Principle 3- It's not about our happiness...

We live in a world that is constantly bombarding us with the message that our lives should be focused on our own happiness and pleasure. This message streams from every commercial we are exposed to...in an effort to induce us to buy whatever product is being featured. We are all impacted by that message, no matter how hard we try to ignore it. For us as Christians, we may seek to avoid overt materialism, or we may unwittingly fall prey to it. But even if we are somewhat successful is putting off materialism, we still subtly begin to get the idea that God's plan should revolve around us and our happiness. As we seek to work out God's will for our lives, we usually begin with the assumption that God wants us happy, healthy and successful. It's not that God doesn't want those things for us, rather, it's just not His number one priority. This means that there may be seasons of our life during which blessings pour forth, but we may also experience seasons of difficulties and trials.

During those trials, it is critical to reflect on what God's priorities are for us. James gives us a clue when he tells us to "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." The good news is that God's priority for us is faith in Him that produces spiritual perfection and completeness. The bad news is...it takes trials and tribulation to achieve those things.

Principle 3 recognizes that God's priority for us is spiritual growth and maturity, not our happiness and pleasure. Therefore, if we are Christians who truly desire to grow spiritually, we must be Christians who are ready to face difficulties in order to grow our faith. When we face those difficulties with the knowledge that spiritual growth will result, not only do the difficulties make sense, but we can more easily move toward counting it all joy!

Principle 2- Heaven is our true home

Building from the first principle laid out in my last post, if we are to live in this world as exiles, it brings up the natural question of where is our true home. Therefore, principle #2 is that heaven is our true home.

It is one thing to agree with that statement, but a completely different matter to actually live your life that way. A life lived with the knowledge and belief that heaven is our true home is a life dominated by an eternal perspective. In other words, it is a life that is constantly weighing priorities on the basis of what will matter in the light of eternity versus what is important now and in the moment.

It is a life that will have several characteristics including caring less about what other people think and more about what God thinks. It is a life that values relationships and the soul condition of those around us rather than our own image in the world. The life that is lived with an eternal perspective cares less about the accumulation of things and more about meeting the needs of others. It is a life that is open to sacrifice for others and less about self preservation than about truly following God's will for our lives.

Frankly, the life lived with an eternal perspective should be puzzling for those living only for this world. It should not make sense...it should be radical and easily misunderstood. It should stand out and draw questions rather than blend in with the everyday lives of those living only for themselves.

It will be a life that bears eternal fruit. That is, at it's end, the person will be able to look back and see in small ways, lives that they have touched and changed, souls that have been won to the Lord, and disciples that have grown under their influence. The only thing that will last eternally is our works that have impacted another soul, by helping them in their time of need, by leading them to Christ, or by helping them grow closer to their Lord. That's it! Gold, money or treasure will not pass into eternity. Cars, houses, yards, boats, gadgets and all other possessions will all disappear one day. They will not pass into eternity. Only people will pass into eternity, and yes, probably animals as well.

The life lived with the view of heaven as our true home, will be a life focused on helping the lives of those around us, sacrificially, spiritually, and always with God's help.

Principles for Today's Christians- Living as an exile

I've been a follower of Jesus Christ for over 35 years, and during that time, I've spent a great deal of time thinking through what it means to be a Christian and walk with the Lord in today's world. Just recently, I've been thinking about condensing those thoughts down to a set of principles that come out of the Bible...principles that are thus Biblical and should be remembered by every believer if they truly want to follow the Lord in this life.

These principles are grounded first of all in the belief that God exists and has revealed Himself to the form of the Trinity, i.e. the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This revelation has been through not only creation, but more specifically the Bible, which I believe to be inspired (literally God breathed) and thus inerrant. These principles pre-suppose that those who would follow them have true faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, and have submitted their lives to Him, seeking to live the life that God has prepared for them.

With this background, the first principle that I must daily remind myself of is that this world is not my home. It requires daily remembrance because I am created in such a way that where I am, I want to make my home. It is a natural response within me that where I am currently existing should be my home. But Scripture in many places reminds us that the world around us is different than when it was created, thus it is fallen and should no longer be the desire of my heart. Probably one of the best Scripture references is 1 John 2:15-17 where John writes do not love the world or the things in the world.

Thus true Christians must abide in this world not as natural citizens of the world, but rather as living in exile and many have put it. This naturally brings up the question of what it means to live in exile as opposed to living as a citizen. A citizen has an ultimate focus of improving their life in this world, while an exile lives with a focus beyond this world. The success or failure of a citizen's life is based solely on success and failure within this world, while the exile it looking for success in the eyes of the One who made this world. Two very different things, and thus two very different lives.

Leaving everything and following Him...

In Luke 5, we receive a more full account of the call of James, John and Peter. Unlike what has often been portrayed out of Matthew Chapter 4 as an isolated call of Jesus and immediate response by the disciples, there is background to that call which is given more fully in the accounts of Luke and John. But to me, the issue is that they were once employed in a honest hardworking profession, and were called from that position to something very different. We are told they left everything!

We know from the book of Acts and other extra-Biblical accounts that except for a short period of time after the death of Jesus, they did in fact leave their profession of fishing and devoted themselves completely to following Jesus and His ministry. In fact, both Peter and James were killed as a result of their ministry, and John was imprisoned for a period of time on the island of Patmos. In other words....they suffered greatly! The concept of following Jesus and suffering for Him is not often talked about is Western Christianity. In fact, usually the opposite is proposed. Follow Jesus and you will be blessed! While this is certainly true, as the life of Paul makes clear, these blessings are usually non-material and eternal. Here in the West, we have assumed the blessings are material and present today.

We need to return to that thinking. We need to remember that our life in this world is fleeting and temporary. We need to remember that what truly matters is how we impact eternity by bearing eternal fruit in the form of new disciples who are themselves getting ready to follow Jesus. We need to take our eyes off of the present distractions of our materialistic world, and keep them focused on Jesus...who for our sake, endured the pain and suffering of the cross.

God's Glory

I've been thinking a lot lately about God's glory. I head up a Christian non profit and it's mission is to help young girls who have been exploited. As a non profit, we are always in the process of raising funds and dependent on donors to be able to do our work. The issue of God's glory comes up because I want to raise funds in such a way that whatever success we achieve, brings God glory. The problem is, there are many secular non profits with profound success in raising money for causes that have nothing to do with God. It raises all kinds of questions, such as... does God bless the work of a non profit even if they are secular simply because they are working to help the poor? Does God desire a Christian non profit to raise funds in a certain way so that it is clear He is behind the success in fundraising? If so, what would that certain way look like? These are questions for which I do not yet have answers. However, it has caused me to look into the Scriptures to learn more about God's glory.

First of all, the Bible tells us clearly that God deserves glory. One of the better known verses is 1 Chronicles 16:29- "Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name...". We are to give the glory to God that He deserves. In fact, 1 Chronicles 29:11 tells us that ALL glory ultimately belongs to the Lord. "Yours, O LORD is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours." Psalm 8:1 tells us that God set His glory above the heavens, while Psalms 19:1 reminds us that the heavens declare the glory of God. Psalm 24 talks about the King of Glory, and in Isaiah 6:3 the cherubim are crying out that the whole earth is filled with His glory. Finally, Isaiah 40:5 reminds us that everyone...everyone will eventually see the glory of the LORD.

What concerns me is that God is also jealous for His glory. Isaiah 48:11 tells us "...my glory I will not give to another." Yet Paul tells us in Romans 2:10 that everyone who does good will receive glory.

My conclusion at this point is that God is in charge of His glory. He has put everything in place within creation to bring Him glory. He has created us for His glory. He created the angels for His glory. The whole earth is full of His glory. His glory is evident all around us. Therefore, He is in charge of His glory, not us. In addition, He has chosen to share His glory with us if we are obedient to Him and following His path. In other words, He is responsible for how His glory is manifested and revealed, and we are responsible for being obedient to Him. Part of that obedience is that we should also be careful that we ascribe to the Lord the glory He deserves. I do believe that extends to fundraising. Perhaps it's as easy as pursuing the fundraising techniques that He has chosen to bless, and then making sure that we ascribe to Him the glory and honor He deserves by establishing that blessing.

How Great a Salvation- Hebrews 2

Have you ever wondered why there is such a difference between the way God portrays Himself in the Old Testament and the New Testament? After all, there is a clear difference, and you don't have to go very far to find examples of it. Take for example Hosea chapter 13. Written around the time of the Assyrian capture of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and Samaria in 723 BC, the words of the LORD are instructive. In verses 7 and following, God compares Himself to a lion that will devour Israel because of their unfaithfulness. He says things like "...I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs...I will tear open their breast..." in verse 8. As if that is not enough, in verse 16 God says "...Samaria shall bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by their sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open." It's hard to imagine a more graphic description of rage expressed against a group of people. It's even more meaningful when we realize that these events actually occurred against the people of Israel.

A clue for me is when the writer of Hebrews asks in chapter 2, verse 3 how we will escape if we ignore such a great salvation. After all, if God really isn't angry with our sin, than our salvation from sin is little more than a quick little reprieve that says "OK...just don't do it again". Our salvation through Jesus Christ truly is a GREAT salvation because God is truly angry at us because of our sin. The anger and wrath He expresses in the Old Testament illustrates this vividly for us.

While our God is a loving God, He is also a jealous God. He wants and deserves our worship and obedience. He also knows that the only way He could close the chasm between us and Him was in sending His son to die as the sacrifice for our sins. The penalty for sin had to be paid to show how horrific it is. We could never pay the price, only He could. When you stop and think about it, this salvation provided for us is truly great and should never be ignored.

The Future

During my devotions this morning, I was reading in Daniel Chapter 9, which of course is the chapter that contains the famous seventy sevens or weeks passage. It got me thinking about future events. Dispensationalists believe this chapter lays out the time-line for future events beginning during the time of Daniel. They also believe that there is one remaining 'seven' which has yet to be fulfilled which will be a period of seven years just prior to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Of course there is much debate around this issue and many different opinions as to what events will occur and in what order. The only thing that is clear about this whole debate is the reason for it...the Scriptures that deal with future events are particularly unclear. They are unclear for a reason...God doesn't want us to know too much about the specifics of the future.

But there are things of which we can be certain. First of all, Jesus is returning again. When He does return, it will be in a completely different capacity than during His first coming. He was disguised in His first coming as a lowly carpenter hailing from a city of little regard...Nazareth. But His Second Coming will leave no doubt in anyone's mind who He really is. It's manner will be such that every person alive on the earth will know immediately they are witnessing the appearance of God.

Another thing we know for sure is that once the Lord Jesus returns, things on the earth will be very different from that point on. His Kingdom will be established in a very real and evident way. Only those who submit to Christ will be allowed to remain in this Kingdom, while those who have rebelled and continue to rebel will cast into a different place so that Christ's reign and control of the earth will be complete.

This new Kingdom is what Christians today should be focused on...our hope is in Christ alone, and He will accomplish His will. The earth will be cleansed from evil, and everlasting peace and joy in the presence of the Lord will be ours. With this in mind, I'm always puzzled at the degree of acrimonious debate that goes on today about the little details of the future. Far better that we simply agree to disagree over the minors, and focus our hope and joy on the majors!

The Unnamed Prophet

There are stories within the Old Testament that when you read them, you're left with a series of questions. What does this mean? Why did it turn out this way? What is God trying to tell us? Chapter 13 of 1 Kings contains one of those stories. It is the story of an unnamed prophet to prophesies against the altar of Jeroboam located at Bethel. Not only do we not know his name, but know very little about him other than what is found in this chapter. He is told by God to come and prophesy against this altar, and then leave immediately by a different route without eating or drinking anything while in Bethel. As we read this episode, we learn that another prophet lies to the original prophet and draws him back to eat and drink in Bethel, and thus the first prophet is killed by a lion on his way home. A very strange story...but the other question that must be addressed is why does God include this unique story within the Scriptures? He has a purpose, and it is up to us to look further into this.
I'm struck by several observations. First of all, the lion that attacked the original prophet didn't eat him, nor did he run away. In fact, he stayed by the body until the second prophet came to take it, not attacking anything or anyone else. In other words, this was not a random lion attack. Second, the prior instructions to the prophet were very clear, and had he obeyed them, the lion attack would not have happened. Third, the penalty for disobedience falls completely on to the original prophet because the prophet who lied and tricked the first prophet to return to Bethel was not given any obvious punishment. My natural tendency in reading this is to feel sorry for the first prophet who is betrayed by the prophet from Bethel who lied and said that the Lord had told him to bring the prophet back to Bethel. The first prophet's disobedience to the original command occurred because he thought he had new instructions from the Lord, not out of willful disobedience. Yet he suffered the ultimate penalty for disobedience...death, while the prophet who lied and deceived received no penalty. Thus my first reaction...this is unjust. But God is not unjust. He is holy and righteous. So why did this happen this way? My thoughts...God had spoken directly to the original prophet and had given him clear instructions. His mistake was in accepting second hand instructions that were contrary to the original first hand instructions. He should have maintained his obedience to the original first hand instructions until he received contrary instructions...again first hand. We can fall into the same trap today, though thankfully we usually don't have to worry about being killed by a lion. Those who are walking close to the Lord often get a sense of a calling from Him to a certain type of ministry. It is clear, and it is first hand, i.e. something we sense directly from God. But as we share that calling with others, we may be told that the calling makes no sense, that God would never call us to something like that, or that we're making a huge mistake by following that calling. We may even get advice along the lines that a person feels from common sense that God has instead made us for a different calling. All too often, we forget the original call, and follow the advice of the many "prophets" around us, living and pursuing a calling that is different than what God had planned. What a loss and how tragic that truly is. Let us recall to mind and hold tight to any direct call from the Lord, and pursue that no matter what the prophets around us may say...

The importance of suffering

Living in the United States, I find that there are two related characteristics of our culture here that work against us as Christians drawing close to the Lord. The first is our rampant materialism, and the second is our resulting self-sufficiency. It is expected of everyone living in the U.S., including Christians, that we will work to be self-sufficient. As Christians then, how do we learn to rely on the Lord? This was brought home to me again by a recent trip to Calcutta India, (now called Kolkata), and my ingrained need, (and at times demand), for comfort. We simply do not know how spoiled we are until we go to another culture where comfort is not so accessible. Here in the U.S., I know that most of us seek to avoid suffering, but that keeps us from experiencing what Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians chapter 1. While Paul doesn't go into detail about what his sufferings were, we can tell that they were significant, because in verse 9, he tells us that they were beginning to think they were going to die. But Paul goes on to give us the jewel in this section when he points out that the purpose God had for the suffering they experienced was to make them rely more on God and less on themselves. That's a lessen we all need desperately here in the U.S. Yes, I know there is suffering of many different types here in the U.S., but we're not surrounded by it like so many places in the world. Our suffering is isolated and insulated, so that we're less often taught that we need to rely more on God. While Paul saw suffering as a necessary tool to draw him closer to God, I'm all too quick to see it as a punishment from God. It requires a paradigm shift in how we look at suffering...one from looking at suffering in completely negative terms, to seeing it as having the ability to teach us things that can't be learned any other way. It's a slow process, and one in which I have a long way to go.

Muscle Building

We live in a busy world, occupied with all kinds of activities that drain our strength from us. Add to that the inevitable bad things that happen, and we will have episodes when we are left without strength and hope. David had that happen, and his response is instructive to us. In 1 Samuel 30, while David is off getting ready for battle, the town in which he and his men were living at the time was attacked by his enemies. All of their belongings including their wives and children were taken from them. Clearly, this was a low point for David since verse 6 tells us that he was "greatly distressed". There were several options before David at that point. He could have lost all hope and lived in defeat from that point on, or he could have pursued his enemies filled with anger and rage, risking defeat. David however made a different choice. The second part of verse 6 tells us that he strengthened himself in the Lord his God. We aren't told exactly how he did that, but we can assume that it involved spending time in prayer, and perhaps even praise to God. No doubt he also spent time reviewing in his mind the stories contained in the writings of Moses. In essence, David took his struggles and loss to the Lord, and found strength. I've noticed that as I have times during which I'm in need of strength, I will often go to things other than the Lord such as a good book, or a popular movie or TV program. Yes, it might take my mind off of things, but true strengthening is lacking. I get finished with that activity and I'm still in need of strength. I'm slowly learning that during those times, I'm far better off if I spend time in prayer and reading of the Word. True strength comes only from the Lord. Another instructive lesson from David is that when he had found new strength, he sought the Lord's direction as to his next step. He didn't arise in that strength and pursue his own agenda. He asked the Lord if he should pursue his enemies. The Lord gave him direction and David was able to recover his lost wives and children. In similar fashion, as we gain our strength from the Lord, we should be careful how we use that strength by seeking His will and direction for our lives.

Gospel Amnesia

I've been a believer for over 36 years, but I still struggle to apply the Gospel (or Good News) of Jesus Christ to my life in certain ways. An example of this are the pangs of guilt I feel when I read certain passages. On the one hand, I recognize as Paul reminds us in Romans 3:23 that I have sinned along with the rest of humanity. I further recognize as Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8,9 that I have been saved by grace. Yet, in the strange contortions of my mind, I still expect myself to somehow earn salvation by works through achieving a certain level of righteousness. It is not at a conscious level that I do this, but rather subconscious. The result is that when I read a passage like Romans 12:1 which states that we should present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, I am assaulted with guilt knowing that I am incapable of doing that. My thinking has shifted away from having my righteousness depend on what the Lord has done for me to having my righteousness depend upon my own performance. I have developed Gospel amnesia. What I am learning to do now, still imperfectly, is to preach the Gospel to myself on a daily basis so that I instead can read passages like Romans 12 and realize that all that is required of me is the presentation of my body to God as a living sacrifice, and He is the One who makes it holy and acceptable. The Gospel really is Good News in that Jesus came to make us righteous and holy, and He does so as we place our faith in Him, and not on the basis of our performance. There is nothing we need to do to make that happen, nor is there anything we can do to make that happen. It is His free gift to us, accomplished through His death, burial, and resurrection. It is thankfulness that I should be feeling...not guilt!

False Prophets

In Jeremiah 28, there is an interesting story about a false prophet named Hananiah. Hananiah is prophesying peace for the nation of Judah while Jeremiah is predicting more war, famine, and defeat by the Babylonians. Hananiah is telling the people what they want to hear, while Jeremiah is doing just the opposite. Naturally, Hananiah is the most popular. In fact, if you read the book of Jeremiah, you soon discover that he was not well liked at all, and there were even several attempts on his life. However, the bottom line is that Jeremiah was right, and Hananiah was wrong. It's a historical illustration of being popular and official, acting as if you are speaking the words of God, but in the end, totally wrong. Who looking back would want to be Hananiah rather than Jeremiah? No one. Yet, during their life, most would choose the popularity and message of Hananiah. The story brings out the fact that it is more important to be right than to be popular. Yet, I can't help but think that Hananiah was convinced that he was right as he was speaking peace and prosperity. It's also an illustration of how we can fool ourselves as to what is right. We can be absolutely convinced we are speaking truth, yet in the end be dead wrong...literally. In verses 7-9, Jeremiah gives us a clue to help us find our way. In verse 6, Jeremiah responds to the words of Hananiah by stating that he hopes they come true. My personal belief is that he meant those words. But he goes on to point out that the words of previous prophets agree with Jeremiah, not with Hananiah. Therefore, the burden of proof is upon Hananiah. There are those today who still preach a message of peace and prosperity. Naturally, they are very popular. But the real question is...are they right? Only by looking at the whole of Scripture can we see that God often uses difficulties in various forms to bring us to the place where we are fully dependent upon Him.

Gideon

If someone knows something about Gideon, it usually has to do with the episode with the fleece. However, I've found myself thinking about the characteristics of the man, since there are a few clues about that in Scripture. The most profound clue is found in Judges 8:18 where Gideon has an interesting conversation with 2 kings he has just captured. He asks them about the young men they had killed in the town of Tabor. Their response was "As you are, so were they. Every one of them resembled the son of a king". Gideon then tells them they were his brothers. This naturally brings up a whole series of questions such as what does it mean to have the bearing of a king? How is it that an entire family of sons has that bearing? Why do some have it and others don't? These are all questions that are not answered by the story of Gideon, nor can I answer them. In fact, the story of Gideon even confuses the picture. For instance, you might start out by answering that a man is able to raise a whole family of sons with the bearing of a king by being faithful to the LORD. But we learn in Judges 6 that his father has an altar to Baal! But here are some thoughts regarding this issue. First of all, I believe we can conclude that this regal bearing had something to do with the original call of Gideon, and preceded the call. We see this in the words of the angel when he calls Gideon a "Mighty man of valor". I don't believe that Gideon was a wimp, and then suddenly became a mighty man when the Spirit of the Lord came on him. Secondly, even as a mighty man of valor, he was cautious as shown by the fact that he destroyed his fathers altar to Baal during the night, and by his episode with the fleece. So Gideon was not brash and impulsive. Thirdly, Gideon had the ability to be humble. This is so clearly seen in the episode with the men of Ephraim as recorded in Judges 8:1-3. Gideon assuages their anger basically by being humble and telling them how little he is in comparison to them. My impression is that he is speaking what he truly feels, not using words to protect himself. Fourthly, and most importantly, once convinced of what God wanted him to do, Gideon was a man of action. He didn't procrastinate or rationalize...he moved forward and completed the task. He did it swiftly, completely, and with courage. While it's clear that Gideon made mistakes in his life as with the episode with the ephod, it's also clear that he modeled characteristics that men of today would do well to seek after.

God's Loincloth

If you've read much in the Old Testament, you know that God loves word pictures. He created those word pictures often by telling His prophets to do some very unusual things. Jeremiah chapter 13 is an excellent example, but the message that God is trying to portray is really amazing. In verse one, God tells Jeremiah to buy a new loincloth and wear it. Now basically, without getting into a lot of unnecessary detail, a loincloth is a piece of clothing covering the most intimate part of the human body. God gives specific instructions to Jeremiah. After wearing the loincloth, he is told to place it in the cleft of a rock near the Euphrates River and leave it there. Within a short period of time, after being exposed to the weather, the cloth is ruined. Here's where the fascinating part comes in. The message that God wants to give Israel is that originally, God looked at Israel as His loincloth, but it has now become ruined because of their sin and disobedience. What an amazing description of His relationship to Israel! God chooses the word picture of the loincloth! Here's what God says in verse 11: "For as the loincloth clings to the waste of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the LORD, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen." What strikes me is the ultimate degree of intimacy this description portrays. God could have chosen all kinds of clothing in this word picture. Shirt, hat, pants, shoes, coat, tunic...the list goes on. But what did God choose? The loincloth...the most intimate form of clothing that a human at that time could wear. Why? I strongly believe that God is once again illustrating for us just how intimate He desires our relationship with Him to be. He doesn't simply want acknowledgment from us...He doesn't just want casual relationship from us...He wants to have the most intimate relationship possible with us...far more intimate than we could ever imagine. As I think this through, I'm humbled and embarrassed by the different ways I push Him away or seek to avoid the relationship He would like to have with me. How can I not be drawn toward the God who also calls us His bride?

Actions vs. Attitude

All too often when thinking about obedience to God, I make the mistake of focusing on actions rather than attitude. Both are important, but it is attitude that bring the right actions, not the other way around. If we get the attitude or motivation correct, the right actions will automatically follow. And in fact, this is what Scripture teaches. Scripture talks more about attitude than actions. Take for example Psalm 146. There is a nugget of gold hidden within that verse that speaks volumes about attitude. It is found is verse 5 which in the English Standard Version states, "Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God". The Contemporary English version states, "The LORD God of Jacob blesses everyone who trusts Him and depends on Him". There is no reference to actions in that verse because there is no need to reference actions. If we have the right attitude, i.e. hope and dependence on God, then the right actions will follow. But what does it look like to place our hope and dependence on God? The world offers many different things on which to place our hope. It can be in our job, in our marriage, in our children, in our health, our wealth, our appearance, and the list goes on and on. These things become idols, and our actions reflect this. We will put all our energy, time and effort into what we hope for. We will be drawn to what we hope for, think constantly about what we hope for, and most importantly, place our passion around what we hope for. What we set our hope on determines much of what our life looks like. When we set our hope on the God of Jacob, we care less about money, possessions, what others think of us, and all the other idols of this world. Instead, we seek to focus on what is yet to come while at the same time, doing a better job of living the life we have here on this earth. It is not that we become too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good, but rather it is only by becoming heavenly minded that we are of any earthly good. That's why our focus should be to maintain an attitude of hope in the Lord, rather than actions that seem to meet His demands.