Matthew 6:19-21 ESV
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
The Things of This World
Life on this earth is temporary. The things of this world
are temporary. All that we have in the way of worldly goods could be here today
and gone tomorrow. And with the events of these past 20 months, I believe we
have gotten a glimpse of how easily they can all disappear – all the things we
take for granted (in America) day after day which we assume will just be there.
People in this world are temporary, too. Our lives could be
here today and gone tomorrow. Those we love and have come to depend on to be
there could go away. Our spouses could leave us for someone else or they could
die. Our children or grandchildren could move away, or they could die. Or they
could just not want to be with us anymore.
Our pastors or our government leaders could also disappear.
They could die or they could desert and betray us. We could learn that who we
thought they were was a lie and that they were deceiving us all along. And they
could turn on us and turn against us and do us harm instead of the good that
they swore to do for us. For not everyone tells the truth. Many liars exist.
Our houses or apartments could catch on fire or could be
destroyed in a hurricane, a tornado, a flood, a tsunami, or a volcanic eruption
or in war. And we may be asked to abandon our homes and to leave and to go
someplace else not knowing what will await us there. Or we could be forced into
camps of some kind, perhaps like in WW11.
Or literally we could have a thief break into our homes or
into our computers and into our bank accounts and they could rob us of
everything we own to where there is nothing left. They may even take things of
ours of sentimental value which would have no value to them only to try to
cause us pain and emotional suffering.
So, we need to hold lightly to the things of this world. We
have to consider that everything we possess belongs to God and that it is his
to provide or it is his to take away. And this could even include our health or
our reputations or our freedoms to assemble with other believers or to speak
the truth to others in a public setting. All this could be here today and gone
tomorrow.
Treasures in Heaven
So, we are not to make idols of the things of this world
which are here today and gone tomorrow. All that we have on this earth is
temporary. It is fleeting. And one day it will all be gone, and it will profit
us nothing. Nothing of this world will save us – no politicians, no
governments, and no military. It doesn’t matter who is in office, man cannot be
our saviors.
Therefore, we need to invest our lives in what is permanent,
in what has eternal value, and in what can save people’s souls from hell and
give them eternal life with God. We need to invest our lives in the gospel of
Jesus Christ and in our relationships with our Lord and in obedience to his
commands and in sharing the TRUE GOSPEL with the people of the world.
We need to be the Lord’s servants in doing what he calls us
to do, in going wherever he sends us, and in saying whatever he gives us to say,
which cannot be against his divine character and will for our lives, and which
cannot be contradictory to the foundational teachings of the gospel. Just
because we said, “God said,” doesn’t mean that “God said.”
We need to be investing our lives in other people’s lives in
ministering God’s love and grace to them and in ministering to their physical
needs, too, as directed by God’s Spirit who will show us where the real needs
are. We need to be helping the hurting and lifting up the fallen and
encouraging the downhearted with the truths of God’s holy word.
And we need to be exhorting one another as followers of
Jesus Christ to walk in the fulness of God’s love and grace in obedience to his
commands and in being and doing who and what he has called us to be and to do.
We need to be encouraging one another in our walks of faith to live holy lives
pleasing to God and to forsake our sins to follow our Lord in obedience.
Treasures and Hearts
Where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. If we
invest our lives solely or primarily in the things of this world, our hearts
and our passions will be there, and not with God. But if we invest our lives in
the things of God, in the things that matter for eternity, and in the things
that turn people’s hearts away from their sins to following our Lord in
obedience, that is where our hearts will be. Our passions and desires will be
for our Lord.
So, again, we need to hold lightly to the things of this
world and to other humans, too, and our dependency needs to be in the Lord, and
not in other humans who are likely to fail us or to even betray us. And then
when the world goes crazy, which it is, we will not be shaken by it all,
especially if we study the Scriptures regarding the events of these final days
on the earth.
For our faith and our hope are solely in the Lord, and
therefore we are on solid ground, and we will not be shaken when the world
comes crashing down all around us, which it is, and which it will even more,
because the Bible says it will. And while we wait for our Lord’s return, we
must be investing our lives in what has eternal value and in that which will
lead others to genuine God-given faith in Jesus Christ.
Mark
Hall and Bernie Herms
I was sure by now, God You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.
I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
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