He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

            "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. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 

Matthew 6:19-21
WHERE IS YOUR HOUSE?

This scripture is best illustrated by the testimony of a nameless (for security) Arab Christian woman...

My grandfather was born in one village, grew up, got married and died in the same village. I was born in one city, and by the age of ten, I already had lived in three different countries and moved five times because my parents were looking for better job opportunities. After marriage, and by the age of thirty-five, I had already moved fifteen times mainly because of three different war situations in my home country! 

Is there some kind of prize for people moving so often? Some of the changes were done willingly but for most of them, I had no choice! I lived in stone houses, brick houses and even in a prefabricated one (with thin walls like cardboard) and that was at a time when Beirut was being bombarded! I have to admit that I had fears not because of the bombardment but because of not being able to find a place we could afford to pay rent!

One day, I was so worried that I couldn't sleep; so, I sat down to figure out how I would overcome this fear. I thought to myself, "What is the worst thing that can happen to me? If I cannot afford to sleep in a building, I will go and sleep under a tree; no one would charge me money for doing that and no one has died because of sleeping under a tree!"

Then, I looked back into the past years and saw how God had taken good care of me, helping me not only to survive during wartime, but also to be productive and render services to my community. If, by faith I am God's child, according to His promises in the Bible, He will continue to take care of me. So, having these thoughts, I began singing, "You are my hiding place, You always fill my heart with songs of deliverance, Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in you!" That was it, my fears were gone! I still do not own my own place to live, but I carry the same song in my heart and in my laptop, to listen to whenever I change the places I sleep!

I discovered that the best thing to do is not to get attached to material things or even people, because they will be there for some time and will be gone soon. The best thing is to get my heart attached to God, because He will go with me everywhere, will provide for me what I need and in the end take me to live in the heavenly city where my eternal house is! So, where is your house?
RESPONSE

Today I will seriously evaluate where my "treasure" and "house" are because that's where Jesus says my heart will also be.
PRAYER

Help me, Father, to accumulate treasures in heaven and not on earth. 

Standing Strong Through The Storm:
A daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks
© 2011 Open Doors International.

Taken in: Malaysia / Perak / Taiping (show map)

Taken on: May 1, 2016

Tags:

j316

feather

Psalm 91

Psalm 91:4

Sony

RAW

covering

protection

A77

Taiping

Perak

Malaysia

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Camera: Sony SLT-A77V, f/5.6, 1/1500 sec, 300mm (=450mm), ISO 1600 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Sony SLT-A77V
Lens:	75-300mm F4.5-5.6
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/1500)
Focal Length:	300mm (35mm equivalent: 450mm)
ISO:	1600
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Center-weighted average
White Balance:	Auto
Contrast:	High
Saturation:	High
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS6 (Windows)
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