Higher Ground

1 Timothy 6:11-12 “But as for you, O man of God, flee from all these things; aim at and pursue righteousness for a right standing with God and true goodness, godliness (which is the loving fear of God in reverential adoration and being Christ-like), faith, love, patience, and gentleness of heart. Fight the good fight of the faith; lay hold of the eternal life to which you were summoned and for which you confessed the good confession of faith before many witnesses.”

I came across a devotional which explained that a Christian disciple may be tempted by the fallen sinful flesh, but has no desire for their past life of sin and rebellion against the just and holy almighty Creator God of earth and heaven. Walking in the Spirit, we flee from sin, aim for and pursue a godly life here, and lay hold on our salvation and eternal life in Christ; “putting off” the old sinful flesh nature and “putting on” the new godly nature ... moving to holy higher ground.

Ephesians 4:22-24 “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

In the old church hymn “Higher Ground” by Johnson Oatman, Jr. in 1898, one verse says: “My heart has no desire to stay where doubts arise and fear dismay; though some may dwell where those abound, my prayer, my aim, is higher ground.” I read that one of the most precious promises of Christianity can be found in 2 Corinthians 5:17, where it says that “if any man or woman is in Christ, they are a new creation: the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.” We are told that standing on the promises of God, we can put our old habits of sin behind us and live a new life in victory over sin, death and hell. No longer can sin bind and reign over us – we can live in victory of the cross!

Colossians 2:11-12 “In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”

There is no need to be anywhere else. Our prayer and our aim is to walk where the Lord and Savior of the world leads, be where God want us to be, and do what He wants and has equipped us to do; to be salt and light for the glory of God. Only while there can be assured of higher ground with Him.

Philippians 3:14 “Press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

In Christ, Brian