Music Blog 01-09-2025
MUSIC BLOG
01-09-2025
TREASURE IN HEAVEN
“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 treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
WOW! 2025 is here. I graduated from high school in 1975. All these many years later, I still remember thinking about what it would be like to be alive in 2025. I wondered if I would still be alive, what I would look like, and what I would like to accomplish by that year. I imagined that I would be enjoying a well-deserved retirement and maybe have a couple of grandkids.
Reality is always a bit different than our imaginations. That statement is certainly true for me. I find myself still working and loving the challenges that come with the job. I don’t have grand children, but I have children married and that possibility is on the horizon. I have accomplished many things across my career and God has blessed me indeed. On the other hand, I have struggled.
In my journey of learning to rely on God, I have failed over and over. I have had many doubts and fears and sometimes I have let my fears get the best of me. I have been suspicious of my motives and the motives of others. I have allowed fear to keep me on a yo-yo of weight loss and weight gain. I have also let jealousy and fear separate me from friends and associates who love me.
So why the confession? In recent days, my scripture reading has led me to some startling discoveries. It seems that there have been times when I have listened to worldly voices and not God’s voice. This scripture from the mouth of our Lord says, “Do not store u[p for yourselves treasure on earth” Let me unpack that phrase “store up”. We store up precious things. My grandmother had a large wooden cedar chest at the foot of her bed where she put the precious things that she had made or others had made for her that she didn’t want moths to destroy. She also had a lock box in the bank where she kept irretrievable items should a fire destroy her home. She would never think to put a grocery list in the bank lock box, nor would she put a common dish towel in the cedar chest.
There are times when we in essence put worthless things and worthless thoughts in our minds vaul:. “I’m such a loser!” “what does it matter if I go, no one even notices me?” “no one is watching” “I’m only hurting myself” . . . and the list continues. These kinds of thoughts are worldly and moth-eaten. There is no eternal blessing from giving these thoughts the safe harbor of our minds' vault.
But the fruits of the Spirit, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control all have a worthy place in my mind's vault. Other things to store in my mind's vault are acts of kindness when others revile or rebuke me, faith that God is always at work, hope in the desert, waiting on the Lord, and perseverance through trial and tribulation. I could go on but you get the idea.
As the new year begins, when most of us are contemplating life adjusts for a fruitful year, maybe it's worth looking at the things that you are storing up. In 2025 are we storing up treasures in heaven? Are we storing up things for ourselves? The choice is ours. I’ve made my decision, what about you?
Blessings,
Marty