What is it that you treasure?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
(Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 (NIV))

Isn’t it interesting that the words written in Ecclesiastes still apply to so many people today?

It is human nature that we follow when we deny ourselves nothing that we desire. We have the attitude that we deserve everything that we desire. We justify this by telling ourselves that life is short and we should enjoy everything that we can before it is too late. We also believe that we can achieve anything that we desire if we simply put our mind to it and then work toward that goal.

In other words, we try to save up treasures in this world even though these treasures are fleeting.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
(Matthew 6:19 (NIV))

It is a wise person who realizes that the treasures of this world are not important, for the treasures of this world can and will be destroyed. What we should earnestly seek is a treasure far greater than any this world has to offer.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
(Matthew 6:20 (NIV))

Eternal treasures are far more appealing. Money will lose its value. Houses will grow old and fall apart. Gold is useless when you are faced with the consequences of sin and eternal death. We must keep our eyes focused on Jesus for He is our treasure. He is more precious than anything this world has to offer.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(Matthew 6:21 (NIV))

Where is your heart?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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There is a time for everything

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV))

I was sadly reminded of this over the weekend.

As adults, we have a tendancy to put things off. We forget that time is not always our friend, and that there truly is a time for each thing as told in Ecclesiastes. We think that we can put off something for a day or two, and then it ends up months later.

One of my best friends from high school took a different life path than I chose. He chose law enforcement while I went to college. Over the course of the years we lost track of each other as this often happens. His parents moved, so I didn’t know how to find him. My parents still live in the same place and several years ago, he was in the city were we lived. He stopped by my parents house and they told him where I was. We talked off and on over the years since this time.

Last week I had a feeling that I should call him. My day got busy as it usually does, and my plans slipped away.

Saturday, my parents emailed me his obituary. He had died of a heart attack mid-week.

As humans, we have a tendancy to think that our time is guaranteed. We make plans for what we will do tomorrow, next week, next month, next year and even for the rest of our lives. We spend so much time focusing on the future that we have a tendancy to lose sight of the moment that we are living in.

Don’t allow yourself to get caught up in this way of thinking. Time is precious. We have been told that there will be many seasons in our lives and that each is here only for a time. Focus on today. Focus on your family.

Focus on Jesus!

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
(Acts 4:12 (NIV))

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Time under heaven

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
(Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV))

Have you ever thought about how you would know what time was called for?

Some are obvious. Birth and death and many others, but most are difficult to determine, especially if we follow the command to love one another.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
(John 13:34-35 (NIV))

How do we balance this command with the words from Ecclesiastes? How do we treat the world and those who flaunt their sin at our faith? I know that everyone is familiar with the story of the prodigal son. This implies that God is patient with us and wishes for us to return. We are to show the same patience with those who flaunt their sin, yet we are also told of what will happen if they do not repent.

If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
(Matthew 10:14-15 (NIV))

How do we respond to those who claim that Jesus is love and yet they still continue in their sin?

How do we, who are called to do as Jesus did, respond when we are told that everything has its time under heaven? Will there be a day when we, as the Body of Christ, are called to hate? Will we be called to kill? Will we be called to turn away when in our hearts we know that we are to love? Will there come a point in time when we can no longer associate with sin because we are called to be with Jesus?

I have come to the conclusion that in order to know the time, we must know Jesus. In order to know Jesus, we must seek Him in all that we do. We cannot follow Jesus while we watch sports or our favorite television show. We follow Jesus by embracing Him in all aspects of our lives. Only then will we be able to begin to understand the time under heaven.

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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