“All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.”

Acts 4:32 (NIV)

The sight of a large truck being loaded with household items will elicit the following prayer from me, “Lord, thank You that this truck is not parked at my house.” Our family has moved many times because of my husband’s military career. After each move, there is a tremendous push to put things away. Inevitably, I run out of energy and cannot face another decision on where something should go. Therefore, piles of items remain in various rooms to trip over or maneuver around as we settle into a new place.

One such pile was in the middle of my bedroom floor. It contained seventeen pairs of my husband’s shoes, boots, and sandals. I did not want to put his shoes away, but he could not put his shoes away since he was deployed to Iraq with an additional four pair of boots and one pair of running shoes

His shoes were a constant reminder of his absence and how desperately I wanted him to return safely so I could berate him in person about his extravagant number of shoes. I was unwilling to face the pile of shoes, because I could not face him being so far, far away. When I told my youngest son that Daddy was far, far away, he replied, “Zeke go far, far away!” I wished we could, but we could not.

My husband collects both shoes and coffee cups. My parents’ neighbor collected so much more. He moved out of his house after living there for 30 years, and his children discovered he owned thirty-two coats and three anvils. The children were unsuccessful in their attempt to convince their father that he did not need three anvils.

Watching the excess of unused items being removed from her neighbor’s house, Mom was inspired to clean out her basement and give away all the strange gifts she had received from me. I told her to donate it all, except for the saber. You never know when you might need a saber…probably as often as you need an anvil.

Mom planned to donate the gifts to the thrift store where she volunteers. All the money earned at the thrift store is used to send Bibles to countries around the world. Yet, donating these items was difficult for her, for she felt as if she was “giving away a small part of someone she loved.”

We all keep piles in our life that we are unwilling to face. The piles may be in our basements, in our cabinets, in our attics, or in our hearts. We must ask ourselves if we are holding onto these things for a useful purpose. Do these items inspire us to pray or give thanks? Do we truly need them to reinforce our memories and hopes? Can we give away something we value for someone we value more – our Savior Jesus Christ?

The Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12: 15-21) describes the imbalance of storing up for the future while not being rich toward God. When we trust God to provide for us in the future, we do not need to hold so tightly to what we have and are therefore freed to meet the needs of others in the present.

Dear Lord, You have provided for me abundantly and I have so many blessings in my life. Help me to understand the value of my possessions and awaken in me the awareness of other’s needs. Grant me the energy and the perseverance I need to transform my blessings into blessings for others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Application Steps:

Evaluate your belongings and locate items to give away or sell. Find someone in need and bless them. Sell items online or at a yard sale and donate the money to a ministry you feel prompted by God to support. Donate items to a thrift store in your area that supports the Lord’s work.

Reflections:

Do you need all of your possessions?

Does someone near you need assistance?

Can a church today have “no needy person among them”?

Power Verses:

Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV) “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.”

Acts 4:34-35 (NIV) “There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.”

“I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Mark 10:15 (NIV)

I watched my five-year old son squirm as the doctor listened to his heart. He tried to sit still, but today was his Kindergarten physical, and the stethoscope was cold. I distractedly listened to the doctor, but in the back of my mind I was rehearsing the “why we need vaccinations” speech I would soon be giving to my son. “Your son has a heart murmur,” the doctor said.  These words finally broke through my thoughts. I had heard these same words many years before concerning my eldest son, now a teenager.  At the time, those words had generated panic and fear, but now I received them calmly.

Years ago, after finding a heart murmur in my eldest son, a pediatric cardiologist performed tests on him and declared his murmur innocent. Today, I recalled this experience and replied, “Will my son be tested?” The doctor responded yes and made arrangements for the follow up appointments. After she left the room, I began to explain to my five-year old son that a new doctor would take pictures of his heart. I said, “The doctors and nurses will look at the pictures to check your heart.” He paused and thought on this for a moment and then replied, “Will they see God?”

At first, I didn’t understand what he was asking me.  The question took me completely by surprise. I wondered briefly if he had developed a mature theological understanding of finding the evidence of God in those things God has created. In confusion, I replied, “No, when the doctors and nurses look at the pictures, they will just see the outside, top and bottom of your heart. They won’t see God.” “Yeah,” he responded, “I think He is in the middle.”

The full import of what he said struck me profoundly. He had asked God into his heart, and since he asked God, he fully believed God would be there. My husband and I told him this truth; the Pastor told him this truth; his Sunday School and Preschool teachers told him this truth. So, to his five-year old mind, the doctors and nurses should be able to see God because God is in his heart.

He had received the kingdom of God like a little child, in faith. There is no other way to receive it.  We cannot earn our way into it. We cannot study our way into it. We cannot pray our way into it. There is no other way. We must have faith to believe God sent His Son to die on a cross for our sins and God’s Son, Jesus Christ, rose three days later. We need only to repent, accept Him as Savior, and ask Him to enter our life.

Dear Lord, help me to understand that I cannot earn my salvation. You have given me a free gift. Forgive my sins and create a clean heart in me. Grant me child-like faith to believe You have entered my life and You will never leave me. Live through me so others will see You in me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Application Steps:

Imagine a picture of your own heart and look to see if God is in it. If He is not, ask Him in. If you have asked Him into your heart, consider what evidence others would see of God there. Check this evidence against the attributes of the Fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control).

Reflections:

Have you received the kingdom of God like a little child?

Are you trying to earn your salvation?

Do you believe God is in your heart and He will never leave you?

Power Verses:

Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith – and this is not from yourselves it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (NIV)

Romans 5 1-2, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” (NIV)