Matthew 6:21

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also ~ Matthew 6:21

 

The last several days, my devotions have centered on wealth, material wealth. Yesterday, I left us with a question: Is offering Jesus to the one in front of us enough when they are in need? Today, we come to the true heart of the whole matter: where your treasure is. When our treasure is found in God, our heart will be in the right place. Our affection and desires will be on those things which come from above. No matter who we are, or our station in life, our heart is in peril if it is not centered on Jesus. Our heart is in danger every day of being deceived by the world, by focusing on worldly possessions rather than the possession of the heart by finding the true and only God and the value of being a child of the King. When I place my “treasure” in worldly things, in those things which I put away for tomorrow, there is a block in my meeting the needs of those around me. What I want instead is to hoard and protect my “treasure.” I cannot see beyond my treasure, even when there is someone in front of me with a need that my earthly treasure can bring aid to and help relieve their distress. Peter gave the crippled man healing in the name of Jesus. Peter had no money, and instead he gave the man the means to provide for himself rather than begging (Acts 3:6). I too can provide a meal, though I may not have the money in my pocket. Instead of handing money to a person, buy a hamburger, or donate to a charity which feeds the homeless, but do something practical. And, also do something spiritual – pray for them. Pray they will be enabled to find a job, or if you are creative and inspired, ask for God to show you how you can make work for someone so they will become a provider and not a receiver. My treasure, when it is placed in God’s hands, will become then a delight, not only to myself, but to others as well.

Pastor Julia

image: Michael Dziedzic


Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments

Popular posts from this blog

Romans 8:26

Image
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans ~ Romans 8:26 Many days, many times, I have the words for prayer. It comes forth and flows fairly naturally as I converse with my Lord God. I hope in the God I worship to hear me, and to receive my words, as I pray in the name of Jesus and believe in Him, my intercessor. He is my Living Saviour, my High Priest, standing at the right hand of God the Father. But there are times when my pain has been so deep that my words will not come. There are times when my agony is so piercing that what words I may speak would not be enough. And so, in my deep, black moments, I come before my God and let my darkest emotions erupt in sounds that only He can understand. The Holy Spirit within me cries out in my stead, and He becomes my second intercessor. It is not that He is not there with me in all my prayers, but there are times wh...
Read more

Proverbs 18:2

Image
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in sharing their own opinions ~ Proverbs 18:2 If we are going to understand something, we must fully digest it so that when we speak, we speak with wisdom. When we have only half truths in our mind, our words become empty and senseless. We then puff out air rather than understanding when we speak. A wise person will want to improve their mind through learning in various ways from the world around them. A person who delights in spiritual understanding will find peace and enjoyment in reading the Word of God on a daily basis, and in participating with God’s people in a learning and praising environment – the church! We come together in corporate worship with the understanding that not one of us knows all things, but we bend our mind and heart to learn what God has to show and say to us. A foolish person makes a show of what they “know” to please their friends or to save face in front of them. More often a wise person will hold t...
Read more

Isaiah 43:19

Image
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert ~ Isaiah 43:19 When we meet a challenge, we are often found discouraged, lost, even hopeless. Nothing is working, everything seems to be against us. We do not know how to move forward, so we remain curled up in a ball. Then, a glimmer of light shines through! Hope is regained and movement is stirred within. Don’t we become excited when we begin to feel it? God moves like that. We cannot see our way around it, but He can and does. And He makes a way for us out of the calamity of our fears. It is the feeling of springtime after a long winter, or the smell of fresh cut grass. Life stirs within and we move and we see what God saw all the time – the answer to our dilemma. Our desert place becomes an oasis, and we can do what we are called to do. Something totally unexpected happens, something unheard of, but it begins in our life, and we feel the...
Read more