Matthew 6:19-20, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:”
I bought a house in west Pensacola in December of 2022. So far I regret buying the home, because I have been robbed 3 times in just 3 months. The thief (or thieves) stole $1,500 from me so far. The most recent robbery was on May 5th, when a thief broke into my car and stole $200 worth of radios, all my audio cables, my King James Bible that I take to church on Sunday, my $600 Olympus TG-6 camera with the special case I ordered for it, $50 in cash, and the Gospels of John with $5 bills inside that I give to the poor and homeless.
Little do though punk thieves know that when they stole from me, they robbed the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 25:40-41, “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” I hate a thief!
I drove by a homeless man the other day, but didn't have the $5 or the Gospel of John to give to him, because some ungodly thief stole it from my car during the darkness of night. I have since installed 8 security cameras, but the 8 camera COBRA system from Harbor Freight is only 1920 x 1080 resolution, which cannot show the identity of a thief beyond 15 feet away. I need a 4K system (3840 x 2160), which costs about $1,500. I spent $400 for my present security camera system. The problem now is that my wires in the house are all BNC type of connectors, but the 4K systems all use RJ45 ethernet cables, which I do not have installed. The former home owner already had the BNC cables installed, which made it easy for me to replace the security system. The former owner didn't leave me a remote control for their DVR (Digital Video Recorder), so it is garbage to me. I am so frustrated.
Thieves are smart. I caught two young punks at 1 am and 3 am on my security cameras, who stopped to look at my security camera, to see if the red lights were on (showing it is active). They look to be in their late teens or early 20's, Hispanic. They were casing out my home to see if they can steal some more. Since I don't have a 4K camera yet, it is worthless to identify the potential thieves. I pray that God would help me catch the little bastard... lol. I also prayed that the thief who stole my Bible will read it and get saved.
The Bible says that when someone steals from you, they are taking away some of your life. Proverbs 1:19, “So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.” When you go to work, you are sacrificing part of your life (your time). You exchange that time for money (a paycheck). The things that you purchase with the money you earn, represents the time (part of your life) that you sacrificed for it. So when a dirty thief steals what you have earned, even if it is disability retirement money that you labored your whole life to qualify for, that thief is taking away your life!!! God will hold every thief accountable.
These past few months, the biggest comfort that I have had is just knowing that God promises in His Word to reward me with treasures that will be untouchable by thieves, moth or rust. There will be no thieves in Heaven, God promises it so! Matthew 6:19-20, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:” What a precious promise from our great and faithful Creator.
I believe that the thief, or thieves, who robbed me are young Hispanic men in their late teens or early 20's. I am fully convinced that if they live to be 50-years-old, someday decades from now they will begin to feel sorrow and regret for the evil deeds they have done. That is why when the wicked self-righteous Pharisees, in John chapter 8 who dragged the woman they allegedly caught IN THE VERY ACT of adultery before Jesus, He wrote something on the ground, and the Bible says they departed, from the eldest to the youngest. Why did the older people leave first? It is because as we grow older as human beings, we learn and discern more than we did in our ignorant youth. There's just something about growing up as an adult, that convicts us more as we grow older.
They even stole my King James Bible, which contained 2 years worth of sermon notes that I cannot replace. I lost all that dear truth! I thank God that they stole from me, and not me them. I fear God, but obviously the thief does not. One day that thief WILL FEAR GOD. Stealing is never a victimless crime! The person who has been robbed is very much a VICTIM!!!
I rejoice in my heart of hearts to know that God understands what it feels like to be robbed. In fact, that is the very reason why God mentioned laying up treasures in Heaven, where thieves cannot break thru and steal. Nearly everybody has been robbed at some time in life. You cannot do evil and get away with it (Ecclesiastes 12:14).
I love something that Dr. Jack Hyles (1926-2001) wisely said:
“If you want to never do anything that is terribly wicked, then you never do anything that is slightly wicked.” —Pastor Jack Hyles, "Unjust In The Least.”
I hope the thieves don't come back. I am worried that they'll break into my house next, while I am away at church or buying groceries, and they'll take my ministry laptop. That would set me back for weeks, if not months. All I can do is purchase a better 4K security camera system, and hope I am fortunate enough not to be robbed a fourth time. I still feel sick that the thieves have stolen $1,500 of stuff so far, that I worked hard to earn. They have stolen from God my Savior, Maker and Lord. I pray for God to avenge me of the evildoers, and He promises to avenge me (Romans 12:19-21). If the thieves steal everything I own, they cannot touch my many rewards waiting for me in eternity. God is so good! Jesus is precious!!!
