Matt 6:19-21 -"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 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." NASU
People invested a lot of money in clothing in Jesus' day as they do today. What type of clothing articles do you have the most of in your closet? Some people have a huge collection of ball caps, tennis shoes or some other article of clothing. Guinness even has a world record for largest collection of tennis shoes. Your clothing according to Jesus is in constant danger. There are moths, thieves and let us not forget fires. Imagine if your house catches fire and all your clothing articles get destroyed by fire. The second place He informs us is a much better place to store your treasures and that is in Heaven. Everything that can destroy your valuables here on earth can't touch them if they are in Heaven.
So how does a person store their treasures in Heaven? The apostle Paul and James state it like this: Acts 20:35 - "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Tit 3:14 - Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful. Jas 1:27 - Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. One simple question: Who are you helping at this time as you journey towards heaven? While Jesus was on the face of the earth this was recorded about Him - Acts 10:38 - "You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. He went about doing good. Now I know we can’t heal people like He did but there are still ways we can do good. Look what the Hebrew writers says: Heb 13:16 - And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. I am not sure if you have thought about this verse lately but it actually tells us how we can please God. By not neglecting those who have legitimate needs and share with them. Think About These: Help people even when you know they can't return the favor. Strong people don't put others down…They lift them up. Giving isn't just about making a donation. It's about making a difference. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Matt. 21:28-31 - "But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ' Son, go work today in the vineyard.' "And he answered, 'I will not'; but afterward he regretted it and went. "The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, 'I will, sir'; but he did not go. "Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." NASU
My dad would have given me that look and said, "What did you say?" It is right then and there that I would have had this thought "You better really think about your next answer because it could mean life or death." That is when I would have said, "Just kidding Dad! Sure I am going to the vineyard. I love the vineyard." He would have said, "Yeah that is what I thought you said."
In other words, he didn't walk the walk. He talked the talk but didn't back it up with the correct actions. This is why the people of the world say the church is filled with hypocrites. Christians say one thing and then they do another. Exactly like the second son said he would go work in the vineyard and didn't. I am sure we all want to hear "Yes, I will go or Yes, I will do it". I don't think any of us would want to hear "I am not going to do it." If this is in a work situation it is different. They are getting paid to do what the boss has asked them to do, but in the family the dynamics are different. You do what you're asked because you are a part of the family.
They were rebellious and would not listen at first but then they had a change of heart and regretted their actions. They changed their minds which brought about a change in their behavior. Therefore, they ended up in the vineyard picking grapes. However, the Israelites represented the second son. They said they would go and never completed the task. They never entered the vineyard. It is imperative that we remember this parable and that we remember what God has asked us to do. There is no way we want to be the ones who say we will go and do what the Father wants and then never do it. Jesus very clearly asks which one did the will of the father and they all said correctly the first son. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory (Rom.3:23) and like the tax-collectors and prostitutes we have come to regret our sinful life. We are now working in the vineyard and hopefully you are happy to be apart of the family of God. Think About These: A good way to forget your troubles is to help others out of theirs. It is better to keep a friend from falling than to help him up after he falls. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word John 5:36 - "THE VERY WORKS THAT I DO - TESTIFY ABOUT ME." NASU
John the Baptist was in prison and he is having some doubts about Jesus being the Messiah so he sends some of his men to ask Jesus if He were the One that was to come or should they be looking for another. Jesus gives them this answer in Lk 7:22-23 - And He answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed , and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. NASU Oh yeah, He is the One all right because Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be doing exactly what Jesus said He has been doing.
I was at the bedside of a man who was going in for some major heart surgery. When we were all alone he confessed to me that he had not been living his life correctly and he would like to have a second chance to make things right at home, at work and most importantly with the Lord. I prayed that he would come through his surgery successfully and that the Lord would allow him time to change his legacy. I learned something really important from that brother that day and it was when you are faced with the possibility that you might die you really want to arrange your life according to those things which are really important.
If you said, "My family, my job or the Lord is important to me." Then your works should be your proof that your family, job or the Lord is really important to you. Don't say that something is important to you and then have no works to support your statement because that will make you a hypocrite and that is certainly not what you're interested in accomplishing. It was really important for Jesus to stay focused on His goals and we see Him doing exactly that staying focused on His purpose for coming to earth. That is why He says that His works testify about Him. So ask yourself this question: "What do your works say about you?" Think About These: The plain fact is that human beings are happy only when they are striving for something worthwhile. This will be a better world when the power of love replaces the love of power. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Eph. 4:26 - Be ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, NASU
Mark 3:4-5 - And He said to them, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?" But they kept silent. 5 After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. NASU
The apostle Paul said, "Be angry and yet do not sin..." (The reason it is in all capital letters above is this is a direct quote from the Psalms 4:4) Jesus, according to Mark, was angry with the Pharisees attitude in regard to healing on the Sabbath. Jesus was there to heal people and it didn't matter to Him if the healing took place on the Sabbath or not. I have said it this way: "It is never wrong to do what is right." and that is what Jesus did. What mattered to Jesus was a good deed was done and this glorified God.
If you are angry my question to you would be "What is the source of your anger? I believe this to be a very important issue. You must identify what causes you to become angry. Many people have called Jesus' anger "righteous indignation". I have no problem with anyone calling His anger that. The question for us is "Could our anger be called righteous indignation"?
Candace Lightner's 13 year old daughter, Cari, was killed by a hit-and-run driver in Fair Oaks, California in May 1980. Candace used her "anger" to organize a group of people we know today as Mothers Against Drunk Driving or MADD. Driving laws in our country have been changed because Candace used her anger in a positive way. The apostle Paul said, we can be angry we just can't allow our anger to lead us into sinning. So maybe you have been cheated or robbed in some way. It is okay to be angry but don't allow your anger to become sin.
Years ago when I was doing counseling I would tell people they needed to learn how to ventilate their feelings. You will either do one of two things with your feelings. You will either ventilate or suppress them. The choice is yours. The best solution is learning how to ventilate properly. Let's say you are driving and the person driving the car in front of you is going to slow according to you. How are you going to ventilate what you are feeling? You can get closer and do what they call "riding their bumper" or when you get an opportunity to pass you cut back in real close to them to let them know you don't appreciate how they are driving, OR you could think and say to yourself is God trying to slow me down to save me from a serious accident up ahead? This is exactly what happened to one passenger who was supposed to be on ValuJet Flight 592 from Miami to Atlanta where all 110 passengers and crew were killed. He said, he was yelling and screaming at all the cars that were in front of him for not driving fast enough according to him. He said the realization of the crash hit him hard as he stood in the airport and heard the report of the crash of flight 592. All those cars that were in his way were now the reason he was still alive. James 1:19-20 - But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. NASU
According to James we are to be slow to anger and then Paul says, if you are going to become angry don't allow your anger to lead you to sinning. I hope you have an anger free week. Think About These: "Anger" is one letter short of danger. For every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness. Striking while the iron is hot maybe okay, but don't strike while the head is hot. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Matt. 6:4 - No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth." NASU
The Greek word for "serve' is "douleuo" and it means to be a slave to. Wealth has been called a terrible master. We have all probably known someone who was a slave to wealth. People want to be rich. There is nothing wrong with being rich unless you have allowed it to become your master and it has enslaved you. People have lost their health, families and friends when all they had time for was to pursue wealth. I have told you before about my conversation with an elderly farmer in VA. We went for a walk around his farm and as we were walking he said that the youth puzzled him. He went on to clarify his statement by saying this: "The youth spend all their health to gain wealth and then when they are old they spend all their wealth to gain health." I just smiled and had to agree with him.
Where do you spend most of your time? What takes up the majority of your day? What are some promises that wealth cannot make you? Can wealth say to you, "If you are wealthy you will be able to sleep well at night?" We all know that is false. Yet, that is exactly what the Psalmist says, "…Lift up the light of Your countenance upon us, O LORD! You have put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety (Ps.4:6-8). He is able to lie down and sleep not because of the bumper crop of grain and wine but because God has put gladness in his heart and because of this gladness he is able sleep in peace. So do you want to have a good night's sleep? Then I highly recommend serving the LORD. It is better to serve the LORD than serve wealth. Think About These: Never spend your money before you've earned it. Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants. The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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