Daily Reading: 24 November

(from www.christianaid.org.uk)

Do our hearts seek the right treasure?

Something to read

The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord, keeping his commandments, his decrees, and his statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book.

- 2 Kings 23:3 from full reading 2 Kings 23:1-14.

Something to think about

Jesus taught the need to pay attention to where our treasure is stored. This did not mean that we should be constantly watching bank interest rates or the movement of the stock exchange. It can be very costly when people realise that the things they have treasured need to be thrown away.

In Acts there is an account of Paul’s preaching in Ephesus that measures the financial cost of throwing away the wrong sort of treasure: ‘A number of those who practiced magic collected their books and burned them publicly; when the value of these books was calculated, it was found to come to fifty thousand silver coins.’ (Act 19:19)

Josiah cleanses the Temple by destroying the valuable vessels that had been used in idol worship. People had paid for these costly items. They had treasured them. All this had been at the cost of obeying the basic instructions God had given them: ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord alone.’ (Deuteronomy 6:4)

Reminded of such things, we too should check whether our hearts seek after the right treasure.

Something to do

Use our climate justice campaign resources to help reflect on where we put our treasure.

Something to pray

Merciful God, purify my heart as I follow you. Work your good purposes in our lives.

Today’s reading has been provided by Jim Stewart. At the time of writing Jim had led a church in Tunbridge Wells over the last 21 years. Together with his wife they have been pleased to serve with people with a heart for evangelism, social action and worldwide mission.