Matthew 6:19-21 Do not lay up treasures on earth for yourselves, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up treasures in Heaven for yourselves, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Shabbat can help us to understand our stewardship of earthly goods as we enter a day of rest. Since everything in and on Earth belongs to the LORD, all we own and all we are responsible for belongs to Him and is under His primary care. “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” [Psalm 24:1] A biblical understanding of ownership recognizes this truth which becomes a blessing and a relief for believers who acknowledge it. We are free from the worry and care concerning earthly goods especially as we consecrate all we own to Him. As the saying goes, "You can't take it with you." Or as Job remarked, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. [Job 1:21]
That being said, the blessing of stewardship is a profound reality with daily opportunities which bear eternal consequences. Far from worrying about our stuff, we're far better reminding ourselves that all of our resources can be set apart for good and holy purposes. As stewards, we have both the responsibility and opportunity to manage God’s possessions here, and thus, store treasure "there" in Heaven...
So this Shabbat, consider your possessions. Don't worry about them; offer them to the LORD, the great steward of Creation, asking Him to give you wisdom and generosity as He delegates your earthly stewardship. Rejoice in His Freedom, His blessings, and His Life, knowing that all you have here in this world will pass away, and only what you have done with it will remain. Realize the only thing you can truly own is your relationship with God, and that you will find your heart where your treasure is. And rest in offering all you are and have to the best Steward of all. Shabbat Shalom!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Here in Israel we have an interesting geographical phenomenon – there are two landlocked seas. One is alive and one is dead. The sea full of life is the Kinneret, better known as the Sea of Galilee. The dead sea is…….you guessed it, the Dead Sea. Now the Kinneret is constantly emptying as it flows through the Jordan River valley…. into the Dead Sea. But the Dead Sea does not empty its water at all. Instead, the Dead Sea is continually shrinking, because the intense heat at this lowest place on Earth actually evaporates more water than is flowing in. Do you see a parable here?
One of my passions is studying history, especially the American Civil War. Here is an amusing story about General Stonewall Jackson’s famous Valley Campaign. During the war, Jackson’s army found itself on one side of a river when it needed to be on the other.
We tend to focus on the part of that scripture where God does the blessing — but why did He bless Him? The answer lies in the passage! The Lord told Abraham: “I will bless you — and you shall be a blessing.” Abraham was blessed so that he could be a blessing!
In the Olivet discourse recorded in Matthew 24, Yeshua prophesied that “… nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” The word “nation” in Greek is the word “ethnos”, from which we get the English word “ethnic”. All of this polarization and ethnic warfare which the media feed upon and incite is the work of the enemy as he stirs up the sinful nature of men.
Several hundred years before Jesus was born, a plague broke out in Athens, Greece. In an effort to stop the plague and appease the ‘gods’, the Athenians sought counsel from a wise man named Epimenides from the island of Crete.
A new driver for an interstate trucking company was having a difficult time. He found the long cross-country trips extremely tiring. The older driver who traveled with him, however, seemed to thrive on those long trips. He always seemed to look as fresh at the end of the ride as he did at the beginning.
There’s nothing we can do to earn God’s love, however if we want to experience His blessings we need to observe the qualifications that He’s given us in His Word. Psalm 112 details a whole list of blessings, but the key to receiving them is verse 1.