What do you think of when you hear the word treasure?

Do you think of heavy iron chests filled with gold coins buried on a deserted island? Or maybe you think of diamond necklaces, golden tiaras and rings with every imaginable precious stone? Do you think of stocks and bonds, vast houses and estates, jets and fancy cars?  While all of those things hold appeal, true treasure has value for all eternity.

We have been instructed in God’s word and have access to the greatest treasure of all.  Jesus told his disciples, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” (Matthew 13:52)

Those of us who have been called to lead and teach others have the awesome privilege of pulling out treasures from God’s word and sharing them with those around us.  Listen to Paul’s words as he speaks about those he has not met personally, yet feels the burden to guide:
“My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:2-3)

That same task has been given to us.

Let’s speak the good news of Jesus, teach about the kingdom of heaven, explain truth from God’s word.  In short, let us bring out eternal treasures from our storeroom and share it with everyone around us.

Heavenly Father, thank you for entrusting me with the treasures of your eternal kingdom. May I encourage everyone I know with the truth. Amen.

Questions: How do we fix our attention on true treasure? What treasures about God’s kingdom can you share with us today?

About this Author: Suzanne Benner

You graduate. You get a job. You get married. You have children. You go through a few more jobs. You buy a house. Okay, THEN what?

You go to soccer games for your kids. You try to be a good parent and spouse. You watch your children go to the prom. Even though Yesterday they were wearing diapers. You do and say the things your parents did and said, even though you vowed you never would.

You have a mid-life crisis or two. Your children graduate from college. You become a grandparent. Someone calls you grandma or grandpa. You live out your life in leisure, drawing income from a retirement fund. You take walks in the morning. You work in the garden. You read the newspaper. You watch TV. You talk to your children and grandchildren on the phone. You travel.

Okay, THEN what?

Well, then, someday, you die. If you are fortunate, you live a relatively long life. Seventy to ninety years. If you don’t get taken away prematurely by cancer or a car accident. But always, eventually, you die. Death is the Tomorrow that awaits us all, the inevitable Then that none of us can escape.

But is that it? Is there anything more?

Someday you’ll be just a corpse. They’ll bury your body in the ground. Or burn your body and put your ashes in an urn. The big question is, Will I cease after that? Will there still be a conscious ME somewhere? Is there really life after death?

In truth, we probably all hope there is something that comes after. Maybe in the smallest recesses of our minds, we are planning on it.

What are we planning on? A life after death of some sort. Some call it paradise. Some call it heaven. Some also talk of hell.

Another thought that many people possess throughout life, often subconsciously, is: I’m a basically good person. Therefore, I will get to go to heaven someday.

Is that how it works?

Many people think they are “good enough” for heaven. It’s an assumption we make. If we haven’t robbed a bank, or murdered anyone, or cheated on our taxes, we think we’re just the kind of folk God is looking for to populate his home. By golly, we are good enough. At heaven’s box office, we bought our ticket by being basically good people all throughout our lives.

But what if that thinking is incorrect? THEN what? What a thing to have been wrong about! What a misfire!

If you think you’re good enough for heaven, there are two things to consider:

(1) If heaven is a place of perfection, how can anyone be good enough?

Most of us would say we have a “skeleton in the closet.” At least one. Something we hope no one ever finds out about us. A mistake in our past. A poor decision. A moment of weakness or stupidity that we’d rather not think about.

That’s the extreme. But there are many other more common things we don’t really want others to know or notice about us. It might be the “little white lies” we tell. Or how we talk behind someone’s back. Or how we copy other people’s homework. Or the unkind words we say to people. Or the unkind thoughts we have about people.

Much more than a one-time regrettable event, our lives, if we closely scrutinize them, show a pattern of wrongdoing. We often don’t do what we believe to be right. And we often do what we believe is wrong.

All of us, even people whom we would call basically good, are also basically selfish and basically very imperfect.

Everything we do is seen by God. So that means there’s no fooling him. He’s perfectly aware of all the good we haven’t done (and yet could have), as well as all the bad we’ve done. He even knows all of our thoughts and all of our motives.

Here’s the second thing to consider if we think we’re “good enough” for heaven: (2) Is it possible to be a basically good person and still have rejected God?

Consider Ralph. He’s a “good” person. He was ethical in his job. He never stole even a paper clip. He was a faithful father and husband. He provided for his children. He made sacrifices for them and for his wife (whom he never cheated on). He even gave money to many charities throughout his life.

But Ralph, though good in some sense, never “let God in.” Many times in his life, Ralph sensed God’s desire to come into his life. It was as if God were knocking on the door of Ralph’s heart. But Ralph never opened that door. He always came up with some excuse not to. Ironically, one of the recurring excuses was, I’ve been a good person all my life. I will go to heaven.

Ralph wanted to go to heaven. Everyone does. But in reality, Ralph didn’t want to know God. And he didn’t stop to analyze the huge implications of that decision (the decision to keep God out).

Think about it. Heaven is God’s home. If Ralph didn’t want to know God during his life on Earth, why would Ralph want to know God in an afterlife? In other words, what Ralph didn’t calculate is how much he would LOATHE heaven.

Heaven is a place where God is very present. It’s likely that every aspect of heaven will remind one of God, constantly. What a horrible place for Ralph!

Ralph always assumed heaven would be a place of ultimate comfort. But he never considered how ultimately uncomfortable it would be for him, since he didn’t want to know God or have a relationship with God. For Ralph, heaven would not be heaven, but rather a type of hell.

Would you let someone into your home even if you knew they didn’t want to have anything to do with you? If you knew that everywhere they turned, they’d be reminded of you?

Many people are like Ralph. They want heaven, but they don’t want God. And they don’t realize that, under those circumstances, heaven would be an awful place to be.

Maybe the truth of the matter is that heaven is for people who know they’re not good enough to be there–but who nonetheless want to be there solely because God is there. They want to know God and be with him forever. The life-after-death prize isn’t heaven, but rather its Primary Occupant.

Copyright 2000 EveryStudent.com. Used with permission.

Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon, published in “Mornings & Evenings,” entry for October 9th, AM.

Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2008.

“To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy – to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” Jude 1:24-25

In some sense the path to heaven is safe. But in other respects there is no road as dangerous; it is overrun with difficulties.

One false step (and how easy it is to step absently if grace is absent), and down we go. What a slippery path some of us tread! How many times have we cried along with the Psalmist, “My feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped.” (Psalm 73:2, KJV) If we were strong, sure-footed mountaineers, this would not matter so much; but relying on our own abilities, how weak we are! In the best roads we soon falter, in the smoothest paths we quickly stumble. A straw may throw us, and a pebble can wound us; we are mere children tremblingly taking our first steps in the walk of faith. Thankfully our heavenly Father holds us by the arms or we would soon fall all the way back down!

We have many foes who try to push us down. The road is rough and we are weak, but in addition to this, enemies lurk in ambush, who rush out when we least expect them, and try to trip us, or hurl us down the nearest cliff. Only an Almighty arm can preserve us from these unseen foes, who are seeking to destroy us. Such an arm is engaged for our defense.

If we are kept from falling, how much more should we bless the patient God which watches over us day by day! Think how prone we are to sin, how apt to choose danger, how often we end up bringing ourselves down, and these reflections will make us sing more sweetly than we have ever done, “Glory be to Him, who is able to keep us from falling.”

He promises that He will remain faithful, and He is able to keep us from falling, so that even with a deep sense of our utter weakness, we may cherish a firm belief in our perfect safety, and say, with joyful confidence,

“Against me earth and hell combine, But on my side is power divine; Jesus is all, and He is mine!”

Question: How do you try to constantly keep your eyes on Jesus?

About this Author: Charles Spurgeon

Originally written by Charles H. Spurgeon, published in “Mornings & Evenings,” entry for July 27th, PM.

Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2008.

“Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?” Romans 8:33

What a wonderful challenge! It’s wonderful because it’s totally unanswerable. Every sin of those whom God has chosen was laid upon Jesus, the great Champion of our salvation, and by His atonement carried away.

There is no sin in God’s book against His people. He sees no sin in Jacob, and no immorality in Israel, because they are wiped clean of their sin forever through in Christ. When the guilt of sin was taken away, the punishment for sin was also removed. For the Christian there will be no angry rebuke from God’s hand; no, not so much as a single frown of vengeful justice. The believer may be scolded by his Father, but God as Judge has nothing to say to the Christian, except “I have absolved you: you are acquitted.”

For the Christian there will be no “capital punishment” from God in this world, much less any second death. A follower of Christ is completely freed from all punishment as well as the guilt and power of sin.

Sin may stand in our way, and frustrate us with its constant warfare, but sin is a conquered foe for every soul who walks with Jesus. A Christian can overcome any and every sin if they rely upon God to do it. Those who wear a white robe in heaven overcame through the blood of the Lamb, and we may do the same.

No lust is too mighty, no tempting sin too strongly entrenched. We can overcome it through the power of Christ. Your sin is a condemned thing. It may kick and struggle, but it is doomed to die. God has written condemnation across its brow and Christ has crucified it, “nailing it to His cross.” Go now and renounce it, and the will Lord help you to live to His praise, for sin with all its guilt, shame, and fear, is gone.

Question: How do our sometimes valid feelings of guilt relate to our being made “blameless” in Christ?

About this Author: Charles Spurgeon

Can you imagine what it would be like to experience continual blessing?  Picture it – blessing without interruption or end, blessing that perpetuates until every area of your life flourishes with strength and well being.

God’s blessing moves from heaven to you through sanctification. Sanctification is freedom from the penalty of sin and it is found in the tabernacle. In Exodus, God spoke with Israel about the tabernacle. God instructed his people that the tabernacle was to be filled with the incense of burned lamb.

The Lord said, “Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs of the first year, day by day continually. . . This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD, where I will meet you to speak with you” (Exodus 29:38, 42, NKJV).

Through Jesus’ death on the cross, he became the sacrificial lamb for you and me (see Hebrews 9:11-14). Jesus’ spilled blood remains before God the Father as a constant reminder that you have been redeemed. Your life has been sanctified and set apart for continual blessing because of the Lamb.

Are you looking for an answer today? Is there a problem you can’t solve on your own?

You can receive a fresh visitation of the Lord by coming to the tabernacle of communion where Jesus blood was poured out. It’s the fellowship of prayer—a place of sanctification where God has promised to meet and speak with you (Exodus 29:42).

God will provide answers to your urgent needs and solve your most difficult problems as you enter into the holy place through the blood of the Lamb and continually wait upon Him there. Scripture reveals that continual blessing (or multiplied blessing) is found in continual surrender:

“And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God” (Deut 28:2, KJV).

God’s body of believers must stop listening to negative voices of this world. This is the day for you as a Christian to turn your ear towards heaven. Look up and listen. God has given you a victorious spirit, not a spirit of dread. The blood of Jesus is not diluted or watered down. It is thick with suffering. It is red with holiness. You have been saved by His blood and no last day demon can add regret or sorrow to you. Emotional distress and spiritual decay are not God’s will for you. God intends for you to flourish in blessing in spite of famine.

Romans 16:20 proclaims, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (TLB). Through the fellowship of continual prayer—continual blessing is received.

Precious Lord Jesus, you gave it all for me. I surrender once again to your great love. I receive you into my heart. I will never tire of calling upon your name. Fill me again. Every moment I will daily and continually yield to your hand. The hour is dark for this world. Circumstances prove your coming is near. Your light pierces through the darkness. Hide my life in you. Wash me with your blood. Cleanse my life and forgive all my sins. May I be found faithful.  Call me up as your beloved, your bride. All that is within me yearns for you. Thank you for blessing my life with the continual outpouring of your Holy Spirit. Nothing this world offers compares to one moment with you. I worship you, my Lord. May your glory be seen in the earth and in my life today, in Jesus mighty name.  Amen.

Questions: How can one experience continual blessing?  How do you respond to difficult situations?

About the Author Jacqueline Overpeck

Updated to modern English by Darren Hewer, 2008.

Would you like to share your writing with the world? Submit your work to TruthMedia to be considered for publication online: Articles, devotionals, your testimony …

“… the hope that is stored up for you in heaven …” Colossians 1:5

Our hope in Christ for the future is the ultimate source of our joy here and now. This joy will set our hearts on fire to think of heaven, since all that we could ever want is promised there.

Here we are tired and run-down, but there lies the land of rest where the worker will no longer sweat with work, and fatigue will forever be banished. To those who are weary and spent, the word “rest” is full of heaven. We are always in the field of battle; we are so tempted within, and so tormented by enemies without, that we have little or no peace. But in heaven we will enjoy the victory, when the flag shall be waved high in triumph. The sword will be sheathed, and we shall hear our Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Here we may suffer sorrow after sorrow, but we are going to the land of the immortal where graves are unknown things. Here sin is a constant discouragement to us, but there we will be perfectly holy, for there will be no way for any impurity to enter into the kingdom. Death cannot flower among the heavenly fields.

Isn’t it a wonderful truth that you are not to be banished forever, that you will not live eternally in the wilderness, but instead will soon inherit the beautiful promised land? Nevertheless, never think that we are dreaming about the future and forgetting the present! In fact, we should let our hope for the future help us to focus on the present.

Through the Spirit of God the hope of heaven is the most powerful force for development of virtue. It is a fountain of joyous effort and the cornerstone of cheerful holiness. Anyone who has this hope in them does their work with vigour, for the joy of the Lord is their strength. Such a person fights against temptation, for the hope of the next world repels the fiery darts of the devil. We can therefore labour even when we do not see immediate rewards, for we look forward to a reward in the world to come.

Question: How do you imagine Heaven?

About this Author: Charles Spurgeon

Is your world coming to an end? Do you hate Christmas? Talk to us.

Do you have any time to think of the real reason for Christmas — our Lord Jesus Christ coming as a baby, and how the angels heralded His birth — and how He came to give His life for us that we may join Him in heaven someday?

Did you ever see that animated film on television, “The Grinch That Stole Christmas”?  Well, I think that there are at least three grinches that can steal Christmas from us and the Son of God.

*Number One Grinch is Santa Claus.

This one sort of makes a god out of Santa Claus. After all, “he knows when we’ve been bad or good”– just as if he were God.  Younger children eagerly await the gifts Santa will bring.  This tends to take their eyes and thoughts off the greatest gift ever given: Jesus.  Fairy tales are nice and I enjoyed them as I grew up.  But really, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ is no time for a fairy tale that presents itself as true, is it?

*Number Two Grinch is the world.

The non-Christian world has twisted the meaning of Christmas.  Plays given at school used to be centered around the coming of Christ, the manger scene.  Other plays like “The Grinch That Stole Christmas” have taken their place.  They have stolen the real meaning of Christmas.

*Number Three Grinch is activity.

We have so much to do during the Christmas season that we have little time to think about Jesus.  We have gifts to buy, trees to trim, relatives to visit, food to eat–lots of enjoyable things not wrong in themselves.  But if they keep us too busy to think about our Lord Jesus then they “steal” Christmas, don’t they?

Now is a good time for all of us to determine in our hearts that we will not let the grinches steal the true Christmas spirit from us.  How can we do that? During the season — and all through the year too — we can spend a minute or two each day thinking of the loving, compassionate Lord Jesus and what a difference His coming into this world has made in it and in our lives.  We can praise God for the greatest gift possible, our Lord Jesus.  Paul said, “Thanks be to God for his indescribably gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15, NIV).We may not be able to give the Lord Jesus Christ gold, frankincense, and myrrh, as the Wise Men did.  But we can give Him our hearts and our time.

Questions: How can you cut back on activities and centre you thoughts more on the real meaning of Christmas? Tell us about  one of your traditions at Christmas time that emphasizes the birth of Christ.

About the Author Muriel Larson

What does Jesus’ birth mean to you? Try this free online study.

The Advent season is upon us once again. It comes more quickly each year. I know, I’m just getting old!  Since we’ll soon hear the amazing story of Jesus’ birth being told from countless pulpits and since biblical names always have a significance, let’s look into the meaning of Jesus’ name.

In the Old Testament, God’s name and His presence were virtually synonymous, which was evidenced in His name Jehovah-shammah, meaning the Lord is present or the Lord is there.

Jehovah-shammah, dwelling on the throne of heaven, sent His Son to earth to be born in another form, to live personally with His people. His name? “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6, NKJV)

In the New Testament, Jesus was Jehovah-shammah, as Matthew, quoting prophecy, said of His name, “‘They shall call His name Immanuel,’ translated as, ‘God with us.’” (Matthew 1:23b, NKJV)

When Jesus came to be with us, He threw off His robe of celestial royalty and dressed Himself in a tiny, pink suit of humanity.  From the birth-manger to the death-tomb, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14 NKJV) The original Greek says that Jesus “tabernacled” among us, which means to pitch one’s tent, to dwell in safety and security under its cover and protection.

That Divine Flesh was known by the name of Jesus, which the Word tells us is a “more excellent name” (Heb. 1:4) and the “name which is above every other name,” (Phil. 2:9b TLB) and to which “every knee shall bow.” (Rom. 14:11)

Calling on that precious name has opened the portals of heaven and shut the gates of hell.  It brings salvation to lost souls, turns away tornadoes, heals people of cancer, and gives the lame the ability to walk.  Dependence on that name is essential.

The last thing Jesus said to His disciples was, “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20 NKJV)

As we celebrate the birth of Christ, let us remember that He was birthed in obedience that He might die to be with us forever.

As Immanuel stood before Pilate, he asked, “What then am I to do with Jesus?” (Matt. 27:22, Phillips) What, then, do you do with this Jesus? Do you know that Jehovah-shammah Immanuel is with you…always?

Lord, Thank You that You came to earth as a babe of certain death to bring us Your salvation. I pray that every person reading this will have a new awareness of Your eternal presence in their lives as they celebrate this season of Your birth. Amen!

Questions: Why do you celebrate Christmas? Who is Jesus? Where is Jesus in relation to you?

About the Author Lynn Mosher

Who would look at the cross of Christ and say, “Great work, Jesus. Sorry you couldn’t finish it, but I’ll take up the slack.”?

Dare we question the crowning work of God? Dare we think heaven needs our help in saving us? Legalism discounts God and in the process makes a mess out of us.

To anyone attempting to earn heaven, Paul asks, “How is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? ….What has happened to all your joy?” (Galatians 4:19, 15).

Legalism is joyless because legalism is endless. There is always another class to attend, person to teach, mouth to feed. Inmates incarcerated in self-salvation find work but never joy. How could they? They never know when they are finished. Legalism leaches joy.

Grace, however, dispenses peace. The Christian trusts a finished work.

Grace offers rest. Legalism never does. Then why do we embrace it? “Those who trust in themselves are foolish” (Proverbs 28:26, NCV). Why do we trust in ourselves? Why do we add to God’s finished work?

But the truth is, we don’t. If we think we do, we have missed the message. “What is left for us to brag about?” Paul wonders (Romans 3:27, CEV). What is there indeed? What have you contributed? Aside from your admission of utter decadence, I can’t think of a thing. “By his doing you are in Christ Jesus” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Salvation glorifies the Savior, not the saved.

Your salvation showcases God’s mercy. It makes nothing of your effort but everything of his. “I—yes, I alone—am the one who blots out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again” (Isaiah, 43:25, emphasis mine).

Can you add anything to this salvation? No. The work is finished.

Can you earn this salvation? No. Don’t dishonor God by trying.

Dare we boast about this salvation? By no means. The giver of bread, not the beggar, deserves praise. “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31).

It’s not about what we do; it’s all about what he does.

Question: What is the only thing we can rightly boast about?

About this Author: Max Lucado

Today on my way home from work, I passed a dozen houses. It’s one of the joys of a small town, this walk home. I like a place where people honk only to say “Hi.”

Some of the houses I pass are dilapidated, others groomed to perfection. The millionaire’s place on the corner is framed in brick, its expansive yard causes heads to turn. But today I didn’t notice. Today when I took a left through a field of dandelions and saw the cappacino-colored cottage nestled near the railway tracks, my pace quickened. Today I realized for the very first time that I pick up speed the closer I get to home.

I suppose I’ve always wanted a place of my own.

A backyard pool. An underground gym. Maybe a tennis court or two.

But I settled for four bedrooms. Three children. Two pets. And one wife.

Three years from now we’ll have three teenagers. We’ll add another room. We’ll need more prayer. Last week we celebrated 18 months here. It finally feels like home, said Ramona.

It’s the memories, I think: Saturday night pizza. Mid-winter barbecues. Kids lunging at us early Christmas morning. Midnight conversations. Barefoot walks. Arguments, too. Stephen’s guppies, Rachael’s dolls, Jeffrey’s laugh.

Ah, how I love this place we call home.

But I’ve noticed something else lately. A month ago a toilet seal gave way. Guess who fixed it? Spring showed up a leaky basement. It’s on my list. So is a dripping tap, a frayed carpet, a pantry door that’s been a real pane.

What we construct eventually corrodes.

Sidewalks crack.

Cars rust.

Houses decay.

We’re constantly rebuilding. Renovating. Restoring the stuff of earth.. Don’t get me wrong. I love it here. I love rooms dancing with memories. Halls loud with laughter. Even sticky fingerprints on windows. But leaky toilets and wet basements remind me that Nothing lasts forever.

Nothing here.

That this house is a poor substitute for Home. Tonight the television shows visions of a far off war. Of a high school massacre closer home. A judge calls child porn acceptable—wouldn’t want to trample anyone’s freedom of choice. The weather report looks daunting. Cold tonight. Colder tomorrow. To add insult, my Blue Jays lost a nail-biter. It’s harder and harder to call this place home.

Home sounds more like a place where kids run free. Where God makes everything new. Where wheelchairs and tears are glasses and heart medicine aren’t even a memory. ??Home sounds like a place where joy and laughter are permanent. Where God’s people touch nail scars, bow in awe, and celebrate that empty tomb.

My son says I’m aging fast. Picking up speed the closer I get to Home. Tonight, for the very first time, I don’t mind at all. Tonight, I’m reminded that we were made for more than this.

Such hope gives me purpose here. To live each day like it’s a bonus. To take God’s hand and walk bravely into tomorrow. Passing grace along.

At times I wish I had answers for the pain and the suffering. But for now it’s enough to know that one day soon—

I will be Home. For good.That one day soon my questions will be straightened—into exclamation points. That those arms that spread wide on a Roman cross, will open once again. “Welcome,” he will say, “I think you’re gonna like the place I’ve prepared. I’ve been working on it for about 5,000 years. Welcome Home.”