Something to think about...

“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” ~ Colossians 3:2 NIV

Don’t be so heavenly minded that you are of no earthly good! We have probably all heard that phrase at some point. And we have probably all known people whose heads are so far in the clouds that their feet don’t touch the ground. I like to call them “air heads”. However, that kind of escapist mentality is not what Jesus meant when He said that His followers would be “in” the world, but not “of” this world. Instead, if we truly understand our identity as citizens of heaven then we are able to engage the issues of this world with eternal hope.

As C.S. Lewis wrote: “If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven” ~ The Joyful Christian

Maybe we should say, “Don’t be so earthly minded that you are of no eternal good,” instead. Active participation in praise and worship reorients our perspective to the "things above". Like Paul & Silas from their painful prison cells, may we be a people who choose prayer and praise regardless of what circumstances and situations we face this week. As we lift our eyes above the challenges and obstacles we face to the One who is seated on the throne, may we encounter His manifest presence and power changing our perspective and opening new doors of opportunity. May the fruit of His love, joy, and peace grow in our hearts and in our midst.