DATE WRITTEN: Wednesday, 2021-07-07
WRITTEN AT: Williams, AZ

SCRIPTURE FROM: Colossians 3:1-3
TRANSLATION: The Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT:  ¹ Since you became alive again, so to speak, when Christ arose from the dead, now set your sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven where he sits beside God in the place of honor and power. ² Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here. ³ You should have as little desire for this world as a dead person does. Your real life is in heaven with Christ and God.

APPLICATION: When Christians worry, do you suppose it’s because we are worried that God will not do what He promised? When we doubt and stress out to the limit, do you suppose that we are concerned that God is unfaithful? When we feel unloved and like no one cares, do you suppose that we allow ourselves to ponder if God must have left us alone, and He no longer cares about us? Friends, I believe that when we allow these types of feelings and/or thoughts to enter our minds, it’s because we have taken our eyes off Jesus and becoming overwhelmed by the the things of this world, and perhaps looking for the attention of earthly friends or loved ones. I believe it might be times like these that Satan moves in for the attack, for he sees that we have taken our eyes off Jesus and allowing the distractions of his world to take hold in our lives. I would highly recommend these verses to all Christians today, for if we follow the advice in verse 2 and fill our thoughts with heaven – our future home, then we will be reminded that it is a place prepared just for us. A place where we will unite with Jesus at the foot of His throne and worship Him with unending praises. A place where we will hear the voice of the Father who will encourage us with words such as “well done good and faithful servant”! A place where we will glorify the Creator of love, the One who loved us enough to die on a cross so that we might have everlasting hope and assurance of heaven. A place where there will be no distractions, but instead where our full undivided attention is centered on the Savior of the world! Try getting away where you are totally disconnected from cell phones and devices for a week. Wow, what a release! Oh how our attention is quickly drawn to the things and people who are truly important to us! Friends, I must remind you that we have allowed so much interference in our day that we not only lose sight of our one-on-one time with the Lord, but we also have lost that one-on-one time with our spouses, our children, our friends, our coworkers and all others. Is it any wonder that we have trouble evangelizing to them? If we can all agree that verse 3 is totally spot on and accurate, then we will agree that our real life is in heaven! I would dare say that our minds, our attention, our aim and our devotion should be there today and everyday. Perhaps it is time that you take a little time to get with Jesus and make sure that every little this is alright with Him. It’s important, friend.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Heaven should be the home we are headed for, and we should live each day preparing for that future home with the King of Glory!

PRAYER: Lord God, we are such worry warts, but it’s always over things that really don’t matter – things of this world. Being reminded in this scripture that our minds are to be set on our heavenly home, and our time with You, we humbly come before You today asking for forgiveness for our misguided thoughts and worries. We realize that all these things do is to distract us in our walk with You and our witness of You. For when we become solid in our faith and demonstrate it in our walk with You, we will influence those who follow in our steps. Lord I pray that You will do an awesome work in my life and in the lives of my readers, so that we might become healthy Christians focused on the ‘main thing’ – our heavenly home. I further pray that this new focus will have such an impact on us, that the unsaved will desire a close and intimate walk with You. I humbly ask these things in the strong, mighty and holy name of Jesus – your Son, and my Redeemer, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!