As we read or listen to the news today, it doesn’t take long to become uncomfortable with the condition of the economy and the uncertainty the world is facing. The timeless the words of Jesus from Matthew 6:19-21 are an excellent reminder of where our priorities should be. So many have placed everything they have ever worked for into the hands of men to manage and are now facing the prospect of not being able to retire because they allowed their future to be stolen from them. These people forgot to put their heart into something that cannot be destroyed or taken and are now left empty.

How can we store our treasure in heaven? Paul gives the answer in 1 Timothy 6:17-19. Serving the Lord in good works and using that which he blessed us with to that end. Storing our treasure in heaven is the only safe investment we have and the Lord has promised we will not be left wanting if we seek Him Matthew 6:31-33.

³¹Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

 ³²(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

 ³³But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Likewise, Christians should be wary of bringing things into their homes that do not belong. The temptation of things that cause one to fall into sin can prove to be too much for our resistance at anytime, even when we think we are strong enough avoid the “bad parts.” Further, if we are not constantly avoiding foul things, we soon become desensitized to the danger and might even forget they are sins. I’m sure a number of us can tell sad stories about respected Christians that fell to some weakness or another.

What are a few things that can keep us pure in heart?

1. Obedience Hebrews 11:8.

2. Repentance 2 Samuel 12:13.

3. Devotion Genesis 5:22, 24.

4. Zeal Numbers 25:7-8.

5. Steadfastness 2 Timothy 4:7.

6. Study – Ezra 7:10.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)

It is not news to say that today’s entertainment offerings are difficult to wade through if one wants to find something suitable for a Christian to enjoy. We cannot even depend on cartoons anymore! This is very evident to me nowadays as Thursday night has become movie night for me and my son. There is nothing like getting surprised by something foul while sitting in the room with my teen-aged son from something I either chose or allowed to be chosen to watch. I have discovered that the rating of the movie has nothing to do with whether this will happen to me or not.

While there are technologies to help filter this stuff, I’d rather not choose something that “goes there” in the first place. So while perusing my Netflix account recently, I noticed a feature that I had not looked at or even noticed previously. There is a place on the movie description where they give age guidance and upon clicking on the “more” link, there is a full explanation of what is in the movie. There is great detail of the extent of the sexual content, violence, language, and substance abuse and usage. It even explains the social behavior behind the “heroes” and the antagonists and the product placements used in the show.

If you are not a Netflix subscriber there is good news, the source of the information is from a group called Common Sense Media. Their website is http://www.commonsensemedia.org/ and it has all of the great content used on the Netflix site and more. Be sure and check it out and use it as a resource to build your DVD collection in a little more informed way.

…whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8

I’m not sure I could have predicted how lost I was moving about it during Sunday’s sermons without the visual cues of notes and arrows and circles and underlines throughout it. This new Bible is going to be a great resource for me but it is going to take some time to find Philemon since I’ll have to learn where to place my thumb just so to make it fall open to that spot like I can do on the old book. The larger text will be nice for my eyes, but I’m not sure I even had to read from the old book, I think it is more like knowing what is on the page base on the marks and the shape of the words in that particular layout.

The tips I have taken away from this experience and share with you are very simple and effective:

1. Make sure to always look up and read along with Scripture as it is being delivered from the pulpit or the class lectern. The visual memory of the page will help you find a Scripture in a pinch.
2. Mark any points the teacher gives during the lesson – even if it is just a circle or arrow. Again, the visual memory of the marks will help you find a Scripture and form a lasting reference to the lesson learned during that study
3. Use it and read it daily.

Wouldn’t you know it? There were some things that they needed that would have earned me some billable time, but I wasn’t prepared. This wasn’t even related to the project, so it was an opportunity lost that would have been beneficial to both of us beyond our original expectations. If only I had my tools!

Perhaps that experience can be used to illustrate exactly what 2 Timothy 4:2 is trying to get us to understand. “ …. be instant in season, out of season …” I’m not sure that I ever really appreciated the gravity of what that verse is telling us Christians to do until I missed a few commission dollars not being “instant” within my own profession.

We can take this one step further when we consider our daily walk. God has commissioned us to spread the word and save souls. (Matthew 28:19-20) Are we ones that are ready when the opportunity is presented to us? Will we leave God calling “If only I had my tools!“?

What a text book example we have before us in Britney for the need to have discipline in our life. She has all the money and all the influence that she needs to accomplish any number of good deeds yet she has only recently returned from a path of sinful excess. Her health was bad and her fans turned away, a total loss of respect from anyone.

Now that she has some strict management from her father in control of her life, her youthful looks and her health are returning and she is being asked to do more performing and make more appearances. Why would the first question from the media be whether or not she was happy in this situation? Perhaps they are not happy to lose the great sensation stories they like to run on her.

In addition to our earthly parents, we have a heavenly father ready and able to guide us to a healthy happy life. (Matthew 6:25-34) He has given us numerous guidelines and commandments designed to get us through this earthly life in a happy and healthy manner. Let us be those that choose this path and not look to empty earthly “pleasures” that were not designed for our best interest.

Never fear because God did a wonderful thing for us. He gave us the tool of prayer to help manage our government! We are commanded to obey the laws and pray for the government. (Romans 13:1-7) Even though we may have an administration that doesn’t share the same urgency to legislate laws from a moral standpoint, we are blessed with a system of government that will allow those laws to be passed via other avenues. We see in this passage to the Romans that rulers, good or bad are needed for our safety and comfort.

We are reminded to pray for everyone including the leadership because it pleases the God and the one mediator between Him and our humanity, Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:1-8) Ultimately, they are watching over us and desire that we put our trust in the Kingdom where our true citizenship lies.

Did these people not need to be somewhere else? It’s hard to imagine those of us that have lifestyles considered “typical” in this day and time being able to stop what we are doing for three days to do anything else other than holding down our job or some other important commitment. It has gotten to the point that we do not even think twice about our brothers and sisters who allow other responsibilities to keep them out of church services or other events where the saints are gathered.

Certainly, we must choose from the available jobs that we train for and sadly, those jobs will require us to miss the occasional service in even the best of situations. In a more typical scenario, we might find ourselves having to miss far more often. This is the time go the extra mile for our Lord, who sacrificed so much for us, and continually be searching out the opportunities to get into a better situation. This might feel a bit risky to our earthly wealth but our Lord demonstrates numerous times throughout the Bible that he has compassion for us his followers. Let us be those that are known for setting our priorities properly rather than having a “good excuse.”

As I think about how such a mess could be avoided by those of us that need to speak publically from time to time, it strikes me that my own speaking more often contains a gaff of some sort than not. Our brother James writes to us in James 3:2 that it takes a perfect man to not offend. Perfect. I take comfort in the fact that we know of so many eloquent speakers that can motivate us or impress us, but even they will occasionally offend through the tongue if we give them enough time.

Reading on in James 3:3-5, we are taught just how powerful the tongue is – it is compared to a ship’s rudder and a bit in a horse’s mouth. Even more vivid is the picture of how a great fire can be started with the smallest flame. As brothers and sister in the Lord’s church, we almost certainly will have an opportunity to be involved in an issue where someone has taken offense to another’s speech at some time in our life. As we teach and fellowship with each other, we need to be mindful of that we are all imperfect and should try to give a little room for each other to make mistakes, because we all will at some point.

Are we to just let mistakes go? No! In the matter of incorrect teaching, we should always take the brother aside and teach him “a more perfect way.” Most times we will find that they merely misspoke and he will be grateful have the opportunity to correct what he said.

We are given instructions in Matthew 18:15 for dealing with a brother that has offended us. We can take him aside and let him further explain or give him the opportunity to apologize. Not only is it sinful to do otherwise, but the brother will usually be grateful that he was able to fix something that could potentially have caused damage to our relationship.

Our responsibility is not only to save lost souls, but to continuously help each other get to heaven as well. Ephesians 4:2 reminds us to forbear (figuratively “to put up with”) one another in love and in Ephesians 4:32 we are to forgive one another as God has forgiven us. Let us be those that can first see that our brothers and sisters desire to get us to heaven together, not as competitors in a race.