Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21
When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 2 Timothy 4:13
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. Jim Elliot
Jesus was born in a borrowed animal shelter; He was laid in a borrowed manger; He sailed in a borrowed boat; He stayed in a borrowed home; He rode into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey; and He was buried in a borrowed tomb! That's my King!
During these times, consider these creative gift ideas. Or consider the radical idea of giving gifts that will bear everlasting, spiritual fruit, like the gift of a Bible or good, Christian books that help people better understand God's Word and know Jesus Christ and grow in their faith. May we seek to store up treasure in heaven and help others store up treasure in heaven as well! That's true love - desiring to help others make the greatest gains and the most joyful gains that will produce the deepest happiness for the longest time - for all eternity!
remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Acts 20:35
give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you. Luke 6:38
Consider being radically counter-cultural, like Jonathan Goforth, who helped teach his lover lessons about eternal values and storing up treasure in heaven and not on earth by using their engagement ring money to purchase Gospel literature for a lost and dying world instead. It was this very God-centered focus and radical generosity that attracted Rosalind Bell-Smith to Jonathan in the first place. He was loving her so deeply when he did this! This is true love! True love wants the greatest joy for its beloved! True love wants the longest lasting joy for its beloved! True love wants the best quality of joy for its beloved! True love wants the greatest, most treasure filled future for its beloved! And all of that is found in Christ, becoming more like Him, and giving to others like He did and like He taught:
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." Mark 12:41-44
I have a Christian friend who, when he got married, sent a registry out where he and his fiancée did not ask for any gifts for themselves. They knew they already had all their needs:
Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 1 Timothy 6:6-9
Instead, they asked people to donate money to several Christ-honoring ministries: their local church where they met, orphan care, and help for the poor. They will receive their reward in heaven! And at their wedding reception, they gave away numerous solid Christian books to their guests! Oh that Christian marriages would drive us to be more focused on others and the cause of Christ in the world than on ourselves! It is more blessed to give than to receive! And we will get great rewards in the life to come that are infinitely better than the tiny treasures here on earth we so often settle for!
Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, "Here I am." If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Isaiah 58:6-11
So this Christmas and at other holidays and special occasions, I challenge you to consider Christ and eternity! Consider giving a money tip with a solid Christian book to your mail carrier or to those who pick up your trash during this time or at Easter time. Be creative! Let's have beautiful feet and tell people the greatest news in all the world so our King the Christ will be glorified and sinners will be saved from hell! Randy Alcorn gives some Giving Guidelines To Fight Materialism here.
Whether you celebrate Christmas or not (it's not from a pagan holiday, by the way), it's a great time for evangelism! Charles Spurgeon loved Christmas time (he said that he wished "there were ten or a dozen Christmas-days in the year."). He loved how it compelled people to think of the birth of Christ, and we can help them! Some of the BEST gifts you can give people and friends and family at Christmas time and at all times are books that help them understand the Bible better and know God better. What could be a more loving, helpful gift than one that points them to the only One Who can save them and satisfy their souls with the greatest, longest lasting joy in the universe - joy in God Himself?! Jesus is God! He's the second Person in the Godhead! Let's tell the world about Him! Give the gift of Bible-saturated, Christ-exalting, God-glorifying books! Help others make it to heaven and grow in Christ! And store up treasure in heaven!
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9
Places To Make Great Godly Book Purchases
2. CVBBS Books
4. Christian Focus Publications
7. Presbyterian And Reformed Books
More Resources On Storing Up Treasures In Heaven
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