“But God…made us alive together with Christ…and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” (Eph 2:4-6).
Have you ever taken time to think about the reality of those verses and what they mean for you and me as Christians?
In the Spirit, God has seated us with Him so we can see life as He sees it, from His heavenly perspective. He has and is giving us an eternal picture of this world in which we live.
I believe God is asking us, as His people, to live our lives with intentionality. To view life from an eternal perspective.
This past Sunday I asked the following questions:
“Is there an overriding principle that guides the way I use my time and resources? Are there values that I have adopted that funnel my life in a specific direction or does life just happen and then I respond to it?”
Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained,
But happy is he who keeps the law. Proverbs 29:18 (NASB)
As we looked at Proverbs 29:18, if we do not live our lives from a place of vision and revelation, then we are uncovered and naked. We are exposed to the attacks of the enemy and to the desires of our own flesh.
Those who live their lives with a vision of God’s love and purpose for them will live with restraint. They will bring their lives into alignment with God’s divine order.
May God truly be Lord of our lives and may we live our lives with a sense of eternal purpose. After all, we are seated in heavenly places.
What does it mean to you to be raised up with Christ and seated in heavenly places?
when you live your life from the perspective of the eternal rather than simply responding to situations as your buttons get pushed it changes the way you respond to everything. i work in a highly charged highly political environment in which i think my monitor tech knows my name better than my own mother.
ReplyDeleteLOL. where i can have four or five nurses all paging me at once all wanting me to drop everything RIGHT NOW!! to tend to their needs. at these times its only by understanding that there IS something much higher at stake here than what i would like to do at that given moment when all my buttons are being pushed simultaneously that keeps me from losing it.
im one of His representatives here on eaeth. its not about me here. i dont want on my side of the street people knowing im one of His kids and not able to treat my colleagues with respect even when under pressure.
i have to put on the full armor of God as soon as i know im going to walk into that hospital. i have to do it as soon as i start my day. a couple of days ago i had one of those days at work where i knew it wasnt just having a hectic day. i could see THE DEVIL WAS BUSY. the darts of the enemy were flying at me as soon as i got off the elevator and onto that
floor. and he wasnt even operating thru a person with malicious intentions. he was simply operating thru people who lacked the critical thinking skills to discern that it was impossible to be at several high risks situations at one time. he wasnt using their intentions. he was simply using their ignorance to push my buttons.
if i dont have the foundation that a fellow house church member desribed to me as black and white til..that solid foundation of Him and His Word im NOT going to have that understanding ot the eternal and im NOT going to see the attacks of the enemy as they come. im just going to respond to whatever life throws at me. especially as it comes thru the very people closest to me.
Very good insights Lisa. As we study God's Word and learn how to apply it to everyday life situations, then we will be better equipped to respond to the situations life throws at us in a godly way. Sometimes life is messy and it is not always clear exactly how we should respond in a given situation. It is in these moments that we need to be able to turn to our God and ask for wisdom and strength to respond in such a way that He is glorified through our lives. We will not always respond as we should, but God is a God of grace, forgiveness, as well as a God of 2nd chances. God's desire is for us to become like Him and He is committed to help us get there. Thank you Lord!
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