Jump Start # 1726

Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth.”

  Our passage today reminds us of the importance of our mind. There is a battle going on for your mind. The one that wins the battle, eventually will win the war. Our attitudes, our behavior, our goals, our values and our perspective are all shaped and defined by our mind. The carnal man, as Paul referred to the Corinthians as, has his mind set on the things of the world. He is material in his thinking. He sees the same thing that the spiritual man does, but he goes no deeper than the surface and the obvious. He doesn’t think about influence, consequences and the future. His decisions are based upon what he feels like doing.

The spiritually minded man is thinking about God, Heaven and the course that God wants him to pursue. He measures what he says before he says it. He thinks about how his actions will affect others. He looks at the big picture and goes out of his way to be a positive influence in his words, decisions and attitudes.

Some are spiritually minded and others are purely worldly minded. Why is it that way? Our verse explains. It comes down to the word “set” or “be intent.” It’s a choice. The spiritually minded man could easily be solely worldly, but he chooses not to be that way. He has made choices that now affects everything about him.

Notice how this spiritual mindset is found throughout the N.T.

• Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom 12:2)
• Have this mind in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus (Phil 2:5)
• Whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and of good repute, dwell on these things (Phil 4:8)
• Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Mt 6:33)
• Senses trained to discern good and evil (Heb 5:14)

Control the mind and you will find other things falling into the right place. It may be that too often we focus upon the external problems and never realize that the cause is a mind that is not set on the things above. A person can apologize for saying improper or hurtful things, but unless he changes his thinking, he’s bound to do it again. The same goes for immoral living. A person can apologize and even promise never to do it again, but they will, unless they change their thinking. A material man is bound to keep messing up and breaking the laws of God. A material man doesn’t think spiritual. He doesn’t get it. He doesn’t see it. And until he does, he will continually make the wrong choices.

The prodigal finally came to his senses. For the first time, maybe the first time ever, a spiritual light bulb came on inside of him. He realized that his life was a mess. There was no one to blame but himself. He realized that he didn’t have to continue living this way. He remembered. He remembered what his father was like. Any hope and any promise of a better future meant apologizing to his father and coming home. He had to get up and come home. The spiritual mind was beginning to work. He set his sights on home. In this same way, a material man today begins his spiritual journey.

The first steps are painful and filled with sorrow and guilt. A person realizes that they messed up. They come to realize that they have sinned. There is no need to point fingers. No one made them do what they did. It was their dumb and wrong choices that got them there. How they wish that they could do things over again. Some of these choices have hurt other people. Things were said that should never have been spoken. Choices were made that were not thought out. And now the consequences come caving in on the material man. For the prodigal, it was looking at pig food and wanting that to eat. For others, it may be sitting in the back seat of a police car. It may be the loss of a job. It may be your mate who tells you to go somewhere else. It may be getting expelled from school. Now the world comes crashing in on you. Why did I do those dumb things? Why wasn’t I thinking? The answer is obvious. You did not have your mind set on things above. You were material in your choices. You did what you wanted to without any thought to your family, your God and your future. What a painful realization this is when it finally hits a person.

The next step is much easier. Turn to God. Do what God has always said. For some, it’s putting on Christ in baptism and walking in righteousness. For others, who did this long ago, but forgot, it’s a matter of getting back to where you need to be.

Spiritually minded—the person is more concerned with the inside than the outside. He is careful about what he feeds his heart and soul. He will take a long look at music, literature, movies and even friends. He knows those things can influence, shape and even alter the direction a person may be going. He will fill his heart with spiritual things such as worship, reading God’s word and prayer. He will surround himself with righteous people who are spiritually minded. He finds in a very short time that his perspective, his values and even what he likes becomes shaped by the spiritual. He longs to see God’s kingdom grow. He sees the value of helping others find what he has found. He longs to be with God.

As the outer man decays, the inner man is being renewed day by day. His body and mind are going different directions. That doesn’t bother him. He is not discouraged. Paul’s words from 2 Cor 4, “We do not lose heart.” He wants to be with God. Even death is viewed differently for the spiritual man. It’s an advantage, because he will be with the Lord and he will be finished with the struggles here.

Set your mind on things above—that’s our passage. That’s our choice. That’s our calling. No one can do it for you. But whether you do it or not, the outcome will  be obvious. The material man and the spiritual man are moving in different directions.

What are you thinking about? What have you set your mind on? What is your focus point? Where are you headed? What do you have your eyes set on? Is it the things above or the things right before us?

Spiritually minded or materially minded? Your choice, but what a choice it is.

Roger

Jump Start # 674

Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.”

Paul’s words here are very simple, yet very hard to do. I was talking with someone recently, and they felt as if their faith was stuck, going no where. This person hadn’t given up nor thrown in the towel. He was stagnate and felt as if his faith was not a real part of his life anymore. Many of us have been there. Life tends to be hills, with ups and downs, rather than flat stretches of road. It’s the valleys we go through that are tough. The valleys are often not hard times, because hard times tend to make us lean on our faith. The valleys can be those ordinary, every day, nothing special kind of days. Those are the days that are often lost in our memories. We remember exciting events. We’d like to forget the terrible days, but we don’t. It’s all those other days, the ordinary going to school days, going to work days, that often get us feeling stagnate.

I gave our verse today to this person I was talking with. As we parted, I really thought about this verse. The front part is the easiest. Set your mind on things above! That’s first, a choice. That’s deliberately thinking about Heaven, but more than golden streets and pearly gates, it’s thinking about Christ. Setting your mind on Christ—His rule, His position, His will, reminds us that we belong to Him. We live with a purpose and a plan—it’s Christ’s. Most of us get that. We may not do it as often as we should, but we get it.

The second part of this verse is what troubles us. Paul said to not set our minds “on things of the earth.” Christ thinking not earthly thinking. Yet we live here. There are things that require my mind, my attention and me. There are bills to pay, pets that need to go to the vet, a house that needs care, vacations to be planned, retirement to be saving for. We are of this world and can not go through it without some attention. I don’t think Paul was telling the early Christians to ignore leaky roofs, finding a job, taking care of sick kids—just keep thinking of Christ and Heaven. If not careful, that sounds like our concept of monks in long robes sitting around humming praises. Maybe that would be peaceful and that lifestyle appealing to some, but it’s not practical. I live in a house. I have kids. I have a job. How can I seek things above and not be drawn to those things?

Could it be that setting my mind on things above will activate my faith in the things here? Instead of living two separate lives, one spiritual and one physical, I am to live one life—a person of Christ. Setting my mind on things above will ease my fears and lessen my worries. Setting my mind on things above will put things in order and keep me from being vain, selfish and materialistic. Setting my mind on things above will lead me to a right attitude and make me become more thankful to God. Setting my mind on things above puts the most important right before my eyes.

Could it be that our faith seems to get stuck because we don’t see the need for it every day and everywhere? Could it be that we have not learn that the physical and spiritual  are connected and one will lead the other. How important it is for the spiritual to lead the physical. Decisions and choices need to be based upon the spiritual not the physical. The spiritual will get us through. The spiritual will make all the difference.

We should never flip off the spiritual switch. Everywhere we are, the spiritual matters. It will keep our tongues in check. It will help us with who we are. It will remind us of what we ought to be doing. It will pump air into our faith. Godliness is not a Sunday thing, it’s an everyday choice.

Set your mind on things above…It will make a difference.

Roger

Jump Start # 554

Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on things above , not on things that are on the earth.”

The third chapter of Colossians addresses the walk of a Christian. Paul reminds us that Christ is our life and is first in all things. The chapter is a quick examination of the practical things that the Christian walk involves. Included in this list is purity, attitude, speech and relationships. To walk with Christ involves much more than just going to church services on Sunday. What happens on a Tuesday is as important as what happens on Sunday. What comes out of a Christian is as important as what goes in a Christian.

Walking with Christ is more than direction and journey, it is becoming, becoming like Christ. It’s that “becoming” aspect that is hard. Sometimes we can be stubborn and simply not want to change, especially our attitudes. It is those attitudes that will trip us and keep us from truly becoming.

Our verse today sets the pace for all of these things. This is one of the ways these things are accomplished. It begins by setting your mind on things above. We might use the word “focus,” or “concentration,” for the idea of setting your mind. Keeping focused. Some have trouble with this in life. Some need help. The choices that we make come from what we determine is important and what we are thinking about.

I have talked to more than one person who was in a terrible mess. They made some foolish choices that took them down some dead end roads spiritually. The consequences caught up with them and they were in trouble. Many times when asked what happened, the reply is, “I just wasn’t thinking.” Isn’t that exactly  what Paul is trying to remind the Colossians? Think. Set your mind. Concentrate. Focus. Pay attention.

It’s pretty easy to fail—in just about any area. It’s easy to flunk a test, whether in the third grade, or graduate school. Simply don’t study and that’s a sure way to get that “F.” It’s easy to get fired, just don’t show up. Sooner or later, you’ll be released. It’s easy to be overweight. Just eat junk food and don’t do anything. That’s easy. The hard thing to do is get on the honor roll. It’s hard to get a promotion at work. Staying fit, isn’t easy. You have to work at it.

The same thoughts apply financially. It’s easy to be in debt and broke. It’s hard to build savings. The same apply in knowledge. It’s easy not to know much. It’s hard to learn a subject.

The same applies spiritually. It’s easy to be a sinner. It’s easy to be selfish. It’s easy stay in bed on Sunday, especially on a dark, cold day. It’s easy to gossip. It’s easy to neglect what ought to be important. It’s easy to live in spiritual ignorance. It’s easy to sit on the sidelines of life and do nothing. Anyone can do that. Most do. Paul is after the opposite. It takes effort, focus and determination to do right, to walk in righteousness and to be holy. When others are failing spiritually, you must do different. You must go when you want to stay. You must think of others, when you feel like only thinking of self. You must, as our verse tells us, set your mind on things above.

Without doing that, a person will fail spiritually. It’s nearly guaranteed. Setting that mind on Heaven makes a person think about Jesus and what would the Lord want. It makes him realize that there are consequences to all choices and responsibilities that God wants us engaged in.

If you need to get up at a very early hour, you set your alarm clock. This weekend we will be setting out clocks forward. We do that so we know the time. It’s something you have to do. Setting your mind on things above works the same way. You have to know about “things above” before you can set your mind on it. You have to understand some things and think about some things.

Last summer, my wife and I went to Disney. First trip there in over 15 years. First trip there without any kids. I got on-line to see what has changed. I read about things. I set my mind or prepared for it.

This is what Paul is wanting us to do about Heaven. Have you thought about it in a while? Have you read about it? What will you do there? Do you know? What does the Scriptures teach you about it? Are you excited? Do you wish you were there now? Do you realize that what you do today, impacts that? It does. Set your mind on it. Make choices that improve your spiritual health. Do the things that strengthens your soul and heart for God.

Set. Fix. Focus. Determine. Plan. Dream. Hope. Long. Want. Wish. And then do things that reflect that, help that and make that. It begins with Jesus. Without Him, you won’t make it. Honor Him. Obey Him. Follow Him. Trust Him. Then see through the shallow trinkets that Satan dangles in front of your eyes each day. Lust, greed, selfishness, materialism, living only for today—that’s Satan’s menu. It never changes. It’s the same. It always brings heartaches, bellyaches, and a host of problems. His menu looks good, but it’s not good for you.  Krispy Kreme donuts are like that to me. I once could eat them 24/7. I thought my car had a steering problem, because everything that “hot” light came on, my car just turned in there. Krispy Kreme diet was making my clothes not fit. I didn’t like that. It’s either keep buying more clothes or stop the donuts. Set your mind. What do you want to be like in 5 years. Paul is talking this way spiritually.

It starts today. Set your mind. It affects what TV shows I watch. It affects what I say and how I say it. It affects what I do with God.

Set your mind…it’s up to us.

Roger