We should never look to be rich according to the world's standards because the world's standard for rich is to be wealthy, well-known and have many desirable possessions. While those things may be nice to have for a season, they don't leave a lasting sense of joy, happiness and fulfillment because the heart can only be filled with joy that is unspeakable and peace that surpasses all understanding by the Lord who created it. We can't look outwardly for what we lack inwardly because we will always be disappointed. We have to become introspective in that sense and realize that the God who created us wishes for us to be in communion with Him and receive every good and perfect gift that He has prepared for us. (1 John 3:17-18) (James 1:17-18)

No matter where you are in life whether very wealthy or very poor, you can use what you presently have to build up your treasures in heaven. That is where your true riches will reside for all eternity. What we do now on this earth with the time that we have been given will be a living witness and testimony for our entire eternity. The good we do, the blessings we bestow, the encouragement we share and impart will testify on our behalf when God opens the books of our life and sees the works that were done throughout our lifetime. That is why I am always conscious to the brevity of time and I do my absolute best to impart blessings and joy to everyone I come into contact with. I want my heavenly account to be filled and overflowing so that I may be able to make God proud with how I lived my short time on this earth. (Luke 12:29-34) (Revelation 20:12-13)

Whether we realize it or not life is short for each of us because the Bible equates our life as a vapor that appears for a short time and then vanishes away. I pray that you see with refreshed eyes what is truly important in life and do not fall for the enemy's tricks to only want for yourself because who will be the beneficiary when you are gone from this earth? Instead let us invest from our abundance into the lives of others so that our legacy will never weaken or wane from the hearts and minds of those whom we were fortunate enough to cross paths with. (James 4:14) (Galatians 6:7-10)

I hope this message inspires and challenges your heart to think about your treasures in heaven so that you may consciously and purposefully makes deposits into it each and every new day that you are blessed enough to see. Please read the selected poem Eternal Ink at the end of the message. It has blessed me each time I have read it.


SET FOR LIFE

I saw an advertisement for a new game show on television the other day. It was called "Set for Life" and people in it will compete for a monthly check that will supposedly "set" them for life. For some reason seeing this advertisement reminded me of a moment when my own family was definitely not set for life. It was just after a fire had destroyed our home when I was a boy. We had no insurance and the fire had taken everything we had except our own lives. When my Dad looked through the ashes he could only find one thing: the plastic case that my Mom always kept her wedding and Mother’s rings in. It had melted around them and saved them from the flames. I can remember Mom crying when he brought them to her. They were not worth much money, but they symbolized the priceless love and joy that our family shared. I can see now that this love and joy were our true treasures. They were all we really needed to be set for life.

When it comes to truly being set for life we have to look away from our paychecks and look within ourselves. Making a living is not the same as living. Money and stuff may be nice to have, but the pleasures they bring are momentary and fleeting. True happiness comes from real treasures and the real treasures in life are the treasures of Heaven. They are the treasures that lie in each of our souls. They are the treasures that bless ourselves, our families, our lives, and our world. They are love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, and oneness with God.

Don’t keep looking for the spare change that this world gives you when you have a treasure box of priceless gems within yourself. If you want to be set for life then get yourself set to live. Give your love, share your joy, and shine your light to everyone you meet. Pray and thank God for your life every day. Smile, laugh, sing, hug, and help everyone you can. Enjoy the true treasures of your soul and let others do the same. Then you will be set for this life and the next. 

By Joseph J. Mazzella


Read and meditate on these scriptures:

1 John 3:16-18 “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”

Luke 6:37-38 Jesus declares, “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

Galatians 6:2-4 “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.”

Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus says, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.


Today’s Selected Poem: ETERNAL INK
Click here to read --- http://Godswork.org/inpoem2.htm

Today’s Selected Testimony: RESCUED FROM DEPRESSION
Click here to read --- http://Godswork.org/testimony37.htm


In Christ’s Service,

Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry