{"id":10688,"date":"2024-09-01T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-01T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/?p=10688"},"modified":"2024-06-04T14:55:08","modified_gmt":"2024-06-04T19:55:08","slug":"things-above","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2024\/09\/01\/things-above\/","title":{"rendered":"Things Above"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One-minute read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"648\" height=\"644\" src=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Sept.-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10689\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Sept.-1.png 648w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Sept.-1-300x298.png 300w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Sept.-1-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Sept.-1-180x180.png 180w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 648px) 100vw, 648px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Colossians 3:2<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Practically pursuing Jesus means thinking about heavenly things against the background of eternity. Realizing life on Earth lasts but a moment and our eternal lives much longer helps us keep perspective about today\u2019s problems. Paul\u2019s not saying don\u2019t engage in things of this world but keep them in their proper place. How much money you make, what kind of car you drive, and where you live won\u2019t matter 100 years from now. But where you spend eternity will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI just have to keep telling myself, the kids won\u2019t remember we had to choose which bills we pay; they\u2019ll just remember the love we gave them.\u201d\u00a0 Talking to a friend years ago, with two young kids and an unemployed husband, she focused on things above rather than this world. Now, twenty years later, her kids don\u2019t even know they struggled financially those few months, but they remember the love and remain a close-knit family centered around Jesus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keeping our minds on the things above will help us persevere through our struggles. Remembering this too shall pass helps us keep going when hope seems lost. Knowing that our treasure waits in heaven, not here on Earth, gives us something to anticipate. We\u2019ll spend much more time praising Jesus in heaven than on Earth. Today\u2019s problems will pass, but our heavenly home never will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Journaling Questions:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">What Earthly problems keep you from focusing on things above?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">How does knowing today\u2019s problems will pass help you persevere?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">How can you keep your mind focused on the things above?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Prayer:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Lord, thank You for giving us an eternal home that will last far longer than our lives on Earth. Please help us keep a proper perspective of our current struggles as we think about things above instead of this world. Let us respond well to our struggles, knowing they will one day end, and we will spend eternity with You.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">IJNIP. Amen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One-minute read. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. Colossians 3:2 Practically pursuing Jesus means thinking about heavenly things against the background of eternity. Realizing life on Earth lasts but a moment and our eternal lives much longer helps us keep perspective about today\u2019s problems. Paul\u2019s not&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/2024\/09\/01\/things-above\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Things Above<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10688","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10688"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10688\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10692,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10688\/revisions\/10692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.honestreflections.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}