From Luke 12: 32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 35 "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit;36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. 39 "But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
Last night most of our nation was fixed not on spiritual matters but on physical ones. Most thoughts were not on selling our possessions but on gaining more, like $425 million more. Yes, lottery fever. The thought of winning LOTS of money made people begin dreaming of what could be with so much money, and here is Jesus saying "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." This, after saying believer should sell possessions and give alms. And this after saying that God was to give us "the kingdom." Put in perspective, ours is the greatest to gain through God's faithfulness than all lotteries put together. Ours is a gain that "no thief comes near and no moth destroys;" ours is a place where our heart gets the most good. The substance of our faith is to continue to seek to do good for one another and to be ready to go when God sends Jesus back for us. Yet, many of us made plans for new homes, new cars, new trips, new lifestyles; sending a message that we're not quite content with what we have now.
It is not a sin to be rich. But it is sinful to love our possessions and our money more than God. It is a sin to let our possessions possess us. It is a sin to let the things of this world halt the work of the Holy Spirit in the spiritual realm and in the world to come. Do not be misled about things. God supplies our needs and sometimes we get more than we need. The question is what do we do with the extra? What do we do for the good of God?
PRAYER: Loving God, I thank You for what I have. I have been richly and wonderfully blessed. Help me to know how I can bless You and Yours. Keep me working for that which will continue to bless those who do not yet know they have been blessed. This I pray in Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
Prayer Request: The Rev. Dale White, late last night was in the ER in Wharton County running a temp of 103; close to midnight doctors still did not know what was causing it. Please pray for Dale and his wife, Anita. Blessings to you!
