Read:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”
~John 14:1-3
Consider:
It’s really hard to keep a “kingdom focused” mindset in the world today.
The end.
Seriously though, it’s not easy. Verses like this one from John remind us that there really is more to existence…more than just the life we’re all living each day here on planet Earth and that what we do with our time matters.
While sometimes thinking of what’s to come after life (as we know it) can be scary, it doesn’t have to be.
Jesus promised us Heaven so that we no longer have to live in fear. He makes the promise that he will return for us to give us comfort, hope, confidence and peace in a world where we often feel afraid, discontent, frantic and alone. He promised us Heaven so we can live with purpose, with security and with an assurance of what is to come.
This verse from John should also cause us to start doing an inventory of our lives…on what we spend our time doing and on how much time we waste focused on that which does not matter.
It’s verses like this one that should motivate us to rid our schedule of all the stuff that really doesn’t fall in line with our purposes and/or our priorities.
Maybe for you, this is a new concept. How does one live with purpose or know what their purpose is? Perhaps this verse today is going to move you in the direction of prayerfully seeking out what purposeful living means. Maybe it’s time to sit down and wrestle with what your purposes and/or your priorities are or most importantly, what they need to be.
We all say we have priorities but do we really make those things or those people priority in our lives? I challenge you to write them down today, in order. Start with things of greatest priority and trickle down to the things that are less important. Once you have them on paper in front of you, it’s going to be a lot easier to see if what you’re doing with your time lines up with what you “say” your priorities are or what you’d “like” your priorities to be. Your actions will prove if your mindset is “kingdom focused” or if it’s distracted by the world around you.
The awesome thing about living with a “kingdom focused” mindset is that you live each day without regret. You live for what matters. You treat the people in your life with love and respect. You use your time wisely. You live with purpose and you have joy in your heart because you know and you feel deep down in your core that you’re living for what matters. I don’t know about you, but I want to live each day like that. Living with this, “kingdom mindset” we’re talking about also seems to make all of life’s annoyances and struggles fade a little further into the background. Suddenly, a flat tire on the side of the road becomes an opportunity to share some kind words with the roadside assistance attendant. Losing your AC in the middle of July (in Florida) becomes a chance to show your children how to persevere or “rough it” for a day with joy.
Spend some time wrapping your mind around the fact that we’ve been promised Heaven by the creator of the universe and the Savior of the world. Instead of focusing on the fears that sometimes come with death, be comforted by what it means for our futures and be thankful for what that means for us now, here on Earth.
May you spend your days with a “Kingdom focused” mindset.
May you live each day with purpose, conscious of your priorities and filled with joy in life’s adventures.
May you go out and live your best life in peace knowing Heaven is waiting.
Pray:
Today’s post was written by Amanda Sanders.
Amanda has been married to her high school sweetheart Matt for 12 years. Together they have three kids ages 10, 8 and 5. In this season of life, Amanda spends most of her time drinking coffee, teaching children, doing laundry and repeating herself. Occasionally, she has some time for working out, reading for leisure and writing. You can find her on Sunday mornings worshiping at our Real Life Kaley campus.
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