Trading for Treasure in Heaven

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Saving money up is "easy." That is in quotes for other people with student debt and the like.

But really, the currency of our world, money included, is constantly being traded, used, and saved up.

Besides handing people paper and coins representative of currency, we talk about beauty as being valuable. We exchange favors. Being "nice" and "agreeable" can earn you a lot of things in life. So can being aggressive. Guilt can be a powerful persuader and a great way to get what you want. Karma is all about the currency of deeds.

What sort of currency do you deal in?

Sinful confession: personally, I tend to like the currency of "getting things done." My feeling accomplished is something I consider valuable and that I think other people can use. I'm willing to trade a lot to get things done- my time, my energy, (cough cough) my husband's time and energy...

If it's on my to-do list, no matter how silly, I'll give up a ton to get it done. Plenty of my friends have probably faced the cost before.

Living in the eternity that began the day I accepted Christ means trading in that currency, though.

As new creations whose citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20),  it is wise to trade the currency of this world for the currency of the Lord.

We know, after all, what happens to the things that we save up on earth. Matthew 6:19-20 tells us:

"“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."

Interestingly enough, this verse in context comes after Christ tells people not to give to the needy, pray, or fast, in order to gain attention. Or, "as the hypocrites do," Jesus says. Doing "spiritual" things for worldly gain is just another way of trading God's currency for this world's -which doesn't last. Which dies out. Which is rendered useless in just a few years.

The currency of the Lord is what you lay up heaven. It's your treasure. And, "where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21). 

Where is your heart? What deals do you make in your heart, what desires do you trade to fulfill?

Is it with the fruit of the Spirit that you obey the Lord, or with selfish ambition? Do you do your work unto the Lord? Or, are you doing it to get through the circumstances that (it's true whether or not you acknowledge it) God is sovereign over.

Admittedly, trading honesty back in forth in friendship doesn't earn you as many points in this world. Exchanging patience and sacrifices for aggressively accomplishing things doesn't often produce obvious, exciting results. Trusting the Lord to provide instead of trading your skills and your will in for financial security doesn't always seem like it pays off.

But your treasure is in heaven. The currency you trade for when you go to Christ, rely on Him, and crucify your sinful desires and understanding of how to survive this world's economy -that currency is piling up, glorifying Jesus, and keeping you active in God's economy.

His economy is a whole lot more gracious, worthwhile, stable, lasting, and satisfying. 

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry –His Sustenance and Joy are Forever!

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry –His Sustenance and Joy are Forever!

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We’re celebrating. We’re buying and giving gifts, decorating our home, eating plenty of sugar, and spending time with the people we love. It’s a season of thanks, of joy, of sharing, and of giving.

General merriment fills the air as people bustle around malls and take in the lights lining the street.

Our carols tell us of the spirit that fills the world at this time.

Christians –rejoice! You get to celebrate all these things, and the birth of a savior, and the God who is the giver of all good gifts!

What has He given us? To list a few:

·         Jesus. Our Savior and Lord. Born fully God and fully man that He might identify with us, take our place before the judgment throne, and be counted worthy.

·         The Cross and the Empty Grave. He suffered, died, and was buried in our stead. He rose again, to live forever by the side of God and reign sovereign.

·         Adoption. Into the family of God, as His beloved children. Those He pursues, loves, disciplines, delights in, accompanies, and more. Blessed with an inheritance!

·         The Testimony of His Holy Life. An example for us, evidence of His power, and a deeper glimpse into the heart and character of God.

·         A Firm Foundation. His Word stretches from the beginning of time, and it speaks to us now. Grounding us in truth and offering life to us, His Word is the accessible foundation we rely on.

·         The Holy Spirit, Our Helper. Stirring within us, prompting, guiding, and reaching us at our core. His presence readily apparent and active in our lives.

·         Freedom. In a world full of burdens, expectations, pressure, suffering, and limits –He has given us freedom. The freedom is this: His Yoke. His Burden. The direction and weight of a perfect, loving master who strengthens and supplies for our every need. We are free to live in His perfect Will.

·         An Infinite Well of Hope and Joy. Speaking of His provision –joy. Hope. Love. Patience. The fruits of the Spirit. The character of God. The way of righteousness. All comfort. Entirely accessible, without end, to us all day, every day. Come to the well!

·         Everlasting Life. That’s right. Forever. His sustenance and joy are forever. We get to be with Him forever!

·         The Promise. And that is guaranteed. If you’ve repented and turned your life over to Christ, He has transformed you. Just think, that transformation into a new creation is somehow just the start of a work that He will do in you until you are brought to completion. And you WILL be brought to completion. He promises.

More to celebrate, more to praise Him for! What are you rejoicing in today? 

He is More Than (Fill in the Blank)

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We need to "love the Lord, not just the idea of the Lord" said my dear friend (SkillzUSA).


That hit home. Like me, I'm sure you've heard the cautionary metaphors and warnings.

Don't treat God like a magic vending machine. Don't just get your hell-insurance. Don't be afraid, as if He is some mean judge just waiting for you to be wrong. Watch out for getting so caught up in all the "love" stuff that you neglect justice and cease to fear Him. Don't be fooled into thinking He is just your invisible homeboy. Don't base your idea of God on experience instead of straight Scripture.

AKA: Don't reduce God to some idea you have about Him and miss out on His whole person as a result.

Fair enough!

 Our Lord is more than (fill in the blank). It's easy to let our perspective of the Lord narrow to whatever is most convenient for us at the time. We're likely to respond to the Lord based on our whims and the experiences we currently face. And that's not fair. That's  "me-centered" and inaccurate.

There is a bigger issue in this pattern of diminishing our view of God to a single attribute or two, though; these responses don't get to the heart of it. These common warnings focus on what isn't rather than what is.

And that's what our ideas tend to do in general: ideas address issues in reactionary ways. We come up with ideas to solve whatever's bugging us. Ideas are tools. They are created, manipulated, and guided by the things we face. Ideas are dependent on people, and they revolve around people. They aren't about what is, they are about what can be (and usually in our favor).

More than that, ideas aren't alive. They don't interact with us. Ideas have no will apart from ours, no abilities that we haven't fathomed.

When God is diminished to an idea -like a method for comfort when someone dies- we act as if God's character depends on us. And what we want. And what we're dealing with. We never get to what matters, we never open ourselves to a Lord that can surprise us and reach us even when we've forgotten He exists.

He is I AM. Done. Boom. From before time began. A living being who is more than anything you can fill in the blank with. Good news!

God doesn't depend on you or I. He isn't an idea. All those cautionary words and metaphors pointing out that God "isn't just..." are pointing towards a complete truth that confronts the nature of man and brings us into a redemptive relationship with the one who IS.

In our attempts to be like God, we must reduce God to something we feel we can control, alter, and direct. Just as in the garden the first people were tempted to become like God...by reducing God into something attainable, someone who can merely recognize good and evil.

The Lord knows this is our tendency. He knows that we'd like Him to be an idea rather than active and outside of our control.

He protects us from a resulting sin, saying Exodus 20:4-5 the second commandment: "You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God..."

When my friend differentiated between enjoying the idea of God (and our ideas about Him) rather than loving Him as He is, a question came to mind:

What ideas do we have about the Lord that we hold in higher esteem than the person of Christ?

Which ideas about the Lord do we use to justify our sins?

Is it the idea that He'll always be there that we cherish more than His presence right now? What about instances in which the idea that He is so loving causes discipline and hardship to challenge our belief in His love?

What ideas do we have about God that our circumstances can shake? Those ideas aren't who He is. Because He is more than (Yes. Whatever idea you come up with).