Dear Friends,
You have all heard it before: “Wherever it is that your treasure lies, there will you find your heart as well” (Jesus, Matthew 6:19-21). It is true, of course, and Jesus suggests that knowing this should cause us to make sure we choose our treasures wisely. But how does one do that? How do we change the things our hearts treasure so that they line up with God’s will for our lives (since we know there are things we treasure that we should not)?
There are things we value HIGHLY that distract, and mislead, and waste time, and deplete resources, and mean little to nothing in light of eternity. How, then, do we move to valuing what we should instead of what we shouldn’t, so our hearts might be in the right place?
As believers our thoughts immediately go to things like prayer, grace, wisdom, Scriptural guidance, and others. Yet today I offer you one other thing we can add into that mix. It comes from Martin Copenhaver in his devotional book, “The Gospel in Miniature.” Enjoy.
Your Heart Will Follow…
“Jesus’s statement, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” may sound familiar, but if we don’t read it with care, we might reverse the statement through a kind of scriptural dyslexia. We might read it to say, “Where your heart is, there will your treasure be also.” That would make sense to us, because our dollars often follow our heart’s lead. We give to what matters to us. But that isn’t what Jesus said.
Think of the appeal you hear over and over again from, say, National Public Radio or your alma mater: If you care about this institution, you will write a check. In other words, “Where your heart is, there will your treasure be also.” But Jesus didn’t say that.
Jesus is speaking of a different dynamic: He is saying give and spend where you want your heart to be, and then let your heart catch up. Don’t just give to those things you care about. Give to the things you want to care about. Ask yourself, “If I were the sort of person I long to be, then what would I do? How would I spend my money?” Then do what you would do if you were that sort of person. Put your treasure where you want your heart to be. And if you do, Jesus says, your heart will go there.
If you want to care more about the kind of car you drive, buy an expensive one. If you want to care more about property values, remodel your house. But if you want to grow in your faith, bring an offering to God. Wherever your treasure is, your heart is sure to follow.
Prayer: O God, fashion my spending and my giving in ways that refashion my heart. Amen.”
There is a verse in Revelation 2:5 that speaks about Christians in the church in Ephesus having “lost their first love.” They were doing many things right but had likely gotten into the habit of doing them out of mere duty or routine - without earnestness, passion, love, or a heart-spawned desire. And whether it was their love for Jesus, their love for each other, or their love for the lost, it matters little. The remedy God gives is to, “repent” and “do the things you did at first.”
I know myself well enough to know I can lose my passion for the Lord, and the faith, if all I do is hang around with Christians. Seems odd for a pastor to say, but it’s true! When I first came to Christ, I wanted to convert the whole world to Jesus! I was often overly zealous and unwise in my methods, but the passion was there. So, when I have seen that passion disappearing, I remember God’s words in Revelation 2:5: “Repent and do the things you did at first.” If I want to see my “first love” return, I need to repent for only hanging around with believers, go out and share the Gospel with unbelievers like I did at first, and invariably it comes back!
I share the same truth with every couple I do premarital counselling with! People do things in the dating or engagement phase of their relationship that they STOP doing after being married for a time. Then they wonder why the passion has gone out of their relationship! No more special notes, or random compliments, or notes of appreciation, or flowers, or gifts – except on those major special occasions.
No more quiet evening walks, or holding hands, or candlelight dinners, or holding the door open (or opening the car door). No more calling each other pet names, or trying to get to know everything they can about each other, or doing really funny spontaneous things, or flirting with each other, and so forth! And then they wonder where the love or passion went! What’s the remedy? “Repent and do the things you did at first!”
Do the things you did at first. Doing it brings back the feeling. Don't simply pray and wait for the feelings to return before you do something. That’s not what the Bible encourages. It’s doing that leads to restored passion. As Martin says in his devotional above, “give and spend where you want your heart to be, and then let your heart catch up. Don’t just give to those things you care about. Give to the things you want to care about.” Amen! It’s biblical advice.
You have all heard it before: “Wherever it is that your treasure lies, there will you find your heart as well” (Jesus, Matthew 6:19-21). It is true, of course, and Jesus suggests that knowing this should cause us to make sure we choose our treasures wisely. But how does one do that? How do we change the things our hearts treasure so that they line up with God’s will for our lives (since we know there are things we treasure that we should not)?
There are things we value HIGHLY that distract, and mislead, and waste time, and deplete resources, and mean little to nothing in light of eternity. How, then, do we move to valuing what we should instead of what we shouldn’t, so our hearts might be in the right place?
As believers our thoughts immediately go to things like prayer, grace, wisdom, Scriptural guidance, and others. Yet today I offer you one other thing we can add into that mix. It comes from Martin Copenhaver in his devotional book, “The Gospel in Miniature.” Enjoy.
Your Heart Will Follow…
“Jesus’s statement, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” may sound familiar, but if we don’t read it with care, we might reverse the statement through a kind of scriptural dyslexia. We might read it to say, “Where your heart is, there will your treasure be also.” That would make sense to us, because our dollars often follow our heart’s lead. We give to what matters to us. But that isn’t what Jesus said.
Think of the appeal you hear over and over again from, say, National Public Radio or your alma mater: If you care about this institution, you will write a check. In other words, “Where your heart is, there will your treasure be also.” But Jesus didn’t say that.
Jesus is speaking of a different dynamic: He is saying give and spend where you want your heart to be, and then let your heart catch up. Don’t just give to those things you care about. Give to the things you want to care about. Ask yourself, “If I were the sort of person I long to be, then what would I do? How would I spend my money?” Then do what you would do if you were that sort of person. Put your treasure where you want your heart to be. And if you do, Jesus says, your heart will go there.
If you want to care more about the kind of car you drive, buy an expensive one. If you want to care more about property values, remodel your house. But if you want to grow in your faith, bring an offering to God. Wherever your treasure is, your heart is sure to follow.
Prayer: O God, fashion my spending and my giving in ways that refashion my heart. Amen.”
There is a verse in Revelation 2:5 that speaks about Christians in the church in Ephesus having “lost their first love.” They were doing many things right but had likely gotten into the habit of doing them out of mere duty or routine - without earnestness, passion, love, or a heart-spawned desire. And whether it was their love for Jesus, their love for each other, or their love for the lost, it matters little. The remedy God gives is to, “repent” and “do the things you did at first.”
I know myself well enough to know I can lose my passion for the Lord, and the faith, if all I do is hang around with Christians. Seems odd for a pastor to say, but it’s true! When I first came to Christ, I wanted to convert the whole world to Jesus! I was often overly zealous and unwise in my methods, but the passion was there. So, when I have seen that passion disappearing, I remember God’s words in Revelation 2:5: “Repent and do the things you did at first.” If I want to see my “first love” return, I need to repent for only hanging around with believers, go out and share the Gospel with unbelievers like I did at first, and invariably it comes back!
I share the same truth with every couple I do premarital counselling with! People do things in the dating or engagement phase of their relationship that they STOP doing after being married for a time. Then they wonder why the passion has gone out of their relationship! No more special notes, or random compliments, or notes of appreciation, or flowers, or gifts – except on those major special occasions.
No more quiet evening walks, or holding hands, or candlelight dinners, or holding the door open (or opening the car door). No more calling each other pet names, or trying to get to know everything they can about each other, or doing really funny spontaneous things, or flirting with each other, and so forth! And then they wonder where the love or passion went! What’s the remedy? “Repent and do the things you did at first!”
Do the things you did at first. Doing it brings back the feeling. Don't simply pray and wait for the feelings to return before you do something. That’s not what the Bible encourages. It’s doing that leads to restored passion. As Martin says in his devotional above, “give and spend where you want your heart to be, and then let your heart catch up. Don’t just give to those things you care about. Give to the things you want to care about.” Amen! It’s biblical advice.
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