Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
oColossians 3:2-5
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.
Hebrews 11:1-2
“’Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’”
Luke 19:17
IF we endure, we will also reign with him …
2 Timothy 2:12
“’BECAUSE you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.”
Luke 19:17
The purpose of the judgment seat of Christ is to properly evaluate us, to grade us so that our position in the coming kingdom is made clear. This life is like a college-entrance exam that helps us know where we shall be slotted in the kingdom of the coming King.
Erwin Lutzer, Your Eternal Reward
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Romans 8:18
The purpose of our trials and temptations is to train us for ruling with Christ. We are learning the laws of the kingdom, responding in faithful obedience. We are given the opportunity of learning to become overcomers.
Erwin Lutzer, Your Eternal Reward
These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience).
Judges 3:1-2
Moses regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
Hebrews 11:26
In the world of the fighter pilot, the biggest factor that leads to success in the hostile and competitive world of combat is preparation. Believe me, my wingmen and I didn’t play motivational CDs in the mission-planning room before combat. Sure, motivation is important, but we prepare in order to ensure success. The greater the preparation, the greater the ability to handle adversity, and the stronger the partnership that develops. For this reason, fighter pilots frequently assert, “The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle.”
Lt. Col. Rob Waldo
Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. The Midianites came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count the men and their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it.
Judges 6:2,5
When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
Judges 6:12
So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord is Peace.
Judges 6:24
That same night the Lord said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.”
Judges 6:25-26
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we FIX our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
