Where Is Home? | Daily Devotional 1645

You're listening to the My Morning Devotional Podcast, episode 1645. Today's Devo is called Where is Home?

Hey there, we're the Alessis, a ministry family working together in our church in Miami, Florida. And if you're like us, when days get busy, the to-do lists get longer, it can be hard to find devotional time. That's why every weekday we share a five-minute daily dose of heaven. This is the My Morning Devotional Podcast.

Hello, everyone. My name is Lauren Alesi Burgos, and I am your host for this week. We are talking out of the chapter of Philippians 3, and we're talking about what's actually worth it. What in life do we face, do we stress about, do we focus on, that really at the end of the day is worth it? And we can go to bed at night and being like, okay, this is tough and I'm stressed about it, but this is worth my energy versus things that are just minuscule and don't really matter. I know I do that quite often. So this is really challenging me. Um, today we are reading out of Philippines 3.20, and it says this but our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. So what are we kind of going over today? Well, Paul's giving us a reminder that changes how we look at everything. And I just love how this goes hand in hand with the whole week, how it talks about like I think when we spoke on Monday, it's like, well, what are we chasing? And if we're chasing the wrong energies that don't even matter at the end of the day because our citizenship's not even on earth, it's in heaven. And then when we talk about knowing Jesus and really getting in tune and in line with who he is, and we know his word and we know how like his cadence and his tone and really what he says, then we can eagerly await him to come back. Like we eagerly await a savior from heaven. So Paul ends the chapter with a reminder that really changes our outlook on life and our outlook on everything. And that is our citizenship is not here on earth, it is in heaven. And look, this world matters, our relationships matter. I'm not saying it doesn't. Our work matters, our responsibilities, they absolutely matter. The things you do day to day, 100% they matter, but none of them are eternal, none of them are ultimate, none of them are like definitive. This is gonna last the rest of your life. Um unless it's a tattoo. But I mean, I'm talking about like after I mean like eternal. That's what I meant by that. We are living here on earth, yes, but we truly belong somewhere greater. We belong somewhere else. So we live here, but this is not our home. This is not where we belong. When you meet somebody who's from another country who's not from the US, and they talk about having a citizenship, when they talk about coming from somewhere somewhere else, they have to go through a whole process to get here. And more than that, they have a completely different background, they have a completely different perspective because they grew up somewhere else. And having a citizenship is a big deal. It's not just, oh yeah, you're allowed to live here. Having a citizenship is like you belong here, you have rights here, you are one of us now. And it's a long, lengthy process. I live in Miami, so we see a lot of people come like move from out of their country to come live here. And I will say, we live in a great, great country where people want to get citizenship here all the time. And getting a citizenship is like, okay, now I can breathe. Now I can rest because now I'm in the system. That is what the Bible is saying about us in heaven. That the earth is just temporary. This is our home and this is where we live. But where you have rights as a citizen, where you can let your hair down and be like, okay, yeah, this is where I belong. This is where is home. And I don't have to worry about anything going wrong. I don't have to worry about something, you know, maybe I'll get sent back home. That's what heaven, I mean, that's what the Bible is saying about us in heaven. So we are living here, but we belong somewhere much greater. And that changes what we value here on earth. That changes immensely. Because if this life is all there is, then so many things matter that should not matter. If this life is all that matters and I die and I don't go to heaven after, and there's nothing after I die, then you know what? Yeah, money's gonna probably matter a lot. Then then living a long legacy and like popularity and and my reputation, that matters a lot. Comfort matters a lot. If there's nothing eternal after this, then yes, there are things that are minuscule and that technically quote unquote don't matter, that matter a lot if there's no heaven. But if eternity is real, if heaven is real, and if I am a citizen in heaven, then suddenly all of those things money, comfort, success, popularity, and reputation, suddenly all those things matter a lot less because I have an eternal life somewhere else, and that's my home. This isn't even my home. So with that perspective, the questions start changing exactly. It's not just, oh, will this make me happy? Will this job make me happy? Will this next will marrying this person or dating this person make me happy? Instead, it's hold on, will this will this have an effect on me eternally? Will this matter eternally? Not just what can I gain from this, but but who can I serve with this? Because I'm talking about living a life that goes beyond me. Not just a popularity life or a popular life, but a life with a legacy that goes beyond just my life here on earth. And it's not just how do I build my life so that I can have success, so that I can have a good job, but how do I use my life to build the kingdom of God? How can I store up treasures in heaven? When we realize that we have a home in heaven and not just a home, but a citizenship, our value on things here on earth changes immensely. So let's just put on an eternal perspective today. Wherever you go, if you're listening to this and you're taking your kids to school and maybe you're stressed because one kid, like their hair is not brushed, or one kid like forgot a backpack and you had to turn around. I don't know what you're going through today. Or maybe you're just on your way to work and you're just feeling really, really tired and you're like, I do not want to go to work and you're annoyed. Whatever you're facing today, as you are listening to this podcast, to this episode, I just want to challenge you to put on the glasses, right? Of an eternal perspective. How can you look at your job through the lens of an eternal perspective? Can you work with excellence because you're not just trying to be, you know, a good employee to impress people, but because you want to do, you want to be an excellent worker to live a good life, to have a life of legacy that surpasses you once you go to heaven? Look through the lens of an eternal life. Yes, are you annoyed maybe at your kids because they're super loud or maybe they're asleep, or I don't know, as you're dropping them off at the at school. But can you say, hey, you know what? I'm gonna be a joyful parent as I drop them off because my legacy as a parent goes far surpass just this school pickup moment or the school drop-off moment. I don't have kids, can you tell? Um, anyways, so I just want to challenge you to have an eternal mindset today. Because, like Paul says, guys, our citizenship is not here on earth. It's not at your job that you maybe love or hate. It's not in the school pickup or drop-off line. It is not in the kitchen, it is not in your homes, it's not here on earth. Our citizenship is in heaven with Jesus and God and the angels and everyone. And that just sounds amazing. Let's do it. Let's go there together. Let's pray. Dear Lord, give us an eternal perspective, God. And we thank you so much. Thank you for challenging us and thank you for giving us this eternal perspective, even in your word, God, because we can have regular day-to-days and Lord and just completely forget about eternity after this on earth, God. So, Lord, help us to have an eternal perspective and be grateful for that eternal perspective. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

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