{"id":24889,"date":"2019-01-18T03:30:51","date_gmt":"2019-01-18T11:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=24889"},"modified":"2019-01-17T14:58:56","modified_gmt":"2019-01-17T22:58:56","slug":"january-18-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2019\/01\/18\/january-18-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"January 18, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cI lift up my eyes to the mountains\u2014where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip\u2014He who watches over you will not slumber\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Psalm 121:1-3<\/p>\n

Where Do You Focus?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When you look at your life from day-to-day, do you focus more on what is right in front of you, or do you have what a pastor of mine once called \u201cthrough vision\u201d? My picture here illustrates the point.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The pin oak in the foreground carries its dry, brown leaves all through the fall and winter and they don\u2019t all come off until spring when the new green leaves push them off. This represents the day-in and day-out problems of this life. Like the leaves, some blow off easily in a soft breeze, others hang on stubbornly through the strongest of gale forces, and some don\u2019t leave until changes are made. I can focus only on the \u201cleaves\u201d of this life, or I can move my focus to the next level represented by the Carr Fire-scarred hillside.<\/p>\n

This \u201chillside\u201d level represents focusing on someone else. One of the best things that helps me stop focusing on my problems and getting \u201cout of my head\u201d is when I look up and reach out to another person. This can be as simple as spending time over a cup of coffee or really digging in to help another person with a problem. This is a better focus in life, but there is still a greater focus\u2014and the snow-covered mountain is the \u201cthrough vision\u201d focus we need.<\/p>\n

As we focus on the pure, white snow on the top of the mountain, let this represent our perfect Savior and LORD from where our help comes. He is our help, our provision, our healing, our destination, and our home\u2014not only for us, but also for the hurting world around us.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeavenly Father, please help us to look past the \u201cleaves\u201d of our own problems to see the \u201chillside\u201d of others around us. Even as we do this, help us to look \u201cthrough\u201d to You and Your \u201cmountain\u201d where we find where we ultimately belong\u2014at Your feet. Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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