1st Timothy 6:7, "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out."
There's been much news lately concerning the falling Stock
Market. In fact, analysts are saying that the stock market
hasn't been this low in over a decade! No doubt, millions of
investors are losing billions of dollars. Things are once
again looking grim on Wall Street...
Associated Press March 5, 2009 NEW YORK - Investors fled Wall Street as fear grew about the stability of the nation’s largest banks and worries mounted about General Motors Corp.
The major market indicators resumed their slide Thursday after a one-day rally, falling to levels not seen in more than a decade as investors contended with more disheartening economic data, new concerns about the stability of GM and ongoing uncertainty about the financial system. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 280 points, and the big indexes were all down more than 4 percent.
SOURCE: Stocks tumble, Dow ends day down 280-plus - Stocks & economy
Thankfully, as Christian believers, there is a far greater investment that we can make with our time and money. In Matthew 6:19,20 Jesus taught, “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.” Amen! Jesus guarantees that any investment we make for Jesus is safe and secure in Heaven.
So many people strive to gain earthly riches, which are only temporal; but the Bible tells us that we ought to lay up for ourselves “treasures in Heaven.” What a wonderful promise from God! 1st Timothy 6:7 reminds us that we cannot take anything with us beyond the grave, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” No doubt many people have been financially devastated by the recent drop in the Stock Market, but praise be to God!, our treasures in Heaven are sound and secure in Christ. There are no “down days” in God's economy. One's treasures in Heaven are never at risk of a gift-tax, inflation, the IRS, liens, et cetera. No one can take from us what God has provided to us in Heaven.
Our labors for the Lord are never in vain. 1st Corinthians 15:58, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." No good work will go unnoticed or unrewarded. Of course, this only applies to the born-again believer. The unsaved have no right to claim God's provision nor blessing. Isaiah 64:6 plainly states that even the good works of the unsaved are filth to God. Isaiah 64:6, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."
All the money in the world is useless if a person dies and goes to Hell forever. In Mark 8:36 Jesus said, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Warren Buffett is one of the richest men alive and is a professed atheist. I'd rather live in a cardboard box in an alley than be in Warren Buffett's shoes. The reality of Hell is frightening. Jesus said that it would be easier to thread a camel through a needle than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God. Matthew 19:24, "And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." Woe unto the wealthy! They are comfortable in their earthly riches, but death and judgment are coming.
If you want to invest your money in the safest investment, then use it to further the preaching of the Gospel. And don't forget that time is money! Your time is just as valuable to God as is your money. There is no greater activity in the world than soul winning, i.e., sharing the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ with lost sinners. Oh, how sad it is that so many people today are consumed with making money! The Bible condemns the sin of covetousness in 1st Timothy 6:9,10, "But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."
You've probably heard that government bonds are the safest investment. Ha! There are no safe investments anymore! As long as you have money, you are at risk of losing it. Just in 2007, 1,200,000 people lost their homes in the United States. Over 2,000,000 Americans lost their jobs in 2008!!! All across America people are losing their life-savings due to hefty legal expenses, medical problems, gift and penalty taxes, et cetera. The biggest thieves in this world wear white collars and sit behind a desk.
If you are a born-again believer, then don't waste your time trying to get rich in this sin-cursed world, lay up for your self treasures in Heaven, where they are safe from thieves and unforeseen expenses that often wipe out one's life-savings. Let the heathen live for money. Let us focus on soul winning. God wants us as believers to preach the Gospel and teach new converts to be soul-winners. We may not be able to take earthly riches with us to Heaven, but we can take people, i.e., souls saved and lives changed for Jesus Christ.
If you're not a born-again believer, then now is the time for salvation. The poorest saint in Heaven is far better off than the richest unsaved man in the Lake of Fire. If you want the safest investment, then get saved and lay up for your self treasures in Heaven my friend.
