Part
of the Sermon on the Mount by the Lord Jesus Christ is: “Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust
destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But collect for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t
break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”
(Matthew 6:19-21). From the Scripture, it is evident that the reason for the
warning is that the treasure itself will influence the things we say and do
because “where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also”. The Bible equally tells us to guard our hearts
diligently because out of it will flow the issues of life; this then calls for
caution! The question then is what treasures then can we collect and store
in Heaven that will equally help us in our day to day living upon the face of
the earth? The Bible tells us clearly that God, by His divine nature has given
us everything we need to live lives that are worthy of Him. These treasures,
which have been released to us (for as many that believe and will access them)
will help us to not only share in His divine nature but will equally help us to
escape
the corruption that is so rampant in the world (2Peter 1:3-4) in order to reign
with Him in eternity. We are to make every effort to collect, gather
and store
these treasures, and because of their incorruptible and imperishable nature
they will help us to navigate the corruption and decay of the world. The
treasures can only be accessed by someone that has faith in Jesus Christ as
his/her personal Lord and Savior. In other words, you must be born again to
access them. The treasures are goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance,
godliness, brotherly affection and love: “For
if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being
useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2Peter
1:8). These treasures will open our eyes to see and our ears to hear what the
Lord is saying to us at every turn; and they will in turn keep us from
stumbling. Friend, remember, any treasure that will not make you fruitful in
knowing the Lord Jesus Christ the more is subject to moth, theft, rust and
decay and such will suffer loss on that DAY. The good news is there is still
time for us to get them. Thus, as you go about your daily activities,
understand that what you think you are pursuing in the world to make life
comfortable for you and your family is not the true treasure but only the one
that can be gotten from Heaven. God bless you.
"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; Walk [habitually] before Me [with integrity, knowing that you are always in My presence], and be blameless and complete [in obedience to Me]" (Genesis 17:1, AMP). A while back, I overheard a conversation between two young men; both were wondering how a person can be and remain holy in a world that daily encourages you to exhibit and enjoy every self-indulgent pleasure one desires. Of course, they knew the Scripture in Psalm 119:9-11, which describes how a young man can keep his way pure, but they feel it is increasingly becoming difficult to discern the way of the Lord from the world system. To them, many Pastors and children of God have been won over by the kingdom of darkness to subvert the principles of God as written in the Bible. They were not wrong, in light of some of the teaching coming from the pulpits! The above ...
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