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Upgraded



"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."
 - Colossians 3:1-3 KJV


Dear Friends,

 In our technological society it seems that we are always being inundated with messages to upgrade.  Upgrade to a new phone.  Upgrade our computer operating system.  Upgrade to a new vehicle. This constant pressure to upgrade can be overwhelming if we allow ourselves to give in to the constant pressure to go after the latest model when our current edition is working just fine.

  In looking up synonyms for the word I found the following: ascent, uphill, uprise.  Merriam-Webster gives the following definition: a raising or a state of being raised to a higher rank or position.
The definition caught my attention.  

 Colossians 3:1-3 talks about the ultimate upgrade.  "If ye then be risen with Christ..."  Christians those who have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior have been Upgraded.  Upgraded and placed in a new position, a new place of citizenship.
"For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;" - Ephesians 2:18-20

In Christ we have been raised to a higher state of being.  Our affections are to be directed to things which are above.  What does that mean to dwell on things above?  It is to acknowledge the Source of Our Help is Jesus and not man.  It is to realize that  the ultimate reward for our labor  cannot be satisfied with monetary gain.  

Let the words of this timeless hymn encourage you in your upgraded state.

Hold to God's Unchanging Hand - by Jennie Wilson 
under Public Domain
1 Time is filled with swift transition,
Naught of earth unmoved can stand,
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand. 
Refrain:
Hold to God’s unchanging hand,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand;
Build your hopes on things eternal,
Hold to God’s unchanging hand. 
2 Trust in Him who will not leave you,
Whatsoever years may bring,
If by earthly friends forsaken
Still more closely to Him cling. [Refrain]
3 Covet not this world’s vain riches
That so rapidly decay,
Seek to gain the heav’nly treasures,
They will never pass away. [Refrain]
4 When your journey is completed,
If to God you have been true,
Fair and bright the home in glory
Your enraptured soul will view. 



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