Where to Set Our Affection - Your Daily Bible Verse - August 31

Carbonatix Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Carbonatix

Your Daily Bible Verse Podcast Banner

EDITOR'S NOTE: We're happy to announce that, coming soon, this devotional will be available in audio version as the Your Daily Bible Verse Podcast! Stay tuned for updates...

BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAYJoin in imitating me, brothers and sisters, and pay careful attention to those who live according to the example you have in us. For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself. - Philippians 3:17-20

Where to Set Our Affection
By Scott Patty

So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends. Philippians 4:1

One big temptation we face as Christians is to set our affection on earthly things and to forget about the things of heaven. We feel the tension of living in two worlds the moment we read about this temptation in Philippians 3. We are not yet in heaven; we live on this earth, so we must think about things we know to be temporary. How then can we not set our affections here?

Several times in the New Testament we are told not to set our mind on earthly things, but on heavenly things. The word mind is used to refer to something deeper than just a thought. It means our affection, our love, our primary concern. Certainly we give thought to the things of this world. In fact, I am giving thought to the meal I will eat after I finish writing this. We pay attention to our schedules, our bank accounts, and our relationships. But that is different from thinking of these things as being the lasting and ultimate end of our lives. We can eat, sleep, and make money without making a god of our bellies, beds, or bank accounts. We can attend to the things on earth without worshiping them (Phil. 3:19).

How can we do this? By knowing the truth of our true citizenship. We belong, first and foremost, to heaven, from where we await the return of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:20). Because we belong to heaven first, we seek first the kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33). Since we have been raised up with Christ, we seek the things above, where he is. We set our affection on things that are above and not on things that are on earth (Col. 3:1–2).

Tension. That’s what we feel. But this tension must be felt if we are to know that we are living faithfully as citizens of heaven who are pilgrims on this earth.

As you live today, don’t try to resolve the tension. Let the tension be your reminder that you live here tending to your busyness with joy and faithfulness, but that you belong to heaven where your ultimate investment and hope lie. Let the knowledge of your heavenly citizenship prioritize what you give your life to and how you give it. Let the things of the kingdom of heaven impact the things you do on earth. Go be creative in your heavenly calling to glorify God in all things.


Excerpted with permission from Words of Grace: A 100 Day Devotional by Scott Patty. Copyright 2018, B&H Publishing Group. You can get a copy here.

Scott Patty is the founding pastor of Grace Community Church of Nashville, Tennessee. He was raised in Nashville and came to faith in Christ as a high school student. He is a graduate of Belmont University and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. As a pastor, Scott's primary calling is to serve the congregation by casting a biblical vision for all of life through the preaching of God's Word. Scott and his wife Beth have two married daughters.

Want to go beyond a minute in the Word today? Continue over to BibleStudyTools.com!

Related Resource: Christ's Freedom for the Anxious and Overwhelmed (Romans 8:6)

Did you know that Your Daily Bible Verse is also a daily podcast? It's not directly synced with the written devotional, but every day, the team at the Your Daily Bible Verse Podcast delivers you a thoughtful meditation on a verse of Scripture. Join us over at LifeAudio.com, or follow on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!

 

Salem News Channel Today

Sponsored Links


September 26 - Phoenix, AZ
Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts


November 2 - Detroit, MI
Zion Christian Church in Troy


October 6 - Los Angeles, CA
Pasadena Convention Center


November 5 - San Antonio, TX
Norris Centers – The Grand Red Oak Ballroom


October 8 - Sacramento, CA
William Jessup University


November 7 - Tampa, FL
The Palladium at St. Pete College


October 22 - Minneapolis, MN
Crowne Plaza AiRE


November 15 - San Francisco, CA
Fremont Marriott Silicon Valley


October 23 - Philadelphia, PA
Green Valley Country Club


November 16 - Denver, CO
CU South Denver - Formerly Wildlife Experience


November 2 - Chicago, IL
Chicago Westin Northwest in Itasca


November 21 - Cleveland, OH
Holiday Inn Rockside in Independence



Salem Radio Network Speakers

Larry Elder is an American lawyer, writer, and radio and television personality who calls himself the "Sage of South Central" a district of Los Angeles, Larry says his philosophy is to entertain, inform, provoke and to hopefully uplift. His calling card is "we have a country to save" and to him this means returning to the bedrock Constitutional principles of limited government and maximum personal responsibility. Elder's iconoclastic wit and intellectual agility makes him a particularly attractive voice in a nation that seems weary of traditional racial dialogue.” – Los Angeles Times.

Mike Gallagher Mike Gallagher began his broadcasting career in 1978 in Dayton, Ohio. Today, he is one of the most listened-to talk radio show hosts in America, recently having been ranked in the Talkers Magazine “Heavy Hundred” list – the 100 most important talk radio hosts in America. Prior to being launched into national syndication in 1998, Mike hosted the morning show on WABC-AM in New York City. Today, Talkers Magazine reports that his show is heard by over 3.75 million weekly listeners. Besides his radio work, Mike is seen on Fox News Channel as an on-air contributor, frequently appearing on the cable news giant.

Hugh Hewitt is one of the nation’s leading bloggers and a genuine media revolutionary. He brings that expertise, his wit and what The New Yorker magazine calls his “amiable but relentless manner” to his nationally syndicated show each day.

When Dr. Sebastian Gorka was growing up, he listened to talk radio under his pillow with a transistor radio, dreaming that one day he would be behind the microphone. Beginning New Year’s Day 2019, he got his wish. Gorka now hosts America First every weekday afternoon 3 to 6pm ET. Gorka’s unique story works well on the radio. He is national security analyst for the Fox News Channel and author of two books: "Why We Fight" and "Defeating Jihad." His latest book releasing this fall is “War For America’s Soul.” He is uniquely qualified to fight the culture war and stand up for what is great about America, his adopted home country.

Broadcasting from his home station of KRLA in Los Angeles, the Dennis Prager Show is heard across the country. Everything in life – from politics to religion to relationships – is grist for Dennis’ mill. If it’s interesting, if it affects your life, then Dennis will be talking about it – with passion, humor, insight and wisdom.

Sean Hannity is a conservative radio and television host, and one of the original primetime hosts on the Fox News Channel, where he has appeared since 1996. Sean Hannity began his radio career at a college station in California, before moving on to markets in the Southeast and New York. Today, he’s one of the most listened to on-air voices. Hannity’s radio program went into national syndication on September 10, 2001, and airs on more than 500 stations. Talkers Magazine estimates Hannity’s weekly radio audience at 13.5 million. In 1996 he was hired as one of the original hosts on Fox News Channel. As host of several popular Fox programs, Hannity has become the highest-paid news anchor on television.

Michelle Malkin is a mother, wife, blogger, conservative syndicated columnist, longtime cable TV news commentator, and best-selling author of six books. She started her newspaper journalism career at the Los Angeles Daily News in 1992, moved to the Seattle Times in 1995, and has been penning nationally syndicated newspaper columns for Creators Syndicate since 1999. She is founder of conservative Internet start-ups Hot Air and Twitchy.com. Malkin has received numerous awards for her investigative journalism, including the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) national award for outstanding service for the cause of governmental ethics and leadership (1998), the Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award for Investigative Journalism (2006), the Heritage Foundation and Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity's Breitbart Award for Excellence in Journalism (2013), the Center for Immigration Studies' Eugene Katz Award for Excellence in the Coverage of Immigration Award (2016), and the Manhattan Film Festival's Film Heals Award (2018). Married for 26 years and the mother of two teenage children, she lives with her family in Colorado. Follow her at michellemalkin.com. (Photo reprinted with kind permission from Peter Duke Photography.)

Sponsored by:

Where to Set Our Affection - Your Daily Bible Verse - August 31

Carbonatix Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Carbonatix

Your Daily Bible Verse Podcast Banner

EDITOR'S NOTE: We're happy to announce that, coming soon, this devotional will be available in audio version as the Your Daily Bible Verse Podcast! Stay tuned for updates...

BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAYJoin in imitating me, brothers and sisters, and pay careful attention to those who live according to the example you have in us. For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things, but our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will transform the body of our humble condition into the likeness of his glorious body, by the power that enables him to subject everything to himself. - Philippians 3:17-20

Where to Set Our Affection
By Scott Patty

So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown, in this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends. Philippians 4:1

One big temptation we face as Christians is to set our affection on earthly things and to forget about the things of heaven. We feel the tension of living in two worlds the moment we read about this temptation in Philippians 3. We are not yet in heaven; we live on this earth, so we must think about things we know to be temporary. How then can we not set our affections here?

Several times in the New Testament we are told not to set our mind on earthly things, but on heavenly things. The word mind is used to refer to something deeper than just a thought. It means our affection, our love, our primary concern. Certainly we give thought to the things of this world. In fact, I am giving thought to the meal I will eat after I finish writing this. We pay attention to our schedules, our bank accounts, and our relationships. But that is different from thinking of these things as being the lasting and ultimate end of our lives. We can eat, sleep, and make money without making a god of our bellies, beds, or bank accounts. We can attend to the things on earth without worshiping them (Phil. 3:19).

How can we do this? By knowing the truth of our true citizenship. We belong, first and foremost, to heaven, from where we await the return of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:20). Because we belong to heaven first, we seek first the kingdom of God (Matt. 6:33). Since we have been raised up with Christ, we seek the things above, where he is. We set our affection on things that are above and not on things that are on earth (Col. 3:1–2).

Tension. That’s what we feel. But this tension must be felt if we are to know that we are living faithfully as citizens of heaven who are pilgrims on this earth.

As you live today, don’t try to resolve the tension. Let the tension be your reminder that you live here tending to your busyness with joy and faithfulness, but that you belong to heaven where your ultimate investment and hope lie. Let the knowledge of your heavenly citizenship prioritize what you give your life to and how you give it. Let the things of the kingdom of heaven impact the things you do on earth. Go be creative in your heavenly calling to glorify God in all things.


Excerpted with permission from Words of Grace: A 100 Day Devotional by Scott Patty. Copyright 2018, B&H Publishing Group. You can get a copy here.

Scott Patty is the founding pastor of Grace Community Church of Nashville, Tennessee. He was raised in Nashville and came to faith in Christ as a high school student. He is a graduate of Belmont University and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. As a pastor, Scott's primary calling is to serve the congregation by casting a biblical vision for all of life through the preaching of God's Word. Scott and his wife Beth have two married daughters.

Want to go beyond a minute in the Word today? Continue over to BibleStudyTools.com!

Related Resource: Christ's Freedom for the Anxious and Overwhelmed (Romans 8:6)

Did you know that Your Daily Bible Verse is also a daily podcast? It's not directly synced with the written devotional, but every day, the team at the Your Daily Bible Verse Podcast delivers you a thoughtful meditation on a verse of Scripture. Join us over at LifeAudio.com, or follow on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!

 

Salem News Channel Today

Sponsored Links

On Air & Up Next

See the Full Program Guide