PSALM 118:28 – You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.

THEME OF THE DAY. OUR GREATEST POSSESSION. What would we say if asked, “What is your greatest possession in life?” I won’t go into a list of possible answers. We each may do so on our own. But I will share two things I hope appears on no one’s list. First, anything material. I would expect maybe non-Christians might mention something material as their prized possession, but certainly not Christians. For believers that answer should never be entertained. Remember what the Apostle John tells us of the world and the things in this world – Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:15-17). The other area possibly being an answer to life’s greatest possession might be people, like our family members. Be careful there. We don’t own anyone. Not even our children. The words of the Apostle Paul settles this matter – For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s (Romans 14:8). So, back to the question . . . what is your greatest possession in life? I hope each of us may say what is proclaimed in today’s scripture – our God.

Think with me for a moment what a privilege it is to be able to say with a clear conscience, a heart of sincerity, and a life affirming so that the One True God is both our greatest possession and a personal God to us. Yes, personal. We know Him. Really. We walk with Him. Really. We talk to Him. Really. This is what we tell the world as Christians. We say, “I know God. He is real.” And that is right. Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, “When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:1-3). But I think the question we must ask ourselves is this . . . how true are the words of Jesus to us individually? To expand this self-examination, we ask, “Just how real is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit to us?” Well, our God, all three Persons, will be as real to us as we choose them to be. Now I am not saying we take the initiative to come to God. No, all the initiative comes from Him, but once we respond to the Gospel, then closeness to the Lord really does boil down to three things; our desire for this closeness, our pursuit of this closeness, and our continual pursuit of this closeness. James tells us “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8). And the promise will be true if we truly cherish God as our greatest possession in life.

May the Lord show us more of His beautiful Person through prayer and scripture to the point what we say and live before a watching world is that our greatest possession in life is the One true and Living God.

PRAYER: “Father, I praise You that I may call You ‘My God’, my personal God who takes personal interest in me.”

QUOTE: “Jesus came as a real Person to reveal a Personal God that we may walk with Him. Are we?”