"Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. How awesome is the Lord Most High, the great King over all the earth! He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet." Psalm 47:1-3. The people of Israel had a reason to rejoice. God delivered them from slavery in Egypt. He subdued heathen nations under them and gave them the land He had promised them. They rejoiced greatly over an earthly promised land. How much more should we be rejoicing over the heavenly one that God has promised us? He subdued physical nations under their feet, but Luke 10:19 says, "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
When Jesus came to planet earth, the Jewish people were looking for the Messiah. They wanted God to deliver them the same way He had delivered their ancestors --- from their physical enemies. They were expecting Him to subdue the Roman empire under their feet, but He seemed to be preoccupied with heaven. He came teaching things like "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal." Matthew 6:19-20. His main concern was our eternal home. "In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you." John 14:2.
Jesus came to prepare us for a place.
He left to prepare a place for us!
In both the Old and New Testaments God makes us aware of the mindset, or should I say heartset, He wants us to have. "Blessed are those...who have set their hearts on pilgrimage." Psalm 84:5. "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." Colossians 3:2. What we do outwardly starts in the heart. "For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come --- sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person." Mark 7:21-23. It's no wonder that Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
We are admonished to set our hearts.
I love food...always have. It seems that most children, nowadays, are picky eaters. Maybe I was an exception even back in my day. All I know is, I certainly looked forward to meal time. About the only food I didn't like was turnips. We rarely had them, but that was too often for me. When I got married, my husband's grandmother lived near the university I was attending. I had a lunch break between classes and work. She would always ask me to come by and eat at her house. She cooked a full-scale meal everyday, including dessert, for my father-in-law (her son) who worked in the same town. It's a wonder I didn't pack on the pounds during my college days. Anyway, Grandma often had turnips on the menu. I knew they were good for me, and so I would eat a little along with all the yummy choices. After a short time, a funny thing began to happen. Those turnips started tasting pretty good. Grandma Essie didn't suddenly change the way she was cooking turnips, after years of preparing them a certain way. No, I acquired a taste for them.
My point is, if we can set our taste buds by repeatedly exposing them to certain foods, doesn't it stand to reason that we can develop appetites of the heart by what we choose to indulge in? We have the ability to set the heart. We can train our hearts to partake of what's good and abstain from what is evil. Jesus' heart was set on pilgrimage. His heart --- fixed on a foreign place (heaven) --- directed His actions. Because His heart was set on pilgrimage, His face followed suit. "...when the days were near that He should be taken up, He intently set his face to go to Jerusalem." Luke 9:51. Jesus' boldness to enter Jerusalem came from HIs heart that was set on God.
Taking charge of the heart sounds good in theory, but we face tremendous opposition. Jesus knows all about that. Don't think for a moment that making right choices was easy for Him. He "...understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin." Hebrews 4:15. It was a real temptation when satan offered Him the kingdoms of the world. He could have experienced instant gratification. He could have gotten the recognition He deserved. The people were also urging Him to take a place of honor. "Jesus knowing that they intended to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself." John 6:15. I love the way the CJB version says it. "...so He went back to the hills again." Don't those words make Jesus relatable? Haven't you been there, plagued by temptation to the point that AGAIN, you had to retreat and head to your personal hills? Getting alone with God --- getting His perspective --- is the only way to press the reSET button on your heart when satan, the world, and your own flesh have been whispering/shouting ideas that contradict God. Spending time with His Father helped Jesus to stay focused on the future. Like Abraham, "...he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." Hebrews 11:10.
The Bible reveals to us the destiny of those who join Jesus in professing that they are "foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own...longing for a better country --- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13-14 & 16.
When Jesus came to planet earth, the Jewish people were looking for the Messiah. They wanted God to deliver them the same way He had delivered their ancestors --- from their physical enemies. They were expecting Him to subdue the Roman empire under their feet, but He seemed to be preoccupied with heaven. He came teaching things like "Don't store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal." Matthew 6:19-20. His main concern was our eternal home. "In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you." John 14:2.
Jesus came to prepare us for a place.
He left to prepare a place for us!
In both the Old and New Testaments God makes us aware of the mindset, or should I say heartset, He wants us to have. "Blessed are those...who have set their hearts on pilgrimage." Psalm 84:5. "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." Colossians 3:2. What we do outwardly starts in the heart. "For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come --- sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person." Mark 7:21-23. It's no wonder that Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
We are admonished to set our hearts.
I love food...always have. It seems that most children, nowadays, are picky eaters. Maybe I was an exception even back in my day. All I know is, I certainly looked forward to meal time. About the only food I didn't like was turnips. We rarely had them, but that was too often for me. When I got married, my husband's grandmother lived near the university I was attending. I had a lunch break between classes and work. She would always ask me to come by and eat at her house. She cooked a full-scale meal everyday, including dessert, for my father-in-law (her son) who worked in the same town. It's a wonder I didn't pack on the pounds during my college days. Anyway, Grandma often had turnips on the menu. I knew they were good for me, and so I would eat a little along with all the yummy choices. After a short time, a funny thing began to happen. Those turnips started tasting pretty good. Grandma Essie didn't suddenly change the way she was cooking turnips, after years of preparing them a certain way. No, I acquired a taste for them.
My point is, if we can set our taste buds by repeatedly exposing them to certain foods, doesn't it stand to reason that we can develop appetites of the heart by what we choose to indulge in? We have the ability to set the heart. We can train our hearts to partake of what's good and abstain from what is evil. Jesus' heart was set on pilgrimage. His heart --- fixed on a foreign place (heaven) --- directed His actions. Because His heart was set on pilgrimage, His face followed suit. "...when the days were near that He should be taken up, He intently set his face to go to Jerusalem." Luke 9:51. Jesus' boldness to enter Jerusalem came from HIs heart that was set on God.
Taking charge of the heart sounds good in theory, but we face tremendous opposition. Jesus knows all about that. Don't think for a moment that making right choices was easy for Him. He "...understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin." Hebrews 4:15. It was a real temptation when satan offered Him the kingdoms of the world. He could have experienced instant gratification. He could have gotten the recognition He deserved. The people were also urging Him to take a place of honor. "Jesus knowing that they intended to come and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself." John 6:15. I love the way the CJB version says it. "...so He went back to the hills again." Don't those words make Jesus relatable? Haven't you been there, plagued by temptation to the point that AGAIN, you had to retreat and head to your personal hills? Getting alone with God --- getting His perspective --- is the only way to press the reSET button on your heart when satan, the world, and your own flesh have been whispering/shouting ideas that contradict God. Spending time with His Father helped Jesus to stay focused on the future. Like Abraham, "...he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." Hebrews 11:10.
The Bible reveals to us the destiny of those who join Jesus in professing that they are "foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own...longing for a better country --- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13-14 & 16.
