Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Temporal Mindset Reset

The last week, while I have been sick, I have been struggling to keep sight of eternal things. When I get sick all I can usually think about is what I am feeling, what I am needing and what I want. I want to be comfortable, well fed, sleep when I want and be down right lazy.

Thank God for Joel who helps keep me balanced! He does such a great job encouraging me to focus on Jesus and not on these temporal bodily feelings. These times of physical weakness come for many reasons and one of them is to sanctify us. When we are weak we tend to excuse more sinful behaviors and... there is no excuse. The Bible says, "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things." (Colossians 3) It does not list any exceptions.

The world is full of temporal things and we best not love them. Not our food, not our homes, not our clothes, not our country (I'll discuss that in a second). Those things are but a portion of God's grace He pours out on us. He could take them away in an instant.

I have also realized I am not a very patriotic person. I am grateful for my country. I pray for our leaders. I am grateful for soldiers. I am thankful for the freedom to worship. I just do not have the affection for America like many people have. Memorial Day, Independence Day, etc. are not that exciting for me beyond the extra day off and a chance to be with family.

Since Monday I have been asking God if my thinking is off and if I should love America like people say we should. As I pray about it I cannot get Philippians 3 out of my mind:

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."

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