During the month of July, Tina and I visited two of the CBMC Family Conferences: Lake Junaluska in the North Carolina mountains, and Family Time-Out at Messiah College near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. What a wonderful time the families had as they celebrated the King together with the body of Christ.

In Pennsylvania, the Bible teaching focused on the preeminence of Christ, our intimate relationship with our Lord and Savior. We reviewed His creative power, His glory and majesty, His incredible love for us as His children, and why we should desire from the depths of our heart and mind to spend daily time with Him. Once we are in a proper relationship with Him, we can give our other relationships time and energy to deepen for our Heavenly Father’s delight.

We also focused on heaven. Our Lord desires for us to understand that this world is not our home but is only a place where we participate with God to build His kingdom, bearing fruit for His honor and glory. In Colossians 1 and John 15, we learn that our Lord and Savior wants a deep, abiding relationship with us, imparting His will and understanding so that our hearts are on heaven. He loves you and me so much that He longs to pour into our lives. He wants us to be heavenly minded so that we will be of earthly good for His purposes.

As your brother in Christ, may I be so bold to say that our life in Christ is only living when we embrace moment by moment His rich, abiding love in us for those He has placed in our path. May I suggest meditating on Colossians 1 and John 15?