Ps.44:1-3 - Here the younger generation is speaking and talking about how they heard war stories from their fathers. The stories are from when their fathers walked with the Lord and followed Him into the promised land. These stories are from those who went before them and faithfully followed the Lord. And because those who went before were faithful to follow the Lord they were able to experience the Lord's faithfulness and pass their stories of God's faithfulness along to the next generation. As a matter of fact - those who went before were not always faithful to follow, however they were faithful to continue following even after they stumbled time and time again. The point is that the older generation actually walked with the Lord and because they did they had stories to pass down to the next generation.
Ps. 44:4-8 - Because the older generation walked with the Lord and shared their war stories to the younger generation now the younger generation followed the Lord as their God and King. Because the older generation passed along their war stories of how the Lord delivered their enemies into their hands the younger generation went boldly into battle knowing that their Lord would give them victory over their enemies.
Reflection: I want to leave a legacy like this to those who come behind me. I want to walk with the Lord and live in the victory He has secured for me on the Cross through my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! I want to engage the Enemy in battle (Eph.6:12) and have my own war stories of God's faithfulness to pass along to the next generation. I want to lead others who give their all to follow Jesus, but before I can lead others to give their all to follow Jesus I must first lead by example and give my all to follow Jesus!
The Point: To have war stories to pass along you have to go to war! Before you can lead others to give their all to follow Christ you have to first give your all to follow Christ.
Application: Be and Lead others to be disciples of Jesus Christ who give their all to seek and serve the Lord, the lost, and the least! BLead for Christ!
The Zoo Kids
Finally Together
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Treasure in Heaven
What is treasure in heaven? I have heard pastors preach on this and make speculations about what it might be. Some have said that it might be crowns or jewels in our crowns that we will eventually lay at the Lord's feet. Others say the treasure might be blessings, but honestly we don't have a clear picture what our treasure might be. I don't think it will be a crown or jewels in a crown since they are no different than a pot of gold and are worldly with no value in the eternal scheme of things. To say our treasure will be blessings is just using another broad word to describe what the treasure may be and does not get us any closer to understanding what exactly the treasure could be.
This past Friday, while talking with a student, I had a thought concerning treasure in heaven - a thought that makes more sense to me than anything I have ever heard concerning what treasure in heaven could be. If we want to have a better understanding what our treasure might be when we get to heaven we need to think about what our Lord treasures more than anything else. It only makes sense that if He is the One giving the treasure He would give us something that is of great value to Himself.
Question: What is it that the Lord treasures more than anything else?
Answer: People/Relationships
What if, when we get to heaven and the time comes to receive our reward/treasure, the Lord allows us to see all the faces of all the people who have been touched through the way we chose to invest our time and lives on earth. One of the faces in the crowd could be a child you led to Christ or a poor person who came to know the Lord because you planted a seed by sharing your stuff with them in their time of need. There may be faces in the crowd you have never seen before because you chose to disciple someone in their faith who went on to invest in many more lives who now become an extension of your investment on earth. What if the treasure we are called to store up in heaven (Matt. 6:19-21) is people!?!?
We are called to go into all the world and to preach the good news to all creation (Mk. 16:15). We are commissioned to go and make disciples of people from all walks of life and from all around the world (Matt. 28:18-20). We are called to be ambassadors for Christ with the ministry of reconciliation - allowing the Lord to work through us to bring men and women into a right relationship with Himself (2 Cor. 5:16-21). With the short time we have on earth we are to be investing our lives in people, not property, possessions, or worldly wealth - this is VERY clear throughout scripture!
The question for us is this: How will we choose to invest the short time we have on earth? Will we invest in property, possessions, or worldly wealth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal? Or will we invest in what the Lord treasures? Will we invest the short time we have on earth in people by helping them know and grow in the Lord?
This past Friday, while talking with a student, I had a thought concerning treasure in heaven - a thought that makes more sense to me than anything I have ever heard concerning what treasure in heaven could be. If we want to have a better understanding what our treasure might be when we get to heaven we need to think about what our Lord treasures more than anything else. It only makes sense that if He is the One giving the treasure He would give us something that is of great value to Himself.
Question: What is it that the Lord treasures more than anything else?
Answer: People/Relationships
What if, when we get to heaven and the time comes to receive our reward/treasure, the Lord allows us to see all the faces of all the people who have been touched through the way we chose to invest our time and lives on earth. One of the faces in the crowd could be a child you led to Christ or a poor person who came to know the Lord because you planted a seed by sharing your stuff with them in their time of need. There may be faces in the crowd you have never seen before because you chose to disciple someone in their faith who went on to invest in many more lives who now become an extension of your investment on earth. What if the treasure we are called to store up in heaven (Matt. 6:19-21) is people!?!?
We are called to go into all the world and to preach the good news to all creation (Mk. 16:15). We are commissioned to go and make disciples of people from all walks of life and from all around the world (Matt. 28:18-20). We are called to be ambassadors for Christ with the ministry of reconciliation - allowing the Lord to work through us to bring men and women into a right relationship with Himself (2 Cor. 5:16-21). With the short time we have on earth we are to be investing our lives in people, not property, possessions, or worldly wealth - this is VERY clear throughout scripture!
The question for us is this: How will we choose to invest the short time we have on earth? Will we invest in property, possessions, or worldly wealth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal? Or will we invest in what the Lord treasures? Will we invest the short time we have on earth in people by helping them know and grow in the Lord?
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