think about impacts who we are
and what we do.
Looking to Thee
By James Rowe (1865-1933)
Looking to Thee from day to day,
Trusting Thy grace along the way,
Knowing that Thou wilt safely keep all that is Thine;
Sure of Thy soul redeeming love,
Sure of a crown of life above,
Singing Thy praise I press along, Savior divine.
Looking to Thee for all I need,
Finding in Thee a Friend indeed,
All of the burdens of the day meekly I bear;
Neither the foe nor storm I fear,
Savior divine, for Thou art near,
Ready my cares and troubles all freely to share.
After a while in heaven bright,
Where there is neither sin nor night,
I shall behold Thee, face to face, Jesus my own;
Then with the saved ones gone before,
I shall with rapture, more and more,
Praise Thee forever, near the bright, beautiful throne.
Looking to Thee, Trusting thy grace,
I am as happy as a true soldier can be;
Nearing my own heavenly place,
Trusting Thy love I press along looking to Thee.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qurjT4E-T8Y
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