Ezra Chapter Two | Wednesday Bible Study

Welcome back to another Wednesday Bible study! Last week we took a look at Ezra chapter one. This week we are going to dive into chapter two. If you have not had a chance to read chapter two yet, take some time to do that. It's a lengthy chapter but I am going to break it down into sections.

Verses 1-35 Returning Exiles

This chapter begins with a list of the captives returning from Exile when king Nebuchadnezzar took the children of Israel to Babylon in bondage. These were the ones considered to be "true Israel," or the "remnant" and were descendants of ancient Israel. Those mentioned here are considered authentic because their line falls after Jacob. You may recognize names like Nehemiah and Mordecai in verse two. You read about them in the book of Nehemiah and Esther respectively. It is important to make this connection as it relates to this book and in the rebuilding of the holy city. Don't skip over the names and counts of the exiles. It is incredible to think of how many people were taken captive and how many made it through to the other side.

Verses 36-40 The Priests & Levites

These priests came through the line of Aaron and were of the tribe of Levi. They and their sons were ordained to do the temple work and sacrifice. The Levites were not in the line from Aaron but were of the tribe of Levi, and assisted the priests.

Verses 41-42 Singers and Gatekeepers

These singers and porters were chosen by king David from the Levite families and had been assigned special tasks. You can read about that in 1 Chronicles chapters 25 and 26. They had their appointed jobs to do and so this is important to see the record of them listed among the exiles.

Verses 43-55 Nethenims

These were the temple servants. The tasks given to them were considered menial and yet they served the Lord with utmost devotion. It reminds us that no matter how big or small our gifts and abilities are, God wants to use us if we are willing. Will we covet other gifts and positions, or will we do our menial tasks with utmost devotion to God?

Verses 56-63 Descendants of Solomon's Servants & Priests Removed

In verse 63, the Urim and Thummim were consulted to help determine God's will in a matter. You see this in Exodus 28:30 and it literally means Lights and the Perfections. This was to be upon Aaron's heart when he went before the LORD. We see in verse 62 those who claimed to be priests but were found not to be so were put from the priesthood. This careful consideration of rightful priesthood positions shows the significance of the calling. We must all be in prayer as we seek out what God would have us do. He gave each of us our own gifts and abilities to further His Kingdom on this earth.

Verses 64-67 The Full Number and Possessions

The whole congregation together was 42,360, not including the male and female slaves which were 7,337. There were 200 male and female singers, and they had 736 horses, 245 mules, 435 camels, and 6,720 donkeys. That is just incredible! Can you imagine leaving a place of bondage and that many people coming out on the other side! Look at their possessions! God is so good to His people!

Verses 68-70 Temple Gifts

The exiled people freely gave gifts and offerings for the temple. They freely gave all they could including 61,000 gold coins, 6,250 pounds of silver, and 100 priestly garments to the treasury for the project. I am sure they were happy to give to the temple. I cannot imagine how happy they were to be free!

I realize it is not as exciting to read this chapter as it is to read about some of the great acts of faith and exploits we read in different parts of the Bible, but it is rich history. It is needful to learn and study these minor prophets. There is so much background information you can find online for free that can help. I search commentaries, blogs, and sermon notes along with my Women's Study Bible to aide in my study. I love God's Word and want to learn as much as I can.

I hope that you have learned something this week. Be sure to read through Ezra chapter three for next week. It is a much shorter chapter and I look forward to sharing more about it next time. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

 

How To Rest | Fuel For The Weekend

 

We are told to rest in the Lord. The Bible never says find rest in any other source. We cannot rest in a friend, our spouse, a relative, comfort foods, or an activity. We must rest in Jesus. Relationships with others do not provide the spiritual rest our souls and spirits need. We have to find solace in Jesus Christ alone. You will set yourself up for disappointment if you try to give that rest to others. You simply cannot do it. You can point them to Jesus, the only One who can. You will be disappointed if you expect to find that rest in others apart from the Lord. You will only truly find rest for your souls when you turn to the life giver, the sustainer, the joy giver, and His name is Jesus. Today as we start to embark on the weekend before us, let's look at what the Scriptures say about this rest Jesus offers to us. As we study together, we will see what this rest is, why it is needed, and how to obtain it. My prayer for you is a restful weekend.

MATTHEW 11:28 Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

The first thing we must do is surrender to Jesus. When we come to Him, get alone with Him and are quiet, we hear His invitation. Come to Me, He says, everyone who works and is loaded down with care. Are you carrying a heavy burden? Jesus tells us that He will give us rest. Read that verse again. Listen as He invites you personally to sit with Him and take the time to simply rest.

JOHN 6:37 All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.

God, our Heavenly Father, wants this special rest for you. He has assigned rest to you today. He offers this rest through His precious Son Jesus and if you come to Jesus for this rest, He makes us an incredible promise here that you will not be turned away. He has time for you. He has rest for you. He has peace for your burdened, troubled soul. He wants to refresh you.

MATTHEW 11:29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me: for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Jesus asks us to replace the heavy burdens we are carrying with the yoke He is wearing. This special harness is something used to share the load two animals are carrying. Jesus is saying if we will take the time to hook up to the same harness He is wearing, we will share the load together. It makes it easier because He is with us. We will be going in the same direction. The weight is evenly distributed so we are not working so hard. What burdens are we carrying that were never ours to bear? What chains are holding us bound when Jesus' Truth makes us free? 

Jesus tells us to learn who He is. Do not listen to what others say Jesus is like. They may not know Him well enough to speak the truth. Find out for yourself. His life is in the pages of the Bible. Read the red letters. Here He tells us that He is meek and lowly in heart. He is our gentle shepherd. He loves us. He is approachable. He is ready to receive you. And when you are in His presence you will find rest for your soul. What a lovely picture and it is so true.

JOHN 13:15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done unto you.

PHILIPPIANS 2:2-5 (2)Fulfill ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. (3)Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. (4)Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. (5)Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

In John, Jesus has humbled Himself as a servant. He is wearing a towel around His waist, bending down to wash each of His disciple's feet. He said He was doing this as an example for them to follow. It is for us, too. This teaches us who He is. What is a great leader? First a humble servant. We are to look for opportunities to do good to others. Humble ourselves and do the things that are necessary. What was the significance of this? Jesus, our blessed Savior, left the splendor of heaven to come and live on this earth for 33.5 years. He is our King and He put the dirty, sweaty, stinky feet of these men He loved into His precious hands and washed them clean. Read that passage. Listen to the exchange as Peter and Jesus talked. Peter was too prideful to let Jesus wash His feet at first. Jesus taught Him humility and love and honor through this beautiful act of love. We must be like Jesus.

In Philippians, we see the same message reiterated. Let the same mind be in us that is in Christ Jesus. Let's love others more than ourselves. Let's put their needs ahead of our own. Let's not focus on ourselves as much as we focus on who we can serve and help. This is the way of Jesus. He was a servant to all of us. He still serves us. He still gives us love, blessings, hope, healing, forgiveness, mercy, kindness, favor, and grace. This is how we learn of Him and be like Him.

  MATTHEW 11:30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.

Jesus tells us that His plans for our lives are better. His yoke is easy. His way of doing things is best. His burden is light. It is not hard to do what He asks. It says in 1 John 5:3 "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous." It isn't hard to do what He asks of us because He is hooked up to the same yoke we are to take upon us. His yoke is easy. He leads the way. He bears some of the weight of the heavy load. He is doing everything He asks us to do. There is nothing He will ever tell us to do that He has not already done Himself. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us according to Philippians 4:13.

If you are in need of some rest, please go to the One who is able. He wants to give you rest. He is ready and His arms are open. He says Come to Me. Will you give Him a chance to restore your strength? Will you give Him a chance to replenish you? This week has taken a toll on your spiritual self and He wants to untangle you from the burdens and cares of this life. Let Him give you rest like only He can.

I pray something I have shared today has given you strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

 

 

 

7 Bible Journaling Essentials That Won't Break The Bank | Thankful Thursday

 

If you want to study the Bible you only need a Bible, quiet time to listen, and a prayer from your heart requesting Holy Spirit teach you what He wants you to know. Nothing fancy. You can even use a Bible app for free on your phone if you do not own a Bible. There is nothing like opening up the physical Bible though and turning the pages, seeing the highlight marks, and reading familiar passages.

If you want to do some Bible journaling or creatively journal your faith in a notebook, I have a video today that gives you seven ideas that can get you started and some affordable options for those who are just starting out. I hope it helps you choose some things to get you started.

I have links in the description box of the YouTube video for products I mentioned from online shops. There is of course our shop, Blue's Blessings, and then Faith Heirlooms where they have beautiful covered Bibles in different sizes and beautiful bow clips. I also like stickers from Nashs PrintWork. These store names are clickable links so you can click on the name in this blog post and go straight to the store.

I am thankful to have a creative outlet to journal my faith. I use a lot of different notebooks to do this. I have used micro Happy Planner notes. I use different size Traveler's Notebooks inserts. I have made note cards, blessing cards, and decorated inside my Bible. It is all a personal preference and the way you choose to creatively journal your faith is completely up to you. You can pick an expensive notebook, use a sheet of copy paper, or make a junk journal with junk mail and other items many may toss in the garbage. It is up to you and what you want to do.

There are things I did not cover like stencils, painting, stamping, and more. I just wanted to share some essential items to help you get started. As I say in the video it is by no means an exhaustive list. And some of these items you may not want to even use at all. For instance, I like a metal ruler. If I use a slicing tool like an exacto knife, I am not going to damage the metal ruler like I could a wooden one. I can stick alphabet stickers on the edge of the metal ruler and easily place my word down in the precise location by having the freedom to move it about the page. So for those reasons and others I enjoy the metal ruler. It was only $1 at the Dollar Tree. It is a great tool for many uses besides measuring and affordable, as well. But, watch the video to see what essentials you think you may want to try to get started.

I am so thankful for having a creative outlet. Our Heavenly Father is the ultimate Creator. He is the original. We are to be like Him, so when we have a desire to creatively journal our faith, we should do so to honor and please Him. It's nice to get compliments from others who see our work, but the main focus should be in honoring God and worshiping who He is. It should not be on the stuff we do or do not have. I am thankful to have a lot of tools and supplies but I have been doing this for 21 years so I have accumulated a lot over time. It is not something I recommend anyone rush into. Take your time and see what you like. Ask a friend if they can let you try their stamps, or paper trimmer. If you have a local scrapbook store, stop in and just see if you can get a tutorial on how some of the items work. If not, there are a lot of video tutorials showing how to use different products. If it is something you want to try, then go for it!

Thank you for hanging out with me today! I am so excited to share this video with you. Let me know if you have any thoughts, comments, or questions. I would love to help you as we creatively journal our faith! God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Ezra Chapter One | Wednesday Bible Study

 

The Book of Ezra

"Ezra continues the Old Testament narrative of Second Chronicles by showing how God fulfills His promise to return His people, to the Land of Promise after seventy years of exile. Israel's "second exodus," this one from Babylon, is less impressive than the return from Egypt because only a remnant chooses to leave Babylon.

"Ezra relates the story of two returns from Babylon -- the first led by Zerubbabel to rebuild the temple (1-6), and the second under the leadership of Ezra to rebuild the spiritual condition of the people (7-10). Sandwiched between these two accounts is a gap of nearly six decades, during which Esther lives and rules as queen in Persia.

"Ezra is the Aramaic form of the Hebrew word ezer, "help," and perhaps means, "Yahweh helps." Ezra and Nehemiah were originally bound together as one book because Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah were viewed as one continuous history. The Septuagint, a Greek-language version of the Old Testament translated in the third century B.C., calls Ezra-Nehemiah, Esdras Deuteron, "Second Esdras." First Esdras is the name of the apocryphal book of Esdras. The Latin title is Liber Primus Esdrae, "First Book of Ezra." In the Latin Bible, Ezra is called First Ezra and Nehemiah is called Second Ezra."

Let's start in chapter one of Ezra. You will find Ezra in the Old Testament after 2 Chronicles and before Nehemiah. The first chapter has 11 verses, so it is a quick read. Once you have read the first chapter we will begin the study.

Verses 1-4

In the first year that king Cyrus reigned in Persia, the Lord stirred up Cyrus' spirit, in order to fulfill what Jeremiah had said. King Cyrus made a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and sent his message in writing. He first gives the LORD God of heaven glory in stating that it was He who had given king Cyrus all the kingdoms of the earth. He goes on to say that God had assigned him to build a house for the LORD God of heaven at Jerusalem in Judah. He sends an open invitation to anyone who wants to be a part of this amazing project. He goes on to say any Jewish exile survivor may be supported by Gentiles who will give silver, gold, goods, and cattle along with freewill offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.

The king has set the project in motion and now it is time to get others on board. The provision is made for Jewish exile survivors by Gentiles. Sometimes when God wants to get something accomplished, He may send us, but use others to provide what we need in terms of physical possessions. We see this happen in Ezra and it still happens today.

Verses 5-7

God stirred up the hearts of chief fathers in Judah and Benjamin. His Spirit also began to work on the hearts of the priests and Levites. They had vessels of silver and gold, goods, beasts, and precious things in addition to what had already been freely given to this mission. Remember when Nebuchadnezzar took the vessels that belonged in the house of the LORD and he put them in the house of his gods? Cyrus the king took them back to their rightful place in the house of the LORD God of heaven. 

The enemy may take your things and use them for evil purposes, but God will not forget that. He will make sure that you are given what was stolen from you. Keep your eyes on Him, continue to do the work He has stirred up in your heart, and watch how he rights every wrong! He is faithful to do it!

Verses 8-11

The Persian king took these items to Mithredath, the treasurer, and and counted them with the prince of Judah Sheshbazzar. This is how many things they received:

30 gold chargers

1,000 silver chargers

29 knives

30 gold basins

410 silver basins

1,000 other vessels

5,400 total vessels of gold and silver! Prince Sheshbazzar brought these up with the exiles from Babylon to Jerusalem.

What an amazing assortment of items and so many! God is doing a work in Jerusalem with this new house for the LORD God of heaven. He is doing a work in us in 2021 today, too. Regardless of where you live in the world, God has a special mission for you to do. If you are willing, He will make the provision for you and even use unlikely people to do it! He will allow you to be set free from the bondage that held you bound. What is your Babylon exile like? What are you going through? Look at the amazing items that were returned to God's house and all the exiles who had been slaves in Babylon are now returning to Jerusalem. What a time of rejoicing! God is doing that now, too. He is calling you back to Himself and it is a beautiful thing!

Be sure to check back next week when we jump into Ezra chapter two! This is going to be a 10 week series here on the blog. If you want, you can read through chapter two to get ready for next week. If you have any comments or questions, feel free to leave a message below. I hope something I have shared today has been strength for your journey and light for your way! God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Exodus 14 Again! | Fuel For The Weekend

 

It's Friday evening and I am not sure what to share. I have been starting at my unopened laptop and nothing has come to mind. I have memorized a lot of scripture, but I just couldn't decide on which verse to share. I feel stuck in my life right now. I feel like I am caught in midair. Have you ever been there?

I have been thinking about our life in Alabama a lot. We had no intentions of ever moving back to Indiana but God had other plans. We prayed about it and God confirmed that we should move back. We still weren't sure, so we talked about it and we believed we heard from God, but we just hated to leave our life, our friends, and our family behind again and move back to...what? What jobs? What school would Javan go to? Where would we live? How can we decide on what doctor to see, or choose a school for our son when we had no idea where we would be living. It felt a lot like moving to Alabama when God told us to do so.

Now we are back in Indiana, still staying with Paul's parents and we are so incredibly grateful, but I have to be honest, we want our own home. We fasted and prayed 21 days for it in January and we really thought we would have a home at the end of the fast, but it didn't happen. Then we prayed and Paul felt God had said by February 14, but then that didn't happen. And so each month that goes by, we are like, "God. What's up? Why do we not have our own home yet?" And we have no answer. So we fall back on the proverbial it's just not time yet. It's all in God's time. That's true, it is all in His time, but He promised us a home and it's so very hard to not have our own space.

So I open up my Bible to find something to share and I open back up to Exodus 14:10-16. I should be able to quote it now, I have read through this passage so much this year. It was encouraging in verse 14 when it says, "The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." Yes! Fight and prevail like only You can, Jesus. But then in this moment I am not seeing that verse jump off the page. Right now I know Holy Spirit wants me to see something else on this page.

You may remember I shared Exodus 14:15 where the children cried out and so Moses cried out to God on their behalf and He said to Moses, (paraphrased) "Why are you crying to Me? Speak to the children of Israel and tell them to GO FORWARD!" And that was encouraging to me. I felt like moving forward included a new house and that was so exciting to me. I was really uplifted by this passage! It was so good. And yet as I read through these verses again tonight, that verse is not highlighted either. So I think okay, what are You trying to tell me God? What am I missing in this passage because You keep bringing it to my attention? So here we are.

In verse 10 the children of Israel saw Pharaoh draw near and they saw the Egyptians marching behind him. It scared them! A lot! And they cried out unto the LORD. I wonder what they said. Did they ask for His protection? Did they just scream in desperation? Because the next verse they cave. They were like, "Why kill us here in the wilderness when we could have died in Egypt?" In verse 12 they are so discouraged and feel so defeated they tell Moses, "We asked you to leave us alone and let us be slaves in Egypt. It was better in Egypt with the torture and poor treatment than to die here in the wilderness." Wow! The religious Bridgett could be so judgmental here. Right? The ones who think they have it all figured out could be so arrogant and proclaim, "The nerve! Listen to the way they spoke to Moses and after all he did to free them from bondage." But broken and wounded Bridgett sees it different.

I am not so different. I am upset that I had to leave my beautiful ocean and my home that I loved and friends I cared about. I miss my church and the hugs and the smiles. I miss teaching the kids and I miss the closeness of being with my husband and our kids. But Alabama was hard. It was hard and it was sad sometimes. We missed our family and friends in Indiana. I missed the fall season. I missed the familiar. I missed knowing where I was going without a GPS all of the time. But I accepted the move didn't I? I'm not so sure now. I moved here but I keep thinking back to Alabama and my home. My bedroom. My bookshelf. My craft cabinet. My kitchen. My pantry. My bathroom. I miss the provision God gave me. Is my heart grieving for the provision when I have the Provider? God forgive me!

I am afraid. Moses tells the scared children of Israel not to fear. I need to remember that God is in control. He promised us a beautiful home and I am going to believe He is a Promise Keeper. He is a Way Maker. It is so hard in the waiting. When the days turn to weeks and the weeks into months, it gets harder and harder to believe the promise is coming, but God is not a man that He should lie. He is going to keep His promise to us. And I need to stop letting fear bring me down. I have to let go of the past. I need to thank Him for the provision He gave us and remember He has always made a way for us and He will do it again. In His perfect time.

Please pray for me this weekend. As you sit in your favorite chair, open your own refrigerator, cook your favorite meal, organize your closet, or relax in your own bed, please say a prayer for me and my family. Please pray that we will hold on to hope and not let go. Pray that we will have the strength to see it through and that God will not delay the promise much longer!

If you are going through something, too, please drop me a comment or email me and let me know. I will pray for you too. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Washi Page Marker | Thankful Thursday

Welcome back to another Thankful Thursday tutorial.Today we are going to make a washi page marker for your Bible,planner,favorite book,or whatever you want to put it in.

The materials you need include:

*cardstock in the size you choose

*scissors

*washi of your choice

I created a video tutorial to show you how to create this very simple project. It does not take much time or resources. These are great to make for yourself or others. It is a fun project for kid's ministry as well. Washi can be purchased inexpensively at Dollar Tree, Walmart, Target, Hobby Lobby, Michael's, or JoAnn. I hope you enjoy the tutorial as we creatively journal our faith.

The scripture I reference is 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing. I am definitely thankful for prayer. Prayer is talking to God and then listening for Him to answer. I am so grateful for the open communication I have with my Heavenly Father. I pray every day, numerous times throughout the day, and am thankful to live in a free country where I am still able to do so.

Have a terrific Thursday! God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens

Treasures | Wednesday Bible Study

 

Welcome back to another Wednesday Bible study. Today we are going to study treasures! If you think about popular action adventure movies, you will recall there is usually a good guy and a bad guy both seeking lost treasure. The thrill of the hunt is what draws so many to the edge of their seats. If you have a favorite mystery novel, it is the journey to solve the mystery that keeps you turning the page. So what does the Bible say about treasures? Is the most important thing the journey or the treasure? Today we are going to explore what the Bible says about treasures and what we are to do with our treasures. Let's start in Matthew.

MATTHEW 6:19-21 (19)Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: (20)But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: (21)For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also.

It is good to have treasures. Treasures are by definition, according to Merriam-Webster, "wealth (such as money, jewels, or precious metals) stored up, or hoarded; wealth of any kind or in any form: riches; a store of money in reserve; something of great worth or value; a collection of precious things." There is nothing in the Bible that says you cannot have nice things or extra money. Treasures such as money or valuable items may be fun to have down here on earth, but Jesus tells us not to get caught up in all these things down here, because it is easy for someone to steal our things or eventually they may decay. So what should we do?

The Bible says that we should store up our treasures in heaven. There is no sin in heaven so nothing will corrode and there are no thieves that will break in and steal. It is a safe place to put things you treasure most. But what do we treasure most? Is it our money? Our home? Our car? Our profession? Our family? Our vacation destinations? There is nothing wrong with enjoying those things, but what is your most treasured possession? What do you love more than anything else? What could you not live without? For me, it is my salvation and relationship with Jesus. I love my family and it's nice to have money, go on trips, have reliable transportation, and a good job, but nothing is worth more to me than Jesus. He died for me. He died for you, too. He gave up everything for you and me. What can we esteem worth more than that great sacrifice? Luke says it best.

LUKE 12:15 And He said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

This statement was made by Jesus. He said to be careful and pay attention to coveting. It is easy to look at what someone has and desire it. It may seem more appealing in the hand of your friend or coworker. Maybe the idea that it's not our own can make something more desirable, but Jesus makes a profound statement here. He says a man's life is not valuable or detestable based on what he does or does not have. He tells them it is not about the stuff! It is not about how many things you can collect or purchase. The real meaning of a person's life is not about what they own. When we die, we do not get to take our china collection, cabinet of guns, or all the money in our safe. We take nothing with us. God used gold for pavement! He is not interested in our "wealth" on earth. He created it. He owns it all. It is not rare or precious to the One who spoke it into existence.

If we continue reading Luke's gospel, Jesus continues to share about the things we get so preoccupied with on earth: our clothes, our food... because our Heavenly Father knows our needs and He meets them. The world is concerned about what they will wear and what they will eat, but we should not worry about those things. We do not need to be so consumed with these things. Jesus says in verse 30, "For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that have need of these things." Jesus said God knows what we need, so we do not have to try to keep up with the world. Our Heavenly Father will take care of all of those things for us. What should we treasure then? What is the most important thing?

Luke 12:31-34 (31)But rather seek ye the Kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. (32)Fear not, little flock; for it your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. (33)Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. (34)For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

I spoke with a friend in Alabama who told me of a young man that played the stock market. He had invested a lot of money and was doing very well. All at once, the stock market turned and the money he invested was gone. He was not "rich" anymore. He lost so much money that he was bankrupt. We all know that the stock market ebbs and flows. It goes up and it goes down and it bounces back up. The young man was so devastated that he took his own life. The stock market was his treasure and he thought he lost it for good. He lost his hope. He lost what he thought was his future, and I guess he was right. Friends, I am not against wealth or nice things in this life. I am not telling you that having a nice home or a new vehicle is a sin. I do not believe that at all. The Bible does not say that. It does tell us that we should not value these things more than our relationship with God.

As you study these passages on your own, I encourage you to take a notebook and write out some things you may be holding too tightly. What treasures are you holding on to that maybe are not as important as you once thought? What can you do? Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." How can you seek God's Kingdom? How do you seek His righteousness?

My family had a nice weekend recently with my sister-in-law and her husband and children. We were going to a dirt race track where my husband used to race. My son wanted to take his wallet but he did not have pockets in his shorts. He gave me his wallet stuffed with money he had been saving up. He knew that if he gave me his wallet and I put it in my purse it would be safe. I was going to keep it for him until he asked me for it. He put it in my care. That is the same thing we need to do. We must take our prized possessions: our money, our home, our car, our jobs, our family, and give them back to God. We must let Him keep them for us and then we know they are safe. There is no security here on earth. There is full security with God. He is able to keep whatever we put in His hands. 2 Timothy 1:12 says, "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day."

Our true treasures should be the things that matter to God. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, forgiveness, grace, mercy, generosity. These should be at the top of our list, too. Can you imagine a world where these things are the most valued? Whatever we choose to value most is where we will find our heart. If we treasure earthly things our hearts will be on the earth. Our focus will be on the world around us. Society and culture will drive our actions and inaction. If we treasure heavenly things, our hearts will be with God. Our focus will be on doing things that make God happy. We will choose to please God with our words, thoughts, and deeds. Where are your treasures? Where is your heart? 

I pray that this week's study has given you some food for thought. As you read through these scriptures on your own, pray and ask God to show you areas of your life you have not fully submitted to Him. Ask Him to reveal to you where your treasures are and there will your heart be found also. I will be doing the same! I hope something I have shared has been strength for your journey and light for your way.

God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens