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Gods Work Ministry Inspirational and Encouragement E-Mail Dear Friend, It is important in life that we recognize what defines us. If an acquaintance of yours was asked the question What do you think of first when you think of this person? What would be their answer? Would they say that you were a devoted Christian who loved God with all your heart and cared for your neighbor as you do for yourself? Or would they say that making money and personal gain was your main objective in life and nothing else really mattered? The reason behind this question is because the Lord Jesus makes a powerful statement concerning the two God and money as we read in Matthew 6:24, No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. (Matthew 16:24-27) (Galatians 5:13-26) We must make up our minds and understand that God needs to be in the center of our lives giving preference to Him above anything else that comes before us. When we seek God first and ask for His will to be done in our lives, the Bible says everything else will be added unto us. Keeping God first not only is pleasing to the Lord, but promises to bring the Joys of life without us having to search for it. (Matthew 6:33-34) (Psalm 34:8-10) I hope today message ministers to your heart to seek God above all else because to be rich in Christ far outweighs any riches this world has to offer. LOST SOULS AND SUITCASES Many years ago in Lebanon I was introduced to a family that was still reeling from the shock of recovered wealth when all seemed hopeless. The way it had come about brought tears and laughter as I heard the story. Allow me to share it with you. Sami, a dear friend of mine, played the hero's role in this story. One day he and his wife were driving along a highway on the outskirts of Beirut when he suddenly saw a large suitcase lying on the side of the road. Most people in that part of the world would not only have driven past it, they would probably have picked up speed, almost certain that it was booby- trapped. But not Sami. One of Sami's great characteristics was fearlessness. G.K. Chesterton has defined it as getting away from death by continually coming within an inch of it. That is a perfect description of Sami. Much against his wife's pleas and to her utter anguish, he stopped the car and picked up the suitcase. When they got home and he opened it, he found every square inch crammed with money. It was certainly not the kind of experience that would cause one to moan in despair, Why me, Lord Some might have found it unfortunate, but fortunately for Sami there was also an address and telephone number inside, and after repeated attempts at phoning, someone finally answered. Sami asked for the person by name, and when, in a doleful voice, the man identified himself, Sami asked him, Sir, have you lost something? Taken aback, the man paused and then said, �?oHave you found it? The rest of the story was basically that of a frenzied effort on the part of the man to make arrangements to retrieve his suitcase, which he had lost en route to the boat he was to catch as he was attempting to leave the country. I was in Sami's home when the owner of the suitcase brought his family to meet, in flesh and blood, a man with a soul in a disintegrating society. You see, Beirut was once called the pearl of the Middle East. Yet in the tangled web of ideological struggle, it is a city where piles of rubble have replaced majestic buildings and ancient artifices. In this war-torn suburb a family was dumbfounded to see a life that had not been destroyed by the evil around it. As they sat in Sami's living room, Sami said gently, You think you have recovered your treasure. Let me tell you how passing a treasure this is. With the fragile state of our country, this could become completely worthless overnight. Sami continued, Let me give you the greatest and most enduring treasure you can ever have. Sami handed them his Bible. I will never forget the moment as they held it in their hands. As one who sought eternal things amid the ruins of human evil, Sami gave his greatest treasure-indeed, the definitive reality of life's purpose, from God's mind to ours. The Bible mirrors the soul as it was intended to be. It reveals the sacredness of our words to each other, engendering trust. It holds to the sanctity of our marital vows, enriching the splendor of love. It preserves the essential dignity of every human being, elevating the beauty of relationships. It bequeaths to us the sacredness of time, enjoining the sanctity of both work and rest. It commands us to respect the property of others, breaking the stranglehold of fear. It guards our essential purpose, energizing us by the coalescence of worship. It is the mind of God. For this we were made: that we might know the mind of God and let that mind dwell in us. Aware of this, Sami gave to the man the greatest and most enduring treasure that he had. May I ask you: What is your greatest treasure today, friend? Is it riches, which are so uncertain? Are you valuing above all else God's thoughts and intentions? Or do your own thoughts, or those of our culture, hold the highest place in your life? Sami's treasure was indeed the greatest and most enduring. May it be yours, as well. By Ravi Zacharias Read and meditate on these scriptures: Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus declares Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. Matthew 22:35-40 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked Him a question, tempting Him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible. Today Selected Poem: MY BLESSED FELLOWSHIP Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/enpoem101.htm Today Selected Testimony: FATHER KNOWS BEST Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony109.htm In Christ Service, Dwayne Savaya Gods Work Ministry Please feel free to visit the Website to read more Encouraging and Inspirational stories, poems and testimonies. Our E-mail Archives are available as well to read the messages that have been sent in the past. You can also send Free E-cards to friends and loved ones with the many choices available. You are also welcome to post your prayer requests in our Prayer Forum. 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