Make Heaven Your Goal

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

Paul told the church in Philippi that he did not let bad things from his past bother him. Before he became a Christian he tried to destroy the church and killed many Christians. Though he was very sorry for this, he did not let it stop him from trying to please God.

Even though Paul taught the gospel to many people in many countries he did not think that his work was finished.
Though he had been beaten several times, shipwrecked, stoned and left for dead, and suffered other things in order to preach the gospel, he did not think that his work was finished.

Paul said that he continued to reach forward to his goal of pleasing God and going to heaven. He would not quick working until he died and could rest in heaven.

We need to keep moving towards our goal of going to heaven. It means that we must not dwell on bad things that we have done but ask God to forgive us and determine to do better.

It also means that we will not give up before our work is finished. Whether one is young or old, there is much work to do in God’s kingdom.

Make heaven your goal!

Don’t Be Bossy or Rude

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Philippians 2:3

We must not be selfish. Have you seen people who always want things to be done their way? You probably do not like to be around bossy or rude people. It is hard for us to work or play together when someone always wants to do things the way they want to do them and not listen to others. We have to let others go first sometimes and do what other people want to do.

Paul said to have a lowly mind; a mind like Jesus. Though He was the Son of God on earth, Jesus did things for others throughout His life. When He died, He died for us proving that He was more concerned with us being saved than His own life.

A lowly mind means that we do not think that we are better than other people. This attitude will help us to be kind to all people, no matter who their friends are, if they are popular or not. or if they have money or not. We are different from other people but we must never think that we are better than others.

By esteeming, or considering, others better than ourselves, we do not think bad of ourselves. We do not think that we are worthless for we are truly special in the eyes of God and those who love us. However, we realize that others are special. After all, God created them and wants to save them too.

Obeying God by Obeying the Law

Did you know that when you are obeying the law of the United States and the state in which you live, you are also obeying God? Paul told the Romans that God gave government authorities their power. During Paul’s time the government required the people to worship their leader as a god. Although the Christians would not do that, even this bad government served God’s purposes. People had to serve Him even if it meant they might be put in jail or killed for worshipping Him. God eventually destroyed that government, punishing it for treating His people badly.

You may have heard about the war in Iraq and other places. Always remember that “the Most High rules in the kingdoms of men,” Daniel 4:25. We must have no fear since God is in control. Even if our government were to tell us we could not worship God, we would still have to obey God, Acts 5:29. Let us be thankful that our country allows us to worship God without fear of people trying to stop us.

Though governments change and fight wars in different places, always remember that God is in control. Every government exists by His power and He will punish the ones that are mean to His people.

Obey the law because you are also obeying God.

Hold To What Is Good

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil.
Cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9

True love is sincere. Love without hypocrisy is love that is not two-faced. This is the love that we must have for others, especially those who love God.

The person who loves God must abhor, or deeply hate, what is evil. We must not desire to have anything to do with things that do not please God. We should not want to watch movies or play video games that make evil look good or fun.

The person who loves God must hold tightly to what is good. We let the evil go out of our lives but hold onto good things like a person in the middle of the sea holds onto his life vest. We should never let what is good become lost to us.

Some people do the opposite of what Paul commands: they love what is evil and hate what is good. There are some people that cannot sleep until they have thought up something evil to do (Micah 2:1) and want to wake up early to do evil (Prov. 1:10-16).

They do not have true love for others but only act like they love those who can give them something. We must stay away from these people because they do not care about us and will only bring us harm.

Let your love be true, love good and hate evil.

Revenge is God’s Business

“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.” Romans 12:19

Sometimes a person might hurt us by saying or doing something mean to us. When that happens, we often want to “get them back.” We want to make them hurt even worse so they will know not to be mean to us again. This is not the attitude a Christian should have.

Paul told the Romans that we should not avenge ourselves. To avenge is to do evil to someone because they have done evil to us. God reminds us that He will punish all evil at the day of judgment. Instead of getting mad (“giving place to wrath”), the one who loves God must show kindness to the person doing wrong. In the next verse, Paul says to feed your enemy if he is hungry. By doing good you make him feel bad for being mean to you. Even if he does not feel guilty, you will have done the right thing and God will punish the person if he does not repent.

Ultimately, we want the person to repent and serve God. When he repents, he will feel sorry for any wrongs. We should help him turn from his meanness, not return hatred for hatred.