“I’ll take ‘LIFE’ for $500, Alex”- ‘DING‘ – “It’s the DAILY DOUBLE!” — This could be a fictional scenario on Jeopardy, the TV game show, but you could consider it a reality. Life has a daily double every day. Not necessarily double meaning – but a DOUBLE VIEW of how you look at life…

In the TV game show, a ‘Daily Double’ means your bet is the opportunity for twice the amount of money. You might win or lose depending upon your knowledge of the category. Hopefully you win – and you win double. Hopefully you are smart enough for the answer.

Now, what about NOT a category but about the real “game of life” or how one approaches it. Is life a gambling lifestyle? or is it knowing about life journey in a hard way – or maybe we sidestep trouble all the time? Do we really know about life? Do we? 

We DO know a lot about life’s ups and downs, we DO know our physical aches and pains too, we know mental joy or relief or anger or anguish, anxiety and apprehensiveness, depression and doubt. Yeah and even though we know these things both personally and in others, do we know how to navigate and when to sit on the sideline and rest? When to “take life by the horns”  – pull up our bootstraps – or ???

Well, what if life was DOUBLE – like a DAILY DOUBLE of circumstances???  Well, IT IS! We don’t have to be smart to know this answer – the ANSWER is LOOKING ABOVE.

We have life here on earth – but in spiritual realms – there is a whole lot of life going on – AMAZING – we have NO IDEA the amazing arena of the Spiritual realms that surround us – and “Angel Armies”. A Spiritual battle for good over evil, light over darkness, hope over holding us back. The Spiritual realms fight for our right – not to party – but to be mentally WITH God in Spirit and Truth without a distraction to the daily grind of life. To FOCUS ON THINGS ABOVE – is to know that we are NOT alone in life and that we best redirect the grasp of this world to gaze at the right and righteousness of God.

Paul would remind a church set of folks whom he dedicated, the Colossians, to put off being obsessed from all the things of earth – including the bad things of immorality – and then also put on the good things of obedience, “put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another…“, – and especially forgiveness in love:  “if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

Paul would remind us to “put on LOVE” – and this is the state of knowing how Heaven looks at us – how Jesus looks at us: in LOVE – and for us to take on that DAILY DOUBLE of choice to look at the world in LOVE and be peaceful… “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.” 

So – our focus on above and the LOVE – means we focus less on this earthly mess – except to try to bring LIGHT to the situation – to bring HOPE – to help encourage best living – in love – in loving – in life.

A Daily Double of Life and LOVE.

AMEN

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Colossians 3:1-17 NKJV – Paul writes a letter to the church urging them to improve, focus, hope…

Not Carnality but Christ – If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Therefore put to death your members [not people but distracting ways] which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.

But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

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Angel Armies are good to Google search – 2 Kings 6:15-17 NIV of Elisha and his servant seeing that the battle is with the Lord more than with our human earthly means: When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

and Psalm 91:11-12 NIV to know God commands His angels to guard and protect believers, the psalmist says: “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

and Revelation 12:7-10 NIV: Archangel Michael fights and defeats the devil. John sees: “Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down….'”