“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” – Philippians 3:20-21

No matter what your birth certificate or passport says, if Jesus is your Savior, your primary citizenship is in Heaven! Love, bless, and pray for the country in which you live but Heaven is where you’ll live forever after you pass away or Jesus returns and brings Heaven to earth. Don’t get so attached to your earthly home that you forget your true home. You now live on earth as an ambassador of Heaven, responsible for representing your King (Jesus) to the people around you.

Take careful note of the promise these verses make about what will happen to you when Jesus returns. Your body will be transformed! He will instantly transform your “lowly body” to be like His! Think about His resurrected body – raised to life, healed (though scarred by the cross), appearing in different places at will, eating and drinking – that’s the kind of body you will have once Jesus returns. A physical body that’s renewed in glorious power. A body that isn’t affected by age, illness, injury, or disability.

Whether you’re alive when Jesus returns or already passed away, this glorification of your body will happen. If dead, your soul will be reunited with your resurrected, glorified body. If living, the glorification will take place in a heartbeat. This will be your permanent situation – a sanctified, pure, holy soul living in a glorified, resurrected body. This is God’s ultimate will and design for you – a soul that’s holy like Jesus living in a body that’s glorified like Jesus. It’s extraordinary to contemplate, so take time to contemplate it! No more aches and pains, no more weaknesses or infirmities. Just creation as God intended it to be before mankind’s fall into sin. That’s your future in Christ! #FollowJesus

“Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.” – Philippians 2:17

The truth is that all our lives are being poured out daily. The sands of time fall in the hourglass of our lives at a steady rate… 24 hours each day… 1440 minutes… 86400 seconds…

The question is whether your life is being poured out as an offering devoted to the Lord or just being poured out. We’re all affected by the passage of time, but can we all say, like Paul, that we’re happy to pour out our lives for the glory of Jesus Christ? Are there other Christians that you are delighted you have devoted your time, talent, energy, education, and emotional capacity to nurture and grow in Christ?

If not, consider how to live your life with a greater alignment to Christ’s purpose for your life. He has significant good works prepared for you. Disciple making works. God glorifying works. You will find tremendous joy in pursuing those works in the zeal and power of the Lord. In pouring out your life as a sacrifice to your Savior and for the blessing of others. What could it look like to devote every aspect of your life to serving and honoring Christ the Lord? How could you reshape your habits, schedules, finances, and emotions to be fully devoted to Jesus and His people? #FollowJesus

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” – Ephesians 6:12

If you are a faithful and growing Christian intent on following Jesus then you will experience some of these same supernatural wrestlings! In our evidence-driven, rationalistic Western culture, we radically underestimate the realities of spiritual warfare! Some (or perhaps most) of the struggles you experience within yourself and in the world around you have a spiritual dimension.

Simply put, the devil doesn’t want you following Jesus. He doesn’t want you growing in Christ. He doesn’t want you making an impact on the world to advance God’s Kingdom. He doesn’t want you demonstrating the love of Jesus to others. He doesn’t want you sharing Christ with those who need to hear. And the devil will fight back! He will place obstacles in your way, stoke conflicts with others, try to deliver demoralizing defeats, whisper lies into your ears and into the ears of people who talk about you. He will use any dirty trick to keep you from living out the purpose for which God made you! Don’t let the devil stop you!

As you do the Lord’s work in your daily life, realize that you really aren’t battling people. Much of the time you’re battling the devil working in and through people. Don’t despair! Don’t get discouraged! Don’t grow weary of doing good when it becomes difficult. Draw nearer to God and put on the armor He has given you. The truth of the Gospel and who you are in Jesus Christ. The certainty of your salvation. The faith that Christ is present in and with you. The righteousness that is already yours in Christ. Let God’s peace calm your troubled soul. Wrap yourself in God’s truth and prepare to do spiritual battle using the words of Scripture. #FollowJesus

“For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” – Ephesians 5:8

If Jesus is your Lord, this is your reality! As a blood-bought child of God, you ARE light. Before you knew and believed in Jesus, you were filled with the darkness of sin. Like it or not, that’s how everyone is until they trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. However, if you’ve made that decision, then you truly are light in Christ. Your sins have been forgiven. You have a new nature. You have eternal life. You are sealed and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Jesus lives in you. You are light in the Lord!

Do you live like that’s true? Do you walk – each and every day – as a child of light rather than a child of darkness? Followers of Jesus must not live and act the way they did before they believed. They should not think or talk the way non-believers do. Do you?

Christians must make the intentional choice to truly follow Jesus in the power of His Spirit. To reject sin in their lives and pursue holiness. To do what the Bible commands and not do what it forbids. To devote themselves to the service and advancement of God’s Kingdom here on earth. To make disciples of Jesus. To love God and neighbor, doing such wonderful good works that non-believers notice and praise God. Are you walking as a child of light? #FollowJesus

“He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.”
– Psalm 112:7

Do you fear bad news? Do you live in constant dread that the other shoe will drop? Learn to trust God more completely! Psalm 112 is a hymn celebrating the life and character of those who are deeply devoted to God, profoundly reverent toward Him, in love with His Word, and made righteous by His grace. Such a person doesn’t fear bad news. Why? Because he or she trusts God completely.

This isn’t a false prosperity gospel promise that there won’t ever be bad news for a true Christian. Far from it! Just about everyone receives bad news from time to time. Some good, godly people receive far more bad news than other people. However, as you walk closely with the Lord, you come to understand that you don’t have to be in fear of bad news. You don’t need to be burdened by dread that life is held together by a thread that could snap at any moment.

You see, those who are near to the Lord trust His goodness, His power, and His presence with them amidst bad news. They know that God will never abandon His beloved children but will walk with them through seasons of bad news. The beauty of our faith isn’t that we never receive bad news. It’s that our suffering Savior comforts and strengthens us when bad news comes our way. Trust in the Lord – that He is always on duty, that His ways are always better and wiser than your ways, and that He loves and knows what is eternally best for you. Then you don’t need to fear bad news and you’re ready to glorify God and serve Him well when bad news comes. #FollowJesus