Treasures?

(12.02.21– What I Possess! –Isaiah 28:16)

My friend, may I ask you a question? Is it sometimes true that the things we own, stuff we think has great value, isn't really as valuable as we think?

My friend, Life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day.

I'm M. Clifford Brunner.

When I was a little boy I was fascinated by Pirates; all that talk of buried treasure and maps mystified me; so much that one day I decided to put together a treasure of my own in a shoebox and bury it in the woods. I filled the box with the things most precious to me, wrapped it in Saran Wrap, dug a hole and buried it. I left the box in the ground for a week (thinking a treasure had to be buried for some amount of time to make it a treasure) and then took my map and dug up my treasure. I walked home proudly with my treasure in hand. On the way I bumped into one of the older kids, Mickey, (over 8) and showed him my treasure. He looked in the box and frowned. "Baseball cards and a jackknife? That's not a treasure, that's just stuff." My "treasure" was anything but to Mickey.

Sometimes the things we own, stuff we think has great value, isn't really as valuable as we think.

Here's a story: The wealthier he got, a rich man became more and more worried? One night he prayed. "God, I need to take something with me when I die," he said. "I've worked hard for all this, so please let me take some to heaven." To his surprise, he heard God's voice. "No," was the answer." "But, please!" he begged. "May I bring just one suitcase with the things that matter most to me?" "All right," God said. "Only one." So he set about selling everything and converting it into gold bricks. He packed a suitcase with millions of dollars in gold and stashed it under his bed. The night came when he died, and he grabbed his suitcase as he began to soar toward heaven. An angel met him at the gate and told him that baggage was not allowed. "But I have special permission," he said. "Just ask God." "What could possibly be so valu- able?" the angel wondered. "Please open the suitcase so I can see?" With pride, the man opened it. Beaming with joy, he waited for the angel's response, only to see that his heavenly greeter was confused. "Pavement?" asked the angel. "You brought pavement?" (Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances dictate.)

There is an old saying that "men can be tyrants but, compared to wealth, their tyranny is but a mild form." The Bible refers to the tyranny of things in terms of denial. Unless we can deny the things of this world, putting them into perspective as stuff rather than treasure, we may lose our way to Heaven. I was disappointed when Mickey told me my treasure was just stuff. My disappointment rested in the fact that deep down I knew he was right. You and I will also be disappointed if we put our trust in things that look like treasures down here but are nothing more than "stuff" up yonder. Jesus Christ is the real treasure. If we put our trust in Him we will never be disappointed. And Him you CAN take to heaven.

We pray. Heavenly Father, unless we can deny the things of this world, putting them into perspective as stuff rather than treasure, we may lose our way to our real home in heaven with You. We will be disappointed if we put our trust in things that look like treasures down here but are nothing more than "stuff" we don’t need and certainly can’t take along with us in heaven. Jesus Christ is our real treasure. If we put our trust in Him we will never be disappointed. And we know Lord, Jesus we can take to heaven with us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!

Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.

If you have a special prayer request, please send your request to ”This Passing Day!”

<thispassingday@gmail.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.

Treasures?

(12.02.21– What I Possess! –Isaiah 28:16)

My friend, may I ask you a question? Is it sometimes true that the things we own, stuff we think has great value, isn't really as valuable as we think?

My friend, Life’s a story, welcome to This Passing Day.

I'm M. Clifford Brunner.

When I was a little boy I was fascinated by Pirates; all that talk of buried treasure and maps mystified me; so much that one day I decided to put together a treasure of my own in a shoebox and bury it in the woods. I filled the box with the things most precious to me, wrapped it in Saran Wrap, dug a hole and buried it. I left the box in the ground for a week (thinking a treasure had to be buried for some amount of time to make it a treasure) and then took my map and dug up my treasure. I walked home proudly with my treasure in hand. On the way I bumped into one of the older kids, Mickey, (over 8) and showed him my treasure. He looked in the box and frowned. "Baseball cards and a jackknife? That's not a treasure, that's just stuff." My "treasure" was anything but to Mickey.

Sometimes the things we own, stuff we think has great value, isn't really as valuable as we think.

Here's a story: The wealthier he got, a rich man became more and more worried? One night he prayed. "God, I need to take something with me when I die," he said. "I've worked hard for all this, so please let me take some to heaven." To his surprise, he heard God's voice. "No," was the answer." "But, please!" he begged. "May I bring just one suitcase with the things that matter most to me?" "All right," God said. "Only one." So he set about selling everything and converting it into gold bricks. He packed a suitcase with millions of dollars in gold and stashed it under his bed. The night came when he died, and he grabbed his suitcase as he began to soar toward heaven. An angel met him at the gate and told him that baggage was not allowed. "But I have special permission," he said. "Just ask God." "What could possibly be so valu- able?" the angel wondered. "Please open the suitcase so I can see?" With pride, the man opened it. Beaming with joy, he waited for the angel's response, only to see that his heavenly greeter was confused. "Pavement?" asked the angel. "You brought pavement?" (Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances dictate.)

There is an old saying that "men can be tyrants but, compared to wealth, their tyranny is but a mild form." The Bible refers to the tyranny of things in terms of denial. Unless we can deny the things of this world, putting them into perspective as stuff rather than treasure, we may lose our way to Heaven. I was disappointed when Mickey told me my treasure was just stuff. My disappointment rested in the fact that deep down I knew he was right. You and I will also be disappointed if we put our trust in things that look like treasures down here but are nothing more than "stuff" up yonder. Jesus Christ is the real treasure. If we put our trust in Him we will never be disappointed. And Him you CAN take to heaven.

We pray. Heavenly Father, unless we can deny the things of this world, putting them into perspective as stuff rather than treasure, we may lose our way to our real home in heaven with You. We will be disappointed if we put our trust in things that look like treasures down here but are nothing more than "stuff" we don’t need and certainly can’t take along with us in heaven. Jesus Christ is our real treasure. If we put our trust in Him we will never be disappointed. And we know Lord, Jesus we can take to heaven with us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!

Therefore my friend, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry for itself; each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matt 6:34) This Passing Day. May this passing day honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and be a blessing to you and everyone you meet. Find a stranger and say hello. Don't let another day pass without your day blessing someone else.

If you have a special prayer request, please send your request to ”This Passing Day!”

<thispassingday@gmail.com> From Beech Springs, God bless you for Jesus sake.