Proverbs 1:13 “we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder”
When I asked Wendy to marry me and she said yes it was the happiest moment of my life. We quickly started to consider when we could get married and then of course all the arrangements that would have to be made. One of the things we had to consider was our wedding rings. At the time I was regularly travelling to Honduras in Central America on short term mission trips and my heart was very connected there. I was actually going to go on a trip just before we got married, so I asked a good friend there (Joche) to get me a bit of Honduran gold, and he went up into the mountains came back with a beautiful nugget.
When I got back to Scotland I bought some Scottish gold and we mixed the two golds together, and had a local jeweller make two beautiful solid gold wedding rings. A few years later on a mission trip in India with Wendy my wedding ring was stolen. I was gutted. I still remember standing in the street, feeling sick, so upset and teary. As I stood there I sensed Holy Spirit encourage me that the wedding was the value not the ring, and as I sat on the pavement and God adjusted my thinking, I prayed for the person who had stolen the wedding ring, and prayed that maybe it would provide finance for a life saving operation, and as I prayed I let the ring go. To be honest, I don’t think I have ever owned anything that was so precious to me as that wedding ring. I think I was learning in those moments, that there is a sense in which we need to maintain a light touch on the things we have, so that they do not have us.
KNOWLDEGE
The continuing lure of the enemy is a promise of satisfaction, of fulfilment and riches. If we will just go in the direction he wants us to go in, all this can be ours so easily, we can just take it. I can hear the whisper of satan here from Matt 4:8-10 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’[e]”
There is an ongoing pressure to take the easy option, with its promise of pleasure, rest, position and riches. There is pleasure there to be taken, but at the cost of our conscience and eventually, as we harden our hearts, our soul.
To chat to me as a professional coach/mentor – [email protected]
UNDERSTANDING: Let’s pick one word from this verse to look closer at and see if that can help us gain a deeper insight into how God would love us to live? In Hebrew the word used for “fill” is pronounced as “male”, and is used 252 times in the Old Testament. The English translations are, fill; filled; completed; required; fulfil; ordain; set; handful; wholly; overflowing; consecrated; satisfy, days are numbered; and, consecrate. So we pick up on the idea that the enemy won’t stop, won’t let up, until you have lost everything, possessions, dignity, self-worth, position, health, and family – the enemy of your soul will strip it all from you. The vaccine, is Godly wisdom.
WISDOM: where do I find my greatest pleasures in life?
STRENGTHS THOUGHT: Achiever is a beautiful Executing Strength – you have such drive, and such depth of will, you are so often the seen and unseen pace-setter. If you say you will, then you will. You have such an ability to component-ise (yes I know that’s not a real word) the bigger tasks, helping others find their place along the way. You love the moments when you get to go “up a gear” in the hardest times. Do take care to take others with you on the journey showing compassion, and remember for those with great thinking strengths – thinking is working – and they can seriously add value to your efforts.
P.S. Be careful not to be a “gun-jumper” heading off too quickly for the success of the team.
Allan’s Unauthorised Version: [let’s go hard after the forbidden fruits of life in as selfish a way as possible, and consume ourselves on these as much as is humanly possible]
PRAYER: Father, thank you for today. Help me please to hold on tightly to you and your ways and to have a very light grip on everything else. Thank you.
Thank you. Working with people at different ages and stages of life means we have to be compassionate, patient and gently lead them in a loving way. They also have gold to bring to the team to. Listening to their thoughts adds value to our lives and brings out the best in them too and more Joyful and productive energy is released. Amen!
What do I really value? Am I mining in the right place? My father was a gold miner and it was hard work but so rewarding when he would finish a very long smelt to end up with a nugget he could sell. Time to re evaluate my habits and align my focus and time on mining for gold.
Good morning, what a beautiful wedding photo! What you share here everyday, words of wisdom, insights, are most definitely nuggets that have eternal weight to those who read, a great loot to be shared.
It is a great honour for me to be here, and be encouraged by you. Thank you, again, Ps Allan.
“ maintain a light touch on the things we have, so that they do not have us.” This is a very powerful thought.
“ those with great thinking strengths – thinking is working – and they can seriously add value to your efforts. ” This really spoke to me. As I’m growing and learning I’m Realizing that everybody’s gifts and what they bring to the table are of value. Having an understanding early on that thinking is Working and strength for some would bring about far greater outcomes. Thank you Pastor Allan
Such a great thought – especially the achiever gift it’s in my top 5
Where do I find my greatest pleasures in life? great question. I often sometimes look at the natural not realising that we need to walk by faith and not by sight. Love that as christians, we need to look beyond pleasures and look beyond the things that sometimes the enemy dangle’s in front of our eyes that seems right but not knowing it will lead us away from what God really wants us to prioritise. May I always be reminded of what needs to be the centre of my life and my decisions….JESUS. Thank you again for this encouragement Allan.
Hi Allan,
Thank you so much sharing your wisdom every morning and reminding us of what is important in life.
Santi
What is our treasure held in? Is our worth found in material and surface level things or are we fixed on something far deeper; unchanging and unwavering?
Love it!
Ditto to all of the above. I fully appreciate you Pastor Allan and the riches you bestow into our lives. Many so called riches of this world draw us away from the most valuable gifts bestowed upon us by our Father in heaven. I guess that’s why we have to focus on heavenly gifts because no one can steal them away from us. Love the beautiful wedding photo. Blessings and love.
Maintaining a light touch on the things I love is challenging,
I love your personal testimony Allan. It is so true that sometimes we place too much value in ‘things’ and ‘possessions’ of this world which God warns us against in Matthew 6:19-21.
God is the one who ultimately provides and blesses us with what we have. So if He takes something away it is for our good and not harm. For joy comes from the Spirit and not from any success or material object of this world.
I’m reminded of Jesus words in Matthew 6:21, where your treasure is your heart is also. It is very important that we hold a soft grasp on our possessions as they should be serving us and not us them.
Beautifully said “Maintain a light touch on the things we have, so that they do not have us “ yeah 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
I loved your story , I teared up because I understood the value you put on that ring but I love more that the Holy Spirit whispered the truth 🙌
My greatest pleasures are sharing with someone about Jesus honestly I love going on the journey with people to work out their faith. Seeing miracles and testimonies of those discovering the love of our creator . Interceding in prayer for people to be set free, healed, whole, answered prayer brings me so much pleasure to my life Amen
Learning something new about the lord
Being in God’s presence
Thank you for sharing
What a great story! How you are able to come to terms with loosing something so significant and bless the person who inflicted such a grief is great message.
Loved these sayings ‘need to maintain a light touch on the things we have, so that they do not have us’. While we fill our houses with the spoils/loot we have to be mindful of the ease at which they can own us and control how we respond to others in need if we are not careful.
‘Careful of opting to take the easy option with promises of pleasure, rest, riches etc’ always being mindful not to get sidetracked.
It is also important of consider the best energy map of effectiveness.
I am most effective mid-morning,
Thanks again.
An absolutely beautiful wedding photo.
What a truly heart warming story you shared about your rings, thank you pastor Allan .
Before I came to know Jesus as my saviour I looked for things of value in the wrong places,which I dident find.
In my life at present I find pleasure in my relationships
with God my family and friends.
I feel very blessed to have mentors to have guided me to find what I’ve been searching for all along .
I thank God for his unfailing love and presence in my life ,and for continuing to guide me to find the truth
Such a beautiful wedding photo Pastor Allan & a great reminder of what really matters when it all comes down to whether we own something or whether it owns us! Often material gain can distract us from the things of God & fill in the void only reserved for Him. The world’s concept is the exact opposite to God’s where many people follow after ill gotten gain. We are warned against storing up treasure that will rot & rust. God is not against us having wealth but rather how we use it is much more important because it reveals our heart motives . Big picture it all belongs to Him for the purposes of financing His kingdom & helping the poor to outwork His love & generosity apart from looking after our own needs. God calls us to be good stewards of what is entrusted to us & this is where we need Holy Spirit wisdom.
In a world do full of consumerism it is so easy to hold on to the things we have but that are of no eternal value! They become our spirit level in life as to how well we are doing and succeeding. In this time of isolation when so many shops have been closed it has been refreshing for me not to be drawn into constantly looking at shops or shopping. It has shown me how little I actually need to go shopping!! Really refreshing to the soul and the wallet!! But the more simplistic lifestyle has thrown a new light on what really is important in life to me. Less things to distract me and I have taken the time I really need to listen to what God is saying to me and I have a new appreciation for His love…. thanks for your insight Allan and the prompts to make me think. Shame your wedding ring got stolen though😩
Materialism
Is something that a lot of people chase
When it comes down to brass tacks the only things of great importance
Are to love and be loved , health and faith in our lord whom with him everything is possible
As hard as it must have been for you to “release “ that ring it must have felt like a burden lifted once you had .
There are many evils trying to attract our gaze but fixing our eyes on god and asking for his guidance repels these
My greatest pleasure is not measured by what’s been achieved but have I done the best I could do …if not why not analyse learn and put to practice
“There is an ongoing pressure to take the easy option, with its promise of pleasure, rest, position and riches. There is pleasure there to be taken, but at the cost of our conscience and eventually, as we harden our hearts, our soul.” This is a wise warning. So often we don’t think of what the long term ramifications are… Appreciate it.. love the prayer.
Wow so much to say about this
Coming from a different country culture leaving everything behind the finding a new life working hard for success and then loosing it all again due to recession
God open my Eyes to what He had done for me where I was born where I cane the value and identity He gave me and not the success or posesiones but his gifts the wonderful wife he set aside for me the most wonderful children the in measurable value in their life and love the faith and hope the immense revelation of who Jesus is his sacrifice and Love. Nothing can compare to His amazing life and power and that He came to bring us all that and more. Just so humble and grateful for knowing we are children of God and that He knows what we need always.
Thank you Jesus
Thank you Pastor Allan for your daily encouraging wisdom. That in its self is riches to us all.
Thank you Alan for sharing your wisdom and personal experience daily. I too learn not to treasure material things recently. We are in the process of selling our big 5 bedroom house; and we gave away some furniture which were with us since we got married 25y ago. I was initially feeling sad and sentimental about losing them but soon found it liberating that we could bless others who took them.
Thanks for sharing this Amy – it’s real!
Thanks Allan for your powerful and compelling telling on your initial very human distress of losing your wedding ring and how you then handed over that situation to the Lord. It resonated with the daily verse I’d just read from my You Version Bible app 1 Chronicles 29:11 where King David and the tribal elders of Israel have given from their great wealth (gold, silver, precious stones, etc.) to God’s temple and David praises God declaring that all that is on heaven and earth is His. Which is exactly the point to bear in mind when we get consumed and anxious about our finances and material possessions, it all belongs to Him anyway and we don’t own anything than that which He’s given us. So we should trust Him and pray for wisdom on how we can use what we have for His purpose. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
So good Justin!!!
Allan – wise words indeed. Thank you for sharing your own personal story which was deeply touching. As the Bible says “ sin is crouching at the door “ ready to trap us ….and as Christians we are targeted the most.
Let us all holdfast to the truth relying always on the Holy Spirit to be our guide and helper when we sense the enticement or attack.
Keep our eyes on our Saviour – He will never forsake us.
I used to be obsessed with things that I purchased and if there is something I couldn’t get it made me frustrated. Now I realised that could be translated into spiritual terms, if I don’t have perfect spiritual discipline, or spiritual gifts, if there is silence from God that could determine who I am. I am learning how to detach the value God has on me with how I think he would value me.
Beautiful insight Rachel
Amazing story Allan. Thanks for sharing. Storing up treasures in heaven where moths and rust do not destroy and thieves do not break in and steal.