We could reflect on Jesus all day, every day, for the rest of our lives, and never exhaustively comprehend His majesty.

He gave up heaven and became a humble man—not a powerful man, not a comfortable man, not a humanly-exalted man—because of His great love for both the Father and for us.

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

‭‭~ Philippians‬ ‭2:3-8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

How do I develop the mind of Christ?

I must humble myself. Daily

I must empty myself. Daily

I must count others more significant than myself. Daily.

I must become obedient to the point of death. Daily.

Ultimately, I can’t have the mind of Christ unless I look at his example, compare it with myself and change to follow His pattern.

Often, when I’m angry or short-tempered, it’s because someone has made me feel “lesser” in some way. If I have the mind of Christ, I don’t need to worry about feeling lesser because God considers me special enough to adopt as His child through Christ. With God as my Father, I should be secure enough in my value so as not to fuss over slights and disappointments. God provides the total emotional security we need to develop a Christ-like attitude.

And yet, the slights still hurt. We don’t ever like to feel lesser. Our world has always prized glory and honor. But this world is not our home—this is the desert! Praise, honor, and value in this life fades away in a moment. Our home is waiting for us in heaven where we will have the greatest joy when we hear, “well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord.”

When someone hurts you, confide in Jesus and learn to forgive like Jesus. When you are tempted to put yourself first, remember Jesus who put others first. When you want to be filled, Empty yourself first and allow God to fill you up.

Praying in true humility can be difficult for us, particularly early in our Christian walk, yet for many of us, getting through the trials and tribulations of this life may be even more difficult. These are times of disappointments, problems, hardships, and sometimes these can lead to despair and desperation; we might even begin to wonder if God has forgotten all about us. Even worse, we might begin to think that God is exacting punishment upon us for something we have done or not done; oh yes, these are hard times indeed.

More than any other time in this life, times of hardship are times when we need to approach God’s presence holding nothing back, laying everything out in the open, times when we need to bare all before the God who sees all anyway. This is not only a time for praying in humility, it is also a time when we need to be honest about our doubts, frustrations, fears and disappointments, for when we are candid with God, He will usually be candid with us, if we are willing to listen to Him.

Have you ever read the Psalms?  How often David cried out to God; how often David asked Him pointed questions about his struggles and misery! Do we dare do the same?

Here’s something to think about: David was no more perfect than you or I, David experienced many hardships, some of which were caused by his own poor decisions, and some caused by human treachery and just plain evil; David questioned God and exhorted Him, yet through it all David kept his faith and in the end he was said to have been a man after God’s own heart.

Few of us experience more hardships than David did, and fewer still will make the same mistakes David made; why then are so few of us willing to be honest with God about our struggles and doubts?

God desires intimate relationship with us, very intimate. God knows our hearts and our thoughts; why not just be open and honest, rather than trying to act as though we had no doubts, no fears, no questions? You see, dear reader, this too is being naked before God. As for me, I have dealt with struggles both ways in my journey with Him; some I have held back, acting as though I was not affected, while other times I have taken my doubts, concerns and frustration to Him openly. In the former cases, I relied upon my own strength, which is considerable if I were to be honest with you. In the latter cases, I have received His strength in dealing with difficulty: Do you really need to ask which set of circumstances worked out the best?

Needless to say, through my own trials and tribulations I have learned that being completely open with God is the best policy, even (or especially) when it isn’t very comfortable.

I hope that you will share your thoughts with us on this issue!

Have you ever wondered where Jesus is now and what He’s been doing since His resurrection?

As a child I believed Jesus went back to heaven after He arose from the grave. But other than preparing a place for us, I wondered how He spent the rest of His time. After all, who enjoys building all the time? My young mind imagined Him enjoying activities I’d love to do. You know, things like jumping on fluffy clouds, soaring over colorful universes, and landing a quadruple back flip, just to name a few. 🙂

Not to say Jesus can’t, or doesn’t, engage in “fun” activities. But Scripture doesn’t promote Him as a thrill seeker or as One who is consumed with Himself. Rather, His thoughts and prayers are for His children.

Don’t you love that Jesus isn’t like a cartoon depiction of a Genie floating on a heavenly cloud, sipping Cherry Coke while being entertained? Not only did Christ accomplish His mission on earth through His teaching, atoning sacrifice and resurrection, but He still engages in our lives, helping us navigate all of life’s twists and turns. Having been through fiery trials and temptations Himself—without sinning—He not only knows what we need, He is also able to help us. And He presents His prayers and petitions to God the Father on our behalf!

Hebrews 1:3 says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

The apostle Paul also paints a beautiful picture of God’s children sitting victoriously with Christ in the “heavenly realms” over the dark canvas of what we used to be: objects of God’s wrath due to our sin (Ephesians 2:1-9). This is made possible because our sinless Lord took our deserved punishment upon Himself (Isaiah 53:4-12). Our eternal life is secured only through Jesus Christ (1 John 5:11-12).

God the Father raised Jesus up in the power of His Holy Spirit, seating Him at His right hand―to His original position before Christ took on flesh (John 1:1-5). Jesus now reigns victoriously (Philippians 2:9-11) and will one day reign in justice over a new earth (Revelation 21).

Maybe you’re unsure if you are God’s child. This is a decision you must make yourself. The church can’t save you. Your parents’ faith won’t save you. There are no guarantees for tomorrow, but you have today. Isaiah 55:6-7 says, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.  Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on them, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.”

For more on where Jesus is now and why Scripture emphasizes the right hand of God, see the following links at gotquestions.org: Is Jesus in Heaven?, Right Hand of God.

Have a wonderful week!