Have you read my post from Monday detailing the GIVEAWAY I am offering of my friend Susan Norris’s new book. I invite you to click over there, read about it, register for the giveaway, and then come back here and let’s talk about security.
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SECURITY DEEMED WORTHLESS.
Although I knew it to be true, it was, nonetheless, a shock to me to see it written on paper. I suppose the Alice-In-Wonderland portion of my personality hoped that avoiding thinking about it would make it less true, however the more rational me knew that simply was not true. Perhaps I just had not thought much about it at all because there was not the first thing I could do to change the situation…and besides, my real security was not wrapped up in stock certificates.
Many years earlier I had rolled a portion of my IRA over into stock in a local bank. A solid bank that had stood the test of time for a few years shy of 100 years. ‘Who’d a thunk it?’ as we say in jest here in North Georgia. No one could have predicted that the solid bank would become one of hundreds of banking casualties of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression in the late 1920’s.
My 1354 shares were now reduced to a piece of paper that stated in all caps: SECURITY DEEMED WORTHLESS. All caps, for heaven’s sake. They didn’t have to shout it at me.
As I pondered the paper in my hand, Jesus spoke quietly into my heart.
“Your security in heaven; your security as my child, will NEVER be deemed worthless.”
Mind blowing, huh? In a world where we are watching our money become worthless, the thought that you and I, as Christ followers, have an eternal security that we can take to the bank is staggering.
God, then, proceeded to take me on a journey foraging through His Word for verses that backed up His claim. May I share a few with you?
“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4: 19 (NKJV)
“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” 2 Corinthians 1: 21-22 (NIV) Ahh, that just makes me want to shout Hallelujah!!
“And now you also have heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. This is just one more reason for us to praise our glorious God.” Ephesians 1: 13-14 (NLT)
And one final reminder that the piece of paper in my hand was not where my focus should be.
“Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things and revive me in Your way.” Psalm 119: 37 (NKJV)
Perhaps it is none of my business, but may I ask you what you are placing your security in? Your bank account? Your spouse? Your job? Your IRA or 401K? Your real estate investment? Your accomplishments? Your good works?
If you are placing your security in anything or anyone other than God and His Son, Jesus Christ, you may be in for a rude awakening. Only God is able to promise you eternity and then give it to you. My Daddy always said he had never seen a Brinks truck following a hearse. That was his way of saying that we can’t take our money with us to heaven. Money provides pitiful security because it can be gone in the blink of an eye. If you are placing your eternal security in earthly things, you are setting yourself up to be sadly disappointed. Only when we ‘bank’ on Jesus and the salvation He provides for our eternal security will we never be disappointed.
His SECURITY is DEEMED WORTHY of our trust.
