Summer is a great time to reflect on how we’ve been living this past year and how we can grow deeper in our walk with the Lord. Here is a devotion that looks at how we steward the blessings God has given us:

IN WORD – Jesus told His followers to store up their treasures in heaven, not on earth. Clearly He meant that the material goods of this age are temporary and not ultimately satisfying. Money and possessions get stolen, wear out, or are simply used up.
But His statement raises questions for us: What exactly does it mean to store up treasures in heaven? How can we do that? What kind of treasures is He talking about? Any answers we come up with will inevitably direct us back to earth. Why? Because that’s where we live. Right here, in this physical world, in this present age.
We store up treasures in heaven by what we do on earth—how we give, sacrifice, pray, treat other people, and invest ourselves in the Kingdom. Our treasures in heaven depend on our relationship with God, our relationships with people, and our activities in the here and now. They aren’t the same activities as a person solely in pursuit of wealth or status might have, but they are still here-and-now activities. We live life in this realm with an eye on another. But we can’t escape the fact that the two realms intermingle.
IN DEED – Jesus is certainly not telling us to invest our hearts so far away from here and now that we have no impact in this world. He isn’t telling us to shake the dust from our feet and wait for our escape. No, He is telling us to invest our hearts in the interests of heaven, both in the here and now and the there and then. We are agents of heaven in this world, not agents of this world waiting for heaven. Before we ever “go up,” we are to bring heaven down—in us and through us for the sake of a captive world. If this is what we treasure—if we truly long to see the Kingdom come in every corner of the universe, including ours—our hearts will continually point us to opportunities to represent the King. And we will store up treasures that last forever. “Lives based on having are less free than lives based either on doing or on being.” – William James (in “Heaven on Earth” by Chris Tiegreen)

Many pastors have used this exercise to help people reflect on their stewardship of what God has given them. All you need to do is to open up your banking app and go through your charges thus far this year. How much was titheding? How much was on entertainment or dining out? How much was toward missions or responding to disasters?
Take time to read through the Sermon on the Mount again this week (Matthew 5-7), paying close attention to Matthew 6. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you be more aligned to investing in heaven than on earth. Have a blessed week! – from Singapore, Pastor Sam