Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Is it possible that while we are busy worrying about tomorrow that we neglect the things of today?
You've heard the saying- tomorrow never comes, right? A lot of people would dispute this, but it's true. Events you are waiting for come and go, but when that event comes - there is still another tomorrow. It's events we worry about, future events. Do you think some future events warrant worrying over? A loved one ill? A test to be taken? A court hearing to attend to? Test results to get? Bills that need paying? All of those sound like pretty good things to be worrying about if you're going to worry but you've also had to have heard the saying- worrying changes nothing. That's true too, isn't it? What does worrying accomplish? Does it really help us? It sure doesn't ease our minds because it's our minds that are churning as we worry. We say we can't help but worry and as a BORN worrier, I've sure said that exact thing a number of times myself. I was born that way and that sure seems to be the case. Born that way or not, we are not supposed to be 'born' worriers. We aren't supposed to worry at all. We DO neglect the HERE and NOW when we focus on the worries of tomorrow. Right here and now we have NO control over tomorrow. We don't even know for certain we'll wake up tomorrow, do we? When we do wake up there are a lot of things that remain out of our control. We can't control another's thoughts, we can't control another's feelings. We can let our imagination run wild and IMAGINE all sorts of things others might think or do, or even feel, but the bottom line is our imaginative thoughts are NOT factual.
Do we have to provide for our future? Are there certain things we should do for our futures? Is it wise to lay up goods for winter? It used to be more so before we had grocery stores to go to year round that provide for us. We need to save money for future necessities, right? We need to save money to pay our bills, yes? To a certain point we do have to do these things but never to an obsessive point that proves more than anything else that we are looking to the future as if we know it's ours to have and we are providing for ourselves- without God's hand being involved at all. While we do strive to provide as God provides for us to do so, it should never be done worrying the entire time, should it? No. If the day comes and we have no food then we have to ask that God's will be done in our lives. If the day comes when we lose the home we have for one reason or another, we still need to ask that God's will be done in our lives. We have NO clue what the results of the hardships will be in our lives. We have no idea what sadness will contribute to our ability to show compassion later. The thing is we have to admit we are NOT in control of our lives as much as we like to believe we are.
God is in control of our lives as we surrender to Him and no matter what befalls us God's overall plan for our lives leading us towards the kingdom of heaven will be done. As we suffer through this temporary existence - mentally, physically, emotionally- we must have FAITH that God's will is done and all our worrying helps nothing- but only reveals that our faith needs to grow.
Every bit of worry is another opportunity for a leap of faith. We can choose to embrace the worry and all that means for us, or choose to acknowledge the potential we have to worry and then take that leap of faith by choosing not to indulge in the worrying. Every time we find ourselves being drawn back towards the thing begging us to be worried over we have to pray for the faith to leave it to God- because we know our worry accomplishes NOTHING.
Back to this…
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Is it possible that while we are busy worrying about tomorrow that we neglect the things of today?
It is VERY possible that we do NOT live for today even while we are living that day and HOW much is missed of the day spent engrossed in worry over tomorrow? If we are constantly living in worry for tomorrow we lose all our today's to worry. It's no wonder that Jesus felt the need to teach us that we are not to dwell on tomorrow because today has enough in it to be concerned about. Why should we worry about losing salvation tomorrow and neglect the idea that we could lose it today?
We are taught to pray for DAILY bread, not weekly bread, not monthly bread, not yearly bread- but DAILY bread- this goes hand in hand with taking notice of TODAY, not tomorrow.
May our Lord God and Savior Jesus Christ forgive us of our worrying and help us to give the day we are living more attention than tomorrow.
By His GRACE, by HIS LOVE.
Through His righteousness forever!
Amen.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Seek FIRST...
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
The KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!
First, not second, not third, not fourth, not fifth…not last…but FIRST! Nothing comes before FIRST. If you are first in line then there is NO ONE in front of you. If you are first on a list, no one tops you. If you are first in thought, there is no thought before that thought. If you are seeking the KINGDOM of GOD and GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS first you are NOT seeking other things FIRST.
2Ch 31:20 And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God.
2Ch 31:21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
Hezekiah- to seek his God, he did it with ALL his heart.
Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Rom 14:18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
The kingdom of God is…. RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE, JOY - in the Holy Ghost!
2Th 1:5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
That you might be counted worthy of the kingdom of God- for which ye also SUFFER.
Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
HUNGER and THIRST AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Mat 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
We might think we are giving up a lot when we compare our lives to the lives of those who don't live with the kingdom of God first in their thoughts, but what can truly compare to everlasting life with our God?
We do suffer, I'm not saying that people who desire the kingdom don't suffer- but all that suffering is worth it, isn't it? At the time when the pain is fresh, the agony is raw and new, we HAVE to understand that it is TEMPORARY. All the heartache, all the pain, all the suffering, all the sacrifice is TEMPORARY. If we live to 100 years old and each day is filled with sacrifice, each day is filled with pain, heartache… we can know it is ONLY TEMPORARY.
No one wants to suffer! No one wants bad things to befall them! No one wants life to throw them for a loop! No one wants to suffer INJUSTICE, and there is SO MUCH INJUSTICE IN THIS WORLD! We don't want heartache and pain, who would???? All that occurs in our lives- all the bad, all the good, and all the in-between them both is what we are called to endure and keep GOD FIRST, remember our reward isn't anything at all in this life, it just isn't. We seek for earthly treasure here and sometimes we find a bit of treasure and we are happy, we get caught up in the earthly treasure. We seek for earthly treasure and sometimes we fine A LOT of earthly treasure and we are very happy. The trouble with seeking earthly treasure is it keeps us from seeking heavenly treasure. Our heart needs to be in heaven, always!
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Seek FIRST the kingdom of GOD and HIS righteousness!
Not -seek first our pleasure.
Not- seek first our happiness.
Not -seek first our peace.
Not -seek first justice.
Not -seek first life.
Not -seek first ANYTHING.
But seek FIRST the kingdom of GOD!
Then… seek other things. It isn't that we are to ignore the other things in life but first and foremost has to come God! When we put God anywhere else all those other things don't matter a single bit no matter how wonderful they might seem to be. It's true. It's truth. This is something taught by our Savior Himself. WE NEED TO LEARN at the feet of our SAVIOR!
In His love! In His grace! In His righteousness!
Amen!
The KINGDOM OF GOD AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!
First, not second, not third, not fourth, not fifth…not last…but FIRST! Nothing comes before FIRST. If you are first in line then there is NO ONE in front of you. If you are first on a list, no one tops you. If you are first in thought, there is no thought before that thought. If you are seeking the KINGDOM of GOD and GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS first you are NOT seeking other things FIRST.
2Ch 31:20 And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God.
2Ch 31:21 And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
Hezekiah- to seek his God, he did it with ALL his heart.
Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Rom 14:18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
The kingdom of God is…. RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE, JOY - in the Holy Ghost!
2Th 1:5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
That you might be counted worthy of the kingdom of God- for which ye also SUFFER.
Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
HUNGER and THIRST AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Mat 19:29 And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
We might think we are giving up a lot when we compare our lives to the lives of those who don't live with the kingdom of God first in their thoughts, but what can truly compare to everlasting life with our God?
We do suffer, I'm not saying that people who desire the kingdom don't suffer- but all that suffering is worth it, isn't it? At the time when the pain is fresh, the agony is raw and new, we HAVE to understand that it is TEMPORARY. All the heartache, all the pain, all the suffering, all the sacrifice is TEMPORARY. If we live to 100 years old and each day is filled with sacrifice, each day is filled with pain, heartache… we can know it is ONLY TEMPORARY.
No one wants to suffer! No one wants bad things to befall them! No one wants life to throw them for a loop! No one wants to suffer INJUSTICE, and there is SO MUCH INJUSTICE IN THIS WORLD! We don't want heartache and pain, who would???? All that occurs in our lives- all the bad, all the good, and all the in-between them both is what we are called to endure and keep GOD FIRST, remember our reward isn't anything at all in this life, it just isn't. We seek for earthly treasure here and sometimes we find a bit of treasure and we are happy, we get caught up in the earthly treasure. We seek for earthly treasure and sometimes we fine A LOT of earthly treasure and we are very happy. The trouble with seeking earthly treasure is it keeps us from seeking heavenly treasure. Our heart needs to be in heaven, always!
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Seek FIRST the kingdom of GOD and HIS righteousness!
Not -seek first our pleasure.
Not- seek first our happiness.
Not -seek first our peace.
Not -seek first justice.
Not -seek first life.
Not -seek first ANYTHING.
But seek FIRST the kingdom of GOD!
Then… seek other things. It isn't that we are to ignore the other things in life but first and foremost has to come God! When we put God anywhere else all those other things don't matter a single bit no matter how wonderful they might seem to be. It's true. It's truth. This is something taught by our Savior Himself. WE NEED TO LEARN at the feet of our SAVIOR!
In His love! In His grace! In His righteousness!
Amen!
Our Heavenly Father knows
Mat 6:26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Mat 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Mat 6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Mat 6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Mat 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Mat 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
We are much better than birds there is no question there. Better in the respect that we are made in the image of God. We are given an intellect far beyond that of a bird. Can a bird sin? No. Birds have no awareness of sin- no awareness of right from wrong. There is no higher thinking in a bird. Birds are taken care of by God. Birds depend upon God to take care of them. If God takes care of a creature that was not made in his image how much more will He take care of one who has been created in His image? Seriously. We go to great lengths to *take care of ourselves*. We take credit to ourselves for *taking care of ourselves*. In truth, we HAVE to give God the glory for making it possible for us to do the things it takes to claim that we take care of ourselves. We HAVE to give God the glory not take it to ourselves. We have to recognize ALL the times God has taken care of us. Even when times are extremely hard and we're on the verge of … well, death… it does happen. God knows the overall picture and if we give God the glory we know that if our death is part of that overall picture for His will to be done in our lives and the lives around us- then that is for the best. God takes care of us.
We can't *think* ourselves taller- this is a fact that cannot be disputed. You can think about being taller until you die and if you live 1000 years, a 1,000,000 years you still will not be able to add a single smidgen to your height.
Why do we *worry* about clothing? God clothed all His creation and did so in ways much grander than we ever could or can no matter how hard we try and we DO try a lot! Fashion to a lot of people is a huge deal. God clothes His flowers beautiful, flowers that will wither and fade and die away. We have to believe God will take care of us, maybe not by giving us the latest pair of hip jeans on the market, or the star approved footwear, or the latest style of shoes or tennis shoes, but He will take care of us.
We have to have our thoughts on things eternal, trusting God to provide for us our necessities.
Can we get caught up in things like food and clothing? Yes. In fact we can get caught up in just about anything if we don't put our trust in our Savior.
Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
The gentiles- those not in a true, real relationship with our God are gentiles. Those who have no real relationship with God will get caught up on the material world, they will get caught up in things not eternal.
Our heavenly Father KNOWS. We have to TRUST. We have to BELIEVE. Is it easy? No. Satan will use every trick he has to get us caught up in this world. If one tactic doesn't work he'll use another and if that doesn't work he'll try YET another and another and another, he has nothing but time on his hands and that time is growing short and the shorter it gets the harder he'll use that time to keep after God's people. He won't bother with his people because he has them and that's that. He abuses those who are God's and will slip in using any weakness in us he can spy. Wholly God's, that's what we have to be. We have to trust in God like we trust in no one else.
Needs. He knows our needs. A lot of time we call our wants our needs but God knows the truth even if we don't. When we aren't receiving something we believe we need, maybe, just maybe we NEED to take a step back and ask ourselves if it truly is a need. In the grand scheme of things… the next verse we'll study really sums it up for us.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
More on this tomorrow by the grace of God.
In His love always!!!
Mat 6:27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
Mat 6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Mat 6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Mat 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Mat 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
We are much better than birds there is no question there. Better in the respect that we are made in the image of God. We are given an intellect far beyond that of a bird. Can a bird sin? No. Birds have no awareness of sin- no awareness of right from wrong. There is no higher thinking in a bird. Birds are taken care of by God. Birds depend upon God to take care of them. If God takes care of a creature that was not made in his image how much more will He take care of one who has been created in His image? Seriously. We go to great lengths to *take care of ourselves*. We take credit to ourselves for *taking care of ourselves*. In truth, we HAVE to give God the glory for making it possible for us to do the things it takes to claim that we take care of ourselves. We HAVE to give God the glory not take it to ourselves. We have to recognize ALL the times God has taken care of us. Even when times are extremely hard and we're on the verge of … well, death… it does happen. God knows the overall picture and if we give God the glory we know that if our death is part of that overall picture for His will to be done in our lives and the lives around us- then that is for the best. God takes care of us.
We can't *think* ourselves taller- this is a fact that cannot be disputed. You can think about being taller until you die and if you live 1000 years, a 1,000,000 years you still will not be able to add a single smidgen to your height.
Why do we *worry* about clothing? God clothed all His creation and did so in ways much grander than we ever could or can no matter how hard we try and we DO try a lot! Fashion to a lot of people is a huge deal. God clothes His flowers beautiful, flowers that will wither and fade and die away. We have to believe God will take care of us, maybe not by giving us the latest pair of hip jeans on the market, or the star approved footwear, or the latest style of shoes or tennis shoes, but He will take care of us.
We have to have our thoughts on things eternal, trusting God to provide for us our necessities.
Can we get caught up in things like food and clothing? Yes. In fact we can get caught up in just about anything if we don't put our trust in our Savior.
Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
The gentiles- those not in a true, real relationship with our God are gentiles. Those who have no real relationship with God will get caught up on the material world, they will get caught up in things not eternal.
Our heavenly Father KNOWS. We have to TRUST. We have to BELIEVE. Is it easy? No. Satan will use every trick he has to get us caught up in this world. If one tactic doesn't work he'll use another and if that doesn't work he'll try YET another and another and another, he has nothing but time on his hands and that time is growing short and the shorter it gets the harder he'll use that time to keep after God's people. He won't bother with his people because he has them and that's that. He abuses those who are God's and will slip in using any weakness in us he can spy. Wholly God's, that's what we have to be. We have to trust in God like we trust in no one else.
Needs. He knows our needs. A lot of time we call our wants our needs but God knows the truth even if we don't. When we aren't receiving something we believe we need, maybe, just maybe we NEED to take a step back and ask ourselves if it truly is a need. In the grand scheme of things… the next verse we'll study really sums it up for us.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
More on this tomorrow by the grace of God.
In His love always!!!
Monday, May 2, 2011
No man can serve two masters
Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Two masters. We're not talking about two masters who agree, but two masters that have opposing beliefs.
There is NO reason to hate two in agreement, right? What would you hate? Sure you could bring personal nuances into play and like one for superficial reason more than the other, but as a master who directs you as a servant in the same manner- what would there be to dislike? In fact aren't there in reality plenty of servants who serve more than one master in a household. Don't they have to answer to each of those they work for? A household of seven having one servant, that servant would be required to tend to all seven. The meaning of not serving two masters is truly meant in -NOT- serving two masters who are opposed to one another. We've seen it time and time again a person with two masters- and it's usually so the person can spy on one for another, right?
The master or if you will- a leader of one gang would not want one of his members serving a leader of another gang. A leader of one army would not want one of his soldiers serving the leader of another army- we call those soldiers traitors, don't we? We are talking about beliefs here, differing beliefs. We are talking about right and wrong beliefs.
We cannot serve God and mammon, and mammon is avarice… and avarice is by dictionary definition-
insatiable greed for riches; inordinate, miserly desire to gain and hoard wealth.
Two masters one opposed to the other- one selfless, the other selfish.
We know who the two masters are. If one is God then the other is Satan. Satan encourages the love of riches. Satan wants to encourage greed. Satan wants us to be very selfish, all selfish. Satan is a master who promises a lot of material things, but that's not all he promises. He makes his promises and then is eager to strip away those promises so that blame is placed upon God. He's deceitful above all and his job is complete when he gets us to be selfish. I'm not talking selfish in the same way people imagine selfishness to be. You'll get tons of people denying they're selfish because they do share things, they do think of others, but the truth is even those who share things and think of others can be extremely selfish. To deceive a person about their own selfishness is a ruse the devil uses all the time. What better deception is there than fooling someone into thinking they are just fine when in truth they are far from it?
Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
People fool themselves all the time- with their mouths they claim to love God but their actions tell a whole other story.
Jesus wants us to realize that we CAN'T serve two. We can't serve Him and Satan. We can't serve Him and our selfish desires.
Take this small test, try very hard over the next week to recognize every time you use the word 'I'.
'I don't want…' 'I think…' 'I know…' 'I am…' 'I want…' 'I have…'
Seriously, take the time to recognize how much you use that little word.
Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
If we HOLD to one, and DESPISE the other does this necessarily mean it's an outward loathing? No. Why? Because we love self-deception!!! Don't shake your head, we do, we LOVE self-deception. If we can be deceived then we believe that we're not accountable for our actions, we do so love saying-' It's not my fault.' Putting the blame on another person is something we do rather well.
Only by the grace of God will we be able to love only Him, just as it is through Him we find salvation, just as we will only be in the kingdom of Heaven with Him by His love and His righteousness not by any power of our own.
We can't despair when we recognize how self-centered we really are and as a result how selfish. Satan uses despair as another trap wanting us to feel hopeless so that we don't trust in God to save us.
We need to constantly give ourselves over to our master, our God and not to self. It can't be a sporadic action but a constant one. A constant surrender of self. A constant putting our lives in the hands of the one with all the power and glory all through faith.
By His LOVE!
Amen!
Two masters. We're not talking about two masters who agree, but two masters that have opposing beliefs.
There is NO reason to hate two in agreement, right? What would you hate? Sure you could bring personal nuances into play and like one for superficial reason more than the other, but as a master who directs you as a servant in the same manner- what would there be to dislike? In fact aren't there in reality plenty of servants who serve more than one master in a household. Don't they have to answer to each of those they work for? A household of seven having one servant, that servant would be required to tend to all seven. The meaning of not serving two masters is truly meant in -NOT- serving two masters who are opposed to one another. We've seen it time and time again a person with two masters- and it's usually so the person can spy on one for another, right?
The master or if you will- a leader of one gang would not want one of his members serving a leader of another gang. A leader of one army would not want one of his soldiers serving the leader of another army- we call those soldiers traitors, don't we? We are talking about beliefs here, differing beliefs. We are talking about right and wrong beliefs.
We cannot serve God and mammon, and mammon is avarice… and avarice is by dictionary definition-
insatiable greed for riches; inordinate, miserly desire to gain and hoard wealth.
Two masters one opposed to the other- one selfless, the other selfish.
We know who the two masters are. If one is God then the other is Satan. Satan encourages the love of riches. Satan wants to encourage greed. Satan wants us to be very selfish, all selfish. Satan is a master who promises a lot of material things, but that's not all he promises. He makes his promises and then is eager to strip away those promises so that blame is placed upon God. He's deceitful above all and his job is complete when he gets us to be selfish. I'm not talking selfish in the same way people imagine selfishness to be. You'll get tons of people denying they're selfish because they do share things, they do think of others, but the truth is even those who share things and think of others can be extremely selfish. To deceive a person about their own selfishness is a ruse the devil uses all the time. What better deception is there than fooling someone into thinking they are just fine when in truth they are far from it?
Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
People fool themselves all the time- with their mouths they claim to love God but their actions tell a whole other story.
Jesus wants us to realize that we CAN'T serve two. We can't serve Him and Satan. We can't serve Him and our selfish desires.
Take this small test, try very hard over the next week to recognize every time you use the word 'I'.
'I don't want…' 'I think…' 'I know…' 'I am…' 'I want…' 'I have…'
Seriously, take the time to recognize how much you use that little word.
Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
If we HOLD to one, and DESPISE the other does this necessarily mean it's an outward loathing? No. Why? Because we love self-deception!!! Don't shake your head, we do, we LOVE self-deception. If we can be deceived then we believe that we're not accountable for our actions, we do so love saying-' It's not my fault.' Putting the blame on another person is something we do rather well.
Only by the grace of God will we be able to love only Him, just as it is through Him we find salvation, just as we will only be in the kingdom of Heaven with Him by His love and His righteousness not by any power of our own.
We can't despair when we recognize how self-centered we really are and as a result how selfish. Satan uses despair as another trap wanting us to feel hopeless so that we don't trust in God to save us.
We need to constantly give ourselves over to our master, our God and not to self. It can't be a sporadic action but a constant one. A constant surrender of self. A constant putting our lives in the hands of the one with all the power and glory all through faith.
By His LOVE!
Amen!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The light of the body
Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
The light of the body is the eye.
Spiritual sight.
Mat 4:16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
People never sit in darkness on a constant basis, just sitting in the dark. This is talking about spiritual darkness and yes, people can live in complete spiritual darkness if they choose. When these people which were lost in the spiritual darkness saw the great light…Jesus, those that were without hope in the shadow of death had a light spring up in them. The truth. Jesus.
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
In Him, in our Savior is life and that life was the light of men.
Joh 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Joh 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
Joh 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
Joh 1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
Joh 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Jesus lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Jesus the true LIGHT.
If the light of the body is the eye- then our spiritual sight has to be focused on the True LIGHT, not on anything dark. We have to be focused on the truth in Jesus, because the truth in Jesus is our light. When we take our eyes off Jesus, when we focus on falsehood, when we look elsewhere for truth we are no longer seeing the light. Satan doesn't want us to recognize when our sight is altered, he doesn't want us to understand that we may be in the spiritual darkness and he'll even go as far as creating a false light, a false truth so that he can deceive us.
Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
If our eye is single we'll be filled with light.
If our eye isn't single then it is evil and we'll be filled with darkness.
If the light that is in us IS darkness how GREAT is that darkness. Because if the light in us is really darkness we are greatly deceived.
If our spiritual eye is single then our spiritual vision is clear.
Single-
G573
ἁπλοῦς
haplous
hap-looce'
Probably from G1 (as a particle of union) and the base of G4120; properly folded together, that is, single (figuratively clear): - single.
Figuratively clear. Having spiritual clarity. When we have spiritual clarity then we know that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We understand that life is only found in our Savior and NO WHERE else. There is salvation in no other. We can't save ourselves, others can't save us, only Jesus can give us eternal life. When we don't have this spiritual clarity we fill our lives with lies, with untruths, and people who genuinely fill their lives with untruths believe they have great light but that light is ONLY darkness, great darkness filled with deception.
We can fill our minds with all sorts of things that aren't of the kingdom of heaven and tell ourselves we are still fill with light, but when ANYTHING takes the gospel from us, when anything takes the Light from our lives we are in great trouble.
Is it any wonder we are told to seek the kingdom of heaven FIRST. The kingdom of heaven is salvation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Keeping our spiritual sight clearly focused on Jesus and the gift He offers us through His love is most important.
By the grace of God we won't ever fill our minds with things that make us believe we are in the light when we are really in darkness. May God forever be first and foremost in our minds and anything else come as a result of His being first and foremost in our lives.
By His most amazing Love!
Amen.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
The light of the body is the eye.
Spiritual sight.
Mat 4:16 The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
People never sit in darkness on a constant basis, just sitting in the dark. This is talking about spiritual darkness and yes, people can live in complete spiritual darkness if they choose. When these people which were lost in the spiritual darkness saw the great light…Jesus, those that were without hope in the shadow of death had a light spring up in them. The truth. Jesus.
Joh 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
In Him, in our Savior is life and that life was the light of men.
Joh 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
Joh 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
Joh 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
Joh 1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
Joh 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Jesus lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Jesus the true LIGHT.
If the light of the body is the eye- then our spiritual sight has to be focused on the True LIGHT, not on anything dark. We have to be focused on the truth in Jesus, because the truth in Jesus is our light. When we take our eyes off Jesus, when we focus on falsehood, when we look elsewhere for truth we are no longer seeing the light. Satan doesn't want us to recognize when our sight is altered, he doesn't want us to understand that we may be in the spiritual darkness and he'll even go as far as creating a false light, a false truth so that he can deceive us.
Mat 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
If our eye is single we'll be filled with light.
If our eye isn't single then it is evil and we'll be filled with darkness.
If the light that is in us IS darkness how GREAT is that darkness. Because if the light in us is really darkness we are greatly deceived.
If our spiritual eye is single then our spiritual vision is clear.
Single-
G573
ἁπλοῦς
haplous
hap-looce'
Probably from G1 (as a particle of union) and the base of G4120; properly folded together, that is, single (figuratively clear): - single.
Figuratively clear. Having spiritual clarity. When we have spiritual clarity then we know that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We understand that life is only found in our Savior and NO WHERE else. There is salvation in no other. We can't save ourselves, others can't save us, only Jesus can give us eternal life. When we don't have this spiritual clarity we fill our lives with lies, with untruths, and people who genuinely fill their lives with untruths believe they have great light but that light is ONLY darkness, great darkness filled with deception.
We can fill our minds with all sorts of things that aren't of the kingdom of heaven and tell ourselves we are still fill with light, but when ANYTHING takes the gospel from us, when anything takes the Light from our lives we are in great trouble.
Is it any wonder we are told to seek the kingdom of heaven FIRST. The kingdom of heaven is salvation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Keeping our spiritual sight clearly focused on Jesus and the gift He offers us through His love is most important.
By the grace of God we won't ever fill our minds with things that make us believe we are in the light when we are really in darkness. May God forever be first and foremost in our minds and anything else come as a result of His being first and foremost in our lives.
By His most amazing Love!
Amen.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
The power is God's.
Exo 9:13 And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Exo 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
Show God's power. God's name would be declared throughout all the earth. Just imagine the scene before us here. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Joseph and subsequently the God of those of all the Hebrew people formed from the family of Abraham was a seemingly powerless God that allowed His people to become enslaved for 400 years. Abraham had journeyed through Egypt and when he did, he lied telling those in charge that his wife was his sister because he didn't want anything to happen to him because the Pharaoh of the time was known for killing husbands to get their wives. When Pharaoh took Sarai, Abraham's wife and wanted to make her part of his harem of wives the Pharaoh and his household become sick and remained so until it was uncovered that the GOD of Abraham was displeased with the situation. To remedy the situation Pharaoh had to LET Sarai go. The Pharaoh knew that there was a powerful God working there, the God of the man Abraham.
The God of Abraham was known to the Egyptians but by the time Joseph entered the picture as a slave and made his way up to the second in command of Egypt the God of Abraham was past history and not on the minds of the Egyptians at all. When Joseph brought His God into the picture again…
Gen 39:8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;
Gen 39:9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
Gen 39:21 But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Gen 40:8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.
Gen 41:16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
Gen 41:25 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
When Joseph brought His God into the picture again and from the verses above we can see that He did just that, the Pharaoh of the time wasn't objecting to Joseph or His God. He embrace Joseph and allowed Joseph to worship the God of Abraham. Then… Joseph died and time passed and the Hebrews fell out of favor with the Egyptians because they forgot Joseph and all he'd done for them.
Exo 1:8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
And this is what happened…
Exo 1:9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:
Exo 1:10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
Exo 1:11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
And we know what happened after that, they became slaves and stayed the slaves of the Egyptians for a long, long time and during that time the power of the God of Abraham and subsequently all His descendants were forgotten. Why wouldn't He be forgotten by the Egyptians- His people were their slaves.
Then...
Exo 9:13 And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Exo 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
God raised Moses up to SHOW him HIS power, so that God's name would be declared throughout ALL the earth.
The power of God.
Exo 15:6 Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
Glorious in power.
Deu 9:29 Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm.
Thy mighty power.
2Ki 17:36 But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.
With great power.
None has the power of God. None has the power of our God, none, period. We talk about power and then we imagine what should be done with that power. We try to play God imagining what God should be doing with His power and in our finite, powerless way we think we are special and have enough knowledge to do so. We have NO power of our own, none.
Remember this verse from yesterday's study--
2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
The excellency of the power… may be of GOD and NOT of us.
Remember this…
Mat 6:13 ...For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
God is the power.
We need to really understand this. It's something that is easy to say but believing it might be another story altogether. We're prone to believe we have our own power.
Jesus said...
Joh 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me
Jesus emptied Himself of His power so that He could rely totally upon God's power as we are called to do. It's true. We have to rely on God's power!
Our Father which art in heaven… THINE is the power. We relinquish any power we think we might possess and rely upon God's.
Does this mean we sit about like lumps expecting God to walk us about like puppets? No. God has given us abilities to walk ourselves. God has given us the power of life itself, but that power is His to give and take away. We don't have to understand, in fact we can't understand the whys and wherefores. We may believe a lot of times that God's ways are unfair but He sees the picture of life from a perspective we can't. He sees how every single event in our lives affects another. By His grace we must give ourselves fully to Him understanding that we are given salvation by His power through Christ's sacrifice, through Christ's righteousness forever!
In His love.
Amen.
Exo 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
Show God's power. God's name would be declared throughout all the earth. Just imagine the scene before us here. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Joseph and subsequently the God of those of all the Hebrew people formed from the family of Abraham was a seemingly powerless God that allowed His people to become enslaved for 400 years. Abraham had journeyed through Egypt and when he did, he lied telling those in charge that his wife was his sister because he didn't want anything to happen to him because the Pharaoh of the time was known for killing husbands to get their wives. When Pharaoh took Sarai, Abraham's wife and wanted to make her part of his harem of wives the Pharaoh and his household become sick and remained so until it was uncovered that the GOD of Abraham was displeased with the situation. To remedy the situation Pharaoh had to LET Sarai go. The Pharaoh knew that there was a powerful God working there, the God of the man Abraham.
The God of Abraham was known to the Egyptians but by the time Joseph entered the picture as a slave and made his way up to the second in command of Egypt the God of Abraham was past history and not on the minds of the Egyptians at all. When Joseph brought His God into the picture again…
Gen 39:8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;
Gen 39:9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
Gen 39:21 But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Gen 40:8 And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.
Gen 41:16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
Gen 41:25 And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do.
When Joseph brought His God into the picture again and from the verses above we can see that He did just that, the Pharaoh of the time wasn't objecting to Joseph or His God. He embrace Joseph and allowed Joseph to worship the God of Abraham. Then… Joseph died and time passed and the Hebrews fell out of favor with the Egyptians because they forgot Joseph and all he'd done for them.
Exo 1:8 Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
And this is what happened…
Exo 1:9 And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:
Exo 1:10 Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
Exo 1:11 Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
And we know what happened after that, they became slaves and stayed the slaves of the Egyptians for a long, long time and during that time the power of the God of Abraham and subsequently all His descendants were forgotten. Why wouldn't He be forgotten by the Egyptians- His people were their slaves.
Then...
Exo 9:13 And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Exo 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
God raised Moses up to SHOW him HIS power, so that God's name would be declared throughout ALL the earth.
The power of God.
Exo 15:6 Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
Glorious in power.
Deu 9:29 Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm.
Thy mighty power.
2Ki 17:36 But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.
With great power.
None has the power of God. None has the power of our God, none, period. We talk about power and then we imagine what should be done with that power. We try to play God imagining what God should be doing with His power and in our finite, powerless way we think we are special and have enough knowledge to do so. We have NO power of our own, none.
Remember this verse from yesterday's study--
2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
The excellency of the power… may be of GOD and NOT of us.
Remember this…
Mat 6:13 ...For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
God is the power.
We need to really understand this. It's something that is easy to say but believing it might be another story altogether. We're prone to believe we have our own power.
Jesus said...
Joh 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me
Jesus emptied Himself of His power so that He could rely totally upon God's power as we are called to do. It's true. We have to rely on God's power!
Our Father which art in heaven… THINE is the power. We relinquish any power we think we might possess and rely upon God's.
Does this mean we sit about like lumps expecting God to walk us about like puppets? No. God has given us abilities to walk ourselves. God has given us the power of life itself, but that power is His to give and take away. We don't have to understand, in fact we can't understand the whys and wherefores. We may believe a lot of times that God's ways are unfair but He sees the picture of life from a perspective we can't. He sees how every single event in our lives affects another. By His grace we must give ourselves fully to Him understanding that we are given salvation by His power through Christ's sacrifice, through Christ's righteousness forever!
In His love.
Amen.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Treasure in earthen vessels
2Co 4:1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
2Co 4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
2Co 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost
2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
2Co 4:5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
What treasure? What treasure lies within us? Can we cut our bodies open and have a treasure of silver fall out? Is blood liquid gold? Are bones made of diamonds? Is our heart formed of rubies? No, no, no, and no. The treasure we possess in our earthen vessels is knowledge of SALVATION, the Gospel of the KINGDOM, our Lord, our Savior!
We are taught to believe that treasure is something spectacularly corporeal. From our youth we are taught to acquire possessions and if we don't have them then to long for them especially if others around us have them. Of course there could be situations where parents raise their children to not want things, but doesn't that often in turn somehow end up making them want them anyway? I'd like to think there are places where children are raised to appreciate true treasures not those that are physical. I imagine there are those places, maybe scattered here and there. Once we are raised with the belief that treasures are possessions we can buy, possessions we can touch, possessions we claim as belonging to us and only we have the liberty of letting others use them, once this belief is instilled in us it's hard to truly imagine those earthly treasures as being worthless. So many people work hard and some have the claim to working hard all their lives to possess the things they do and therefore they're entitled to those possessions- their blood, sweat, and yes, their tears give them that right. What about those who work hard all their lives and in the end possess nothing physical? A old homeless man without much more than the clothes on his back dies and is given a pauper's funeral all the while the pity for man abounds because he died without anything, he died homeless, he died possession-of course some might not pity him because their disgust at his state of being overwhelms any pity. Then we have a rich man who dies with many possessions and people aren't pitying him but rather wishing they had part of the inheritance he left behind. Very few pity or feel disgust over a rich man dying old having had a full life.
Jesus died homeless, penniless, possession-less.
A very rich man can die without any treasure within him. A very poor man can die having great treasure within him.
When we die where do we want our treasure to have been? Within or without?
God forbid we have no treasure within no matter where we fit in on the treasures without- abundant, mediocre, or sparse.
2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
The ONLY way to get treasure within is by the POWER OF GOD! We cannot put the treasure within us by ourselves. We cannot buy this treasure with all the money in the world- not all the dollars, not all the euros, not all the yen, not all the francs, not all the… well you get the picture. No earthly wealth can give anyone the treasure within, this priceless, wondrous treasure. You also can't work for this treasure, you can't demand the treasure, you can't steal the treasure, you have to be GIVEN the treasure by God!
Truly - give us this day our daily bread!
Reading on is it any wonder we need this treasure within us- given to us by the all powerful, wondrous, praiseworthy God! If we try to manufacture this treasure within it would be powerless and we need the power of God if we are to live for Him.
2Co 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
2Co 4:9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed
2Co 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
2Co 4:11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
2Co 4:12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
2Co 4:13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
2Co 4:14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
2Co 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
2Co 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
2Co 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
2Co 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
By the grace of our Lord may we receive the gift of eternal life through the power and majesty, the glory of His love towards us. May we be earthen vessels filled with the treasure of all He is all through His excellent power!
In His Love!
Amen.
2Co 4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
2Co 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost
2Co 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
2Co 4:5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
2Co 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
What treasure? What treasure lies within us? Can we cut our bodies open and have a treasure of silver fall out? Is blood liquid gold? Are bones made of diamonds? Is our heart formed of rubies? No, no, no, and no. The treasure we possess in our earthen vessels is knowledge of SALVATION, the Gospel of the KINGDOM, our Lord, our Savior!
We are taught to believe that treasure is something spectacularly corporeal. From our youth we are taught to acquire possessions and if we don't have them then to long for them especially if others around us have them. Of course there could be situations where parents raise their children to not want things, but doesn't that often in turn somehow end up making them want them anyway? I'd like to think there are places where children are raised to appreciate true treasures not those that are physical. I imagine there are those places, maybe scattered here and there. Once we are raised with the belief that treasures are possessions we can buy, possessions we can touch, possessions we claim as belonging to us and only we have the liberty of letting others use them, once this belief is instilled in us it's hard to truly imagine those earthly treasures as being worthless. So many people work hard and some have the claim to working hard all their lives to possess the things they do and therefore they're entitled to those possessions- their blood, sweat, and yes, their tears give them that right. What about those who work hard all their lives and in the end possess nothing physical? A old homeless man without much more than the clothes on his back dies and is given a pauper's funeral all the while the pity for man abounds because he died without anything, he died homeless, he died possession-of course some might not pity him because their disgust at his state of being overwhelms any pity. Then we have a rich man who dies with many possessions and people aren't pitying him but rather wishing they had part of the inheritance he left behind. Very few pity or feel disgust over a rich man dying old having had a full life.
Jesus died homeless, penniless, possession-less.
A very rich man can die without any treasure within him. A very poor man can die having great treasure within him.
When we die where do we want our treasure to have been? Within or without?
God forbid we have no treasure within no matter where we fit in on the treasures without- abundant, mediocre, or sparse.
2Co 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
The ONLY way to get treasure within is by the POWER OF GOD! We cannot put the treasure within us by ourselves. We cannot buy this treasure with all the money in the world- not all the dollars, not all the euros, not all the yen, not all the francs, not all the… well you get the picture. No earthly wealth can give anyone the treasure within, this priceless, wondrous treasure. You also can't work for this treasure, you can't demand the treasure, you can't steal the treasure, you have to be GIVEN the treasure by God!
Truly - give us this day our daily bread!
Reading on is it any wonder we need this treasure within us- given to us by the all powerful, wondrous, praiseworthy God! If we try to manufacture this treasure within it would be powerless and we need the power of God if we are to live for Him.
2Co 4:8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
2Co 4:9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed
2Co 4:10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
2Co 4:11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
2Co 4:12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
2Co 4:13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
2Co 4:14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
2Co 4:15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
2Co 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
2Co 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
2Co 4:18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
By the grace of our Lord may we receive the gift of eternal life through the power and majesty, the glory of His love towards us. May we be earthen vessels filled with the treasure of all He is all through His excellent power!
In His Love!
Amen.
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