"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." Matthew 6:19,20
There is a philosophy in the world that says, "Get all you can, and can all you get". The world is "money minded" and "money hungry". You have heard the expression, "Money makes the world go 'round". Sadly, this same way of thinking has wound up in the church. Money does help make life a little easier when you have enough to pay the bills and put food on the table. The lack of it has been the source of many marital problems. Wanting to have enough to meet your needs is not wrong. But money and riches should never be the focus of the followers of Jesus.
The argument in Christianity on the subject is that Jesus taught about having wealth; Jesus had a treasurer so He must have had money; and so on. But we forget that He also taught verses like the ones above. He taught us that we can't serve God and mammon both. He taught us that the most important treasures and the ones to be sought after were the ones that are eternal and certain- treasures/riches in heaven. (And by the way, His treasurer turned out to be Judas the one who betrayed him into the hands of those who crucified him. And he betrayed him for more money.)
When Jesus spoke the words above He didn't stop there, He added a warning. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (verse 21) He warned us that preoccupation with money, a desire to have treasures, the longing to be rich can be a snare that will capture our heart and take it prisoner. If your heart is captured by something (whatever it may be) instead of God, then He doesn't have it. And if He doesn't have it, how can you love Him with all your heart?
Wherever your treasure is, there will your heart be also. If your treasure is in temporary riches- that is where you will find your heart. If it is in eternal ones, than that's where you'll find it.
Have a great day. Where does your treasure lie? That is where you will find your heart.
For further reading:
Deuteronomy 30:19
Proverbs 15:16
Matthew 6:24,25
Luke 12:13-23
James 2:5,6
Friday, November 5, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
"What's In Your Heart?"
"O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Matthew 12:34
The scriptures tell us that we should love the Lord with all our heart. How do we know whether we do or not? How do we know what has our heart? How do we know what consumes our heart? One way is by examining our lives to see if we are obeying His commandments and doing our best to keep them, walking in them and letting them be the governing factor of our lives. Because if we love Him we will keep His commandments.
Another way to know is by listening to yourself when you talk. What comes out of your mouth? Our verse above tells us that whatever our heart is full of is what will come out of our mouth. If you are full of love for God it will come- you will hear it in the things that you say. If you are full of bitterness, envy, hurt, it too will come out in your conversation. It is so easy to tell where people are just by listening to what they are saying. Like wise, it is just as easy to know where we are by what we are saying. This means that if you aren't sure what is filling your heart, all you have to do is listen to yourself for a while and you will soon discover what it is.
I know people who all they talk about is money- getting their next dollar, how to keep what money they have. I know others that talk about nothing but their ex-spouse and what wrong they did to them. There are those also who talk about their illnesses, aches and pains all the time. And the list goes on. Don't misunderstand me, it is not wrong to talk about these things I have mentioned, but when it becomes your whole conversation and the only thing you talk about all the time, then it means this is what has your heart.
By listening to yourself you will get a pretty good idea of what really has your whole heart.
Have a great day. If you really want to know what is in your heart... just listen to what you are saying.
For further reading:
Deuteronomy 6:5
Matthew 22:37
John 14:15
Luke 6:45
Malachi 3:16
The scriptures tell us that we should love the Lord with all our heart. How do we know whether we do or not? How do we know what has our heart? How do we know what consumes our heart? One way is by examining our lives to see if we are obeying His commandments and doing our best to keep them, walking in them and letting them be the governing factor of our lives. Because if we love Him we will keep His commandments.
Another way to know is by listening to yourself when you talk. What comes out of your mouth? Our verse above tells us that whatever our heart is full of is what will come out of our mouth. If you are full of love for God it will come- you will hear it in the things that you say. If you are full of bitterness, envy, hurt, it too will come out in your conversation. It is so easy to tell where people are just by listening to what they are saying. Like wise, it is just as easy to know where we are by what we are saying. This means that if you aren't sure what is filling your heart, all you have to do is listen to yourself for a while and you will soon discover what it is.
I know people who all they talk about is money- getting their next dollar, how to keep what money they have. I know others that talk about nothing but their ex-spouse and what wrong they did to them. There are those also who talk about their illnesses, aches and pains all the time. And the list goes on. Don't misunderstand me, it is not wrong to talk about these things I have mentioned, but when it becomes your whole conversation and the only thing you talk about all the time, then it means this is what has your heart.
By listening to yourself you will get a pretty good idea of what really has your whole heart.
Have a great day. If you really want to know what is in your heart... just listen to what you are saying.
For further reading:
Deuteronomy 6:5
Matthew 22:37
John 14:15
Luke 6:45
Malachi 3:16
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
"No Third Choice"
"Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season." Hebrews 11:25
It all boils down to choice. You choose to either accept Jesus as Savior or you don't. You choose to either serve God or not. You choose to obey Him or disobey Him. You choose to allow Him to have the Lordship over your life or you choose to let something else have it. You choose to have a relationship with Him or not. There are only two chooses ever where the Lord is concerned- for or against Him.
Moses, in our verse above, had to make one of two choices- either suffer with the people of God or enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. There was no "third" choice- he couldn't do both. And neither is there a third choice for us. The scriptures make that plain- either be hot or cold; serve God or mammon; blessings or cursing; life or death.
What choice are you making today? In your daily affairs and situations are you choosing to obey the Lord or not? Are you choosing to put Him or self first? Are you choosing to apply His word to the problems you face or try to handle them yourself? Are you choosing your own agenda or His agenda? Are you following your own plan for your life or the plan He has laid out for you? Like we have said, there are only two chooses to chose between. There is not a third one- you can't have it both ways. It is either God's way or your own way, but not both.
Have a great day. There are two choices that lay before you, which one are you choosing? Yours or God's?
For further reading:
Revelation 3:16
Matthew 6:24
Joshua 24:15
Deuteronomy 30:19
It all boils down to choice. You choose to either accept Jesus as Savior or you don't. You choose to either serve God or not. You choose to obey Him or disobey Him. You choose to allow Him to have the Lordship over your life or you choose to let something else have it. You choose to have a relationship with Him or not. There are only two chooses ever where the Lord is concerned- for or against Him.
Moses, in our verse above, had to make one of two choices- either suffer with the people of God or enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. There was no "third" choice- he couldn't do both. And neither is there a third choice for us. The scriptures make that plain- either be hot or cold; serve God or mammon; blessings or cursing; life or death.
What choice are you making today? In your daily affairs and situations are you choosing to obey the Lord or not? Are you choosing to put Him or self first? Are you choosing to apply His word to the problems you face or try to handle them yourself? Are you choosing your own agenda or His agenda? Are you following your own plan for your life or the plan He has laid out for you? Like we have said, there are only two chooses to chose between. There is not a third one- you can't have it both ways. It is either God's way or your own way, but not both.
Have a great day. There are two choices that lay before you, which one are you choosing? Yours or God's?
For further reading:
Revelation 3:16
Matthew 6:24
Joshua 24:15
Deuteronomy 30:19
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
"Red Alert"
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Peter 5:8
The dictionary defines a red alert as: the highest level of alert when an attack by the enemy seems imminent; or more generally a state of alert resulting from imminent danger. When a nation is under red alert, it does not let its guard down for one minute. It keeps a watchful eye in every direction and takes special note of anything out of the ordinary or that looks suspicious. One moment of carelessness or being lax and letting their guard down could cause serious problems or even worse a fatal situation.
Keeping a high level of alertness is something that the Christian should do daily. We are always in danger of an attack by our enemy- the devil. He has one purpose and goal in mind- steal, kill and destroy. He goes throughout the whole earth looking for those who are ignorant and unaware of his tactics. He looks for those who are not being watchful. He seeks out those who are being distracted by other things- the cares of this world, material possessions, pursing their own agenda, following their own dreams- so he can sneak up on them and them not notice him.
Since we have an enemy we must maintain a high level of awareness and not allow ourselves to be distracted or stop watching altogether. We must keep our "spiritual radar" on at all times- we must be discerning. We must stay on guard and not let down our guard. We must not underestimate our enemy but remember how cunning and deceptive he is. I am not talking about living in fear or having overly preoccupied thoughts about the devil. I am talking about remembering that we are in a spiritual war and have a very real enemy, who although he has been defeated, will still try to destroy you.
It isn't time to let down our guard. It is time to be more vigilant than ever before and more watchful than ever before. "But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up." (Matthew 24:43)
Have a great day. You should be and stay on "red alert" spiritually because your enemy is looking for opportunities to attack and destroy you.
For further reading:
2 Corinthians 2:11; 11:14
John 10:10
2 Timothy 2:4
Ephesians 6:11
The dictionary defines a red alert as: the highest level of alert when an attack by the enemy seems imminent; or more generally a state of alert resulting from imminent danger. When a nation is under red alert, it does not let its guard down for one minute. It keeps a watchful eye in every direction and takes special note of anything out of the ordinary or that looks suspicious. One moment of carelessness or being lax and letting their guard down could cause serious problems or even worse a fatal situation.
Keeping a high level of alertness is something that the Christian should do daily. We are always in danger of an attack by our enemy- the devil. He has one purpose and goal in mind- steal, kill and destroy. He goes throughout the whole earth looking for those who are ignorant and unaware of his tactics. He looks for those who are not being watchful. He seeks out those who are being distracted by other things- the cares of this world, material possessions, pursing their own agenda, following their own dreams- so he can sneak up on them and them not notice him.
Since we have an enemy we must maintain a high level of awareness and not allow ourselves to be distracted or stop watching altogether. We must keep our "spiritual radar" on at all times- we must be discerning. We must stay on guard and not let down our guard. We must not underestimate our enemy but remember how cunning and deceptive he is. I am not talking about living in fear or having overly preoccupied thoughts about the devil. I am talking about remembering that we are in a spiritual war and have a very real enemy, who although he has been defeated, will still try to destroy you.
It isn't time to let down our guard. It is time to be more vigilant than ever before and more watchful than ever before. "But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up." (Matthew 24:43)
Have a great day. You should be and stay on "red alert" spiritually because your enemy is looking for opportunities to attack and destroy you.
For further reading:
2 Corinthians 2:11; 11:14
John 10:10
2 Timothy 2:4
Ephesians 6:11
Monday, November 1, 2010
"Finding Answers"
"And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain." 1 Corinthians 3:20
Our thoughts, our understanding, our reasoning apart from God is in vain. This is a fact that is repeated over and over in the Bible. Yet, we are constantly trying to "plot our own course" through life. We are continuing leaning to our own understanding. And always trying to "figure things out".
No matter how hard we try, there will always be things that we don't understand. We will always have questions. We will always seek for answers. There is nothing wrong with wanting answers, it just depends on where you are going to get the answers.
Some people seek to find answers within themselves. Others seek to find them through knowledge and education. Some think their answer lies within their material possessions- an abundance of them is the answer to all their problems. There are those who consult different sources of divination such as the horoscope, physic hotlines, fortune tellers, Ouija boards, etc. to find their answers. Many think that the government has the answers. Others spend their time going from one person to another seeking out answers-- and you don't have to go very far to find someone who thinks they have all your answers.
The reality of it is that we don't have all the answers. It makes no difference how well educated we are, how smart we are, how much common sense we have, how many resources are available to us, we just don't have what it takes. But that doesn't leave us hopeless and helpless, wandering through life with no answers. There is someone that we can go to to find the answers we need. It's the Lord. He is the All-Knowing and All-Wise One. There is no answer hidden from Him. He even knows the answer before the question is asked.
So this morning let me ask you, "Where do you go to find answers for your life?" Do you look within yourself? Do you go from person to person, resource to resource, or do you go to God and His word to find them? Going to the wrong source will always leave you empty and unanswered. Going to the right source will give you the right answers. That right source is the Lord.
Have a great day. The answer to all your questions is found in Jesus.
For further reading:
Proverbs 16:25; 3:5,6
Jeremiah 10:23; 33:3
Psalm 94:11
1 Corinthians 2:10-12
Our thoughts, our understanding, our reasoning apart from God is in vain. This is a fact that is repeated over and over in the Bible. Yet, we are constantly trying to "plot our own course" through life. We are continuing leaning to our own understanding. And always trying to "figure things out".
No matter how hard we try, there will always be things that we don't understand. We will always have questions. We will always seek for answers. There is nothing wrong with wanting answers, it just depends on where you are going to get the answers.
Some people seek to find answers within themselves. Others seek to find them through knowledge and education. Some think their answer lies within their material possessions- an abundance of them is the answer to all their problems. There are those who consult different sources of divination such as the horoscope, physic hotlines, fortune tellers, Ouija boards, etc. to find their answers. Many think that the government has the answers. Others spend their time going from one person to another seeking out answers-- and you don't have to go very far to find someone who thinks they have all your answers.
The reality of it is that we don't have all the answers. It makes no difference how well educated we are, how smart we are, how much common sense we have, how many resources are available to us, we just don't have what it takes. But that doesn't leave us hopeless and helpless, wandering through life with no answers. There is someone that we can go to to find the answers we need. It's the Lord. He is the All-Knowing and All-Wise One. There is no answer hidden from Him. He even knows the answer before the question is asked.
So this morning let me ask you, "Where do you go to find answers for your life?" Do you look within yourself? Do you go from person to person, resource to resource, or do you go to God and His word to find them? Going to the wrong source will always leave you empty and unanswered. Going to the right source will give you the right answers. That right source is the Lord.
Have a great day. The answer to all your questions is found in Jesus.
For further reading:
Proverbs 16:25; 3:5,6
Jeremiah 10:23; 33:3
Psalm 94:11
1 Corinthians 2:10-12
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