BBD 10.10.08 In Difficult Times
Posted by: wrather <wrather@...>
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10.10.08
In Difficult Times
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, 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.
The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole
body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be
full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how
great is that darkness!
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the
other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot
serve God and mammon.
Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or
what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life
more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the
air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by
worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about
clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil
nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field,
which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more
clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we
drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles
seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But
seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things
shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow
will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own
trouble. - Matthew 6:19-34.
In February of 1999, on the front page of our morning newspaper was a photo
of the charred remains of a couple's dreams. Bill and Shirley Brunkhorst
were building a triple deck excursion paddle boat called "The Eufaula
Queen." A spark from a welder's torch destroyed their life savings along
with the four years of effort spent in building the boat. There was no
insurance to cover the damage. As most would be, the Brunkhorsts were
emotional traumatized by their loss.
We have to admire the Brunkhorsts for their years of effort in pursuing
their dream. They designed the boat themselves even without engineering
degrees. Sadly, what has happened to the dreams of the Brunkhorsts often
happens to earthly dreams. Many of you have experienced traumatic material
losses as well. You have lost jobs, businesses, or homes. Many of you in the
space of a few weeks have lost the dreams that you had for retirement as the
stock market has plunged down further and further decimating your 401ks. One
thing we know about the things here on Planet Earth, these things are
temporary. A welder's spark, a wrong turn, a momentary decision, or greed of
people you do not even know can destroy your worldly dreams.
While we pursue our careers, build businesses, and plan for retirement
hopefully someday, let us not forget that earthly things are temporary.
There is a finite amount of time for us to possess whatever we have here.
Should we not be storing up treasures in Heaven as we walk along the
highways of life? When we have spent 10,000 years in Heaven, these things we
treasure now upon earth will have very little meaning to us.
Let us remember that whatever we may be facing that God is still God, and He
is the One, who can carry us through these difficult times.
Copyright © 2008. Ed Wrather. Permission is given for use of the devotionals
on a non-profit basis with source credited. The Burning Bush website has
been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the
Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
Prayer Requests: Please pray for all those affected by the current financial
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cancer. Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the
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will be forwarded to the Burning Bush Prayer Group (Of course, I am always
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