Living For Personal Gain

"Don't store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be." - Matthew 6:19-21

You can be stopped at an intersection anywhere in the OC (Orange County, Calif.), waiting for a green light, and see three Mercedes Benz, two BMWs, and a Hummer stopped at that same red light. In the OC, where I live, it's hard not to covet!

Yet, there are often times I think, I would not trade in a million years what I have in the way of my relationship with Christ for that Hummer or any other expensive car. I'll go on driving my 1999 Chrysler Concord, asking for God's will in everything I do.

"Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be!

"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." Matthew 6:22-24

Lately, I'm finding it more and more important to check my motives. Am I making a decision based on what God wants for me, or am I deciding while keeping only my own desires in mind?

This isn't a one-time struggle. Daily, we must surrender and do God's will not our own. Dangling ourselves out into this world on our own power may seem to work, but it's short-lived at best.

"So I tell you, don't worry about everyday life – whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn't life consist of more than food and clothing? Look at the birds. They don't need to plant or harvest or put food in barns because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than they are. Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not.

"And why worry about your clothes? Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't he more surely care for you? You have so little faith!

"So don't worry about having enough food or drink or clothing. Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.

"So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." - Matthew 6:25-34

Here's the Reflections part of the Life Recovery Bible in regards to these verses:

In Matthew 6:19-34 Jesus made it clear that living for personal gain will only lead to great anxiety. Materialism and anxiety are two enemies of recovery. They often work together to lead us away from a balanced life. We need to realize that the essence of life is not found in the possession of things and that worry about the future availability of material things is never helpful. We are powerless to change the future and must trust God to take care of us and empower us in recovery. As we entrust our life to him, we will no longer need to worry about what is around the corner.

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Read notes on bible verses as they pertain to recovery from our hurts, hangups, and addictions in the Life Recovery Bible, New Living Translation. Also, read 12-Step and Serenity Prayer devotionals with scripture references. Get a copy now!

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Alexander is a writer in the online spiritual battlefield. You can also find him at The Scrooge Report.

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Peace Beyond Understanding

It's Monday, the work week has just started, and I'm already stressed. Thankfully, I can pause, read God's Word for a bit and move on with a sigh of relief...and yes, even peace.

I pray your day is one of peace!

This from Max Lucado's Grace for the Moment: Volume 2:

PEACE THROUGH PRAYER

God’s peace…will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:7

The worrisome heart pays a high price for doing so. Worry come from the Greek word that means “to divide the mind.” Anxiety splits us right down the middle, creating a double-minded thinker. Rather than take away tomorrow’s trouble, worry voids today’s strength. Perception is divided, wasting your energy. Who can afford to lose power?

But how can we stop doing so? Paul offers a two-pronged answer: God’s part and our part. Our part includes prayer and gratitude. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (Phil. 4:6 NLT, emphasis mine).

God’s part? “If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand” (Phil. 4:7 NLT).

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If 9/11 are the numbers of terror and despair, then 3:16 are the numbers of hope. Best-selling author Max Lucado leads readers through a word-by-word study of John 3:16, the passage that he calls the "Hope Diamond" of Scripture. (Amazon.com)

Get 3:16: The Numbers of Hope now!

When the Fun is Over

Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. - Ephesians 4:19

For most of my life I had not thought about God. My Russian-born parents had taken me to Russian Orthodox Sunday school in Los Angeles when I was a child. For a few elementary school grades I went to a Catholic school. However, as near as I can tell, sitting in those classrooms, the church, and the pews, never brought me closer to God. At least I was not aware of Him.

You see, I was on a mission to have fun in life and that was my number one priority. I put God not just in the backseat of my life or even the trunk, but probably somewhere out on the curb.

I look back on those years through childhood, teenage, young adult, and thirty-something and cringe. How could I have been so lost?

I did have fun, but I paid the price. Emotional instability, insecurity, lack of responsibility, and other manifestations held me back in many areas of my life. While I lived in the real world -- somewhat functioning while pursuing more and more pleasure -- I had grown older without facing reality for much too long.

Was God real? I don't even recall asking the question. It wasn't until the fun was running out and my fear, anxiety, and real life problems kicked in that I began looking... and God began appearing.

By the grace of God, I became aware that I could have a relationship with Him... and it was and is the most comforting.

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ. - Philippians 3:8

Alexander is a writer in the online spiritual battlefield. You can also find him at The Scrooge Report.

Before Anxiety Meds

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:6-7

This from Henry Blackaby's Day by Day:

Don’t be anxious! Paul said there is nothing that should cause a child of God to worry. He was well aware of things that cause anxiety. His nation was occupied by a foreign army and ruled by corrupt leaders. He was writing from prison, where he was being held as a result of false accusations. He was separated from those he loved; his motives had been questioned, and he had been misrepresented. Some were trying to undermine all that he had accomplished in starting churches. He suffered physically and faced imminent execution (2 Cor. 11:23–29). Yet Paul said there would never be a crisis so troubling that God could not bring peace in the midst of it!

God will not necessarily take your problems away, but He will carry the load for you. He wants you to experience His peace, which is beyond human comprehension. You will never fully understand how God could give you peace in some of the situations you face, but you do not have to understand it in order to experience it. This peace is not just for those who “handle stress well”; it is for everyone! You may know that God wants you to experience peace but wonder how this is possible, given what you are presently facing. Yet, Scripture says to be anxious for nothing. God’s word clearly indicates that there is nothing you can face that is too difficult, too troubling, or too fearful for God. No matter what your circumstances are, turn your anxiety over to God and let His perfect peace guard your heart.!

Much of the ministry of Dr. Henry T. Blackaby flourished with the publication of his book Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God. Seeking God in the matter which Blackaby spells out in his book has helped propel life-changing events for a countless number of people.