Wednesday 4 May 2016

Treasure and the Christian

Treasure and the Christian
The apostle John writes,
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  
For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.  
The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”
                                                                                                                                1 John 2:15-17.
John here echos the teachings of Jesus who said,
“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 moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.  
But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 
“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” 
                                                                                                      Matthew 6:19-24.
Sadly many in the North America  who call themselves evangelical Christians have slipped into a form of worldliness.
They fall for the teachings of false preachers who would tell them as believers they should be wealthy and have all the perks society can offer.
While wealth in itself is not wrong nor is having the luxuries of life it. It is when these things take first place in our life becoming demigods that it becomes wrong.
The apostle Paul states,
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 
                                                                                       1 Timothy 6:10.
The word to Christians is beware. There are false teachers out there that say all Christians should have things (material things) in abundance this is not necessarily so.
The apostle Paul reminds us,
“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”
                                                                                                                             Phil:4:19 (NKJV)
Jesus said,
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
                                                                                   Matthew 6:25,26.
Our faith should be entirely in Christ not in the material possessions of this world. Our treasure should be in stored up in heaven not in this world.
Billy Graham said,
“Those outside the church expect followers of Christ to live differently, yet today many in church are chasing after the world - not to win them, but to be like them.
                                                                                       Billy Graham.
What he said is true.
Question are you trying to be like the world or like Christ?
Please think about it.

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