Better than Money Bags

"Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. ³⁴  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Luke 12:33-34

Jesus often emphasised the wisdom of investing in the kingdom of God rather than living for self.  Everything a person acquires will be passed to someone else or be lost, stolen, broken, ruined, or forgotten.  There is no life found in the accumulation of money or stuff:  real abundant life can only be discovered through faith and obedience to Jesus who is our life.  Christians store up treasure in heaven when we choose to obey God and walk according to His Word and will.  Even a cup of cold water given in His name is cause for God to set aside an eternal reward for the cheerful giver.  The part of the passage which especially spoke to me this time was the exhortation to "provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail."

In ancient times people carried their money in bags made for this purpose, whether made of leather or fabric.  What is implied from the statement of Jesus is those bags (like wallets or purses commonly used today) eventually wore out.  The money people carried was not light-weight paper or plastic, but was typically in the form of coins or crudely fashioned pieces of gold or silver which had weight to them.  Can you imagine carefully stowing a money bag which represented all your monetary wealth in the world on a beast of burden, only to discover days later the contents of the bag had dropped out along the way because the bag had grown old and tore?  What a dreadful discovery that would be!  It would be a terrible, sinking feeling to know all you had worked for could not be recovered.

Jesus taught money and things of this earth decay and can be lost and stolen, but the eternal inheritance and wealth provided by the grace of God for His faithful servants endures forever.  No mothballs are needed to prevent damage in heaven, no elaborate security system is required:  our future is safe in God's hands.  Verse 34 provides insight so we might know when our hearts are set on temporal things.  If it is dreadfully painful for us to lose money, to see a deep scratch in our new car, or are bitter when we are overlooked for a work promotion, it may very well be we are setting our affections on things of this earth and not in heaven.  When we treasure something, that is where our affections lie.

IF we truly place our affections on things above and not on things of the earth, we will treasure the presence of God and His Word.  We will delight to come into His presence with singing and prayer and rejoice to heed the voice of our Saviour, offering ourselves and all we possess as a living sacrifice.  We will not even count our own lives precious to ourselves, for we have been purchased with the precious blood of our LORD and King.  We have been forgiven so we forgive; we have been graced with an everlasting love so we love God and others.  In this world one often needs to have money to make money, but Jesus gives us something money cannot buy:  eternal life and a glorious future in heaven.  Knowing we are therefore rich, let us love freely, give generously, and obey wholeheartedly.  Money bags on earth grow old and fail, but the love of God never fails.

Remember God's Leading

When you have faced difficult trials have you ever wondered, "Why is this happening to me?"  Life is hard, and like the old Morton salt catchphrase says "When it rains it pours."  The difficulties we face are easily compounded.  The salt slogan originated because moisture in the air has a way of making salt clump together, but Morton salt had magnesium carbonate added so it would still pour freely in damp conditions.  Alas, there is no additive we can bring into our lives to neutralise the pain of a fiery trial.  But we have far more in Jesus Christ who will never leave us or forsake us.  He allows us to go through the fire so He might bring us through further refined for His glory.

An example of this is seen after God delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt.  Being slaves for hundreds of years was tough to be sure, but the decades spent in the desert before entering Canaan were difficult too.  God had a purpose He was accomplishing in unexpected ways, and I suggest the trials God allows into our lives intending to bring us through have good divine purposes as well.  See what God said in Deuteronomy 8:2-3:  "And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. ³ So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD."

At the time of the trial (which may be of long duration) we may not know why God has allowed it or what He intends to accomplish, but in His words to the children of Israel He spelled it out to them.  This is for our benefit, for God nor His good purposes ever change.  He led them for years through the wilderness to:  1) humble them, 2) test them, 3) to reveal what was in their hearts, and 4) to see if they would keep His commands or not.  God already knew what was in the hearts of the stiff-necked people who came from Egypt, but their response to His testing revealed it to all.  He knew they would push back against His commands, but gave them an opportunity to honour Him or go their own way.  God chose to allow His people to:  5) suffer hunger, and 6) fed them with manna from heaven.  The reason God did these things was so they might "...know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD."  God uses difficult circumstances to teach us lessons and truth we don't realise we need to learn.  These trying times are blessings in disguise, for through them God works marvellously in us.

Believer, remember how God has led you - even long before you believed in Him or regarded Him as LORD.  Hasn't He been gracious to provide for us, protect us, and lead us gently?  Hasn't He been gracious to us when we have been stiff-necked and would have preferred to go our own way?  Hasn't He remained faithful though our hearts and minds have been often estranged from Him?  Every day He supplies our daily bread through His Word and sustains us with His presence.  We may not be able to explain why God allows painful trials and seasons in our lives, but remember Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!  Our Good Shepherd leads us gently and will ultimately bring us to His desired end.

Our LORD Forever

How blessed are those who fear God, for He will protect us without fail.  He provides everlasting assurance (without any fine print or disclaimers) that He will continue to protect and provide for us without fail.  When I travel I typically purchase travel insurance, but all insurance policies have limited coverage conditions.  Not so with our God!  Before we even make a claim He knows of our needs and is able to help in real time.  He is not limited by distance or regular business hours and remains faithful and true forever.

Lifetime warranties are great, but God does not restrict His goodness towards His people to our lives on earth:  His promises and power endure forever!  He does not only care about our mortal frame but preserves us body and soul.  There is no limit to His goodness and everlasting love.  See what is written in Psalm 121:5-8:  "The LORD is your keeper; the LORD is your shade at your right hand. ⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. ⁷ The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. ⁸ The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore."  God is near to those who love Him, and protects us day and night regardless of the season.  From this time forth He will guard and protect us forever.

Have you laid these promises close to your heart?  Though evil surrounds us on all sides and help seems far away, those who trust in the LORD share the reality of God's presence and protection.  God will preserve you, follower of Jesus Christ, and He will one day present us faultless before the presence of the Father with exceeding joy (Jude 1:24-25).  In the past God has been faithful, and from this day onward we need not fear evil or the schemes of Satan or deceitful men.  God told His people in Isaiah 54:17, "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me," says the LORD."  This is a promise we can hold to forever because God is eternal and faithful to perform all He has said without fail.  God has imputed the righteousness of Christ to all Christians through the Gospel, and He will save us forever.

God has saved us, is saving us, and will always save us according to His grace, mercy, and truth.  Salvation is not a moment in time but lasts forever.  Are you anxious and worried, dear Christian?  Believe God's Word over your own present cares and the uncertainties of this life.  The LORD will preserve you, and He is sufficient to handle all troubles.  The LORD - the all-knowing, all-powerful Creator and Master of All - will preserve you from this second moving forward and forever.  Praise the LORD for His power and faithfulness to accomplish His perfect will.

No Longer in the Dark

As believers in the LORD Jesus, we are called to walk by faith and not by sight.  To say this is counter intuitive is really an understatement, for from our earliest days we learn to rely upon our vision.  Seeing with our eyes makes navigating the world something we take for granted.  It is good for us to remember the God who created man's eyes can certainly see, and He can see far beyond what we could perceive or imagine.

Man looks on the outer appearance, but God looks upon the heart.  Jacob was able to fool his father Isaac by a crude disguise fashioned of goat skins on his arms and neck, yet God sees through the most sophisticated schemes and motives of men.  Samuel looks upon the oldest son of Jesse and envisioned him being a stately and worthy king, but God had rejected him because his heart bore no resemblance to His own.  Whether we have 20/20 vision or suffer from cataracts, it is imperative we acknowledge God's vision is infinitely clearer than ours, and without His insight we are running blind in the dark.

A man in fellowship with God is granted spiritual sight the most eagle-eyed creature of all God's creation cannot possess.  An example of this is seen in the prophet Ahijah whose eyes were glazed over due to age.  King Jeroboam told his wife to disguise herself and go to the prophet with gifts and inquire about his son who was ill.  1 Kings 14:5-6 reads, "Now the LORD had said to Ahijah, "Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman." ⁶ And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, "Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news."  Isn't this amazing?  If Ahijah was able to see and relied upon his ability to see he could have been fooled by the woman's disguise, but though blind God gave him insight and made him His messenger.

Losing the ability to see clearly with your eyes is a terrible loss, but broken fellowship with the Almighty is a far greater loss spiritually and physically.  If he lived today Ahijah would have qualified as a person with a disability due to his blindness, but he was an able servant of the Most High God chosen and sent with serious tidings though he remained at home.  God brought opportunities to him!  How wonderful is the insight God gives, and that He would choose to employ us in His service despite our frailty.  In our weakness we discover great strength in our God and purpose even failing health cannot rob us of.  Because of the lamp of God's Word and the Light of the World Jesus Christ, we need never languish in the dark.