Much Christian literature of our day deals with physical survival in the day of trouble. No doubt these books will help some. But we must remember that if we place our main emphasis on saving our life we will lose it. We need to be more concerned with pleasing God than with keeping ourselves and our family alive, although this may sound harsh to the believer who has been imbued with humanistic values.

Paradoxically, if we are willing to lose our life for Christ and His Gospel we will succeed in saving our own life, the lives of our loved ones, and the lives of those who hear us. But if we cling to our own life we stand to lose everything.

The ways of God are as high above us as the heavens are high above the earth.

"Father, we do not always understand You but we trust You."

If God asks for our possessions, our talents, our home, our family, our health, our life, we are to yield the treasure to Him. Anything we are unwilling to give to God is an idol and is keeping us in bondage, although we may not realize this.

When we love a person, circumstance, or thing more than we do God we are breaking the first and most important commandment.

You shall have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:3—NIV)

If we love our family more than we do Christ we are not worthy of Christ.

Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; And anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:37,38—NIV)

There was a man who trusted in his possessions to save him, just as numerous Americans trust in money to secure their future.

Then he said, "This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, 'You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."' But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?" This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:18-21—NIV)

When a man works to guard himself against being deprived in the future, he should first make certain he is doing God's will. For he does not know whether he will see the light of another day.

If we are rich toward God we are prepared for every eventuality. But if we are not rich toward God, we should remember we are only a few heartbeats from eternity.

To be continued.