Day 282: This Temporary World

1 Timothy 6:6-8

Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.  After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content

1 Timothy 6:17-19

Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.  Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.  By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.

It is a beautiful revelation to understand that this physical world is fleeting and temporary, and putting our trust in it is useless. It’s great to come to the understanding that we brought nothing into this world so we can take nothing with us. Sometimes I just have to sit and remind myself that although there are many things I want out of this life, I will only put my faith and trust in God. I sit back and look at all the things I have from the clothes in my closet to the money in my bank, and I realize that one day i will be gone and the money I made will stay here, the clothes, the iphones, everything will stay and my soul will depart to be with the Lord. So I’ve learned to invest more into my soul. I’ve learned to be content with what I have and live with God. Now I am not saying that it is a sin to want to make money, or like to look good, what I’m saying is, do not be defined by what is in your bank account, or what type of clothes you wear. I say this because we are living in a generation that is consumed by image, money, and status. Everywhere I look someone is talking about how their only goal is to get up and get money. There is so much more to life than just making money. We can make all the money in the world, but at the end of the day if our soul is not saved how do we sleep in peace? If our soul is not saved does any of it matter?

Mark 8:35-37

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.  And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

We’ve all heard the saying that money doesn’t buy happiness, and I believe it can. But it cannot buy joy, that only comes from God. It cannot buy salvation, the clothes will make us look good but it will not keep us content. These are only things that we can find in Christ.

I grew up very spoiled, I had everything I wanted. I had over a hundred pairs of shoes in my closet, my drawers and closet was bursting with clothes. I grew up rarely hearing the word “no” when it came to getting what I wanted. Although my mother taught us to never find our identity in what we have and always be generous to others. We were made to get together toys and clothes we no longer used and give them to kids less fortunate than us. However I still developed the arrogance that came from all the things I had, I found my identity in what I had. The latest Jordans, or the most expensive bags. That was until I lost it all and realized that my identity is in Christ alone. Even without the riches and the clothes and things, I still had Christ. I had to come to the complete understanding that this world is fleeting, everything is temporary and when it’s all gone, who am I?

-Dyamond

All this to say what will it profit us to everything if we do not have Christ? We cannot walk through life very long trying to fulfill ourselves off of worldly possession and tangible things. Now I’m not saying that we are to walk around denying ourselves the joys of the world. What I’m saying is, do not be defined or identified by the joys of this world but let your identity be in Christ.

Reflection/Prayer Time

1. If you lost everything, who are you?
2. Where is your identity found?
3. Really think about these questions and search yourself before answering them. Do not be afraid or shy away from whatever you find but rather turn to God in prayer. Allow these questions to guide your prayer.

I love you and I hope you have a magnificent day! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 283!

Day 269: All Loss for One Gain

Philippians 3:7-8

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Paul was on to something in these scriptures, he saying something along the lines of, ‘nothing compares to having Christ in my life’. Everything I had, everything I have gained, I would count it all lost just to have Christ in my life. I would lose it all, if it meant I would gain you. I would rather lose everything before I lose you. This almost seems like our response to God leaving the ninety-nine to find the one that wandered away. Christ gave up everything, His throne, His life, so that we may live. This concludes that life is so much greater than what we gain or lose here on earth. There is a greater purpose, a mystery to it all. That mystery is Christ. How great it is to gain everything through Christ, even when we’ve lost everything in the world.

How many of us can say that we are willing to lose everything for the sake of Christ? If we had too or if we were given the choice. I’m not telling you to go and give up everything you have, what I’m saying is that if we had to, if we lost everything it will have been worth it, just to gain Christ. Just so we can have a relationship with Him, and experience the love and freedom He has given us. I believe that this is what Paul was saying. He’s saying none of it matters if I don’t have Christ. I will rip up my credentials, and give up all my earthly possessions because truly if I do not have Christ, what do I have? I have nothing.

I remember when my sister and I were sixteen, it seemed like our world came crashing down. My mom, my sister, my brother, and I fell on very hard times. We lost everything. From our house to our car. We put everything we owned into storage and then we lost that. Everything we owned, thousands of dollars worth of stuff, heirlooms, everything! All we had were the bags of clothes we needed and the clothes on our backs. We were living in a motel at the time. As someone who grew up very sheltered and spoiled, I found myself at the lowest point of my life. I thought we couldn’t get any worse. But it was in these moments that Christ found me. I would love to say, I found Him but I wasn’t looking for Him, if I’m being honest. It was when I had nothing that Christ gave me everything and I don’t mean materialistic stuff. I mean He showed me that there was a reason to live beyond what was tangible. He showed me that I had a greater purpose, He gave me life when I was dying. Everything I could need or ask for He gave it to me. I found it all in Him, all the answers I needed, all the healing, all the grace, everything was and is in Him. Going through all of this sucked, it was very hard, but if Christ didn’t find me, if He didn’t meet me where I was I would not have made it through. Going through much more than just losing everything I was dealing with some dark emotional, and mental issues at the time, and battled with suicide. Even went as far as planning my suicide, multiple times, but He never allowed me to carry out the plan. If He hadn’t found me, where would I be? I would have died at my own hands. So yes, I lost everything but it was all worth it just to gain Christ. I would not go back and change anything because through it all I receive my salvation and an eternal relationship with my heavenly Father. I might have lost everything, but in reality I truly gained everything.

-Dyamond

All this to say, sometimes we have to lose everything to gain Christ. Maybe not on that grand of a scale but we must come to realization that all of this can vanish at any moment. We must not put our faith in what is disposable. This doesn’t mean that we dismiss everything that is tangible, or things that are disposable, but our faith, our lives, our devotion belongs to Christ. When we put Him first, everything else will fall into place. The biggest lesson I learned from that experience is, I can live without these worldly possessions, tangible, and even sometimes intangible things that make up my life here on Earth, but I cannot live without Christ. I cannot do it.  At the end of the day, none of this can save us, whatever ‘this’ is. It cannot save us and it cannot give us peace or life. We have to get to a point where we hold tightly to God, so that when other things fall away we will still be standing because of our firm grasp on God. We will not be shaken or moved. Even when we have everything we ever wanted we will still have a solid foundation in Christ. Because like I said before if we are not living in Christ, are we really living?

Response/ Prayer Time

How do you respond to what we discussed today? Are you truly living? Maybe you’ve had a similar experience, maybe not, but respond however you feel led today and let that guide your prayer. Have a conversation with God, just you and Him.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 270!