LIVING THE LIFESTYLE OF HEAVEN
The Bible reminds us that our citizenship is in heaven (Phil 3:20). That means we work at living the lifestyle of heaven, here on earth. That is what Jesus meant when he taught us to pray, Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. What does such a lifestyle look like? Basically, it is what I talked about in my series of messages in January—The Keys to Revitalizing Your Faith. First, that lifestyle means we keep listening for the voice of God. His voice is familiar to us because we have heard him in the scriptures. Second, citizens of heaven practice the presence of God. Being still and knowing that he is God makes all the difference in the world. Out of that flows a third element of our lifestyle; we begin to imitate Christ. Like Christ, we become a giving people–a generous people. Fourthly, we make it our goal to be a servant, just as Jesus came not to be served but to serve, giving his life as a ransom to set us free to serve. Finally, we practice community; we enjoy God’s family. We won’t try to live our Christianity in isolation. The devil will have a field day with us when we do. We need each other to provoke ourselves to love and good deeds (Heb 10:24). Nearly two hundred years ago, the French political philosopher and historian, Alexis de Tocqueville, came to America to see for himself what it was that made America. His conclusion: America is great because she is good. If America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great. The lifestyle of heaven makes for a great nation, a great community, and a great life. Keep at it and don’t give up living like a citizen of heaven. Pastor Mike
