PUSH BUTTONS.
Friends, Focus On Where The Action Is.
A while ago, I was having a friendly chat with someone and the conversation flowed into discussing the second coming of the Lord Christ, I asked a question “Do you know Jesus is coming soon”
He responded ‘They have been telling us Jesus is coming soon for as long as I can remember, my great grandmother said it till she passed on, you are 3 generations after and it is still the same saying. I want to enjoy life. His response was surprising, and it got me thinking about how the fundamentals of our faith are fading away gradually.
The distractions in the world are never-ending and they create an illusion in hearts that this realm is all that there is to life — so enjoy yourself! When we listen to the radio, overhear conversations at work, read billboards, watch the news, read the newspaper, watch TV programs or movies, etc., we are constantly directed to embrace values that are clearly from this natural realm, self-gratification agenda where you focus and do what matters to you.
Even if what we interact with are not overtly immoral, the perspective is one that excludes God and prioritizes things as though life on earth is all that matters — our happiness and fulfilment (the “right” to be happy) are top priorities.
Subtly, there is a slow but steady adoption to focus on the distractions of the natural realm neglecting the truth of life — that there is life after now(eternity) where everything we will give an account of how we have lived our everyday.
1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
The second coming of the Lord Christ is sure and we as believers must embrace and live our every day with that consciousness. When we got saved we were raised with Christ, got new citizenship in heaven, what a joy! Though we live in a location on planet earth, we have become heavenly citizens who have a responsibility to get inundated with the realities and culture of our nationality.
The same way a Nigerian will need to be reoriented into the French Culture when he becomes a French Citizen is the same way we need to be schooled in our counterculture — Heaven for us to show proof as Heaven Citizens. There are realities, thinking patterns, and a way of life for the citizen.
Colossians 3:1–2 MSG reads So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up and be alert to what is going on around Christ — that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.
Our actions are proofs of the realities we believe and the knowledge we interact with. As heavenly citizens, what we do and how we live is an indicator of what we truly believe in and embrace our citizenship.
Pursuing the things over which Christ presides, knowing his perspective on matters, staying awakened to the thoughts of Christ is the expression of our full identification with our heavenly citizenship. Because the heavenly culture is counterculture to the world, there is a constant need for a heart recalibration session with God’s word — a moment when you fill your thoughts with heavenly realities, feast on all the treasures of the heavenly realm till it consumes our consciousness and fuels our actions.
The real action is what is going on around Christ and not the recent trends in the media. Hey friend, know this! Knowledge tunes focus and powers life — Let the knowledge of Christ and his ways from his word regulate your life.
Jesus in his time on the earth was so consumed with his heavenly realities that it influenced his way of life — how he spoke, thought, and interacted with his environment. Even with the propaganda in his times, he remained focus on heaven’s action plan for the people.
We are heavenly citizens with the authority of God on the earth! Let this consciousness calibrate your thoughts, regulate your focus and life priorities. Don’t get carried with the recent happenings, the real deal is what is going on around Christ — his thoughts, his people, his ways, his will.
One thing that will always matter to Christ is the Salvation of the souls that He purchased with his blood. 1 Timothy 2:3–4 says this is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Ask yourself, I am doing this day that matters to Christ? Am I a full participant in heaven’s action plan? Carry those thoughts through every moment of this week.
As you go this week, make a commitment to be a full participant in heaven’s action plan on the earth. Separate yourself from this noise — Partner with Christ in intercession, preach the gospel to believers, make the very most of your time — recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence, fill your thoughts with heavenly realities again and again.
Declare today with a sense of understanding this morning:
I am a citizen of heaven.
I am aware of my heavenly heritage
I am conscious and live out the heaven culture.
I pay attention and do what matters to Christ every day — I go all out for souls!
I am not distracted by worldly things but choose to be inundated with my heavenly realities.
Amen!
Grace and Peace are multiplied unto you!
Have a God-Charged week!
Ayomide Aparah
@mide_aparah
Push Buttons is a weekly devotional of The Powerpoint Tribe
