Matthew 6:19-24 - Bible Study Challenge Day 5

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.

Question 1 - What treasures do we lay up here on earth?
Out treasures can be stuff. We fill our lives and houses with stuff. In the last few day I have spent a bunch of money on a bunch of stuff. It is easy to find our value in the stuff we purchase. Our treasures may be the things/activities we give our time and effort to, especially if it is more time and effort than we give to God. Our treasure may be our savings or retirement account. It's good to think ahead, be prepared and plan to take care of ourselves when we retire, but investments can fail, big expenses can drain us financially and all can be lost. We must be careful we are putting our trust and value in God, not our savings.

Question 2 - How can we keep the light in us?
We are a vessel for light. The more broken we are, the more light gets out to share with the world. We must fill our vessel daily/hourly through prayer, study and meditation, by believing and trusting in God.

Question 3 - Who or what competes to be our master?
So many things!!! Anything we obey rather than God. This could be our job, spouse, children, presidents, food and other addictions, money, etc...

Exodus 30:12 - Holy half shekel

“When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them.
In this verse, each Israelite aged twenty and over is to give a half shekel as a ransom for their lives. It was the same price for everyone, regardless of how poor or wealthy they were. Honestly, I do not recall reading this passage before, but I Googled half shekel and there were lots of entries with lots of good lessons to be learned. The "Holy Half-Shekel" as some refer to it is the great equalizer. It lets the Hebrews know they are all the same in the eyes of the Lord and they must rely on each other. It is also another foreshadow of Jesus, who has paid the ransom price for us.

Lord, thank you for sending your son to pay the ransom price for us. Help us to remember, everyone is of equal value in your eyes. Amen.

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Genesis 47:18 - Giving it all

When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land.

I didn't remember this part of the story of Joseph. Joseph essentially puts all the people of Egypt into servitude, making Pharaoh even richer because of the famine. But, without Joseph's oversight, most of the people would have probably died.  The thing I like about this verse is how everything is given to Joseph/Pharaoh, just like everything we have is to be given to God: our money, possessions, our means to make a living, even our bodies. It all belongs to God. He has saved us, just like in verse 25 the people say “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”

Lord, Thank you for saving our lives. May we find favor in the eyes of our Lord; we are in bondage to you. Amen.