{"id":5447,"date":"2019-08-02T21:09:16","date_gmt":"2019-08-03T01:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christskingdom.org\/staging\/8402\/?p=5447"},"modified":"2026-06-02T17:35:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T21:35:53","slug":"the-right-way-to-think-about-your-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christskingdom.org\/staging\/8402\/the-right-way-to-think-about-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"The Right Way to Think About Your Life (129)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Right Way to Think About Your Life<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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By Steven J. Hogan<\/p>\n

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~ A Saturday Morning Post #129 ~<\/em><\/p>\n


How you think about your future dramatically affects how you live your life in the present. Some people don\u2019t think much at all, with the result that their minds are empty, or are filled with worthless things. (Psalm 119:36-37). Others think in sinful and worldly ways, in ways that aren\u2019t pleasing to God (Ephesians 4:17-19). There are those who live in the past, proud about what they did, or mad about some real or supposed injustice, but we are to forget what lies behind (Phil. 3:13). There are those who are worried, fearful and anxious about what might lie ahead. They have the \u201cwhat ifs\u201d. <\/em>(Matthew 6:34). Then there are some so focused on the future that they are not living in the present. Many of these are dreamers (Ecclesiastes 11:4), people who have not learned how to live today in light of the future, their life on earth and life in heaven.

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That last sentence gives the key as to how we are to think about our lives, that we need hope,<\/a> that we need to live today in view of the future God has for us. Thinking like this gives us the big picture with the right mindset. And only God\u2019s word can give us this perspective, this overview of our life. There\u2019s the soul-soothing, 2-part perspective of Psalm 23:6 – \u201cSurely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.\u201d<\/em> There\u2019s the eternal perspective of Romans 8:30 – \u201cThese whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.\u201d<\/em> Many other verses summarize our lives, and in particular, express the hope that God has for us: Philippians 1:6, 3:12-21; 1 Corinthians 1:30, 15:20-28\u00a0

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Then there\u2019s Colossians 3:1-4,<\/a> one of my favorites. It instructs you to set your mind on things above, on things of God, on things talked about in His Word. You are not to set your mind on things of this world, and be worldly. You are to live for Christ, and you are to think about the future, when Christ will be revealed, and you will be raptured. You are to also think about being revealed with Him in glory, when you will reign with Him during the millennial kingdom. This is the right perspective, a godly perspective, living for Christ today, and looking forward to living for Him in the future.
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The reason I write about hope is because Christians need hope.<\/a> As you know, all successful people have hope. A person working at a job looks forward to getting paid. A student studies hard and expects to get good grades. An athlete practices with a view of winning the next game. A Christian serves the Lord, knowing it will result in blessing in this age and in the ages<\/a> to come. As a child of God, you have to have hope, which means you need to know and be convinced of what your Father tells you in His Word about your future.

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What is this hope? Well it\u2019s not just thinking about the rapture, and the events leading up to it. That thinking is incomplete, and sadly, many Christians have this short-sighted mindset. It\u2019s also knowing you will see Jesus for the first time, and be with Him forever. It\u2019s knowing you will be glorified,<\/a> and receive a brand new body. It\u2019s knowing you will never be sinful, sad, sick, tired, or in pain again. It\u2019s knowing you will be with believers, especially with loved ones you knew on earth. It\u2019s knowing you will be in heaven, in a perfect place, and in a perfect home. It\u2019s knowing you will be perfectly serving Christ during the kingdom age. It\u2019s knowing that you will love God like never before, praising Him and singing to Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

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I think about these things. Now I don\u2019t think about them all the time, but they are on my mind every day. I have to say, I really look forward to this wonderful future; I get excited about what God has in store for me; and I long for that time when my hope will become reality, when I will leave this earth and this evil age, and be in heaven with Jesus.

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I want to say a few more things about the future, specifically the time between now, 2019, and the age to come, that magnificent millennial kingdom age.
* I think about how we now live in the end-times, which means it won\u2019t be long before the return of Christ and the rapture<\/a> of the church. In my opinion, it\u2019s not a few years from now, and not centuries from now, but decades from now. Matthew 24:33
* I think about the upward call, meaning I will either die and be with Jesus in heaven, or be raptured and then be with Jesus in heaven. Philippians 3:14
* Throughout history, believers have been dying and going to heaven, and a great many have already been there hundreds and even thousands of years, but that won\u2019t be true for us. The fact that we live in the end-times<\/a> means we won\u2019t be staying in heaven very long before we come back to earth with Jesus Christ and the other believers, and begin our 1000-year reign with Him. Reigning with Him will be glorious! Isaiah 6:3

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We should be thrilled and thankful that now is our time to live. Might we be thinking and living like Paul, \u201cforgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead\u2026 toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/em> (Philippians 3:13-14). \u201cMay the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.\u201d<\/em> Romans 15:13

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P.S. This post, like many others, is about hope. In conjunction with this post, it would be helpful for you to read the post, “You Need Hope To Get Through Life,” <\/a>and the article, “You Have To Have Hope!”<\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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