As we look toward moving to Paris later this month, it is not surprising that I am giving a lot of thought to what we will take with us. The necessary sorting has resulted in a swell of memories and a flood of gratitude as pictures and cards and gifts and various items remind me that our lives have been very full. God has blessed our family and we have been blessed by the church families with whom we have shared life. Sometimes in packing it is hard to release something that holds significant memories. If we boxed up absolutely everything we have here to take with us to our new home, there just would not be room. I wonder why we as human beings do have such attachment to things that recall for us the living of our lives. It is of course a kind of treasuring of the past and where we’ve been and who we have known. In my considerations around what to take with us, the Scripture I am drawn to for this week’s prayer reflection is Matthew 6:19-21, “19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” These words of Jesus have me wanting to pray that we will gain more understanding of what is involved in storing up treasures in heaven. I sense that this involves giving priority to God’s agenda in the ways that we spend our time. In the opportunities that come to us to invest in the lives of people and to share our faith and dependence on God with others, we truly will be storing up treasures in heaven. If someone discovers God’s love and forgiveness through us, that is indisputably more important than any earthly treasures we might stack up. And as Jesus concludes, “Where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” (vs. 21) We can join together in prayer this week asking God to renew our desire to have our treasure in heaven safely invested with Him so that our hearts will also be found there centered in Jesus. Looking forward to trusting God with this when we pause wherever we are for Wednesday Prayer Together tomorrow October 20th at 1 pm.
Praying that we will be recognizing the treasures possible in heaven when we make God our greatest treasure, Pastor Lola
Our God of all the things that we treasure and appreciate in this lifetime, thank You that You are our greatest treasure. We are thankful that we can be reminded of this important truth that we need to store up our treasures in heaven. We recognize that we need Your help to know where to invest our time, our resources, and ourselves. When we make our lives about guarding and storing up what we think is valuable here on earth, we will miss what You see as treasure. So often Lord we are influenced by the values of others. That’s when we might slip into placing importance on the goals of this world rather than on Your goals. Clear our minds we pray so that we can view the whole of life from Your perspective. Our lives pass by quickly and we know that only what is done for You Jesus will last. So we invite You to guide every thought, attitude, and motivation. Where there are things that are cluttering our lives and our view of You please remove those. We are grateful for treasure that is already stored in heaven for us because of Your grace extended to us through Jesus. Thank You God that we can be certain of our destiny in heaven because Jesus has secured that treasure for us. We long for others to also find their way there and for them to have the assurance of their treasure in heaven. Please use each of us in whatever ways You choose to reveal to others the treasure that is to be found in You. Here and now in this prayer we surrender our attachments to what we would be inclined to keep that is not of lasting value. Breathe the inspiration of Your Spirit into our hearts and minds so that our choices will consistently result in storing up treasure in heaven. While we look forward to the promise of heaven, we are aware God of the treasure of lives lived for You every day. Thank You for ordinary life experiences like moving that remind us to be evaluating what to take with us. We ask that the treasures You are making possible for us to store up in heaven will influence our decisions about how to live and walk with You daily. And God when we become sentimental about keeping things that remind us of the past, thank You that we can trust the treasure of our lifetime memories with You. We give over everything to You, knowing that You can keep safe what will become our treasure in heaven. We examine our hearts and discover that when our treasure is in heaven that is where our hearts also reside. Thank You that this can be so. In Jesus’ Name. AMEN.