We are looking at how to focus our thoughts on things above. This daily devotional looks at setting our thoughts on a Jesus and the Scriptures.
Nuggets
- We are to think of Christ and His sacrifice each time we partake in the Lord’s Supper.
- We are to consistently read God’s Word so that the connection formed with Him will help us corral our thoughts.
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Devotions in the On Things Above series
In the last devotion, we started talking about setting our thoughts on things above. We talked about our thoughts and how we set them on God. It ran long, so we are finishing it up in this one.
We have been looking at Beveridge’s sermon entitled Setting the Affections on Things Above. We are about ready to wrap the series up. So, let’s dig in.
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Let's Put It into Context #1
Here is a running list of what we’ve discussed previously.
Let's Put It into Context #2
When we look up the definition of affection in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it says, “the state of being affected.” Affect means “to act on and cause a change in (someone or something).”
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Setting Our Thoughts on Christ
“And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me’” (Lk. 22: 19 CSB)
We are to think of Christ and His sacrifice each time we partake in the Lord’s Supper.
We just looked at this passage. It is part of our Luke’s Diagnosis and Prescription series in the Sunday Morning Bible Study. There, we look at it as preparation for salvation.
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We talked about how we need to prepare ourselves to know Jesus as our Savior. We do that by spending time with Him in order to decide to believe in Him. We must choose Jesus and then learn more of Him.
We didn’t get down to the “do this in remembrance of me” verse. That is the important verse for this discussion.
Bradley pointed out that the remember me implies there is previous knowledge. He wrote, “He must have occupied much of our thoughts, have entered into our hearts, and been lodged in the deepest recesses of our minds.” The love has to be there.
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An important component of taking the Lord’s Supper is the retrospection that we do in preparation for the actual ordinance. “Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup” (I Cor. 11: 28 NIV).
We are to examine two different things. I’ve always considered that we need to figure out what we need to get right before we partake in the Lord’s Supper.
- We are to remember the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. Are we acknowledging that He is the Savior, the only way we could gain salvation
- We are to examine our hearts and lives. Are we navigating the Sanctification Road as we should? Have we gotten our redo for godliness to the heart level?
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If we stop and think about it, God has told us in several places that we need to remember. We need to remember how He has provided for us in trials. We need to think about how God has saved us from difficult circumstances.
Glossary
Having those memories — and dusting them off and contemplating on them — help us to corral our thoughts. When our thoughts want to run away with us, we can simmer down when we remember how God has provided in the past.
Ridgeway took the Lord’s Supper discussion to another level. He wrote that those partaking in the Lord’s Supper are
- “Those who know how poor their love is, and want to love God more.
- “Those who are trying to serve God, and fail because they are weak, and need strength.
- “Those who are sinful, but desire to become holy.
- “Those who are careful and troubled about many things, and long for rest.”
So, Ridgeway was pointing out, I think, more the contrast between God and us. We are to come acknowledging our need for Him rather than kicking ourselves that we don’t meet the standard.
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It is all about coming humbly and reverently. It is about setting our thoughts on Him and acknowledging we would be nothing without Him.
That helps us to remember that God is powerful enough to handle whatever situations in which we find ourselves. Our thought can chill because He’s got this.
Baylee took an even different track. He said that part of the remember me was to remind Jesus of us. This presented an opportunity for us to remind Him of our needs and wants.
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I don’t think we need to remind Jesus because He has forgotten us. I think we need to do the reminder because God requires us to ask for things. He doesn’t just give them to us — like we are entitled to them. They are gifts for which we ask.
Setting Our Thoughts on Scripture
“But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night” (Ps. 1: 2 NLT)
We are to consistently read God’s Word so that the connection formed with Him will help us corral our thoughts.
We looked at this verse before, too. The nuggets we came up with were
• We are to set our mind on the Godview, not the worldview.
• An easy progression to be drawn into sin through the worldview is to walk, stand, and sit in the presence of sin.
• Following God’s laws brings benefits: joy and understanding.
• We must choose to follow all of God’s laws daily, not just those we want to follow when we want to follow them.
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Kingsley argued that we are not talking the Mosaic law here. We are talking the law that God writes on our hearts and minds. We are talking will and worship.
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The meditating, according to Tymms, was conformed with an active life. It is a communion with the Heavenly Father through His Word.
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But read the verse again. “But they delight in the law of the LORD …” (Ps. 1: 2 NLT). Where do we access God’s law?
In the Scriptures.
So, this Psalm is saying that we need to be delighted in reading our Bibles. Smith wrote, “He is conversant with Holy Scriptures; his meditation is concerning the ‘law,’ that is, the heavenly doctrine which shows the will of God and His worship, what man must and ought to believe and do to gain eternal life. It is his daily study and continual exercise. Not that he doth nothing else; the meaning is, he setteth some time apart daily to serve God.”
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We need to prayerfully read the Scriptures, asking God to increase our knowledge and submissiveness. Morgan said that we gain stability and fruitfulness as well as beauty and success.
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Jowett made a great point. God’s laws and commandments are spread out over His Word. However, he wrote, “Love is the essence of law.”
Another point Jowett brought up was that we can’t read a couple of verses and think God is pleased with our devotional efforts. We can’t think we are going to learn all about God and Jesus with a five-minute read.
We have to consistently study God’s Word and meditate on what we have read. We want to know the character of God, because that is what we have to imitate.
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Making the Connections
Our relationships with God happen in our minds and in our hearts. That means the relationships are greatly impacted by our thoughts.
We have to structure our thoughts so they grow our relationships with God, not hinder them. We have to put the focus on Him.
Yes, we can question God. We cannot doubt Him. We have to always give Him the glory and honor He is due.
How Do We Apply This?
- Work out our salvation by navigating the Sanctification Road. Daille told us that sanctification is the actual goal of redemption.
- Make our meditations deliberate. Horton warned us to avoid what would promote contradictory thoughts.
- Meditate continually on the social graces. Hall noted we should include evaluation that leads to accountability.
- Start our day with a meditation, one that shows we are putting God as a priority, not just putting in a couple of minutes to check off that requirement.
- Put our thoughts into practice through our conduct.
- Grow in grace.
- Come humbly to the Lord’s Supper table to acknowledge our unworthiness and His generosity.
- We need to remember what Jesus accomplished on Calvary and what He is currently accomplishing in our lives.
- We need to bury ourselves in God’s Word.
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- Sanctification is the transformation of mind, body, and soul, which begins with regeneration, gradually changes our nature through the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and ends with perfected state of spiritual wholeness or completeness.
- The perfected state indicates the combination of the spiritual graces which, when all are present, form spiritual wholeness or completeness.
As we corral our thoughts and focus more on God, our relationships will grow. That is what God wants.
Father God. We come to You wanting to focus even more on You. Help us to prioritize You and Your workings in our lives as most important. Any we grow in grace and knowledge of You. Amen.
What do you think?
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