Where is the Treasure?

The Lord tells us “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” in Matthew 6:19. Why do you think He tells us that? I believe it’s because Jesus being fully God and fully man understood our earthly weaknesses, Hebrews 4:15. He knows that if we are not careful, we can easily get sucked into this world and take our eyes off of Heaven.  So are we storing up treasures on heaven or on earth?

            How many times do we find ourselves striving to build up our savings account, rather than our spirituality? We put the extra time in at work and spend less time at church. We can get so lost in this world and its distractions, if we do not watch where we are storing our treasures. If our minds are more focused on this world and its tempting offers instead of the Lord, friends we are truly putting our investment in a place “where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”  We know that if we are putting our faith and time in this place, then our hearts will be here also, Matthew 6:21.

            A lot of us are saying “I would never put money or material things before my God”, but is that what we show with our actions? Money brings us much comfort in this world! If not careful we can find ourselves bowing down before the dollar bill, worshiping it instead of God. I find it so ironic one of the biggest false idols most Americans worship, has “In God We Trust” across the front of it. We cannot serve both money and God; we will have to choose one, Matthew 6:24. Money means nothing to God. Our riches will be worthless on Judgment Day. We cannot buy our way into Heaven or buy our way out of Hell.  

            So what must we do instead? Well Jesus tells us “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,” Matthew 6:20-21. So the question is do we want our hearts stored with God in glory or with thieves, moths, and corrupting material of this sinful world? Friends let us always choose to store our treasure (heart) in the incorruptible hands of our God!

"Don't Worry Be Happy!"

            “Don’t worry be happy.” We all have heard this very catchy song by Bobby McFerrin. The whole idea behind the song and the music video is to make people smile and forget their worries, even if it is just for the four minutes that they are listening to it. Even if this song has never made anyone happy, was this not a brilliant idea on Bobby’s part? We are a society full of worry and anxiety and we are all looking for anything to ease that stress. Everyone is on a pursuit for happiness, but few will find the narrow path leading to it (Matthew 7:13-14).

In his song, Bobby says the words “Don't worry be happy. In every life we have some trouble. When you worry you make it double. Don't worry, be happy.” This is advice we should all accept and live by, not because Bobby said it, but because Jesus did. In Matthew 6:25 Jesus said “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?” As Christians we are commanded to not worry, but how can we take comfort from these words? Well Jesus goes on to tell us in V.32 – “for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” What an awesome statement. God knows what you and I need. As long as we do what He says in V. 33, which is “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” then “all these things will be added to you.” So we can take comfort in knowing that God will surely provide for His children. How do we know this; well we know because Jesus our Lord said so! And because we have this faith that God will take care of us, we must listen to the words of Jesus in V. 34 when He said “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Although I rather enjoy the song by Bobby McFerrin, his words hold no significance in my life. But if the Lord tells me not to worry, I assure you friends, I will listen to Him and be happy.

The Importance of Family

            As far back as I can remember I have spent Thanksgiving Day surrounded by family. I have so many relatives; so when we all get a chance to be with one another, we take full advantage of those opportunities! Yeah it can be difficult to gather everyone together, but we always try our very best to make it happen.  Why? Well we do it because we understand the importance of family. Being together with the ones you love can fill your heart with a tremendous joy while on this earth. There are not many things we can do here that bring us true joy, but spending time with the ones dearest to you has to be one of them.

            When I think about family and the importance of it, I think of Ruth! Ruth was a Moabitess and a widow. She had a mother in law (Naomi) and a sister in law (Orpah). All three of these women’s husbands died and left them alone. Life was already rough for a woman in these times, but to be a widow practically guaranteed your demise. That is not even mentioning the fact that famine had struck the land. They had nothing to live off of. The most valuable thing they had at this point was each other. Naomi, knowing these women had their own mothers, said “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house.” She did this out of pure love for her daughter in laws; Naomi wanted the best for them. We see in V.9 of Chapter 1 the unbelievable tie these women had to their mother in law; it says “Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.” Wow, what a sign of how close this family was. We are told in V.14 that Ruth “clung to” her mother-in-law. This word shows us that Ruth wanted nothing more in that moment than to stay with Naomi. It shows their closeness and it shows their incredible bond.

            Do we have this kind of relationship with our families? Where we can cling to them and rely on one another in bad times. To be able to know that even in the poorest of times, when you have nothing left, you still have each other. That is what family meant to these three women. What does it mean to us? I don’t know about you, but I am thanking God for my family today.