We only had three things on our list: cat toy, vegetarian bean
paste, return/exchange heater (one we bought last week that refused to
heat). This short outing turned into
deep thought for the rest of the week.
Along our route to the department store I looked at all
the houses as we drove by them. Glancing
out the car window I shared with my husband what came to mind. “You could go inside every one of these
houses and they’d all be different. It
wouldn’t matter how nice they were … they are all going to be gone.”
Last Sunday was my mother’s birthday and I miss her
tremendously since she moved to Heaven. I suspect that’s why my mind was
directed down so many rabbit paths for days on end. I wasn’t trying to be morbid or negative, but
was thinking about what the Bible says concerning our possessions in a new
Heaven and Earth.
Welcome new friends this week from:
See if your city/state/country made the list.
New on DFB – Lecco, Lombardia,
Italy; Brisbane, QLD, Australia; High Wycombe & Brighton, England, UK;
Sydney, NSW, Australia; Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan; Lusaka, Zambia; Moldova;
Brazil; Lagos, Lagos State,
Nigeria; Mannersdorf am Leithagebirge, Lower Austria, Austria; Chennai, Tamil Nadu,
India; Chittagong, Bangladesh; San Fernando, Central Luzon, Philippines;
Mexico; Thailand; Chile; Lebanon; Iraq; Nigeria; Japan.
USA – Rotterdam, NY; Austin, TX;
Baltimore, MD; Kaplan, LA; Appleton, WI; Joshua Tree & Irvine, CA; Oxford
& Tuscaloosa, AL; Bon Air, VA; Fort Myers, FL; Bluefield, VA; Halifax, NS,
Canada; Hector, AR; Woodburn, OR;
Paducah, KY; Lovejoy, Sterling, McIntosh & Country Club Park, GA; Monroe
Township - Gloucester County, Williamstown, Cumberland & Olivet, NJ;
Wilmington, DE; Harrisburg & Lancaster, PA.
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Our Belief on Daily Favor. (DFB -
Daily Favor Blog) Living
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Don't miss
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As soon as we arrived at the store my husband went to
customer service to return the non-functional heater. Looking for something else in the heating
department, I motioned to hubby that I’d like to visit the Christmas section in
the next room. He began looking for the replacement heater and I went my jolly
way to take in all the new holiday displays.
While he was browsing the aisle some friends of ours
stopped to talk. Sophie asked where I
was and he sent her round the corner while Don stayed and chatted with him.
Greeting me with a big smile Sophie and I looked at the
new colors and discussed various decorating ideas we had for our homes. A few
minutes later we rejoined the boys and made plans to meet up for lunch the next
day to celebrate her birthday.
We finished looking for the items on our list, but they
were still out of bean paste. Oh well, I suppose accomplishing two out of three
things wasn’t bad.
Earthly Possessions
Knowing that I was going to see my friend in the next few
days I wanted to get her something unique.
This was even before we bumped into one another in the store. I prayed and asked God to show me something
really special for her and give me favor in finding the right present.
Not long after I was in the store my eyes came across a
lovely purple, short sleeved knit sweater. My first thoughts were of mom,
because purple was her favorite color. It also happened to be one of
Sophie’s. They were both the same size
so I felt good about the product and that God gave me wonderful favor in the
pricing.
Preparing to wrap the gifts I purchased for my friend, I
cut off the tag on the sweater. Turning the
tag over I noticed it read, “Earthly Possessions” on the label. Immediately I
thought about something God spoke to my spirit in 2004 when I gave away my most
precious belongings.
Not dwelling on it, I didn’t think anything else about the
tag and finished wrapping the gifts.
It was weird though, because that topic was something I
discussed with the Lord in 2010 when my Mom left her temporary home here on earth
to be with Him in Heaven.
I was in a
conversation with Him when I heard, “What
did your mother take with her when she left?” Of course the answer was “nothing.”
“For we
brought nothing into this world,
and it is
certain we can carry nothing out.”
(1 Timothy 6:7 NKJV)
Greet & Eat
Our lunch gathering was set for 11:30 on Thursday
(11/12/15) morning. Since it was Sophie’s birthday I asked her where she would
like to sit. Her choice was a far corner booth by a window away from the crowd.
When we all sat down Don joked on how close we would have to sit, but we all
agreed it was fine.
 |
| Lucy with waiter Frank Nelson Season 2 Episode 49 "Lucy Changes Her Mind" |
I could see Sophie wasn’t happy with the arrangement even
after we were all seated. “Let’s move over there.” She pointed to
the chairs in the next aisle. The
four of us stood up and walked over to the seats. “No
this one would be better.” So we
moved over to another section.
As we were switching tables an episode of “I Love Lucy” popped
into my head of when Lucy kept moving Fred, Ethel and her husband from one
table to the next. We had a good laugh
over what was happening.
Locating a set of chairs at the far end of the restaurant
we continued over to that area and finally sat down. Sophie was right about the move, but I wonder
if the waitress thought we were playing musical chairs. In the end we actually sat where I suggested. Sorry Sophie, I didn’t realize it until my
husband pointed it out to me at midnight.
Tagged by the Holy Ghost
The buffet style lunch was over and we had a bit of time left
to chat before our friends had to leave for another appointment. The boys talked amongst themselves while
Sophie and I shared memories of our families.
Slipped into the conversation, she talked about her
homeland and how things were in her country.
Her parents would forego possessions and worked hard to ensure all of
the children benefited from a college education, while they endured hardships.
Sophie told me what she imagined Americans to be like and
that people in her country think we’re all rich. She learned that wasn’t true first hand when
she moved here.
As for possessions in her country, they are few. Forget
owning a home or land; and material items such as an oven are a luxury that
many don’t enjoy. Listening to her maybe
there was more to that tag on the sweater after all. What was the Holy Spirit trying to reveal to
me?
After we finished eating I handed the gift package to
Sophie. She kept shaking her head as if
she wasn’t going to accept it. Now I’m thinking how are we going to connect
here? She doesn’t like sweets, tea or
accumulating material things. Boy did
her husband hit the jackpot when he married her!
About that time Sophie shared how she wanted to learn the
“lingo” or “slang” we use in our country.
She didn’t understand the phrase her mother-in-law used when she said
she was going to “hit the hay.” This
would be a prime time to teach her a few more like, “Diamonds are a girl’s best
friend.”
Heavenly Treasures
I’m not really sure what she was thinking at the time, and
I certainly didn’t want to offend her.
Finally, I persuaded Sophie to take what I was offering out of
friendship.
When we arrived home my husband and I sat in our car for
thirty minutes talking about the events of the afternoon. Our neighbors must think we’re strange,
because we do this all the time.
We’ve known Don and Sophie for about a year now. They are both highly educated individuals,
friendly and generous. However, what I
like most about them is although they have a nice new home, they embrace people
not things.
My conversations with Sophie over the course of this week
magnified what Jesus taught when He warned us not to get attached to the things
of this world. It isn’t that the Lord
doesn’t want us to have things, but because possessions are temporal they
shouldn’t be the most important thing in our lives.
It took some time, but years ago I made the choice not to
love things more than I love the Lord. I’ve
had beautiful homes, cars and things in the past and hope to have them in the
future. My reason for these treasures now
isn’t what it was when I first desired them as a young adult.
Any time a person or thing becomes more important than our
relationship with Christ, it makes us not worthy of being His disciple, child,
friend and heir.
“He who loves
father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.
And he who
loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
And he who
does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy
of Me. (Mathew10:37-38 NKJV)
I never want to be in that position again, because I know that means my heart really belongs to my treasures here – my stuff – the things that are going to go “poof” and disappear one day. In reality, that’s pretty stupid isn’t it?
“Do not lay up
for yourselves treasures on earth (material things),
where moth and
rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
but lay up for
yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth
nor rust
destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
(Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV)
I believe God means what He says in His Word about our
hearts not being found in the right place when it comes to how we view the use
of material goods here on Earth.
It isn’t a sin to have earthly possessions, but it is a
sin not to use what God has provided for good works. When Mary poured expensive oil over Jesus’
feet, He didn’t scold her for having such an extravagant item in her house, but
praised her for the use of it. (See John 12:1-8)
It’s time we took a look at what treasures are filling
our house and our hearts.
This Week’s Challenge:
Exchanging Treasures
God has blessed His children with good things, and some
of those happen to be material possessions.
Our Daily Favor Challenge two weeks ago showed us that as the Body of
Christ, “We Can Do Better.”
Part of believing what we believe about the Bible,
requires that we lay aside our mindset of why we have earthly possessions. When we returned the heater, it was with
hopes of an exchange for something that would benefit us long term. That’s the same principle God wants us to
grasp when it comes to serving material things, rather than having them serve
us to fulfill the call on our lives.
Our challenge this week asks, “What things have we
acquired that could be put to better use?”
It’s time to do some fall cleaning and go deep into our treasure chests
of collectible items and make an exchange.
What possessions do you have that mean more to you than
God? Would you be willing to part with them
to prove that serving the Lord in obedience means more to you than that item? If not, enjoy your treasure chest here,
because it will be empty when you reach Heaven.
If so, make your treasure exchange this week by giving something you
value away and watch how the favor of God really works here on Earth.
If this article has encouraged or helped you please
consider sharing it by using the social media icons provided at the end of this
post.
Until
next time, exchange your treasures for Heavenly favor!
“My favor is not found in earthly treasures.”
Jesus Christ
Note:
The words satan or devil are not capitalized deliberately, because we give him
no place in our lives.
Disclaimer:
Article information is not meant to be used as treatment for mental or physical
issues, but geared toward spiritual awareness.
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Scripture
reference was taken from the New King James Bible Version provided by Bible GatewayImage credit: Google Images Creative Common License if not specified.
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