Colossians 3:2 (NIV) Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2 (NLT) Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. INTRODUCTION Heavens priorities can be part of life here on earth. Setting our hearts on things above means striving to put heaven's priorities into daily practice. Setting our minds on things above means concentrating on the eternal rather than the temporal. [Life Application SB] COMMENTARY PEARL Every November, with hope in my heart, I buy a Christmas cactus, loaded with blooms and alive with promise that it will survive the Christmas season. Every January, with defeat in my soul, I place the latest Christmas cactus, pale, bloomless, and drooping, on my porch, thinking the outdoor air might revive it. That has never happened. One January, I spotted a small leftover Christmas cactus languishing in the floral department at my grocery store. The price tag read $13.99, but a store clerk said the floral manager would do markdowns the next day. Maybe if I could buy this cactus and nurture it all year, it would survive through the next Christmas season. An exciting prospect! I arose early the next day and dashed to the grocery store, skipping my devotional reading and my customary time with Jesus. I told myself I'd catch up later. Right now, I had to claim my prize. At the floral counter, I snatched up the plant, ecstatic to see the pink tag marked $4.99. I fairly danced out of the store with my purchase. When was the last time I was this joyful? Driving home, it hit me. Pursuing this bargain, this earthly thing, had interfered with my time with Jesus. If I nurtured my relationship with Jesus the way I'd planned to nurture my discount plant, I could be this joyful every day! I asked Jesus to forgive me for my preoccupation with an earthly prize rather than Him, my greatest treasure. And now both my time with Jesus and the Christmas cactus are thriving! Pat Butler Dyson Faith Step: Be honest. Are you putting any earthly things ahead of your time with Jesus? [Mornings With Jesus 2023 Devotional by Guideposts and Zondervan] LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY Colossians 3:1-3 - How to Set Your Mind On Things Above. http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210313-0910.html LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT https://abible.com/links/