Matthew 6:19-21: Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

Have you noticed how the world is vying for our attention? We should all beware of the distractions of the world; they can cause us to stumble in our faith walk. Since the economy has worsened over recent years, it seems as though the voices in the world are trying to promote fear and intimidation as a constant diet. But as people of faith, we must resist the report of the enemy and only believe the report of the Lord. Let me qualify that statement: There is nothing at all wrong with listening to the news; it is a way to stay informed so that you might know how to pray for your country. There is something wrong with allowing the world to use fear and greed as a tactic to motivate people to act on what they are “selling”.

The more we subject ourselves to the lies and deception of the world, the more we can become inclined to heed those lies and miss what the Lord is saying to the church. This has been revealed to us in the Genesis account with Eve and the serpent. Eve was fine until the serpent spoke against God’s Word and shook her confidence in God. This caused her to become open to the spirit of deception and to believe a lie over the truth. If Satan can use the world to paint a very dismal picture that might suggest that God has somehow abandoned us, it can cause fear to rule our hearts . . . which will open us up to listening to his lies.

Jesus gives us the key to obtaining and walking in victory over the lies that might cause Christians to think that God has forsaken us in this world. He instructs us to focus on our eternal existence more so than our temporal existence on the earth. James tells us in his epistle that our life here is only a vapor. Therefore, we must discipline ourselves to prepare for our future life and not be bound to only surviving in this life. Everything about the Lord and His Word centers around us having and walking in faith. To the human mind, this is irrational, but that doesn’t negate the truth that faith works and unbelief fails.

The world wants our attention so that it might cause us to listen with our minds and operate by our souls instead of listening with our hearts and operating out of our spirit man. The difference between the two methods of operation is that fear will hold a believer in bondage, and faith will cause a believer to live in freedom. You must not allow the old mindset of your past to dictate to you; it will tell you that you are in this world, so you must operate as this world operates. Resist that temptation lest you end up living in fear and being intimidated every time you hear a bad report coupled with the world’s opinions. Instead, get into the Word of God and read what you must do as a child of God that He might be your provider, protector, and sustainer. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness during a forty day fast, He answered every ploy of the Devil with the Word of God. I strongly believe that there is someone who is reading this today that the enemy has bound by fear, and you need this word to encourage you to break that stronghold and hear what the Lord is saying to His church.

Lay up your treasures in heaven. Look unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith. As you practice the Word of God by putting it into action, you will begin to experience the liberty and freedom of faith in a very real and tangible way. We weren’t created in the image of the world; we were created in the image of God. If we operate on the same level as the world, we are forced to live beneath God’s best for us as His children. Please make a conscious decision and ask the Lord to help you to walk by faith and not by sight. Ask Him to help you to have the vision and fortitude to lay up for yourself treasures in heaven; these treasures can’t be stolen or corrupted by the lusts of this world. Choose to live in freedom through your faith in God’s Word, and then, if you haven’t already begin to structure your life to receive a total transformation in the way you view the world and yourself as a Christian. We can do all things through Christ who gives us the strength. Let’s turn this world upside down for the cause of Christ and reach a world that is shrouded in darkness with a hope that can’t be extinguished!  —submitted by Pastor Asa Dockery, US