Treasuring the Moments
By Gregory John Wilson
2/8/20
Intro
In the book of Luke in the Bible, we hear the famous account of the birth of Jesus, and of the angel appearing to the shepherds, telling them good news of great joy, and then the multitude of angels rejoicing with glory in the sky! Later, when the shepherds come and find the baby Lord Jesus, they recount what the angel said - Luke 2:11:
for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord!!!Luke 2:11
and the scripture in Luke 2:19 says:
Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.Luke 2:19
The wonder of THE LORD - God almighty - being born in human flesh!! A MONUMENTAL occasion!
Maybe you don't always have such monumental moments in your life, but also, as Mary treasured those things in her heart, she was probably treasuring how blessed she felt and how happy she was to be the mother of the Lord in flesh! And this is what I want to talk about today - looking for and finding moments in your life that bring you joy and make you feel blessed, that you can treasure in your heart to enrich your whole soul. Because I have found when I take time to REMEMBER and TREASURE special things that happen in my life, I end up feeling a lot more happy and blessed, just meditating on the special things that have happened.
So like Mary, what are the special moments in your life that you can 'treasure up' in your heart, and thus feel more blessed?
For some of you, maybe that is a difficult question to answer - maybe you don't have family to come see you, or you feel there is not much positive or special to celebrate in your life. And if that is the case, you truly have my condolences.
And yet, I want to encourage you that your life can be rich, even if it is at an assisted living facility like Larksfield Place.
Intimate Prayer & Bible Study
Consider the significance of an intimate prayer life - daily engaging in personal prayer to the heavenly Father, enhanced by study of His word.
For example, in the mornings, you can invite His peace into your life by taking time to pray at your breakfast meal, and thank Him for the tasty food and your day ahead. Then you can meditate on the truths of scripture and consider how they could be applied to your life.
And then as you proceed in this manner, you can treasure up these special moments in your heart.
Another part of treasuring up special blessed moments is giving THANKS to God for them! Psalm 116:17 says:
To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving, And call upon the name of the LORD.Psalm 116:17
So sometimes, yes, it is a SACRIFICE of Thanksgiving, because we can all too often be consumer-oriented - just looking to get something more instead of giving thanks for what we already have. So it might be a little bit of a sacrifice to take time to remember your blessings and then to actually give thanks for them, whether they be big or small. But when you do it, I think you will find that you will appreciate those blessings ANEW as you remember them again and give thanks for them, and this will in turn make you feel more happy and blessed! And sometimes, it IS just the little things that add sweetness to your days - a creamy sweet cup of coffee in the morning, or a piece of apple pie after dinner.
So I ask you, what else can you treasure up in your heart and give thanks to God for to enrich your life and enhance your feeling of blessedness? It will be different for each person, but do consider what blessings you can consciously remember and treasure.
And maybe the greatest thing you can remember to treasure is that the creator God loves you! His presence I believe caused you to be formed in your mother's womb, and caused you to be created! That does not just happen automatically. And so here you are today, a creation of God, made in His image, and loved by Him.
Now what other things can we treasure in this life - in these passing days? Maybe it's the cheerful servant heart of the lady or man who serves you lunch, or a long phone call from a loved one. Maybe it's the rays of the sunrise coming in your window, or a beautiful blue sky, if you get outside sometimes.
Or maybe you're thankful for a hobby you have! Do any of you like doing crossword puzzles, or maybe doing artwork?
For sure, if the Lord does not return in our lifetimes (when the saints are transformed into bodies that do not die), we will have to leave this world behind one day via death - hopefully quick and painless.
Yet the Bible promises a resurrection to life again, and eternal life of the soul as I read it, where though our bodies die, our true person - spirit lives on with God, to await the bodily resurrection into a new glorious heavens and earth!
And we should of course treasure this hope above all else in our hearts and give thanks for it daily, having hope for a future of bliss with no death or pain.
Yet, to conclude, one does need to be aware that not all humanity will taste of this eternal bliss. You see God is a just judge, and can only dwell with completely righteous people for eternity. So we have to submit ourselves to Him in repentance, and let Him make us righteous indeed, from the inside out - cleansing us, giving us a new heart and causing us to walk out righteousness as well. And it's all because of Jesus' sacrifice - paying for our sin, that we can be considered innocent and clean.
Do you desire that righteous eternal life, in relationship with your heavenly Father? You can always draw near to God in prayer, saying you are sorry for any sin, and that you want to be His son or daughter because of the sacrificial death of His only-begotten son, Jesus. I encourage you to draw near to God in this way if you have never done so before, and always stay close to Him via prayer and thanksgiving, always treasuring Him in your heart and treasuring all the blessings He gives. Amen, so be it.
Prayer requests, comments, questions?
Prayer
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