High Voltage Prayer Blog - 30 Day Prayer Challenge Day 18, October 16, 2014 “And then He says that where your treasure is, your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 One Saturday morning not long ago, Esther and I drove our older 3 kids to Christian Youth Theater on the northeast side of Indianapolis. She brought a purse. I was intrigued. I wondered what she put in it. Her pint-sized hands clutched the handle as her little legs hung over the edge of the booster seat, tapping to the song on the radio. There it sat on her lap the entire drive. Women tend to put their most necessary things in their purses—cell phones, credit cards, family pictures, keys, etc. Emily always has her mechanical pencil, an eraser, paper, a tiny Bible, mascara, and her iPod. Julianne’s “must-haves” are her pink pouch of change, lotion, her favorite shade of lip-gloss for the day, sunglasses and a notebook and pen. Gum lasts only a very short time in her purse, so I’m more likely to find hastily opened gum wrappers. The smell of mint seems to last far longer than the mint-gum itself. “What did Esther put in her purse?” We reached our destination. The kids poured out of the van and into the dramatic river of theater-kids flooding into the building. Job done. Time to drive back home. We headed back to the the van to return home; I opened the van door to recheck and secure Esther’s seatbelt. OK, that was just ploy. I pulled on the seatbelt to make sure it was snug (wink). “What is in your purse Esther? Can I see what you brought with you?” Her fingers fumbled over the snap and popped open the precious little bag. She chose 3 things to put in her purse--a brown plastic Fisher Price horse, an Easter bunny figurine that has a metal clip for pictures, and a small blue plastic dolphin. “Oh Esther, these are important to you, aren’t they?” “Yep.” We gently tucked each of her “jewels” back into her purse and left for home. Her precious items made me think about what I deem “precious.” And it made me question, are the things I deem precious what God deems precious? We have been conditioned to turn from so many of His treasures. Proverbs gives us big clues. And when we find them, He leads us to more. For example, according to Proverbs, wisdom is worth more than jewels, Abercrombie, Coach, Gucci, any electronic device that begins with the lower-case letter “i,” new furniture, and a new car. Job said that the acquisition of wisdom is above that of pearls. Not a bad thing to know, coming from a guy who had it all, lost it all, and recovered it all (and a bag of chips!) because he refused to curse God and die. And Solomon, when given the best deal on the planet in the history of “ever,” forsook the worldly-possession-clause of the deal, and God blessed him with both wisdom and wealth. Proverbs 20:15 says, “Lips that speak knowledge are more precious than gold and an abundance of jewels.” Proverbs 8:10 says, “Take my instruction and not silver, and knowledge rather than choicest gold.” Proverbs 2:6 says, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 3:19, “Because the Lord by wisdom founded the earth, by understanding He established the heavens.” And the perk of all perks, trumping anything money could possibly buy, “Discretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you” (Proverbs 2:11). God couldn’t care less about purchasing power. It’s all His anyway. He’s after my heart. He wants me to want what He wants. Eternity is so much longer than my time here, and before I know it, my pack of gum will be gone. I want to leave the smell of His minty freshness behind, long after. What I choose today will determine that. I’m running after Heavenly treasures today. Today’s Scripture: Proverbs 2:1-8 “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright; he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.” Today’s Song: Lose my Soul, by TobyMac https://youtube/watch?v=coHKdhAZ9hU Special link of treasures that DIDN’T go with Elizabeth Taylor when she died. https://youtube/watch?v=YTaYoYWqLdg
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 12:02:19 +0000