Revelation 3:18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold having been refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may be clothed and the shame of your nakedness might not be made manifest, and eye-salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

       I have noticed the targeted advertising since my seventieth birthday. The multiple ads on my social media and email platforms have been inviting me to consider free consultations for hearing aids, mobility vehicles, automatic prescription refills, retirement homes, very expensive life insurance, and yes, funeral arrangements. Gone are the ads for fast cars, family vacations, easy financing, and timeshares. Just like that, after a birthday date and at the flip of a switch, I’m being sold the joys of death and dying. The question is, do I buy into it? I have had to consider two questions lately. What are they selling and what am I buying into? These are the two questions I need to give serious thought to, as the foundations of the world tremble and shake. Change on a cataclysmic scale is rushing at all of us, and we need to know what we are being driven toward.     

      What I need to do is keep buying into what God is giving me, especially now that I am three score and ten. As I get older I love the idea that God can still use me for His kingdom work. Psalm 92:12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 13 planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, 15 proclaiming, “The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” There it is saints. I will bear fruit in old age as I proclaim that the Lord is my rock and He is my righteousness. I don’t even need to be concerned about my gray hair. I can thank God for it and be at peace, as I walk in the glory of His righteousness. Prov. 16:31 Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life. 

      The question remains. Am I going to buy into what the world is selling me or am I going to buy into what God has given me through His eternal gift and sacrifice that came through Christ’s crucifixion? Eternal value versus temporary existence – that is the question. How do we balance our lives while living on this precarious earth, and aim our heart’s love toward eternity with our God? It comes down to what we are going to put our confidence in. What are we bowing our hearts toward and where are we storing our heavenly treasures? Matt. 6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

      The Lord instructs us to buy from Him gold having been refined by His fire. The Lord is asking us to allow His Spirit to burn the dross out of our hearts so that we may wear His robe of righteousness without shame. God wants us to walk as the kings and priests we are, and stop buying into the counterfeit self-righteousness the enemy of our soul is selling us. Rev. 3:18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold having been refined by fire so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may be clothed and the shame of your nakedness might not be made manifest, and eye-salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.  

      Eve bought a bill of goods that Satan was selling. Eve was the original woman who had everything. She had a husband and companion, a garden that supplied all her needs, and the security of a relationship with God the creator of the universe. Yet, Satan was able to sell her a concept that she was missing something in her life that God was keeping from her. Gen. 3:5 For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Eve was already created in God’s image but bought the lie that she was less than who God made her to be. Satan is still selling this lie today.

      The nation of Israel bought into the idea that having a king to rule over them was better than having a man of God rule through God’s instructions. They were influenced by what they saw around them and started comparing themselves to their neighbouring kingdoms. Comparing ourselves to others is never a good idea because we lose the identity God gave us. 1Sam. 8:5 They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.” As a nation, they bought into a political idea that resulted in rejecting God as their leader and sovereign King. 1Sam. 8:7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. Israel suffered greatly for this choice and had to live with the consequences of rejecting God. 

      Judas Iscariot was paid in silver to buy into the plan of betraying Jesus. This Apostle had so much opportunity because he walked with the divine Saviour of the world. Yet, somehow betraying his Lord became a good idea. Did the sin Judas agree to take part in becoming an easy choice because he had already crossed a moral line by stealing from the money bag? John 12:6 Judas did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief. As keeper of the money bag, he used to take from what was put into it. The consequence of unrepented sin normally leads to more sin.      

      We all need to pay attention to what we are buying into. The world is full of alternative ideas and views on what and who they think God is and who He should be. We are being sold an agenda that results in humanism, and self-righteousness. Keep buying the gold refined by the Lord, and focus on walking with Him. Keep an eye on what you are being sold. If what is being sold does not set you free in Christ, then ditch it. May God bless us all.