Our happiness is captured in moments; God's happiness lasts an eternity. It is one of our most basic, but valued treasures, which we have laid up for ourselves in eternity.
Here we have scrapbooks, photo albums, shrines and bank deposit boxes wherein lie our utmost treasures....of stuff. The more valuable the item(s), the less likely we are to keep it near to us. We hide our happiness moments and items to either prevent others from taking our stuff, or to preserve our moments of happiness for future points of reference.
But what happens when all of that stuff, all of those happiness moments, are gone? Theft, fire, floods, lava, sinkholes, tornadoes could at any given moment remove what makes you happy and leave a huge hole in your heart.
Matthew 6:19-21 "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
What kind of treasures is Jesus talking about here? What could we possibly do now that will last for an eternity in heaven? Repent of our sins and receive God's forgiveness, when we ask Jesus to come into our hearts.
'Change us, O Lord, change our hearts and the way we love. Change our minds and the way we think. Change our life and make it Your life. We want You to make Yourself at home in us that others may see and want this change, want You, Lord.
Teach us the holiness way that we may see God and live. Guide us in You, Lord, for You are The Living Word of God. You are The Beginning and The End; by You were all things created and through You all can be saved. Lead us with sure steps across hard roads, over rocky ways and through desert places. Hold our hand, be our Comfort and Resting Place when we are weary, giving us strength to not only continue, endure, but to rejoice for You are our Lord.
Change the way we believe and strengthen our faith in You, for we choose to not only follow You, but to follow You closely. Some of us have followed You from a distance, not quite sure if we wanted to keep following. Some have drawn close to You then faltered along the way. Some of us have been content to remain only so close as is comfortable. O Lord, bring all of us beyond being in Your presence.
We want the power of The Holy Spirit in us, changing us, re-forming us, if You will, into that which makes God happy. We want the power to be bolder in speech and braver in action, to speak Your Word and see You save others, just like you saved us. We want to see You glorified by our words and our actions. We want to lay up treasures in heaven, Lord. Treasures which can only come from You, through You, by You and for You.
Treasures we lay at Your feet, even now, Lord. May our tongues speak God's happiness more and more. Be increased in us, Lord Jesus, and let us be decreased. We pray for less of ourselves to be present when we speak and that only You, only The Word, would be spoken from our tongues. In Jesus' Name, Amen.'
