“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.” (Matthew 6:19-21 ESV)
Here in America today we are expecting a huge storm on the
east coast, where I live. They are predicting winds as high as 50 mph in some
locations, massive rain and flooding, power outages, and the possibility of
tornadoes. When these types of things take place, wherever they take place, or
when, they have the potential of destroying much in the way of people’s homes
and properties and possessions. So there is always a possibility that some of
us could face some loss of property and possessions and human lives.
So, this is one of the reasons that we are not to lay up for
ourselves treasures on earth, not that having possessions or property is wrong,
for we all need a place to live and food to eat and clothing to wear, but that
these things are not to be our treasures, the things that we cling to and live
for, and that we give our hearts, minds, and souls to. We have to be of the
mindset that the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, so blessed be the name of
the Lord. We have to be willing to leave it all behind us.
For the things of this earth cannot be more important to us
than our relationships with our Lord and our testimonies for him and us loving
the people of this earth and us sharing with them the truth of the gospel. When
the things of this world overtake our lives and we forget the reason that Jesus
died for us on the cross, and the reason he saved us from our sins, and so we
begin to make things our gods, instead of God being our only God, then we have
forsaken our Lord and the purpose he has for us.
So, sometimes God does send storms as a way of rearranging
our priorities. And I am not making any predictions here at all. I am just
stating the obvious and what the Scriptures teach, that God does send trials
and tribulations into our lives to discipline us, sometimes to chastise us, and
so that we will rearrange our priorities to make him first place in our lives
and not the treasures of this world. And in America so many professing
Christians are so worldly and need to turn their hearts back to Jesus.
And I am not saying that only certain people need this
rearranging of priorities. Perhaps we all do to some extent, because when
things are comfortable and going well it is easy for any of us to slip back
into worldly mindsets and to get comfortable with having things, and then for
us to not make our Lord and his word and his calling on our lives top priority.
But when things are taken away from us and we have less, that can often lead us
to look to God and to rely on him more, so less can be a good thing.
So, the things of this world are not to be our gods. Our
hearts are not to be given over to them, especially at the neglect of our
relationships with the Lord Jesus and his calling on each of our lives. But we
are to be those who are laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven. And this
has to do with our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord in holy living. And
this has to do with us doing the will of the Lord in sharing his gospel with
the people of the world and with us encouraging the body of Christ in holy
living, too.
For what is stored up in our hearts is what is going to come
out in the things that we do and say. It will come out in what we make our
priorities. It will be obvious in our attitudes and in what we value the most,
and in our actions. And it will be evident in how we spend our time and in what
we spend our time on the most. And it will be clear in the kinds of things that
we post on the internet and on social media and in the things that we like to
watch and listen to the most. And it will impact how we treat other people,
too.
But what is most concerning here is that we must realize
that if the treasure stored up in our hearts is worldly and sinful and selfish
and self-centered, and if it is mostly about what we want out of life, and what
pleases us, and thus it is not God-centered, and he does not have top priority
in our lives, then we will lose a whole lot more than just homes and
possessions, but we will lose our lives for eternity, too, because we made the
things of this world our gods instead of making God our only God.
So, the encouragement here is that we all need to examine
our lives and how we are living them and look closely at what has our hearts
and minds and passions and desires and time the most. And then we need to make
the necessary adjustments to where our Lord is truly our top priority, and to
where our lives are now surrendered to him, to do his will, and to where his
priorities now become our priorities, and the things of this world are no
longer the leading influences in our lives.
And then we need to walk with the Lord day by day, dying
daily to sin, denying self, and following him in obedience wherever he leads us
to go and to do. His desires must now become our desires, and his will must
become our will, which is to do his will in daily practice. For this is what it
means if he is truly Lord of our lives. And Jesus died on that cross so that we
will die to sin daily and walk with him daily in holiness and righteousness and
no longer in sin. So surrender your lives today to the will of God for your
lives.
[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23;
Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians
5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6;
Hebrews 10:23-31; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
Have Thine Own Way, Lord
Words by Adelaide A. Pollard, 1907
Music by George C. Stebbins, 1907
Have
Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou
art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold
me and make me after Thy will,
While
I am waiting, yielded and still.
Have
Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search
me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter
than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As
in Thy presence humbly I bow.
Have
Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded
and weary, help me I pray!
Power,
all power, surely is Thine!
Touch
me and heal me, Savior divine!
Have
Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold
o'er my being absolute sway.
Fill
with Thy Spirit till all shall see
Christ
only, always, living in me!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z11avpKNLsA
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As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth
for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my
strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70
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