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WINNING WITH THE WORD “Winning with the Word” is a weekly blog that will help you to be a winner in life by applying God’s principles for living the abundant life as found in the Bible, God’s manual for life. An invitation for you: To subscribe to this blog, click here.  To subscribe to this podcast, click here. If this blog and podcast have blessed you, please encourage your family and friends to subscribe as well. Thank you! Be sure to check out our Featured Book of the Week at the end of this post. ______________________________________   Do you prefer listening instead of reading? Then click below to listen to today’s blog post on podcast. https://media.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/content.blubrry.com/winning_with_the_word/Are_You_Looking_up_or_Looking_Down_.mp3 ___________________________________________________________________________ Hello and Happy Day! This is Dr. MaryAnn Diorio, novelist and life coach, welcoming you to another episode of Winning with the Word. Today is Monday, May 30, 2022, and this is Episode #22 of Series 2022. This episode is titled "Are You Looking Up or Looking Down?" ___________________________________________ When I was growing up, there was a saying that went like this: "Don't be so heavenly-minded that you're no earthly good." The saying meant that one could get off balance by thinking too much of spiritual matters while neglecting important daily matters, like eating or taking a shower. The expression was used to speak of people who always had their head in the clouds. Absent-minded people. Daydreamer types who repeatedly missed the forest for the trees. On another level, the phrase also referred to people who constantly talked about God and the things of God. So-called religious fanatics. But were these people really off base? Or had they grabbed onto something vitally important that the rest of us missed? Scripture gives us a clear answer. In 2 Corinthians 4: 18, the Bible tells us to "fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." This verse tells us that there are two realms: the spiritual realm and the earthly realm. One of these realms--the earthly realm where we now live--is temporary. It will one day pass away. The other realm--the heavenly realm--is eternal. It will last forever. Doesn't it make sense, then, to focus on what will last forever instead of on what one day will end? I think so. So, what about us? Are we fixing our eyes on what is seen, or on what is not seen? Are we focusing more on making a living, building a career, paying our bills, and having a great weekend with our friends? Or are we focusing more on obeying God, reading the Bible, and doing good to others? In other words, are we so earthly minded that we are no heavenly good? It is time, my friend, for us to be heavenly-minded. Jesus is coming back soon, and He will remove from the earth only those who follow Him and are focused on the things of God. If our focus is on the wrong thing, we will miss our destiny. What about you? Are you focused more on the things of God than on the things of earth? Are you focused on the things of God at all? If not, please take to heart this week's message.  The things of God are the only things that ultimately matter. They alone are the things that will last forever. To spend our time focusing only on what will pass away is foolishness. Focusing on the things of God begins with a relationship with God. To begin that relationship, we need to invite Jesus Christ into our lives. If you have not yet done so, let's do that now. Please pray this simple prayer after me: Lord Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner. I admit that I have been going the wrong way, my own way and not your way. I have been putting my focus on earthly things rather than heavenly things. I recognize that my sin put You on that Cross where You died for me. So, I repent of my sin,