Plow Creek Mennonite Church
Sunday
Meditations
Heavenly Treasures
by Lyn Fitz
The internet is such a wonderful thing - you can find almost anything on it. A couple of years ago, I wanted to find these bamboo tea strainers for Jim for Christmas. I just googled "bamboo tea strainers" and in a couple of minutes I had found them. So when I was thinking about heavenly treasures, I couldn't resist googling those words. And sure enough, I found something!
- "Heavenly Treasure - Bargin Prices! Shop fast - buy smart! Use Shopzilla!"
- "Heavenly Treasures - Get exclusive promotions and coupons for heavenly treasures at Dealhoundz.com"
- "Great deals on Heavenly Treasures! Register and bid today. eBay.com"
Thinking about treasures in heaven reminded me of an old song I liked a lot as a kid. Don't worry - I'm not gonna sing it for you! But let me tell you how it goes:
"This world is not my home - I'm just a'passing thru - my treasure is laid up somewhere beyond the blue - the angels beckon me beyond that open door - and I can't feel at home in this world any more." (And in googling the song I found that this is a song by JR Baxter, written in the 40's.!)
But seriously, treasures in heaven is not something we talk a lot about here at Plow Creek. Neither is keeping our eyes focused heavenward or eternal rewards. We are so much more comfortable with talking about how we live in the here and now. And so, too, am I. But I got reading a little book - which of course I found while surfing and googling the web and ordered on Amazon! - "The Treasure Principle" by Randy Alcorn. This book may be little, but it says a lot - a little of which I want to share with you.
READ PORTIONS OF CHAPTER ONE
Jesus tells me that where my treasure is, there will my heart be also. It's all a matter of values. If what I value the most is earthly things - security, possessions, achievement, education, advancement, stability, creativity - then that is where my heart - my money, time and energy - will be. If what I value the most is heavenly treasures - then shouldn't that be where my heart - my money, time and energy - is invested. And is it?? Is it? I'm challenged a lot by this.
You know, I'm such a practical, pragmatic oriented person that too much talk of heaven and heavenly treasures and rewards and my home beyond the blue makes me shudder in horror at a "pie in the sky when we die" only type of faith. "Let's build the Kingdom of God!!" I think! But what I forget is that the Kingdom of God is built on earth ONLY as we lay up treasures in Heaven. But what I forget is that the Kingdom of God is built on earth ONLY as I lay up treasures in Heaven, only as I keep my eyes focused heavenward. Things I tend to think of as far apart come together:
"the Kingdom of God on earth" "Heaven"
"building God's Kingdom" "heavenly treasures"
"practical religion"(James) "spiritual focus"(Paul)
They're all a part of the whole - God's whole!
Heavenly Treasures
by Lyn Fitz
The internet is such a wonderful thing - you can find almost anything on it. A couple of years ago, I wanted to find these bamboo tea strainers for Jim for Christmas. I just googled "bamboo tea strainers" and in a couple of minutes I had found them. So when I was thinking about heavenly treasures, I couldn't resist googling those words. And sure enough, I found something!
- "Heavenly Treasure - Bargin Prices! Shop fast - buy smart! Use Shopzilla!"
- "Heavenly Treasures - Get exclusive promotions and coupons for heavenly treasures at Dealhoundz.com"
- "Great deals on Heavenly Treasures! Register and bid today. eBay.com"
Thinking about treasures in heaven reminded me of an old song I liked a lot as a kid. Don't worry - I'm not gonna sing it for you! But let me tell you how it goes:
"This world is not my home - I'm just a'passing thru - my treasure is laid up somewhere beyond the blue - the angels beckon me beyond that open door - and I can't feel at home in this world any more." (And in googling the song I found that this is a song by JR Baxter, written in the 40's.!)
But seriously, treasures in heaven is not something we talk a lot about here at Plow Creek. Neither is keeping our eyes focused heavenward or eternal rewards. We are so much more comfortable with talking about how we live in the here and now. And so, too, am I. But I got reading a little book - which of course I found while surfing and googling the web and ordered on Amazon! - "The Treasure Principle" by Randy Alcorn. This book may be little, but it says a lot - a little of which I want to share with you.
READ PORTIONS OF CHAPTER ONE
Jesus tells me that where my treasure is, there will my heart be also. It's all a matter of values. If what I value the most is earthly things - security, possessions, achievement, education, advancement, stability, creativity - then that is where my heart - my money, time and energy - will be. If what I value the most is heavenly treasures - then shouldn't that be where my heart - my money, time and energy - is invested. And is it?? Is it? I'm challenged a lot by this.
You know, I'm such a practical, pragmatic oriented person that too much talk of heaven and heavenly treasures and rewards and my home beyond the blue makes me shudder in horror at a "pie in the sky when we die" only type of faith. "Let's build the Kingdom of God!!" I think! But what I forget is that the Kingdom of God is built on earth ONLY as we lay up treasures in Heaven. But what I forget is that the Kingdom of God is built on earth ONLY as I lay up treasures in Heaven, only as I keep my eyes focused heavenward. Things I tend to think of as far apart come together:
"the Kingdom of God on earth" "Heaven"
"building God's Kingdom" "heavenly treasures"
"practical religion"(James) "spiritual focus"(Paul)
They're all a part of the whole - God's whole!