Storing Our Treasures in Heaven - Your Nightly Prayer
Your Nightly Prayer
Audio By Carbonatix
By Lynette Kittle, Crosswalk.com
Storing Our Treasures in Heaven
Your Nightly Prayer for Jan. 8, 2025
By Lynette Kittle
TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal”- Matthew 6:19-20
SOMETHING TO PONDER
Many individuals enjoy searching second-hand stores for hidden treasures, items others have tossed out, given away, or no longer have a need for in their lives. Often social media will post how someone found an item they were able to purchase for several dollars that turns out to be worth thousands of dollars. For many, their goal is the monetary reward for finding treasures, but for some, it’s the search they enjoy the most, the adventure and joys of finding hidden treasures. As Christians, rather than search for treasures on earth, we’re instructed to lay them up in Heaven. 1 Timothy 6:18-19 states,
“Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
But how do we store up treasures in Heaven? Is it primarily through financial gifts we give to the Church and Christian organizations? After all, when asked, “Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me’” (Matthew 19:21). Sometimes, like the story of the widow’s mite who loved God more than her money, it does come by giving all earthly treasures away. As Mark 12:43-44 describes. “Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.’” But for many, giving money is easy and doesn’t cost them very much and may actually keep individuals from investing their time and efforts in storing up treasures in Heaven. What if it’s not where most of our heavenly treasures originate, as some may think?
True riches come through more than just writing a check each month, but sadly, some Christians can get off course, believing it’s about how much money they can give, along with storing up treasures on earth, equating being wealthy with being more spiritual, weighing a person’s faith by their bank account and possessions, mistakenly using it as a measure of their walk with Christ. Believers in Jesus Christ sometimes struggle to distinguish between the temporal and the eternal, losing sight of heavenly treasures, thinking more highly of Christians who have gathered worldly treasures than those who are generous, rich in good deeds, and willing to share what they have in life. Earthly treasures won’t leave this planet or have any lasting value, but heavenly ones are eternal and evidence of our faith. As James 2:18 explains,
“But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Dear Father,
Turn our eyes toward You and to the pursuit of storing up treasures in Heaven. This will set us free from the desire to stock them up here on earth and help us see where our true treasures lie. Teach us to discern the temporal from the eternal. Lead us to be generous, rich in good deeds, and willing to share all that You have given us with those around us. Strengthen and encourage us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON
1. Because it’s easy to get distracted by the comforts of life and settle into enjoying them, where do we see our treasures lying? Are we able to distinguish the temporal from the eternal?
2. Take a moment to consider which Christians we look to as mentors and where they are storing up their treasures. How are they influencing our treasure-storing?
3. We can purposely reach out to store up heavenly treasures through our good works, generosity, and sharing what we have in the world with others. This year, why not seek to store up more heavenly treasures than the year before?
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/James Robinson
Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.
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