Treasures in Heaven

Matthew 6:19-21 NASB

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

There Our Hearts Are

Is it wrong to have material possessions? No! Is it wrong to have wealth? No! Many godly people listed in scripture were blessed of God with wealth and with material possessions. Thus, it is not wealth or possessions, per se, which are wrong, but it is the love, the pursuit and the treasuring of these things in our hearts which is sinful in God’s sight.

There are also many people who have wealth and possessions who use their wealth and their possessions to help others who are less fortunate, or to support good causes, or to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. So, possessions are not evil. It is what we do with them or how we view them that makes our pursuit of them either for good or for bad.

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Tim. 6:10 ESV).

The point of this is that worldly possessions should never be our gods. We should not crave more stuff that we don’t need to fill huge houses that we also don’t need if they are not being used to minister to the needs of others or to supply our own reasonable and fundamental needs.

In other words, our sights should not be set on the things of this world which are only going to perish, but we should be setting our sights and our hearts and our goals on what has eternal value. And, we should be ministering God’s love and grace to those who need the Lord and who need to be encouraged and strengthened in their walks of faith with God.

Our hearts, minds, passions, and emotions, etc. should be centrally focused on Jesus Christ and on doing his will for our lives, and in sharing his gospel and in loving others with Jesus’ love. This is where our treasure should be that we are laying up for eternity, not in the things which will pass away.

Matthew 6:22-24 NASB

“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

One Master, Not Two

The eye is not just the physical organ in our human bodies which allows us to see things, but it also represents our ability to exercise common sense, discernment, wisdom, perception, and intuition, etc. The eye also represents the center or the focal point of something, such as it can represent our inner being, or our soul or spirit, i.e. the real us – who we are in character.

In this context, I believe that both the physical eye and the eye as the center of our being, which includes our ability to judge and discern, etc., are at play here. For, our physical eyes can often be windows into our souls, as well as our spirit, as an eye, will be what will come forth in our attitudes, speech, thinking and actions. Also, what we choose to look at and how we look at those objects or people can speak volumes about our characters.

The eye also symbolizes the light that is within us, even if that “light” is darkness and not light. For light is what shines forth from our lives, from the core of who we are, and it is what reveals who we really are. So, if it is darkness, that is what will be revealed. But, it can be disguised to look like light, for Satan is an angel of light and his servants can thus be liars and deceivers who masquerade themselves as servants of righteousness.

Basically, we reap what we sow. If we sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap corruption and destruction. If we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life. If our “eye” is full of darkness and not light, although we may profess to be in the light, the fruit of our lives will reveal the eye for what it really is. So, if we claim that we are in fellowship with God, but we are still walking in sin, we lie and do not live by the truth.

For, we can’t serve God and ourselves, too. We can’t serve God and the flesh at the same time. We will love one and hate the other. So, if we are living to please our flesh, and we are living in sinful addictions, we can’t please God, and we are not serving God, but we are serving the flesh, and the two cannot coexist, although many people certainly think they can.

Matthew 6:25-34 NASB

“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Worry is Not Good

I think a lot of people get caught up in lusting after the things of the flesh and of this world and the possessions of this world because there is an emptiness inside of them that they are trying to fill, but with the wrong things. And, many of them do so fully knowing that Jesus Christ is their only hope, and yet they reject him and the gift of his grace in order to remain in control of their own lives, and so they can keep on in their sinful addictions.

Fear is of the devil, unless it is the kind of fear which shows respect, honor, etc. or which invites wisdom and caution. The emotion of fear is not evil, though, for God gives us that emotion to let us know something is wrong or that danger is lying ahead, for fear moves us to some kind of action. But, when we let fear control what we do, and we live by it, rather than living by faith, then it is sinful, for it is not trusting God with our lives and with our circumstances, which says to God that we think he can’t handle whatever it is that we are going through.

A lot of people amass wealth in fear of their futures and how they will survive, but all that can be taken away in a flash with a market crash or a sudden change in the economy or a loss of job or income, etc. So, we should never put our faith in money or in possessions, but only in the Lord. And, we should not allow fear to rule our lives and our decisions, but to let the Lord rule our lives and to guide our decisions, including financial decisions.

For, worry never produces anything good. But, it can cause mental and physical health issues, which can then drain financial resources, and it can destroy relationships, too, if we let worry rule our lives. Yet prayer has the ability to change things, even if we don’t see immediate answers, and even if we pray for something for many years before we see the answer. For one, it changes our hearts, because it teaches us to rely on God and not on ourselves, so it grows us in our walks of faith with our Lord.

Bottom line here in all of this is that, instead of seeking after the things of this world to fulfill us or to complete us or to supply whatever needs we feel we have, we must seek God and his righteousness. Then, we will be fulfilled. Then, we will be satisfied with the very best! Then, we will have peace!! And, God will supply what we need, maybe not what we think we need or what we want, but he will supply what is truly needed in our lives which will help us to grow in him, to trust him more, and to be used of him for his glory in the lives of others, too.

A Believer’s Prayer

An Original Work / July 31, 2012

With my whole heart, Lord, I pray

To be Yours, and Yours always.

Lead me in Your truth today.

May I love You, and obey.

Lead me in Your righteousness.

When I sin, may I confess;

Bow before You when I pray;

Live for You and You always.

Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.

Life with You will never end.

You are with me through each day,

Giving love and peace always.

You will ne’er abandon me.

From my sin You set me free.

You died on that cruel tree,

So I’d live eternally.

Soon You’re coming back for me;

From this world to set me free;

Live with You eternally.

Oh, what joy that brings to me.

I will walk with You in white;

A pure bride, I’ve been made right

By the blood of Jesus Christ;

Pardoned by His sacrifice.

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Thursday, September 27, 2018 – Thank You, Jesus! Amen!