Buried Treasure

Buried Treasure

Matt 13:44-46

The man often took long walks in solitude. He loved to smell the fresh air, to hear the sounds of nature, to feel the wind and sun on his face. Today  he decided to venture off the beaten path into a field he had not traversed before. As he walked, contemplating life, he stumbled over something on the ground. Looking down he saw something sticking up out of the ground, just barely visible. Intrigued, he got down on his hands and knees to investigate.  With both hands he began to brush away the dirt and debris  from  the object. The more he uncovered the more his excitement grew.  Breathlessly, he began to realize that this was no ordinary object. Looking around to see if anyone was watching him, but seeing no one, he grasped the object with both hands and tugged. The earth gave way and the object burst forth into his hands. The man was beside himself with joy as he beheld the object. With his shirt, he painstakingly cleaned, rubbed and polished the object until it shown with a radiance and beauty that was splendid to behold. It’s absolute purity and magnificence was out of this world! He loved the treasure he had found.  He decided he had to have this object, no matter what the cost. He had a special place in his home just for this treasure. So, with special care, he reburied the treasure in the earth, marking the spot. Then he hurried home. With determination and purpose he decided he would give everything he had in order to purchase the field that contained the treasure.  EVERYTHING.  And it cost him his life. The man was Jesus and the treasure is you! What will you give in return?

Rescued From Above

Rescued From Above

Matt 6:13, Zech 3:2, Acts 5:31, Matt 7:11

If you are in a burning house, would you rather be saved in the fire or saved from the fire? If the fireman merely came in and stood with you while the fire consumed you both, are you even saved? Of course not! Thank God that Christ doesn’t save us “in” our sins, but snatches us up out of the fire the moment we repent and turn from iniquity. He saves us “from” the fire. He then pardons or forgives our sins. But whom He Pardons, He first makes penitent. And repentance is a gift from God. We don’t need to struggle with sin. You know the routine, one day we’re strong and the next day we fall. All we have to do is pray for the gift of repentance and our heavenly father is more willing to give good gifts to us than our earthly fathers.

Confession, Repentance, Intercession, Accusation, Acceptance, Pardon, Covering

1 John 1:9, Acts 3:19, Hebrews 7:25, Rev 12:10, Acts 10:35, Isaiah 55:7, Zech 3:2-5

What do the above words have in common? They are all steps in the process of obtaining Christ’s robe of righteousness. When we sin, in order to obtain acceptance with God, we have to confess that sin and repent of it or turn away from it. Confession without repentance is null and void and merely serves to alleviate feelings of guilt.  However, once we repent and turn away from that sin, Jesus begins to intercede in the heavenly courts in our behalf. He represents us and pleads our case to the Father. But while Jesus is defending and arguing for us, Satan is acting as prosecutor and is accusing us and arguing against us to the Father. He is pointing out why we aren’t entitled to pardon.  At the close of all of the evidence, if we have confessed and repented, the Father denies the claims of Satan and accepts the arguments of Jesus and pardons our iniquity. Jesus then removes our filthy garments from us and places his spotless robe of righteousness upon us, covering us. It is this robe of righteousness that enables us to walk in newness of life!

The Man In The Pit

The Man In The Pit

Ezekiel 12:2, Isaiah 32:3

There was a man sitting in a pit. He wasn’t sure how he got there but he had been there a long time. He mourned and wailed day in and day out because of his isolation, loneliness and depravation. He wailed so loudly that his friends at the top of the pit heard him. They gathered round the top and yelled down to him. They wanted to help him so they told him how to get out of the pit. But the man in the pit never responded. He just continued to moan and wail day in and day out. Finally his friends climbed down into the pit with him to help him.  They took ropes and a map and a light to show their friend how to get out of the pit. But their friend continued to moan and wail day in and day out. The friends showed him their map, and assured him the rope would hold him on the journey to the top. They cast the beam of light onto the pathway to the top to show him the way of escape. But the man continued to moan and wail day in and day out. Finally, his friends in exasperation, fearing they would become accustomed to the darkness, decided they could no longer delay their return to the top so they bid their friend goodbye and began their assent back to the top. And the man continued to moan and wail over his condition day in and day out. The moral of the story is: no matter how much light is cast onto our paths, a man who has become so accustomed to the darkness that he has become blind will never comprehend the light. But even a blind man can be safely led by his friends if he allows himself to be led.

Boomerang Prayers

1 Timothy 5:17, Isaiah 59:2, Matt 6:7, 1Peter 3:7,  James 4:3, 2 Chronicles 7:14

“Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take”. That is a prayer many of us learned in childhood. We may have even taught it to our children. Prayer changes things. In fact the word tells us to pray without ceasing. But will our prayers be heard? It is terrible to think that a wise and loving God who loves us with an everlasting love, would turn His ear away from us. But the reality is, if we do not hear (and obey) God, He will not hear us. Our sins and iniquities separate us from Him. The help that we need to obtain the victory over temptation when the devil is walking about like a roaring lion is not available to us when we choose not to listen to God. Husbands, your prayers are not heard if you are not treating your wife right i.e. with love, tenderness, care and preference, loving her as Christ loved the church. Vain, repetitious prayers are not heard. Prayers that are outside of God’s express will are not heard. I once knew a woman who prayed for God to return her live in boyfriend to her that had married someone else—while he was living with her! Mercy! Such prayers go no higher than the ceiling, but return to us unmet.   If you want others to pray for you (intercessory prayer), seek counsel from the Lord as to who He will hear, because not everyone that prays, obeys. If you want to offer earnest prayer for someone else (healing, victory over sin, job, finances etc), be sure that YOU are hearing and obeying God.  It is when we humble ourselves first, then pray and seek His face (i.e. study his word), and turn from and forsake  evil ways, that He hears us, forgives us and blesses us (which includes answering our intercessory prayers for others)!

Wisdom

Hot Pursuit

Matt 6:33, 2 Tim 2:15, Phil 2:5, John 5:39

There are only 24 hours in a day, 6-8 hours of which we spend sleeping, 8-12 of which we spend working, 2-3 of which we spend eating and getting dressed, 1-2 of which we spend going to and from work. That leaves about 4 hours of free time each day. How do we spend that free time? Is any of it devoted to the development of the mind of Christ? Or do we spend it on things that will burn up? Like for instance…..EVERYTHING ELSE!!?? Even more telling, how do we spend our day of worship when we have 12 hours to devote to developing the mind of Christ? Do we even keep it holy or do we spend it gossiping about others, going to the movies, going to sporting events, shopping, or getting our hair done/cut, and doing our own thing?  How is it that we can still sing the songs from back in the day but we can’t recall exactly how that scripture reads or where it’s found? There is only one thing that the redeemed will take to heaven with them, that is their purified and holy minds.  Reaching this perfection of Christian character is not a haphazard occurrence.  It requires determined effort, planning, and cooperation on our part. If we spend our days in pursuit of everything else, the thing that we will need most in the end will be outside of our grasp. Rethink your agenda and schedule each day and include time with Jesus for by beholding you will become changed!