Investments

When I was a child, I remember when any significant amount of money came my way, my father would always tell me to do the same thing, save it. Save the money in the bank until I was older, when I would need the money for really important things like a car, college tuition, and the like. Of course, I rarely listened. College tuition? That was many years away! Why would anyone pay to go to school in the first place? I hated school! I wanted to spend the money on toys and games, things I could enjoy now. My father, like so many before him, tried to explain it to me. He tried to explain that one day, I would outgrow all the toys and childish things I held so dearly, that I would discard them and enjoy them no more. It was much wiser to invest the money for my future, for my education, something that could benefit me the rest of my life. But I did not listen, and just as he predicted, I grew up, and the toys became meaningless (1 Cor 13:11). As an adult, I sometimes wonder if I had invested some of that money, how much I'd have now and how useful it would be.

Our Father in heaven is trying to tell us the same thing. Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Too often we want to be rewarded now. We want a better job, more money, a better car, a bigger house, and so on and so on. We ask God for these things, and He must be shaking His head at us each time. From His eternal point of view, we are all fools. Why do you want that house? It will only decay with time. Why do you want a new car? It will only break down eventually. Why do you want a new job? It will become just as tedious as the last. Many of us might reply, "Of course, everything good comes to an end!" And in this world, we would be right, but it is not true of the Spirit world. The rewards God would give us would never perish, never be stolen, never lose value. They would be priceless and matchless forever in His kingdom. So why wish for things here that will only perish with time when you can have rewards in heaven that will not even be comparable to things on earth? In the end analysis, we will soon, very soon die, and we cannot take any of it with us.

Rejoice when you are not rewarded here, for each deed that goes unrewarded here is a deed that will be rewarded in the afterlife. God has promised us. Hebrews 11:6, 1 Samuel 26:23, and more.

The truth is we lack a spiritual mindset, something we should pray for every day. We see only this world, and while we profess to know of a hereafter, we rarely act as if it exists. We rarely lean on the promises of God, and instead put our love and hope in the things of this world, which we know is perishing. "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Indeed Lord, indeed.

Heed this my brothers and sisters; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."

Counting the Cost

When a nation goes to war, its people understand sacrifices will be required of them in order to win the war. Rights will be suspended, privileges revoked. People might have to eat rice instead of meat, use old appliances instead of buying new ones. People will be called to fight, to lose who they love, some will be called to die for the cause.

Never forget that we are all at war. Sometimes, we must lay aside our plans and dreams for the cause of this war. Each and every sacrifice, no matter how large or small, might make the difference in saving a soul or losing one to the enemy.

It's no secret among my friends that I want to get married. I am not deceived, this might have to be sacrificed for the war. God might call me to a battle that provides no time for a family. I must be prepared to give up my dreams.

In World War 2 many men had to lay aside everything to go fight the war. Men had just married, just got engaged, or had their first child, but they could not stay behind to nurture any of those things, because they knew if they did not fight, then all would be lost. If they did not fight, there would be no wife, girlfriend, or newborn to come home to. Some, sadly, lost what they left behind. Girlfriends did not wait on them, wives left them, children grew up without a dad for years. Others were grievously wounded, and some men never came home again. Still, most today would say with pride they'd have done it all over again if meant winning the war. That's why they are the greatest generation.

But as amazing as all that may be, our war is more important, for we fight the demons of hell for men's souls. Make no mistake, the stakes are nothing less than that. <!-- D(["mb","u003cbr>"For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities. Against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12nu003cbr>I have memorized that scripture, and burned it deep into my memory, because I cannot fool myself into believing each day I step out my door, that I am stepping out into a peaceful neighborhood in a peaceful country. No, I am stepping out into a war-zone, a battlefield. All around me are men captured by demons, held to do the evil one's bidding. I have only one weapon, and that is the Gospel of Christ. It is the only weapon that works against these demons, and the only medicine to treat the wounded.nu003cbr>u003cbr>We must make the sacrifices and fight the good fight, so that, in the end, we can look back on our lives, at everything we wanted but had to put aside and say that yes, we would do it all over again, even if it meant winning only one soul for Christ. Let us remember that the struggles, sacrifices, and suffering of this world are God's wartime policy. God does not want us to suffer anymore than a government wants its people to suffer. But the suffering means winning the war, winning souls, and those are more important than anything else. And like any wartime policy, its only temporary. When the war is over, God will take away all the suffering, and there will be eternal peace and bliss.nu003cbr>u003cbr>As the song says;u003cbr>This victory is worth any cost. So make the most of life that's borrowed, love like there's no tomorrow.u003cbr>",1] ); "For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities. Against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12 [endif]-->

I have memorized that scripture, and burned it deep into my memory. I will not be deceived that when I go outside, I step out into anything less than a battlefield. All around me are the dead and dying, the wounded and captured. I have only one weapon, and that is the Gospel of Christ. It is the only weapon that works against the evil of this age, and the only medicine to treat the wounded.

Fight the good fight. Make the sacrifices, just as Christ did. In the end, you can look back on your life and say that you gave all, just like Christ did, to save one more soul. Remember, the suffering of this world is only due to the war our people, God’s people, are presently in. God does not want us to suffer here anymore than a government wants its people to suffer during a war, but the suffering means winning the war, winning souls, and those are more important than anything else. Like any war, it will not last forever, and when the war is over, God will take away all the suffering, and we will see it was all worth it.

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others, at whatever cost." -Arthur Ashe

"The world has no room for cowards. We must all be ready somehow to toil, to suffer, to die. And yours is not the less noble because no drum beats before you when you go out into your daily battlefields, and no crowds shout about your coming when you return from your daily victory or defeat." -Robert Louis Stevenson

"The cowards think of what they can lose, the heroes of what they can win." -J. M. Charlier

"When in doubt, win the war." - WW2 Motto

The Test

There was a time when most of my beliefs were based on little more than what I had learned in church or from my parents. Then the day came when everything I believed was challenged and I had to put my beliefs to the test of the Scriptures. Some false beliefs perished in the test, and those that survived were proven by it. I can stand confidently now on what I believe, knowing it has passed the test. This has given me peace I could have scarcely imagined before on many issues of theology and Christianity that still plague others, because they will not stop listening to men and start studying the Word. My goal here is not to persuade you to agree with me, but you show you a new angle on issues you had previously decided on. My goal is to get you to examine things from a new perspective, to question things you had previously accepted without question. In essence, I want you to put your beliefs to the test, just as I have, and continue to do. (Oh yes, my quest for Truth is far from over.) I implore each of you to study the Scriptures I will show you, to see if they read what I say they do. I implore you to reach out and read more than only what I will show you, to see if the rest of the Word supports what I say. Then if you believe in your spirit that your beliefs survive the test to your satisfaction, then I am not trying to change them. I only ask you consider what I say, study, and then decide for yourself.