Storing Blessings

Matthew 6:19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

We treasure things. Some people treasure coins…antiques…cars…tools…ribbons…dolls…teddy bears…sports cards…autographs...things…and stuff….lots of stuff.

Just because we collect things doesn't mean anything.
It is not what we collect, it is what we treasure.

What do you hold dear?
Who do you hold dear?

What takes up space in your thinking?
Who takes up space in your thinking?

What takes up space in your heart?
Who takes up space in your heart?

"Thoughts" are things.
"Thoughts" become us.
"Thoughts" become our health.
"Thoughts" become our behavior.

There is more going on around us and through us than we imagine. Jesus tells us there is a lot more to what is going on in our life and in our universe than what we see, hear, or touch. What we do not see, do not hear, or cannot touch is our storehouse in heaven. What the storehouse in heaven contains is up to us. We cannot put "things of earth" in heaven. However, we can put the "things of heaven" up there. Where your treasure is, your heart will be also. Notice what we "put away" goes before our heart. On the surface, you would think it would be the other way around. You would think what you hold in your heart goes to heaven. However, Jesus said just the opposite.

Too often we worship the things of earth. As foolish as it sounds, we worship our things of earth that at some point disappears through deterioration, demolition, or simply being thrown out in the trash.

There are consequences to our thinking. There are consequences associated with what we store away.

Hope is one of the things we can store away in heaven. However hopeless things might look here on earth, there is hope in heaven. What we put on the shelf in heaven appears in our heart here on earth. What we store up in heaven is a consequence of what we carry in our heart (what we worship) here on earth.

When we think about our future we may not always see the best and brightest. When we are young we can almost see forever. When we grow older there is more of our earthly life behind us than there is ahead of us. However, no matter what age we are, what condition we are, where we are, or how we are, there is for us a hope in heaven.

On earth, we can have a hope to live a fruitful life here on earth.
On earth, we can have a hope to live an eternal blissful life in heaven.

We choose what we think. Every day, every second, we make choices. We choose what we treasure. Jesus speaks to us about what we treasure because we can choose.

What we treasure or value can help us or hurt us. Jesus is saying we can help our life now by what we think about now.

In this time, in this life, right now, we can treasure…God's love, His forgiveness, and His healing touch.

We can treasure…
How God's love surrounds and uplifts us.

We can treasure…
How God's forgiveness totally erases what we have said, thought, and done in the past not of God's will.

We can treasure…
How God's healing touch heals us from every spiritual infirmity.

We can treasure…the love of God. Without the love of God, we see only loneliness and the darkness of being pressed down.
Where God's love is not recognized there is loneliness and pain.
Without God's love, there is darkness.
Without God's love, there is aloneness.
Without God's love, there is just you and no one else.

If we don't treasure the love of God…there is a consuming hopelessness in life. Many people already have a sense of hopelessness. Many people run away from hopelessness. People drink hopelessness away. People drug hopelessness away. They play hopelessness away. People watch TV hopelessness away.

If we treasure the love of God and we accept Christ as Savior, we never have to face The End.

When you think about The End, what is there if you do not have Christ as your Savior and Lord…except The End?

We are to treasure…
How God's only Son died for us.

We are to treasure…
How God was willing to let His Son die for us because God loves us.

We are to treasure…
Our eternity soaking up the greatest love, caring, and acceptance anyone could ever imagine.

We are to treasure the love of God in our times of worship.
We worship God because we know the truth.
We worship God because we experience the truth of God's love for us.
We worship God by sharing God's love with others.
We worship God by holding God's love inside of our heart.

Jesus told us to treasure the love of God…for our survival…for our spirit's survival…for the glory of God.

This message was a re-presentation appearing in June, 2009, in the Virtual Church web site at http://www.findthepower.com