If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  (Colossians 3:1-2)

     In his bestselling book, Victory Over the Darkness: Realizing the Power of Your Identity in Christ, Dr. Neil T. Anderson tells a story about an important discovery he made while counseling people years ago.  He asked 50 self-described born-again Christians who came to him for help resolving issues in their lives one question. “How many of the following characteristics describe your life: inferiority, insecurity, inadequacy, guilt, worry, and doubt?” Of the 50 surveyed, every single person answered, “All of them.” Upon further counseling, Dr. Anderson discovered that every one of the Christians questioned was living a horizontally focused life. Each of the feelings they had was caused by events or interactions with people that unconsciously compounded into a swirling pool of negativity circling a drain of despair and destruction, and  was entirely focused on life in the physical realm. Somewhere along the line, they’d let the things of this world overtake their lives and begin to choke their relationships with Yahweh.  Jesus spoke about this in His parable of the sower in Matthew 13:22 -  "The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful."   (Matthew 13:22)  The more we focus on the things of this world, the more the things of this world will strangle our relationship with Yahweh through Jesus Christ.

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     The third chapter of the Apostle Paul's letter to the Colossians goes into great detail about this and how we can prevent the things of this world from taking over our lives.  He explains the importance of "putting to death" the sin in our lives and embracing a new way of thinking.  We're to consider the person we were before we came to Christ as dead and buried, and to transform our way of thinking by embracing the new creation we are in Jesus Christ. The more we do this, the less the influence that the things of the world have over us and the closer we get to God. 

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     We get so busy with careers, family, church and community activities, and friends that days can go by until we realize that our daily time with the Lord has been pushed aside.  Let's all commit to make sure that doesn't happen and focus our attention on Yahweh and things of eternal value. When we do, we will see depression, hopelessness, insecurity, guilt and inadequacy diminish in the light of His unfailing love.

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