Matthew 22:36-40
The Greatest Commandments Are About Love
36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Matthew 6:19-24
Treasures in Heaven
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.23 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!
24 “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.
Mark 9:43-50
Obstacles in Life
43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. [44] 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. [46] 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where
“‘the worms that eat them do not die,
and the fire is not quenched.’
49 Everyone will be salted with fire.
50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”
Luke 10:38-42
Working and Worshiping God
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Luke 21:1-4
A Widow Trusting God
1 As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."
Matthew 6:31-34
Seek God First
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Isaiah 55:8
God's Thoughts are Not Man's Thoughts
8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
Jesus thinks different than we do...His ideas on desires and pleasures are different than ours...Jesus always found time for God and made time for God...He always was thinking of His Father...Jesus did not just set aside time or spend mornings with God, or spend Sabbaths with God, because He always had God in His thoughts...Jesus always has God first and foremost in His mind...His thoughts are focused on God...And Jesus completely trusts His Father in all things...He thinks about Love, Sacred things, Holy things, the Spirit, the Soul, and eternal things...Each moment of each day Jesus thinks and is focused on His Father in Heaven...Jesus never ever talked about God as being Something or Someone part-time...God was and is always in Jesus' thoughts...This is just a part of His thinking...That is part of the Jesus' Way...
Life can be full of obstacles that keep us from getting closer to God...Many of our obstacles are man made...We need to work extra, or we want to do this today and that tomorrow...Or I desire to have this or that -and that can be an obstacle between God and us...Mankind seems to get wound up in our own life's busyness...We often think more about money and what we personally desire, than we think about God...For instance, in Jesus' teaching Mary and Martha, we learn, we often think about our work and its importance over our thinking and worshiping God...All these things are obstacles in our lives and in our thoughts that keep us from getting closer to God...
Man's focus and thoughts throughout his day can be about money, work, hobbies, cars, houses, what he is desiring next, and other material things...Mankind often gets hung up in our thoughts with these things, money, and work...This type of thinking and thoughts keep God away, because we are more focused on those things than we are God...Our thoughts many times seem to be more focused on material things or keeping busy rather than the eternal things that Jesus teaches us and what He thinks about...We can get so caught up in our lives, that we can forget the two great love commandments...
The real treasures in life are not money or material things...We learn from the poor widow that trusting in God is more valuable than money...The most important things in our lives are the eternities that Jesus teaches us...The real treasures are ours, when we put God first in our lives and first in our thoughts and learn to trust Him...The real treasures may start by learning to trust God (and to also love Him), not only sometime in the day or week or month, but doing as Jesus did and making Him a part of our everyday life, as He was when Jesus was on earth...Now that Jesus is in Heaven with His Father, I am sure His continued thoughts on His Father and LORD...This is not an easy thing for man to do with all the obstacles we face and put up in our lives each day...But our lives are better, much better -when God is with us and in our thoughts each and everyday...