Living In The Days Ahead

There is a song that has really been challenging and encouraging me a lot lately, it's by a group called 33 Miles and the song is "What Could Be Better" if you haven't heard it yet I encourage you to go to YouTube and check it out. (33 Miles - What Could Be Better) for the past two weeks I've been reading and re-reading Philippians and there have been a few things God has been teaching. I heard this song for the first time in the car a few weeks ago and I knew God was speaking to me that I needed to start living in the days ahead, that I need to live with a eternal mindset. And then as I was reading Philippians 3:18-19 "(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)" look at who the Holy Spirit says are enemies of the cross those "who mind earthly things". As I read Philippians these words seemed to jump off the page at me and instantly God brought Colosians 3:1-3 "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 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." to mind. There are times when you read Gods word and something catches your attention, a answer to a question or confirmation and there are times God shows you something and we give our assent to it but it stops there as head knowledge, but then there are times when God just has you keep reading and re-reading the same thing. (at least for me) As I kept reading these verses something happened it went from a head knowledge to heart knowledge, as I read it the first few times I was nodding my head and thinking this is so true, but as I kept reading it became more than a simple truth to be agreed with it was as if this truth flooded my heart. My treasure is in heaven, and it's the greatest treasure in the world, yet so many times I have put my affections on the things of this world. I have chased the American dream "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" so many times instead of chasing the high calling of Christ Jesus. We make jokes about Christians looking like they sucked on a pickle or drank lemon juice for communion because there is so many Christians without joy, and i believe a big reason for this is our affections are in the wrong place. When our treasure is Knowing Jesus (Jeremiah 9:24) when we look forward with earnest expectation to the day we will see Him face to face what joy should fill our soul. Jesus put it this way Matthew 6:19-21 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.". So many times we struggle to give up the cares of this world, the movies or music we like, the unforgiveness or anger we hold unto, the fear that keeps us from obedience. All because we have put our affections on our popularity, our money, our comfort, and our pleasure, but when we have truly put our affections on Jesus we can give up anything for Him and feel like we are making a good deal. And this is precisely where many of us miss it we give stuff up for Jesus but we don't really believe we made a good deal and so it's hard to have a real joy about it. Matthew 13:44 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." So from now on I'm living in the days ahead, and I can't stop celebrating in my soul, nothing on earth could ever compare, I can't wait for the day I get there, when I see Jesus face to face, tell me WHAT COULD BE BETTER!!!!!!