Mind of Christ

Mind – Motives and Ministry

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Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, Philippians 2:5 NKJV

I hate dental exams and am not too crazy about routine checkups at my primary care doctor either. It isn’t that I don’t like or trust the medical professionals in my life. My problem is that I worry about what they will find and some of the probing they do can even be a bit painful. Those unsettling sessions remind me of how God works on my motives. Just like many of you, I usually start off into service of one kind or another with enthusiasm, and without a doubt, by God’s grace some good gets done. But after a while, I discover that God schedules a visit to His examination room. There He pokes around in uncomfortable areas of my motivations, shines a bright light on the dark corners of my methods and then sends me off with a referral to a specialist by the name of Dr. Holy Spirit. Then I notice that He has written a recommendation for surgery! It says that I need the removal of at least 10 lbs. of self-promotion and the insertion of a pacemaker to keep my weakened heart in proper rhythm. If you have been to God’s exam room lately and come away feeling discouraged, I want to remind you that along with the referral, He also gives us some prescriptions to fill at Heaven’s pharmacy. Here are three of the medications that He recommended for me that I have found have helped prepare me for the upcoming medical procedures. This first one you will need to take early in the morning, before your day begins: so that you can start things off in the right direction.

Then around midday, when things are getting a little busy, sit down for a moment and take this second one, along with a tall glass of God’s living water. You will find that as soon as it goes down, that it will refresh your heart and put your crazy day back into perspective.

Then in the evening, when you are feeling worn down from all that has been piled on you during the day and it seems like you don’t have anything left to give, try a double dose of this, just before you lie down for the night. This one always gives me peace and rest, because it comes from the one who loves us the most and who is working every detail of our life out for good!

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 
2 Corinthians 13:14 NIV

Living Through the Covid Blues

/ pastorpete51 / 3 Comments

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8 NKJV

With the death of a close friend, and both of us battling Covid (Thankfully not at the same time) the last seven days have begun to blur together. With hours of time and not a lot of energy, I have gone back to the project of digitizing our old family photos. First, comes the sorting process and deciding which of these can simply be retired. Then, I photograph each photo with our canon, upload and enhance those thousands of photos (Why did we take so many!?). By now I am up to the late 90’s and early 2000’s and the baby photos of our grandchildren are sweet. But as I see the thousands of faces, I also know the sad, sometimes tragic stories that replaced the smiles with tears. Some I simply delete, as the memories are too painful, others I preserve, because for better or worse these are the people who are part of our history. In a bout of depression, the other night, my mind turned back to the verse that has helped me so many times before. Our old friend, the Apostle Paul, sitting in his prison cell, writes to encourage his friends that when they face hardships, they need to remember the good things that God has done. No matter how low things appear, there are still things and people around us who have noble hearts. No matter how unfairly and selfishly people treat each other, there still remain things of true purity, loveliness and grace. As long as God sits on Heaven’s throne (Which is a long-long time!) – alongside the evil in this world and ruling over it are God’s goodness and glory. He is still good. He sees the whole picture and still loves and cares for each of us. It is up to me and you to decide what we allow our hearts and minds to dwell on and we can do this because our true life is in Christ and is hidden with Him in God.

One of the sisters from our prayer group sent us this song from Charity Gayle, saying it would give us something to praise God about. By the end, the ice in my soul began to melt and I was really blessed. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. There is no better way for us to set our minds on the good things God has done, that to take time out and give Him praise!

Too Heavenly Minded?

/ pastorpete51 / 5 Comments

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Colossians 3:2-3 KJV

“Don’t be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good!” is a phrase I have heard a lot. It is usually stated with a knowing grin as if to say, “You’ll come around and get a grip on reality one day.” But the older I get and the closer the realities of Heaven become, the more I realize that nothing on earth is more important or more real than Heaven. In fact, today’s verse tells us not to keep our eyes on earth but urges us to set our sights and affections on Heaven because that is where Jesus is.

One day, the flowers in our gardens will die, the mementos in our China hutches will sit on a shelf in a thrift shop and the savings in our bank accounts will be spent. But the things of heaven, like the love of God for a neighbor, the joy of having sins forgiven and the peace that comes from knowing God will never grow old. One day we will close our eyes on earth and open them to see Jesus. A moment will come when we draw our last breath on earth and our first in heaven. When all is said and done, no one will do more good on earth than someone who is always Heavenly minded. May our highest goal be to sing all the verses God gives us to our song on earth, so that one day we can finish the chorus with the angels at the feet of our Heavenly Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!