“Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and
enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires
of your heart.” – Psalm 37:3-4 NIV
Most of us have a desire to fill hearts
with something, other than Jesus Christ. The more material items that we buy,
we want to buy more of them as those things will not last and because of
addiction. They become obsolete or broken after sometime. We want to upgrade
our current items into new ones because of nice qualities, features, etc.. In
addition to this, we may even want to brag about them to others, to make them
jealous or to tell them to follow us. However, the truth is that worldly
material items cannot make us truly satisfied. Jesus Christ is all we need to
fulfill our desires and hearts. This is because we are actually have been made
for God (Colossians 1:15-20), due to the fact that
He has created us to be His image (Genesis 1:27). “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the
image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and
sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also
justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30) Matthew 19:16-30 relates to the topic of
satisfaction. This is because the rich man wanted to gain eternal life but he
could not gain it through Jesus Christ. The main reason for this is that he had
treasured his material items more than eternal life, as Jesus has declared, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone
who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to
enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:23-24)
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.
The eye is the lamp
of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.
But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If
then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
No one can serve
two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be
devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
(Matthew 6:19-24)
This is the reason why 1 John 2:15-17 urges us to not love the
world and what it offers, because the love of God is not in them and those
worldly material items are going to pass away. However, the one who pleases God
will live forever. Hebrews 11:6 states, “…without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who
comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who
earnestly seek him.” Therefore, let us treasure God before anything else (Matthew 19:29; Luke 14:25-35) by meditating on the word of
God with the Spirit of God (Psalm 1:1-3). “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it
judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
Listen then to
what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the
kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away
what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed
falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once
receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time.
When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The
seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the
worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word,
making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who
hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop,
yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. (Matthew 13:18-23)
In order to receive eternal life in
Jesus Christ, not only we have to live
according to the word of God (Philippians 1:27-29) but we also have to
obey the Spirit of God—whom God has poured His Spirit into us—to do His will (John 14:15-27) This is because He proclaims
in Matthew 7:21-23 that whoever does the will
of God receives eternal life through Him, but whoever does beyond of His will
or have spiritual pride within them (Luke 10:17-20) cannot receive eternal life
through Him. Theredore, we just have to believe in Jesus Christ according the
Spirit (Romans 8:1-17) and the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Romans 1:16-17). “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not
from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For
we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life
through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through
these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through
them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in
the world caused by evil desires.
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness;
and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to
self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness,
mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these
qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and
unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not
have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed
from their past sins.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your
calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and
you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:3-11)
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