December 17

You can’t take it with you, but you can send it ahead of you!

What??

When we go to Heaven, we can’t take our earthly possessions with us, none of them! BUT…there are many scriptures that mention storing up treasures/rewards in Heaven now, that we will reap later. 

Did that catch you by surprise? Have you simply thought that dying and going to Heaven is the end of it (or the beginning, depending on how you look at it)?

Let’s look at some verses:

John 14:1-3 ““Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”

Matthew 6:1 ““Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.” (Note: There are actually 5 different verses in Matthew Chapter 6 alone that talk about the Father rewarding us for things.)

Matthew 6:19-20 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

Luke 6:23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.”

1 Timothy 6:18-29 “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

It’s not like we have to make a checklist or “to-do” list to earn rewards for Heaven, it is just a matter of being obedient. When we choose to walk the way Jesus asks us to, our Father rewards us for that.

So it is not the goal to focus on the reward. Focus on Jesus, but know that the Father sees you. Even when it seems like nobody else notices or knows, He does; and actually according to Matthew Chapter 6, it’s better if nobody else does see you when you obey.

Read Matthew 6, John 14 and John 15, and let the words of Jesus get down in your being and make you more like Him. If you do this, He will make sure you will have luggage arriving before you do!