Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? 2 Peter 3:11 When God told Abraham He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham's life was immediately and radically affected. Noah could not carry on business as usual once he knew what God was planning for his generation. Knowing that God is preparing judgment brings a sobering reality to Christians, helping us recognize what is eternally significant and what is not. Peter cautions us that a catastrophic time of judgment is coming. On the day of the Lord there will be a great noise, and the elements will melt with a fervent heat. On that day, he warns, the earth will be consumed. Peter assures us that this is not mere speculation; it is certain and imminent. He then asks the crucial question that applies to each generation: “What kind of persons ought you to be?” With judgment pending for us and countless millions of people facing destruction, how should we live our lives? Many Christians attach great value to temporal things. Hobbies and possessions consume us, leaving little time or energy to invest in what is eternal. More than anyone else, Christians should be sensitive to the times in which we live. We should walk so closely with God that if He were preparing to bring judgment upon people, we could warn those in imminent peril. Since Christ has been long-suffering in His return so that no one might perish (2 Pet. 3:9), should we not invest our effort in building God's eternal kingdom? Should there not be an urgency about us to complete the tasks that God gives us? - Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day
What do you place high value on? Your clothes? Shoes? Your looks? Perhaps your car or truck? Your boat or RV? Your home? Maybe it's the hobby or for some the job you have. What are you really putting the most time, energy and effort into in this world? That is your real treasure. Outside of work that's a necessity in life, what consumes your attention? Some put way too much of themselves into their work. Some put excessive attention on even family, friends and pets to the exclusion of all else.
Then, maybe, God gets the leftovers. Maybe people drudge out a short prayer for food. Maybe a short Amen that they keep to themselves. Maybe even barely a Sunday morning service at a Church. The cares of this world have ensnared billions and they don't even realize it. It's not a commonly known thing but there's whole research institutions that do nothing but craft chemicals to trigger smells that in turn trigger memories. Stores often utilize the sense of smell to trigger involuntary buying. Car dealers use smells to make a car attractive. We are conditioned to react favorably to the smell of a room after its been cleaned with certain cleaners.
Foods we eat are crafted to cause many things in the human brain. Did you know that the tastes of certain foods are so poignant that the chemical response in your brain is exactly in the same part of the brain that causes crack addiction?
People are conditioned throughout generations to accept supposedly new things as the normal. And not just as the normal but the stepping stone for other things to bind us to this world.
Billions are spent every year on storage spaces. For stuff we don't even know why we were compelled to buy yet also struggle to part with.
What's your treasure? The Bible says to store up your treasure in Heaven where moth and rust cannot destroy. Even climate controlled storage systems fail. The items degrade regardless of the best of intentions were at the time.
Your treasure is what you value the most. My friend, dear Reader, is it at all your life in Christ? A farmer spends every day he or she can out on the land working it because that is necessary and important to see results at the end of the season. If he or she sits on the porch the whole season long except to get the mail or only to mow the lawn they see, how will the crops be planted, nurtured or harvested?
You invest time in what matters to you. If all you do is spend your time, energy and talents on things that don't matter in the plans of God for your life, or the lives of those around you, then indeed you are far more entangled in this world than you care to admit. You are living in denial of the work that you have been entrusted to do.
"Not my job" has been used as a run on joke but in reality it's the swansong of generations. Reaching people for Christ is the job of those people in leadership in Churches. It's for the Pastor. It's for someone else who isn't busy. The Great Commission wasn't for only certain people. It wasn't for the other guy. It's for you.
In the last several years I have been divesting of things in my life. Been making it a point to pray more. To do more in my devotionals and Bible reading. To reduce what consumes my time that isn't valuable to God's plans. It's painful at times. Letting go of things that at the time brought significant joy. You see that's the painful hard truth. I put my joy where it didn't belong. Those addicted to drugs use chemicals to put joy where it doesn't belong.
Where is your treasure? Are you who call yourselves Christians storing anything at all in Heaven? Will you arrive to at Heavens door to find your treasure room empty?
Now is the time to reevaluate your life in regards to your treasures. I miss some things that I let go of for sure. But what I can gain in my relationship with Jesus far outweighs it all. If you are encumbered by the cares of this world you will never be ready for the Spiritual warfare that awaits all who claim the name of Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.
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