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Heavenly Goals

Posted by bcfministries at 08:50 PM on August 08, 2009

Heavenly Goals and Its Reward

We may have heard the quote: If you don't know where you are going,
you'll end up someplace else.? Some of us have been taught that goal-setting is very important and truly it is. It has been said as well that having no goals is like a ship setting to sail with no direction.

What are your goals in life? How do we set it?

As believers, we must return to God?s Word and listen to how we must set our life?s goals and what to seek for. We are taught to set Heavenly Goals and enjoy its lifetime rewards.

Colossians 3:1-4
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

1. Seek those things which are above.

Foundation: You have been raised up with Christ. Christ?s resurrection means new life in the Lord Jesus Christ. Rom. 6:11 says we are alive to God in Christ Jesus. Eph. 2:5-6- we are dead in trespasses and was made alive/ raised up with Him for by His grace we are saved.

Goal: Focus or in other translations KEEP SEEKING on the above, not on the past, not on the what ifs, not even on the NOW but on the ABOVE.

What are you seeking in your life right now? What glorifies the Lord? What do you focused on? What are your priorities? In every are of your life, is everything done for God?s glory?

Keep seeking on heavenly things not earthly things. Let?s jump to verse 5 which says : ?Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.? (NIV Version)

Priorities: You are always given a choice. For instance, you know you have to read His Word and you?re distracted with a lot of things. You know the Lord is calling you to attend the Prayer Meeting but you got so many excuses. You know you have to share His Word to your neighbour but you?d rather follow the multitude than make a stand for Christ. Everything is made up of choices.

We are like a sponge and it?s better to be absorbed in God?s Word rather than be absorbed in earthly endeavours.

Phil 3:14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Keep on seeking the Lord Jesus and His will. Mt. 6:33 Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

The REWARD: Heavenly prize in the Lord Jesus Christ, ALL THINGS shall be added.

2. Set your mind on things above, not on the things of the earth.

Set your mind indicates your MINDSET. Mindset is your life?s orientation/ perspective, your thought patterns which include your affections. How do you view things?

This is now your existing MINDSET as believers. The things above which means GODLY LIVING. We are now citizens of heaven and living dual citizenship.

Set your mind (5426) (phroneo from phren = mind) denotes the whole action of the affections and will as well as the reason.

Phroneo refers to the basic orientation, bent, and thought patterns of the mind, rather than to the mind or intellect itself, and refers more to inner disposition, while keep seeking is rather practical pursuit. The sure safeguard against seeking things below, is not to set the mind upon them.

Setting one's minds on things above involves an act of one's will (active voice) and is something we must do (imperative mood = command) continually (present tense = habitual). Kenneth Wuest picks up on this tense and mood rendering it...

The things above be constantly setting your mind upon, not the things on the earth

Joni Eraeckson Tada writes:

Why all the verbs in the present tense? Because God wants to get your heart beating with a present-tense excitement, a right-around-the-corner anticipation of Heaven. Isn?t that the way strangers on foreign soil are supposed to feel about their homeland?

How are we to constantly set our minds in the Lord if we are bombarded with earthly things day in and day out?

We are to ?practice? His presence every moment of our lives.

Analogy: Being in love for the first time. You keep on thinking of that person. You never tire of talking to him even until the wee hours of the morning. You wanna spend the eternity with him. ?Honeymoon stage? then emotions die down. What do you do? I was once told that keep practicing and keep doing the actions of being ?in love? which means, even if emotions are gone, stay ?bein in love?.

In following the Lord Jesus and in pursuit of the heavenly call, keep reading His Word. Remember His goodness to you in the past and what He will be doing to you today and in the future. We have an amazing God!

3. THE REWARD

v. 3-4 We are dead to sin and therefore CHRIST IS OUR LIFE!

Gal. 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the {life} which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.

This is where our real lives are lived: through Him.

Rom. 6:8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him

As we aim for heavenly goals, we are then assured of a secured destination. We are no longer lost groping in the dark. We are no longer children of the streets. We are no longer beggars. We are now changed, enlightened, empowered and alive in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Does your life have a direction?

What is your ultimate goal in life today? Are you seeking for money, fame or power?
Or are you seeking Christ that can truly restore broken lives, broken relationships and broken finances?

If you have a goal in life that takes a lot of energy, that requires a lot of work, that incurs a great deal of interest and that is a challenge to you, you will always look forward to waking up to see what the new day brings.
By Susan Polis Schultz

Set heavenly goals, aim for the best from Jesus and live your life fully in Him!

In Jesus, there are no more pains and sorrows for He wipes all tears in your eyes. In the Lord Jesus there is true Peace and Hope which the world cannot give. Focus on Him and your life will truly change.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

The Legacy of the Righteous

Posted by bcfministries at 02:35 AM on June 27, 2009

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The Legacy of the Righteous

Proverbs 10:7 The memory of the righteous will be a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

Both the righteous and the wicked will die. We will all soon graduate from this university of life. Much has been said regarding the late Michael Jackson. There's so much commotion and regret.

On this news article, headline reads : Michael Jackson's Life Cut Shockingly Short
updated 8:51 a.m. ET June 26, 2009

LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson, defined in equal parts as the world's greatest entertainer and perhaps its most enigmatic figure, was about to attempt one of the greatest comebacks of all time. Then his life was cut shockingly and so far, mysteriously short.

The 50-year-old musical superstar died Thursday, just as he was preparing for what would be a series of 50 concerts starting July 13 at London?s famed 02 arena. Jackson had been spending hours and hours toiling with a team of dancers for a performance he and his fans hoped would restore his tarnished legacy to its proper place in pop.

........It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until results of the autopsy are known, his brother Jermaine said.

Cardiac arrest is an abnormal heart rhythm that stops the heart from pumping blood to the body. It can occur after a heart attack or be caused by other heart problems.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31552029/ns/entertainment-music/

On Daily Finance News, it reads:

Michael Jackson leaves $1 billion in assets, $500 million in unpaid debts

Michael Jackson died with his books out of balance. The concerts he planned in London might have generated enough cash to pay off his debts, but a rumored Demerol injection stopped his heart before he could perform there. So he leaves this earth with as much as $500 million in unpaid debts.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/06/26/michael-jackson-leaves-1-billion-in-assets-500-million-in-unp/

Life is indeed unpredictable. We can't create our own push buttons and dictate when we want to breathe or stop breathing. How are we really making our lives count? What kind of life do we want to leave behind as lasting memory? What kind of legacy are we willing to leave behind?

Again, Proverbs 10:7 states that- The memory of the righteous will be a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

Who is then the Righteous Man before the Lord?

1.) Gal. 3:6; Rom. 4:3 Abraham believed God and it was reckoned/credited to him as RIGHTEOUSNESS

This kind of faith is a trusting faith; Abraham entrusted his entire life to the Lord. He followed God in COMPLETE SURRENDER and TOTAL OBEDIENCE.

Abraham was once tested to offer his only son as a sacrifice to God and he passed the test. In another occasion, in Gen.12:1 and Heb. 11:8, by faith, he obeyed the Lord even though he doesn't know where he is going! Now, that is really TRUE FAITH!

2) The righteous man leads a blameless life/ walks in integrity
Prov.20: 7 (NIV) The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob- all walked before the Lord and obeyed the Lord and therefore, their children were blessed!!!

Joseph, Jacob's son is an amazing example. Gen. 39: 23 says: The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.

NIV - The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Even in prison, even in the midst of a difficult time in his life, Joseph kept himself blameless before the Lord. When faced with pressures and temptations, just like that time when his employer's wife is seducing him, Joseph remained firm in his commitment to his God and chose to be imprisoned rather than succumbing to that pressure!

You can definitely prosper with your own agendas, with your own dream-building, vision-building activities. But as Christians, the most important question to answer is- is this God's agenda for me? Is this the Lord's will for me?

Heb. 11:6 says:
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Come to Jesus, believe in Him and SEEK HIM.

On walking before the Lord, it involves more than merely achieving goals. People can accomplish all of their goals and still not be successful in God's kingdom.

You can be as popular as Michael Jackson and be known as the King of Pop, be as wealthy as Bill Gates, still topping the chart as the world's wealthiest billionaire with an asset of $40 billion,

......or as wise and young as these two:

"Sergey Brin and Larry Page both started Google while in their twenties. The two met in the science program at Stanford. They dropped out of school and started Google from a friends' garage in 1998. Brin currently serves as president of technology at Google and Page heads product division. The two are said to be worth $18 billion. ? Google is known as the world?s largest internet company"

There's nothing wrong in becoming successful or popular in this life and yet if we seek to follow God, then, everything must be in line with His own agenda for us.

You may be accomplishing so much and yet, if it is not the Lord's agenda for you , then it is not the kind of blessing that the Lord would want you to experience.

Prov. 10:22 says The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

The kind of blessing that we will experience is one that is satisfying. That kind of blessing that will bring joy, peace and love. That kind of blessing that adds neither sorrow nor trouble. Yes, there will be times of trials and pains even if you are already God?s servant. But those who endure and keep on following the Lord, those who seek Him diligently will be greatly REWARDED!

If you walk in His ways and obey God in integrity, you will be blessed, including the next generations and you will leave a lasting LEGACY and a blessed memory to all generations!

Dear Lord Jesus, you know me more than I know myself.

You know my past, my pains, my challenges

And yet, all these years, You have never left me.

Thank you Lord Jesus for you have gathered all the broken pieces in my life.

You have given me a new life.

My NOW is to live your agenda.

My FUTURE is to continually accomplish your will.

Then and only then I can say,

For me to live is Christ and to die is gain!

Man's Best Friend

Posted by bcfministries at 12:42 AM on June 22, 2009

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"After these things, the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." - Genesis 15:1

They say dogs are man's best friends.

I can attribute two good traits towards dogs.

First, they PROTECT their owners and second, they are FAITHFUL.

Protection. Dogs usually protect their owners however way they can. It doesn't matter whether they are small dogs or the large breed ones. It's amazing how they bark on a slightest sound of footsteps coming towards your doors. I own a toy poodle. She's so cuddly and tiny and cute and yet she barks whenever a stranger is coming to our place. She's so adorable and everyone loves her.

Faithfulness. Dogs are really faithful to their masters. The master, known as the alpha-dog himself, is honored and respected by their dogs. Dogs never leave their side. I guess they feel that they owe their lives to their masters. They are being fed and cared for. And when the master leaves the house and returns, even after a long period of time, the dogs know who their true masters are.

Definitely, our God is larger than dogs and can never be compared to them. Yet, this Creator of the whole universe instilled good qualities amongst His creation.

If you are under God's protection and blessing by OBEYING Him and following His precepts, He is our SHIELD. The world around us may mean you harm even if you know you're doing what is Right before the Lord but take heart. The Lord Jesus Christ will protect you against any harm intended towards you.

Our God is a Faithful God and will always be. He also expects faithfulness from us. If our hearts are faithful before the Lord, if you are diligently seeking Him, He is our exceeding great reward! Such reward is incomparable with whatever this world can give! And with such reward comes incredible joy!

Truly the Lord Jesus Christ is one real BEST FRIEND and the bestest of all! He is always faithful and protects those who are His.

All these years, thank you dear Lord for protecting me.
In times of trouble, You have been my shield against the darts of the enemies.
You have kept me away from deceptions of this world.
All my efforts are never in vain for you are my great reward!
Thank you Lord Jesus for being my best friend!