You have probably heard the expression somewhere, "He's so heavenly minded he's no earthly good."  I am sure there are people who think that is a verse in the Bible!  I suppose some people think that the point of the statement is to "have balance" or to be aware of one's surroundings or something of that nature.  We're not very heavenly minded in this culture.  We have it too good!  We manage our resources, our pain, our lives and even our death.  We are preoccupied with the things of this life in ways that are quite unhealthy.  Paul's Spirit directed advice was that we set our minds on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of the throne of God!  When Jesus told the disciples to not let themselves have a troubled heart, He reminded them that He was preparing a place for them.  In John's unveiling of Jesus Christ, the "things to come" were revealed and this was for our encouragement.  In our study this week we'll see that Jesus prayed that we would be with Him.  Our minds and hearts should be set on our destination.  The more we think about it the more earthly good we'll be!  What are you looking forward to when your work is done?

Pastor Mead reminded us during Communion last week that being identified as a servant is not very flattering.  It "goes against the grain" of our inner man because we have quite a lofty view of ourselves.  The spirit of our age is to be served not to serve.  Why in the world would we celebrate servant hood?  The world around us celebrates leadership, progress, accomplishment and success not servant hood.  Jesus loves to remind us that what we so often think is a "big deal" needs to be inverted.  For example, if we want to find life we have to lose it.  If we want real treasure, we have to give it away not hoard it.  AND, "The greatest among you will be your servant!"  (Matthew 23:11,12).  Living in view of the true Kingdom reveals that there is only one King and the truly wise serve Him and to serve Him means to serve His interests.  His interests are people made in His image.  Why is this so hard?!  If service is really greatness "under the radar", maybe we should be more concerned about raising up a generation of servants instead of more so-called leaders.  We are going to celebrate servant hood this week and encourage one another to be an active body part.  Have you found your place?