In Christian preaching, treasure symbolizes the invaluable and eternal blessings found in God's kingdom, urging believers to seek spiritual riches above worldly wealth (Matthew 13:44-46). Illustrations often use images of hidden gold, precious gems, and unexpected discoveries to convey the surpassing worth of salvation and faith.
Eight Dutch children aged 9 to 11 found two glass jars filled with gold coins and jewelry worth more than $215,000. They found the treasure in a hole beneath their clubhouse, buried 16 inches below ground. Coins were modern and from Canada, South Africa and Austria. Will be able to have it if not claimed in 30 years.
When the Old and New Cities of Jerusalem were reunited in 1967, a recently widowed Arab woman, who had been living in Old Jerusalem since 1948, wanted to see once more the house in which she formerly lived. Now that the city was one, she searched for and found her old home. She knocked on the door of the apartment, and a Jewish widow came to the door and greeted her. The Arab woman explained that she had lived there until 1948 and wanted to look around. She was invited in and offered coffee. The Arab woman said, "When I lived here, I hid some valuables. If they are still here, I will share them with you half-and-half."
The Jewish woman refused. "If they belonged to you and are still here, they are yours." After much discussion back and forth, they entered the bathroom, loosened the floor planks, and found a hoard of gold coins. The Jewish woman said, "I shall ask the government to let you keep them." She did and permission was granted.
The two widows visited each other again and again, and one day the Arab woman told her, "You know, in the 1948 fighting here, my husband and I were so frightened that we ran away to escape. We grabbed our belongings, took the children, and each fled separately. We had a three-month-old son. I thought my husband had taken him, and he thought I had. Imagine our grief when we were reunited in Old Jerusalem to find that neither of us had taken the child."
The Jewish woman turned pale, and asked the exact date. The Arab woman named the date and the hour, and the Jewish widow told her: "My husband was one of the Israeli troops that entered Jerusalem. He came into this house and found a baby on the floor. He asked if he could keep the house and the baby, too. Permission was granted."
At that moment, a twenty-year-old Israeli soldier in uniform walked into the room, and the Jewish woman broke down in tears. "This is your son," she cried.
This is one of those incredible tales we hear. And the aftermath? The two women liked each other so much that the Jewish widow asked the Arab mother: "Look, we are both widows living alone. Our children are grown up. This house has brought you luck. You have found your son, or our son. Why don't we live together?" And they do.
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By Hillel E. Silverman (c) 1987, from Chicken Soup for the Jewish Soul by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Rabbi Dov Elkins.
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The ancient city of Nimrud (=Calah in Bible) has yielded fantastic gold jewelry from graves recently. The Assyrians were brutal but good craftsmen. A short history of their rise and fall is given.
One successful prospector in Leadville, Colorado, in 1877 bought the Robert E. Lee mine for $16,000, hired a crew and sank a shaft more than a hundred feet deep without finding any ore. When a syndicate offered him $30,000 for his mine he sent word down the shaft for his crew to pick up its tools and quit. The men down below were in the process of drilling a hole and putting the dynamite in; they asked the boss if they couldn’t shoot just this once more.
“No, come up!” replied Dexter. “I won’t put another darn cent into this hole.”
The new owners “shot” Dexter’s last hole. When the smoke cleared they found they had exposed a vein of silver so pure that in 24 hours they had mined ninety-five tons of ore worth $118,500. The cost of bringing this fortune to the surface was exactly $60.
In 1877 in Leadville, Colorado, everything Horace A.W. Tabor touched turned to silver. One day a man called Chicken Bill, who had been working a claim on Fryer Hill without finding anything but very dull rock, took a wagon on a dark night, went over to H.A.W.’s Little Pittsburgh and borrowed a load of Tabor’s carbonate ore lying outside the mine shaft. He salted his mine with the carbonate, then went into town the next day, stood next to H.A.W. at a bar, pretended to be drunk and bragged about his rich find. H.A.W. bought the mine for $1000, Chicken Bill ran, and H.A.W. put a crew of miners into his new possession. He very quickly found out that he had been taken, but he only laughed and, as long as they were already on the spot, kept his men working. By the time they reached thirty feet the miners uncovered a silver vein far richer than those in the Little Pittsburgh. Tabor called his mine the Chrysolite, and after a short while sold a half interest for $500,000.
During his reign, King Frederick William III of Prussia found himself in trouble. Wars had been costly, and in trying to build the nation, he was seriously short of finances. He couldn't disappoint his people, and to capitulate to the enemy was unthinkable.
After careful reflection, he decided to ask the women of Prussia to bring their jewelry of gold and silver to be melted down for their country. For each ornament received, he determined to exchange a decoration of bronze or iron as a symbol of his gratitude. Each decoration would be inscribed,
"I gave gold for iron, 1813."
The response was overwhelming. Even more important, these women prized their gifts from the king more highly than their former jewelry. The reason, of course, is clear. The decorations were proof that they had sacrificed for their king. Indeed, it became unfashionable to wear jewelry, and thus was established the Order of the Iron Cross. Members wore no ornaments except a cross of iron for all to see.
When Christians come to their King, they too exchange the flourishes of their former life for a cross.
Sermon in Parables Series: Matthew 13:44-46
THE TREASURE AND THE PEARL
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I. The lure of treasure.
II. Treasure parable.
A. No banks in Palestine, so safest place was hole in ground.
B. Shady character?
III. Pearl parable.
A. Man comes across extraordinary pearl great value.
B. The ancient infatuation with pearls.
C. The merchant in the parable sells all he has, and buys it.
IV. Both parables make same point.
A. Several main points have been proposed:
1) Hiddenness of God's kingdom. (But pearl not hidden)
2) Joy in finding God's kingdom. (But joy not emphasized)
3) Searching for the kingdom. (But treasure was by accident)
B. Best meaning:
1) The value of the object stands out in both.
2) Making a heroic effort to acquire it also stands out.
V. What is salvation and God's Kingdom worth to us?
A. Many treat it as a right, or standard-issue.
B. God's Kingdom holds the ultimate value.
VI. What are you willing to do to get it?
A. Salvation is not by works.
B. But salvation is also costly.
C. Jesus refuses to be our second-best.
VII. What is it worth for YOU to be a Christian? #2117
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Sermon in James series. Danger of being rich. James 5:1-6
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CAN A CHRISTIAN DRIVE A B.M.W.?
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I. A radical critique.
II. James' rebuke of the rich.
A. He is addressing the rich pagans outside the church. 5:1
B. No rich people in heaven?
C. Wealth has a way of demanding our allegiance. Matt 6:24
III. Here come de judge.
A. We are in the "last days." 5:3
B. Treasure is secure in heaven, or rusted on earth.
IV. What the rich did wrong.
A. They have ripped off workers. 5:4
B. They have lived for pleasure.
V. Difficult truths.
A. Everyone will answer to God.
B. The way we live shows what we really believe.
C. The longer we live a certain way, the harder our hearts become.
D. Put hope in God, not money. 1 Timothy 6:17
#2730
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How one family got the best of moth and rust: "I know it's hard to believe, but six months ago I had a portfolio worth half a million dollars. I had a financial interest in the building where we had our offices and 14 good agents on my staff. Our company took up the entire top floor of the building. I had a big, corner office, a personal secretary, a beautiful view of the city - everything I had dreamed of achieving. I felt like I was on top of the world."
1. The trappings of earthly Treasures.
2. Where Moth and Rust Destroy.
3. Guarding Against Materialism.
a. Relinquish control of your material goods
b. Learn to simplify your lifestyle
c. Think before you buy
d. Pray for contentment
4. All We Need.
Craig Randall drives a garbage truck in Peabody, Massachusetts. In a garbage container one day, he noticed a Wendy’s soft drink cup bearing a contest sticker. Having won a chicken sandwich the week before, Randall checked it, hoping for some french fries or a soft drink.
Instead, he peeled a sticker worth $200,000 toward the construction of a new home, reports U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT (11/6/95).
What we get out of life depends a lot on what we look for. Are we more likely to see each experience as trash or a potential treasure?
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Bob Weniger; Ft. Collins, Colorado
Oseola McCarty, 87, did one thing all her life: laundry. Now she's famous for it -- or at least for what she did with her profits.
For decades, Miss McCarty earned 50 cents per load doing laundry for the well-to-do families of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, preferring a washboard over an electric washing machine. Every week, she put a little bit in a savings account. When she finally retired, she asked her banker how much money she had socked away.
"$250,000," was his reply. She was in shock. "I had more than I could use in the bank," she explained. "I can't carry anything away from here with me, so I thought it was best to give it to some child to get an education."
This shy, never-married laundry woman gave $150,000 to nearby University of Southern Mississippi to help African-American young people attend college. "It's more blessed to give than to receive," she tells reporters. "I've tried it."
-- Christian Reader
#3936
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A gem dealer was strolling the aisles at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show when he noticed a blue-violet stone the size and shape of a potato. He looked it over, then, as calmly as possible, asked the vendor, "You want $15 for this?" The seller, realizing the rock wasn't as pretty as others in the bin, lowered the price to $10.
The stone has since been certified as a 1,905-carat natural star sapphire, about 800 carats larger than the largest stone of its kind. It was appraised at $2.28 million.
It took a lover of stones to recognize the sapphire's worth. It took the Lover of Souls to recognize the true value of ordinary-looking people like us.
#3955
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One man's junk is another man's treasure. Have you ever heard that phrase or a phrase like it before? Isn't that pretty much why garage sales actually work. We take the junk we don't want, and someone else actually pays us money for it, and is happy they bought it. It almost seems ludicrous. But, not too many years ago, an 85-year-old widow in Wisconsin died, and her only living relative, a niece had the responsibility of going through the lady's possessions and taking what she wanted and selling the rest. Most of it was junk and so she decided to just have a garage sale and sell it for as cheap as she could just to have somebody haul it off.
Among the old ladies' possession was a box that had been in the attic for probably 50 years untouched. The niece believed it to be just a bunch of worthless old bubble gum cards. However, one visitor to the garage sale became the beneficiary of this ignorance. He purchased the box for $1. Within the box were hundreds of mint condition baseball cards from the 20's, 30's and 40's. Rookie cards of baseball legend Babe Ruth and many others.
The total collection which was purchased for $1 was later estimated to have a value of over $475,000! One man's junk is another man's treasure indeed.
#4491
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Pastor Rittenhouse and his family were on vacation travelling down the highway when they saw a suitcase fly off the top of a car going in the opposite direction. They stopped to pick it up, but the driver of the other car never stopped. The only clue to the driver's identity was a twenty dollar gold piece inscribed, "Given to Otis Sampson at his retirement by Portland Cement Company."
After extensive correspondence, Otis Sampson was located and contacted. He wrote a letter telling them to discard the suitcase and all its contents, and send only the gold piece. Mr. Sampson used the phrase "my most precious possession," several times to describe the gold piece. Pastor Rittenhouse sent the gold piece, and wrote a cover letter telling Otis Sampson about his most prized possession, the Lord Jesus Christ.
A year later, the pastor received a Christmas package. In it was a twenty dollar gold piece. Mr. Sampson wrote, "You will be happy to know that we have become active members of a church. We want you to have this gold piece. I am seventy-four; my wife is seventy-two. You were the first one to tell us about Jesus. Now He is our most prized possession."
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Another version from Chaplain Ron Naylor, April 24, 2020,
Back in 1980, a man named Bill Rittenhouse was driving through Kansas when he was passed by a loaded station wagon. Suddenly, a suitcase strapped to the top of the car worked itself loose. It fell to the asphalt and bounced to the shoulder.
Bill tried to signal the driver but failed. He drove back and recovered the suitcase hoping there would be some identification inside. He found clothing and a small white box with a rubber band around it. Inside was a $20 gold piece. On one side it said: “Twenty years loyal and faithful service.” On the other side were stamped the words: “Presented to Otis Sampson by the Northwestern States Portland Cement Company.”
After some difficulty, Bill found the address for Otis Sampson. He returned the $20 gold piece with a personal letter. It described his adventures during WWII, his escape from a Romanian prison and calling out to God for help. In fact, he wrote, “I can say that my relationship with Jesus Christ is my most prized possession.
More than a year went by. Bill assumed he would never again hear from Otis Sampson. But at Christmas he received a small box in the mail. Inside was the same $20 gold piece and a personal note. “Last Sunday, my wife and I were baptized ... we want to tell you to have the gold piece to carry with you always. Our relationship with Christ is our most prized possession.
An ancient fable tells of three merchants crossing the Arabian Desert. Traveling in darkness to avoid the intense heat one starless night, they were passing over a dry creek bed when a voice form the blackness commanded them to halt. They were then ordered to stoop, pick up pebbles from the creek bed, and put them in their pockets. After obeying the strange command, they were told to leave that place, camping nowhere near. The mysterious voice then told them that in the morning they would b e both happy and sad. Shaken and confused, and obeying the mysterious intruder, they traveled through the night. When morning came, the men anxiously looked into their pockets, and rather than finding the pebbles as expected, there were precious jewels. They, indeed, were happy and sad. They were happy they had picked up the jewels, but sad because while they had the opportunity they had not picked up many more.
This legend beautifully expresses how many feel about the unsearchable riches of God's Word. We are thrilled we have absorbed as much as we have, but sad because we have not absorbed much more. Specifically, I feel this way about two dynamic verses in Galatians, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control: against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:22-23).
Several years ago an old man living in New Jersey discovered about $5,000 in a family Bible (a sum which was quite large in that day). The bank notes were scattered throughout the Book. In 1874 the aunt of this man had died, and one clause of her will was as follows: “To my beloved nephew, Steven Marsh, I will and bequeath my family Bible, and all it contains, with the residue of my estate after my funeral expenses and just and lawful debts are paid.”
The estate amounted to a few hundred dollars, which were soon spent, and for about thirty-five years his chief support had been a small pension from the Government. He lived in poverty, and all the time within his reach there was the precious Bible containing thousands of dollars, sufficient for all his wants. He passed the Bible by. His eyes rested on it, perhaps his hands handled the old leather-bound Bible, with its brass clasps, but he did not open it once.
At last, while packing his trunk, to move to his son, where he intended to spend his few remaining years, he discovered the unknown riches which were in his possession. What thoughts of regret must have come to his mind. If he only had opened that Bible years ago, he then might have used the money to great advantage. Instead of it the treasure lay idle for thirty-five years. And he might have had it and enjoyed it all that time.
This is a sad story. But there is some thing infinitely sadder than the experience of this man. It is the neglect of the Bible by God's people. Our God has given to His people a costly treasure in His own Word. In this Book of books the riches of the wisdom and knowledge, the love and grace of God are made known. All the child of God needs spiritually is to be found on its pages; all wants are there supplied. And yet these riches, put at our disposal by a loving Father, are unknown and unused riches. Instead of being enjoyed, used, and in using them multiplied, they are neglected. Oh, the neglected Bible! May we arise and possess our possession. -- Faithful Words
Roger was the father of a friend of mine, and he was a very successful businessman. That's probably why a neighbor approached Roger one day and asked him if he wanted to be involved in a new hamburger chain he was starting. It was a little outfit called McDonald's. Roger was offered the fourth franchise in this brand new venture and a founding share. Roger thought about it and then said, “No, thanks.” Ouch! Later, another neighbor came to Roger and told him about this new business he was launching called Service Master. Would Roger like to get in the ground floor with an investment? Roger thought about and then he said, “No, thanks.” Double ouch! As McDonald's and Service Master grew to be some of the most successful companies in the world, I wonder what must have gone through Roger's mind. He had been on the brink of so much wealth, but he missed it because of one decision.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “The Threshold Of The Treasure.”
Tragically, so many of God's children have made those same kinds of decisions. You may be on the edge of one right now. God is ready to include you in some wonderful blessing He wants to bring into your life, but whether or not you get what He wants to give you depends on a decision you make. You may be on the threshold of treasure He wants to give you - it may be an emotional treasure, a financial blessing, the answer to a long-prayed prayer, a special relationship, a new beginning, maybe a greater impact in your ministry, or a breakthrough in some impossible situation. But, like that man who missed his share of Ronald McDonald's fortune, it may all come down to your making the right decision.
It did for God's ancient people in our word for today from the Word of God. It's in Numbers 13, beginning with verse 30. The Jews are on the brink of incredible blessing as they stand at the border of the Promised Land. Twelve scouts return from that land with a bunch of grapes so large that it takes two men to carry them on a pole - just a taste of the blessing God has in store. But, like most decisions that lead to great blessing, there are great challenges to face on the way to the blessing. In this case, walled cities and giants in the land.
One of the scouts, Caleb, says to the people, “'We should go up and take possession of the land.” But the men who had gone up with him said, 'We can't...'“ There are the two voices that fight it out on the brink of great blessing - “We should.” ... “We can't.”
Caleb and Joshua see the people are ready to retreat. So, they tell them, “The land ... is exceedingly good ... the Lord will give it to us. Only do not rebel ... do not be afraid ... the Lord is with us” (Numbers 14:7-9). The giants looked bigger than the Lord to those people, and they make their decision. The challenge is just too great - we won't go for it. And God says, here are His words: “Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home. Your children will be suffering for your unfaithfulness. You will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have Me against you” (Numbers 14:30-34). Wow.
God said to His ancient people - and perhaps to you and me, “There is so much I have wanted to give you, but you made the wrong choice. You focused on the obstacles, on your inadequacy, on the negative input, and not on My power and My promise. You will never see the great blessing I wanted you to have.”
Just as a businessman learned when he passed up what turned out to be a golden - actually, golden arches - opportunity, you can miss great treasure if you make the wrong decision. The decisions you make really matter. You may be standing on the edge of great blessing right now, facing a great challenge. Making the right decision means having the right focus - on your great God, not on the giants. “The land is exceedingly good ... do not rebel ... do not be afraid ... the Lord is with you.”
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Copyright © Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc., PO Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602. Used by permission. Written by Ron Hutchcraft. "Practical Answers to Real Life Issues"
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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #5251]
Do we really understand when we say "Bless me, God?"
The word for bless in the Greek New Testament is eulog‚o, which means to speak well of.
We are really quite daring when we ask God to speak well of us. When we bless God we are eulogizing or speaking well of Him, and He indeed is worthy of being well spoken of. But how dare we ask Him to speak well of us? In the Bible, God's words are God's actions. The Lord created the world with His word. So when we ask God to speak well of us, it is the same as asking Him to act in our lives.
So many of us have the wrong idea about the blessing of God. We have a tendency to believe that God should hold a rubber stamp and automatically approve our plans.
"How can you look so pleasant tonight?" a man asked his friend. "You have had a score of interruptions this afternoon, when you had plans to accomplish so much." "That is all right," was the answer. "Every morning I give my day to Christ. I take what He sends. These interruptions came in the way of duty. Why should I complain about the service He has appointed?"
Would you really ask God to bless you if you knew that He might interrupt your planning?
One wet, foggy day a little girl was standing on a street corner in a large city waiting for an opportunity to cross the street. She walked up and down and looked into the faces of those who passed by. Some looked careless, some harsh, some in a hurry; she did not see anyone who made her feel confident. At length an elderly man, tall and erect, yet with a kindly expression, came walking down the street. Looking up into his face she seemed to see the one for whom she had been waiting.
She went up to him and asked timidly, "Please, sir, will you help me over?" The old man saw the little girl safely across the street, and when he afterward told the story he said, "That little child's trust was the greatest compliment I ever had in my life."
A beautiful lesson comes to us from Proverbs 30:26. "The conies are a feeble folk, yet they make their houses in the rocks."
The cony is a weak, timid little animal like our rabbit or hare. He has no means of defense in himself, so when his foes, the vulture or the eagle, come in sight the cony does not turn at bay and do all he can to defend himself before he flees. If he did he would be torn to pieces in an instant by his fierce enemies of the air. Nay, the cony has learned a wiser course than this. He knows he is a "feeble folk," so he rushes straight to the rocks. He lets the rocks defend him without attempting any defense whatever in his own strength, which is but weakness.
Likewise it is with us. Our only course is to learn the cony lesson, to fly straight to our Rock, Christ Jesus, in prayer, and trust the Rock to keep us.
A ship was plowing through a stormy sea when part of the mast broke off. The captain ordered a lad to climb up and repair the damage. The boy started up, but he slid back down and ran into his cabin for a moment. He then came back, climbed back to the top of the ship and made the necessary repairs. When he was on the deck again, the captain said to him, "Why did you run down into your cabin for a minute before you climbed aloft?" "Why, sir," he said, "I went down to offer a word of prayer and to place this New Testament in my pocket. My mother told me before I left home that if I would pray and carry the Word of God with me, I would be well protected from any storm."
"For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted" (Hebrews 2:18).
In the world in which we live we always think of the price of things.
We look at a car, and we admire its features, but the price stands in the way of having it as our own.
We look at a new home, and we would love to live in it, but again, it is beyond our reach if the price is too high. We go into a jewelry store and see the exhibited diamonds and we would like an expensive one to show our love to a special person, but again, the price stands in the way.
The amazing thing about God is that He places the greatest fulfillment of our need at no price at all. However, we are likely to not appreciate the greatness of the gift, just because it is free.
A merchant was asked to contribute to a certain piece of church work.
He gladly wrote a $250 check and gave it to the solicitor. At that moment, a cablegram was brought in. The merchant read it and looked troubled. "This cablegram," he said, "tells me that one of my ships has been wrecked and the cargo lost. That makes a difference in my business. I will have to write you another check."
The solicitor thought he understood and handed back the check for $250, and the merchant wrote out another and gave it to him. When the solicitor read it, he was utterly amazed; it was for $1,000. "Have you not made a mistake?" he asked. "No," said the merchant, "I have not made a mistake." Then he added, "To me, that cablegram was a message from my Father in Heaven. It reads, 'Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth ...but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal' (Matthew 6:19-20)."
In Robert Louis Stevenson's story of a storm, he describes a ship caught off a rocky coast, threatening death to all on board. When terror among the passengers was at its worst, one man more daring than the rest, making the perilous passage to the pilot-house, saw the pilot lashed to his post with his hands on the wheel, turning the ship little by little into the open sea. When the pilot beheld the ghastly white, terror-stricken face of the man, he smiled, and the man rushed to the deck below shouting, "I have seen the face of the pilot and he smiled. All is well." The sight of that smiling face averted panic and converted despair into hope.
Brian J. Waldrop relates this slice of life:
"Flipping through the channels of my TV the other morning, I stopped to watch a painter skillfully painting a desert landscape. As the man proceeded to color the canvas in deep browns, reds, and yellows, the picture really started to look good. I felt that the painter ought to stop. To me, the picture looked complete.
"As I was thinking those very words, I cringed to see the artist add a dark blackish color of paint to the canvas. As I had feared, the dark blob looked awkward and out of place. But as the man continued to add texture and other colors to the blob it began to take shape. When the painter was finished, the part of the picture that I thought was ruined looked great! It was exactly what the painting needed to make it beautiful and complete.
"As I sat there watching the program that day, I was really surprised to find myself cringing at many of the moves the artist made with his brush. I got to thinking how typical this is of my Christian life.
Many times in my life, after much struggling and hardship, I have come to a place where I am comfortable. As I am basking in the goodness of the Lord, God has chosen to institute a change I neither expected nor wanted. During this time I cry out, 'No, Lord, You are ruining the picture!' But often, as I allowed God to continue His work on the canvas of my life, to my surprise the picture would begin to look pretty good. Finally, I would thank Him for the addition or subtraction to my life.
"There have been times, however, that the change never looked good to me and perhaps never will. During these times I must remember that God is still painting. The picture has not been completed yet. I must travel on in faith knowing that when I see Him face to face, my painting will be beautiful.
"In the meantime, I can take comfort knowing that every situation, though it may be ugly and bad, is paint that the Master Craftsman can use for good.
"Paul stated it this way, 'And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose' (Romans 8:28 NIV.
"Lord Jesus, take my life and create a masterpiece!"
There was a poor woman who earned her living by hard labor but who was a joyous, triumphant Christian. "Ah, Nancy," said a gloomy Christian lady to her one day, "it is well to be happy now, but I should think the thoughts of the future would sober you. Suppose, for instance, you should have a spell of sickness and be unable to work, or suppose your present employer should move away and no one would give you a job.
Suppose...." "Stop!" cried Nancy. "I never suppose. The Lord is my Shepherd, and I know I shall not want. You know, dear, it is all those supposes that are making you so miserable. You had better give them all up and just trust the Lord."
In CHRIST we have -
A LOVE that can never be fathomed;
A LIFE that can never die;
A RIGHTEOUSNESS that can never be tarnished;
A PEACE that can never be understood;
A REST that can never be disturbed;
A JOY that can never be diminished;
A HOPE that can never be disappointed;
A GLORY that can never be clouded;
A HAPPINESS that can never be interrupted;
A LIGHT that can never be darkened;
A STRENGTH that can never be enfeebled;
A BEAUTY that can never be marred;
A PURITY that can never be defiled;
A WISDOM that can never be baffled;
RESOURCES that can never be exhausted.
Luke 12:13–34 — Lessons on Treasure « Leader information shown in this fashion »
A. Discourse to the One in the Crowd — 12:13–21
1. … on Covetousness — 12:13–15 (NKJV): 13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 15 And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
a. Deuteronomy 21:15–17 indicates that in some circumstances at least, the firstborn was to get a double portion — but he was not to get everything that was left
(A) what do this man’s words seem to indicate? « — a desire for fairness or equity »
(B) what do Jesus’ words tell us about the man’s attitude? « — that it went beyond demanding his fair share; this is maybe evident also because it is only the one brother who makes the request without his brother’s agreement, that is, this man was acting unilaterally »
(C) what is the tenth commandment (Exodus 20:17)? What does it show about the character of covetousness? « — it has to do with wanting things possessed by someone else »
(D) the word “beware” implies not merely avoiding but the taking of positive action, that the hearer should set up his or her guard to ward off the attacks of an enemy
b. what mistake did the man make concerning Jesus? « — he considered Jesus to be just another rabbi who would settle legal questions on material items; but Jesus’ rule was really directed to the spiritual »
c. what mistake do people make concerning success? « — that it can be measured in things, in possessions »
2. … on Treasures — 12:16–21 (NKJV): 16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
a. what marks the speech of the rich man and what does this indicate about him? « — the repeated use of “I” and “my” — shows that his life revolved strictly around himself »
b. the ideas of soul, life, and self are closely intertwined to the Jew; what constituted life for this rich man? « — it all had to do with self-indulgence; the pleasures of the flesh »
c. what responsibilities did not seem to enter his mind?
(A) responsibility to « his fellow men, especially the needy (1 John 3:17) »
(B) responsibility to « God (Leviticus 27:30) »
d. what fact should cause us to get our priorities straight? « — death; the fact of our mortality … that we have to give account of ourselves makes relying on things to be foolish »
e. what marks the difference between false and real treasure? « — its permanence; real treasure is closely linked to our relationship to God; false treasure has no connection with God, only self »
f. what forces cause Christians to follow this foolishness?
(A) « the pressures of the consumer society »
(B) « the materialistic bent of our education system »
(C) « temptation of Satan that we deserve ease, comfort »
B. Discourse to His Disciples « (note that these words are for believers) »
1. “Do Not Worry” — Luke 12:22–34, NKJV: 22 Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. 23 Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? 25 And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 26 If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? 29 And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind.
a. what primary areas of concern does the Lord single out?
(A) « food (or sustenance) »
(B) « clothing (or shelter) »
b. how would you describe these two areas? « — they are both necessities of life »
c. how is verse 25 rendered in another translation? « — each translation is valid; “add a measure to his person”; see Psalm 39:5 for similar use of measure of length »
d. what two instances are given to show worrying even about the necessities is a waste of time?
(A) « God provides for the raven (birds) »
(B) « God clothes the lilies (grass) »
e. how are these two examples applicable?
(A) in the first case « — the relative helplessness of birds; why? the do not, indeed cannot, sow, reap, build barns, or provide for the future »
(B) in the second case « — both the transience and passivity of grass which cannot clothe itself yet is accorded great beauty in God’s generosity »
f. what should the child of God exercise in this connection? « — faith which will overcome an anxious mind; one opposite to faith is worry; it is a command “be not anxious” »
2. “What You should Seek” — Luke 12:30–34, NKJV: 30 “ For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. 32 Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
a. what is the similarity and difference between the world and the child of God in these matters?
(A) « both have need of these things »
(B) « the world seeks them, the Christian depends on God »
b. what should the Christian seek? … what is the promise?
(A) « the kingdom of God; which means? … that God should rule in our lives, in our church »
(B) « God delights in answering this desire in the Christian; and it doesn’t depend our power or our size; little flock speaks of paucity of true disciples »
c. for the child of God, by implication, what is the future of
(A) a generous nature? « — lasting riches »
(B) a grasping nature? « — riches that perish »
d. Do you think this passage means the Christians should not have possessions? … what does it mean? « — Paul enjoins the Christian to work and not be chargeable to others; giving is described as generosity. Both imply possessions are alright. But possessions must not possess the possessor; Ephesians 4:28, 1 Thessalonians 2:9, Thessalonians 3:10, 2 Corinthians 9:11 »
e. what is the danger, then, or riches? « — they shift our trust away from God; anyone’s heart is going to be with that which he values most. »
If it were possible to put together a museum that would house all of the world's stolen art, it would be among the greatest collections of all time. In it we would find works by Cezanne, Renoir, and da Vinci, 174 Rembrandts, 43 Van Goghs, and over 500 Picassos.
When two paintings by Edvard Munch were stolen recently — “Madonna” valued at 15 million dollars and “The Scream” estimated at 75 million — conversations about art theft and museum security started up once again. Simultaneous with the news of the robbery, headlines questioned the ease with which museums in general seem to make smash and grab jobs possible. “No treasure is truly safe,” read the byline of one magazine. And the thieves tend to agree. “Thanks for the poor security,” read a postcard attached to the empty wall where thieves had stolen a different Munch painting in 1994.
Treasures outside the comforts of vaults or a safety deposit box exist uncomfortably before a world of thieves and potential disasters. But this is what museums do; they exist to show the treasures of Munch and Picasso to as many people as possible. To hide the most valuable paintings of the world behind protected vaults would itself be a different kind of theft.
Jesus once noted, “No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light” (Luke 11:33). When a group of wiggly, grinning kids sings proudly of their “little light” and their determination to “let it shine”, it lands in my mind somewhere between captivated and cynical. Of course, they don't fully understand what they are saying. The fog of life's questions and uncertainties, the daggers often aimed at Christian beliefs and believers, are realities that have not yet threatened the shining of their lights. And yet, the boldness with which they announce, “Hide it under a bushel; No!” is as convicting as it is hopeful. In the mouth of a child, I hear the simple logic of which Jesus spoke. Like the great works that hang in museums despite the dangers, light shines because it must.
When treasures are under attack or danger is even perceived, our tendency is to retreat to the safety of a lockbox. I have a beautiful quilt made by my great grandmother that sits locked away in a cedar chest because I am horrified by the thought of moths and stains. Its value seems to beg me to hide it, even though I am saddened by its hiddenness. There have been times when I have felt similarly about my faith, longing to retreat when questions feel threatening, or the fog of a fallen world is overwhelming. When moth, rust, and thieves seem to loom, I want the bowl and not the lamp stand.
But even the thought of the imaginary museum of missing paintings reminds me of the great chasm that exists between those who hide treasure and those who display it. In the hands of a thief, a painting is calculated in dollars. But for the true lovers of art, the longing is for art to be seen. As lovers of the gospel, let us display the light of the knowledge of Christ as a treasure we long for all to see.
________
Copyright © 2004 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
*
A Los Angeles man, Ron England, is trying to get rid of his pennies - all 1 million of them, stacked up in 20,000 rolls that fill 13 boxes in his garage and weigh 3.6 tons.
Now that he's retiring to Oregon, England wants to cash them in, but he's had a tough time finding someone who will take $10,000 in pennies.
The Coinstar machine at his supermarket isn't exactly made to accept, a million pennies.
An artist who welds couches out of pennies declined to call him back.
His bank, Washington Mutual, is charging 10 cents a roll and will only take 200 rolls, or $100 per week. That's 20 months of deposits.
England refuses to pay extra.
“I'm stubborn,” he said. “If I have to haul all these pennies to Oregon, I will, 'cause I'm not gonna pay.
“I should have saved dimes. I'd have a lot more money, and it would weigh a lot less.”
================
Update: (AP) 7-12-04 - A movie studio projectionist has found a buyer for the one million pennies he's amassed in his garage over 30 years.
The grocery chain Vons/Pavilions has agreed to buy the $10,000 in copper from 60-year-old Ron England of Granada Hills. He's retiring to Oregon and found the 3.6 tons in pennies too unwieldy to move.
The company plans to donate half the coins to charity.
England bet his brother he could collect the pennies in return for a dinner in Paris.
Vons/Pavilions will send out armored cars for England's 20,000 rolls of coins.
________
Source: Peninsula Daily News (The Associated Press), July 5, 2004, http://peninsuladailynews.com
*
The shabby old man studied the object in his hand. He started toward the door of the Chicago jeweler's shop, then stopped. Fingering the rough-looking stone, he muttered to himself, “Won't hurt to ask. It's been lying around home so long. Might as well find out if it's worth anything.” Screwing up his courage, he stepped forward, hesitated, and finally opened the door. The expert jewel cutter smiled, “May I help you?”
“Yes, my father found this red pebble when he was a boy. When I came to the United States, my mother put it in my suitcase. Been lying around the house ever since. The kids played with it. The baby cut its teeth on it. A rat dragged it into a hole, but I found it. Things been mighty rough with us, real hard times. Been tempted to see if it had any value, but kinda hated to part with it. Been in the family so long. Think it might be worth cuttin' and polishin'?”
The expert craftsman studied the stone. It proved to be a flawless, perfect ruby, weighing nearly twenty-four carats, perfect in color and texture, beautiful, clear, full of red fire. “Your pebble is a pigeon's blood ruby worth up to $250,000.” For years this old man and his family had struggled with poverty, had gone without, had suffered, when they had on their shelf that which could have changed everything, but they didn't realize its value.
You too have something very valuable in your home. God's promises are a wonderful simplifier of all the problems you'll ever face in life.
________
Source: Stop, Look and Listen by Eileen E. and Jay H. Lantry, Copyright(c)1976 by Review and Herald Publishing Association.
Roger Thompson writes...
When I was in high school, I worked for a time at an armored-car company, Brinks Armored Co. in San Bernardino, California. My job was to take care of the coin that Brinks handles. We used to get forty tons of coin from Las Vegas. My job was to wrap this coin, and you had to be double-jointed and triple witted to run the huge machine that wrapped coins. And I could wrap $10,000 worth of quarters an hour. A bag of quarters weighs about eighty pounds -- a thousand dollars.
One day we got a call from Bank of America in downtown San Bernardino, and they were in a panic: “We've got to have some coin in the hour.” Well, all the armored trucks were gone, and so Larry, my manager, backed his '49 Ford pickup into the bay. Now if Brinks ever finds out about this they're going to shoot this guy. We loaded $25,000 worth of coin in a '49 Ford pickup. That thing was dragging. That's over a ton. Larry said, “Hop in. We're going up to B of A.”
We hopped in. I'm in my T-shirt and blue jeans. We drove up to the front of the Bank of America, parked the truck, and Larry said, “Hang on, I'll go in and get the dolly, and we'll haul this stuff in.” I'm whistling, standing against this truck for twenty minutes. I don't have a gun. I thought, If anybody notices what is in this common looking pickup truck, I'm a dead duck! Of course, you can't carry eighty pounds very far. The treasure that people were walking by! But they didn't see it for the commonness of the delivery system.
________
Roger Thompson, “Treasure in a Brown Bag,” Preaching Today, Tape 42; secondary source: A Dose of Inspiration, http://www.quietstones.com/mydailydose
*
[These online posts claim the story below is an urban legend: http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=6018 & http://singermemories.com/cast-characters-singer-presidents/]
Walking one day along the California coast, a man named Jack was musing about his life. His marriage was in trouble, he was not getting on well with his kids, and he was unsure of what he was doing with his future. As he strolled along, a shiny object glinted in the sunshine and caught his eye. Going over for a closer look, he discovered an old bottle washed up on the shore. Picking it up, he noticed that the cap was still on, and there appeared to be a note inside.
His curiosity was aroused so he smashed the bottle on a large pebble and took out the note to examine it. It read, “I Daisy Alexander do hereby will my entire estate to the lucky person who finds this note and to my attorney Mr. B Cowin. June 30, 1936.”
Obviously his first thought was that it was the work of a creative prankster. He was about to throw the note away; but caught in two minds, he folded it up and put it in his pocket.
Not long after this incident he bumped into a friend of his who happened to be a lawyer. Jack told him about the message in the bottle and asked him what he thought. The attorney told Jack he should investigate it. Jack protested that the idea was stupid, that he would only be made to look like a fool investigating such a ridiculous note. However, his friend encouraged him to find out whether or not it was true. “You will be a bigger fool if you don’t check it out,” he told him.
To make a long story short, Jack Wurm did investigate the note. The process took him to the highest courts in the United States. The evidence showed conclusively that Daisy Alexander had existed, that her home had been in London, and that she was the heiress to the Singer sewing machine fortune. She had left a separate will, and in it she stated that whoever found the piece of paper could have half her money. (It turned out that she was a highly eccentric lady!) One morning she had written the note, placed it in the bottle, and thrown it into the River Thames.
One of the experts called to give evidence was a mathematician. He calculated that a bottle thrown into the Thames would do the following: From the Thames it would enter the North Sea, then flow eventually into the Bering Sea and on into the Pacific. He worked out that in the unlikely event of a bottle surviving such an incredible journey, it would take twelve years for the bottle to get from the Thames to California. It actually took eleven and a half years; Jack Wurm inherited three and a half million dollars!
This incredible story of Jack Wurm and the will in a bottle would never have been told if he had thrown away the message. All that inheritance would have been lost. If his friend had not cajoled him into investigating the message to test its truth, Jack would have remained a relatively poor man. Instead, because he examined the whole matter, what had at first appeared foolish proved to be a remarkable reality. Even a message that at first seems hard to believe or understand can bring a great reward.
The Christian message revealed in the Bible is of far greater significance than Jack’s message in a bottle and promises much more than money. Investigating and examining it is potentially far more rewarding. In the story we have just read, a careful examination of the message was followed by an assessment of the evidence. The truth was determined, and the reward followed.
Exactly the same thing is required when one encounters the Christian message. We must look at the message, examine the evidence, hear the witnesses, and reach a verdict.
________
From Searching for Truth by Joe Boot, © 2002. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com. Joe Boot is executive director of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Canada.
________
Copyright © 2005 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
===================================
Another version of the bottle story:
Jack Wurm was penniless and jobless. One day in 1949, Mr. Wurm was meandering along a San Francisco beach when he spotted a bottle with a piece of paper in it. Quickly removing the cork and pulling out the note, Jack discovered that it was the last will and testament of Daisy Singer Alexander, heiress to the Singer sewing machine fortune. The note read, “To avoid confusion, I leave my entire estate to the lucky person who finds this bottle and to my attorney, Barry Cohen, share and share alike.”
Fortunately for Jack Worm, the courts accepted the theory that the heiress had written the note twelve years earlier, and had thrown the bottle into the Thames River in London, from where it had drifted across the ocean to the feet of the penniless and jobless Jack Wurm. Mr. Wurm's good fortune netted him over $6,000,000 in cash and Singer stock! But even though Jack went from being penniless to becoming a multi-millionaire overnight, upon his death he couldn't take one dime with him into eternity.
For those, however, who have trusted in Christ as Saviour and are living in obedience to God's Word, our inheritance is secure and eternal. Peter holds forth this promise: “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade -- kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).
Think about what this inheritance means for us as believers. Try to imagine eternal life, eternal happiness, eternal gratitude, eternal peace, and eternal profit. This sure inheritance is as indestructible as God's Word itself (1 Peter 1:23). Six million dollars doesn't even begin to compare with the eternal inheritance that is yours and mine!
-- Paul W. Brubaker, July-August 2001
[see also ID#29684]
*
Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” If these words don't immediately ring true to you, just spend some time observing the people around you. Take an example from our culture: what does a man do when he declares his love for a woman and asks for her hand in marriage? He buys her a diamond ring — for some men, the most major purchase they've ever made. As human beings, we intuitively recognize that we put our treasure toward that on which our heart is set.
We usually apply Jesus' statement about treasure to our financial and material assets, but we have other kinds of treasure. Many have wisely pointed to the connection between how we spend our time to what we value most. Time is precious; one could make some assumptions about where your heart is based upon where you spend your spare time.
I expect that most parents would consider their children to be their greatest treasure. This is why the story of Abraham and Isaac is so arresting. Abraham had waited one hundred years for the birth of Isaac. When God told him to sacrifice Isaac, he could as well have asked him to cut out his own heart. By obeying God, Abraham proved what God already knew: that though Isaac was his greatest treasure, Abraham knew that he was a gift from God. He could not choose to hold on to this treasure if God asked him for it.
Have you ever wondered what God's greatest treasure is? He “owns the cattle on a thousand hills” and He is not limited by the constraints of time. Since we are made in God's image and God is a father, I believe that we can reasonably assume that God treasures his Son above all other things. Imagine the tender and violent affection God must feel for his “only begotten son,” the Prince of Peace. Yet God took this treasure, and He gave him to us.
If you have doubted God's love for you, doubt no more. God's heart is where his treasure is, and He has already given his treasure to you. Paul asks the question, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32). It is because Jesus is God's greatest treasure that we read the hard words, “whoever rejects the Son will not see life” (John 3:36). If we reject Christ, we reject the very heart of God that He has offered to us.
I hope that you will realize the depth of God's love for you, which He has demonstrated by giving his Son for you. Receive that love today with thanksgiving, believing that you are held dear in the very heart of God.
________
Copyright © 2005 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
*
A ceramic jug bought on eBay for £106.72 has been sold at auction for £47,000.
The jug was listed incorrectly on the auction website as Italian-made, circa 1900, reports The Sun. But it was actually a rare 18th-century Worcester Porcelain Wigornia creamboat - regarded as the ‘holy grail’ for collectors.
Two buyers snapped it up then contacted expert John Sandon at auctioneers Bonham’s, who confirmed it was “very special”. The jug, with Chinese scenes, was tipped to fetch £20,000 in London - but went for £46,800 to two private collectors.
Mr. Sandon noted, “The original sellers had no idea what a treasure they had.”
________
Source: Ananova
A nobleman once gave a celebrated actress a Bible, telling her at the same time that there was a treasure in it. She, thinking he meant religion, laid the Bible aside. She died, and all she had was sold. The person who bought the Bible, on turning over its leaves, found a note for $2,500 in it. Poor creature! Had she read the book, she might not only have found the note, but the "pearl of great price."
Dr. Theodore Cuyler tells a very interesting story from his own pastoral experience of how our interest is increased where we have placed our treasure or our service. He says: "When my Brooklyn church, in the days of its infancy, was building the present sanctuary the funds ran short. The Civil War had just broken out, and almost every new church enterprise came to a standstill. On a certain Sabbath I made a fervent appeal for help, and a visitor from New York heard the plea, and went home and spoke of it at his boarding house table. At the table was a bright young lady who supported her widowed mother by her earnings as a teacher. I had once rendered the young lady some trifling service, which I had quite forgotten, but she had not. The next day she came over to Brooklyn and told me how sorry she was that my church was in such straits. She was not a Christian and had never given anything to any religious object, but felt desirous to contribute her 'mite,' and slipped into my hand a piece of paper containing a coin, which I put into my pocket with a word of sincere thanks. After she had gone I opened the paper and found that it contained a fifty-dollar California gold-piece! I immediately sent her word that she must take it back, for I knew that she could not afford to give such a sum. But she wrote me that this, her first gift, had already afforded her such delight that she could not allow it to be returned. On the following Sunday I told the story of the gold-piece, and it fired the congregation with fresh enthusiasm, and brought in such contributions of funds as tided us over into deeper waters. The young lady herself determined to follow up her gift by coming over to our chapel every Sunday, and was soon converted and became a happy member of Christ's flock."
Margaret Siders died at the age of 92. The last twenty years she was a familiar figure seen daily in the downtown area of Shreveport, LA. She pulled a little wagon through the streets, sifting through the trash for edibles and discarded clothing. She had lived alone in a small tin house since her husband's death six years earlier. Her body was being kept at the Caddo Parish morgue because no one had agreed to pay for her burial.
Aren't you saddened when you read stories like this? I know I am. I'm saddened when I think of her loneliness. Her mate was gone, and she apparently didn't have anyone in the world. She didn't have anyone in life or anyone to mourn her death. I'm saddened when I think of her lifestyle. What an image she burns, pulling her wagon from trash can to trash can. A smile would come across her face when she'd discover an edible or wearable treasure. Then she would go home to her humble abode. How do you feel when you think of her loneliness... her life...her death? But wait, there's more to her story.
When authorities entered her home, looking for clues of next of kin, they also made an interesting discovery. Police Detective Bettye Brookings had befriended Mrs. Siders and shared with the other officers a suspicion she had. "When you go in, keep your eyes open. You are looking for more than a name and a phone number." She led the group in and went room to room, but it was in the bedroom where rumor became a reality. Bettye reached inside a hole that had been cut in the mattress and pulled out some books-bank books. The figures showed that the "wagon lady" had about $250,000 in four local banks, and possibly more in another account. Now, how do you feel once you've read the full story? What emotions come to mind when you consider how she chose to live when she possessed so much more? How do you explain the enigma of Margaret Siders?
Before you come down too hard on Mrs. Siders, does her story remind you of your own? No, not literally. I'm not talking about something that can be revealed in a bank book; however, another book does come to mind. Do you live your life in light of what you possess? Or do you live in denial? Does your spiritual life reflect more rumor than reality?
How do you feel when you consider one who chooses to live an impoverished life when treasures are possessed? Sadness still comes to mind.
-Dwaine Powell The Friendly Visitor (Abridged)
When brazen thieves made off with Edvard Munch’s THE SCREAM and MADONNA two years ago, I wanted to join the search. The thought of adding Munch’s works to the secret galleries of art forever lost was upsetting to say the least. I pictured clumsy men dragging irreplaceable works through sullied alleyways and destructive elements. Like most, I dreaded the worst; valuables cannot be trusted in the hands of thieves.
Of course, these men were conscious that they had in their possession something of value. (If the paintings had meant nothing to them, they would never have been worth stealing.) With the rest of the world, the thieves were well aware of the nature of the items they held in their hands. (At the time of the burglary “The Scream” was estimated at $75 million and “Madonna” at $15 million.) But for them “value” took on an entirely different meaning. In the hands of thieves, beauty is something to be exploited. It is smuggled into a dark underground and bartered for in secret. Its true value has been exchanged for something lesser.
Since the beginning of time, God has set his glory before the world. He has shown us his faithfulness, his goodness, his grandeur. He has placed his countenance upon us and trusted us with his Name. He sent his Son to be with us and offered the assurance of new life. And repeatedly, we have taken his Name and exchanged it for something lesser. We have dragged it through sullied alleyways and destructive elements, holding this treasure like thieves, having lost the true value of all we hold. We follow God not as God but as something smaller -- something exploited for pride or held as personal virtue.
When Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all of the vendors and money changers, he said in person what God had proclaimed for years. “Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you?” (Jeremiah 7:11). Jesus not only addressed the merchants, whose eyes were too focused on wages, but he denounced leaders and authorities, and pilgrims who had lost their footing. Thus, the prophet from Nazareth overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and he pronounced the words of God one more time: “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers’” (Mark 11:17).
God’s Name cannot be trusted in hands of thieves -- of this He is well aware. Yet even so, He continues to place it before us:
For this is what the high and lofty one says -- he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
I will not accuse forever,
nor will I always be angry,
for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me --
the breath of man that I have created...
I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will guide him and restore comfort to him.”
Into our grubby hands and deceptive hearts God continues to place his Spirit. Though we behave like thieves, we are trusted with treasure.
To the delight of art aficionados across the world, Edvard Munch’s stolen masterworks were recently brought home. There had been speculation that the thieves had burned the paintings to escape the police search, but fortunately, they did not. The frames were smashed in the getaway, but the pictures for the most part were returned unharmed. They remain again in loyal hands.
On the contrary, all of the riches of the glory of God have been placed in hands that are prone to exploit his mercy, abuse his Name, and exchange his glory for something lesser. But even a den of robbers cannot stop the work of God. As Christ drove out the deceit of the temple so he continues to drive away the lies that block us from seeing all that exists in our hands. The house of the Father is open to all, and we are not thieves but children.
________
Copyright © 2006 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
Shortly after the death of Blaise Pascal in 1662, a housekeeper was sorting through closets and clothing and happened to notice something sewn into Pascal’s coat. Beneath the cloth was a parchment and inside this was another faded piece of paper. In Pascal’s handwriting, on both the parchment and the paper were nearly the same words. Beside hand-drawn crosses, Pascal had carefully written:
The year of grace 1654.
Monday, 23 November, feast of St. Clement...
From about half-past ten in the evening
until about half-past midnight.
Fire.
The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob...
The God of Jesus Christ...
Your God will be my God.
More than 30 descriptive lines tell the story (unbeknownst to friends and family) of Pascal’s conversion to Christ. He is said to have been reading of the crucifixion when he was suddenly overwhelmed with the nearness of Christ. Pascal then meticulously transcribed the night of his conversion, his “night of fire,” sewing it into his jacket where it would remain beside him until his death eight years later. Though the details of the story and the parchment were unknown to those around him, the change in his life could have scarcely gone unnoticed. Whatever else it marked, November 23, 1654 marked a transformation in Pascal’s life. He ceased all activities (including his unparalleled work in the field of mathematics) except those which served to further a life of worship and service to God. He retired to the monastery at Port Royal and set to writing his PENSEES, a collection of thoughts on life and theology.
There are many who house similar awakenings to faith before the person of Christ, if not kept in coat linings, then perhaps tucked protectively somewhere else. Whether, like Pascal, there is a specific date that can be cited, or like Corrie Ten Boom whose lifetime was an outworking of encounters with God, conversion is not always easy to put into words. How does one explain what it is like to come out of a deep sleep, to rise from a night of fire, or to find oneself somehow newly born? The blind man could not articulate every detail of his encounter with Christ, but neither could he deny the startling evidence of his presence: “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see” (John 9:25). Nicodemus, too, had trouble getting his mind around the language and the metaphor. “How can a man be born when he is old?” His question voices a reluctance common of all newborns, even as it harbors a resistance reflective of the sort of change Jesus implies with his invitation.
Whatever else Nicodemus and Pascal have in common in their nighttime encounters with Christ, one thing is certain. Whether a dramatic encounter or a subtle introduction, conversion is far more than an evening or an instance. A beloved professor of mine spoke of Christian conversion as a verb that arrives in tenses. WE HAVE BEEN JUSTIFIED, WE ARE BEING SANCTIFIED, AND WE WILL BE GLORIFIED. That is to say, on the Cross, Christ became our sacrifice, and the work is finished. God has declared his children righteous because we are united to his Son. But Christ is also our moral influence, the message of the gospel is transformational, and we are continually being sanctified through the Holy Spirit. To the one who has been united with the Son, the daily indwelling of Christ is a gift and a sign of the message that is presently being worked within us. Furthermore, what we WILL BE in Christ through the process of sanctification and the promise of justification has not yet been fully revealed, but there are signs all around of the hope and glory that is to come in Christ Jesus.
Christ is always near. He can come nearer still and forgive you completely and instantaneously. He will also walk with you over a lifetime, transforming and shaping you according to the will of Father. Whether by fire, water, or Spirit, in an instance of spiritual certainty or a lifetime of wordless mystery, Christ comes near not to beckon better children but to make new creations.
[see also HolwickID #17440]
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Copyright © 2007 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
Mary and her husband Jim had a dog, Lucky. Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably someone would forget and something would come up missing. Mary or Jim would go to Lucky’s toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky’s favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.
It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something toldher she was going to die of this disease… she was just sure it was fatal. She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her… what would happen to Lucky? Although the three year old dog liked Jim he was Mary’s dog through and through. If I die Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won’t understand that I didn’t want to leave him. The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.
The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully but the dog just drooped, whining and miserable. But finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home Mary was so exhausted she couldn’t even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap. Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn’t come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.
When Mary woke for a second she couldn’t understand what was wrong. She couldn’t move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. Panic soon gaveway to laughter though when Mary realized the problem… she was covered, literally blanketed in every treasure Lucky owned! While she had slept the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement and back bringing his beloved mistress his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love.
Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every night. It’s been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky? He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19, NIV).
According to an article in “Today in the Word,” “A band of gangsters in France got away with more than $3.5 million. But the thieves had a problem. The loot was in French coins worth only about $2 each and weighing a total of 17 tons!
“A Paris newspaper taunted the bandits with this statement: ‘You can’t buy a chateau, a car, or even a pair of crocodile shoes with bags of change. And if you go out to celebrate your coup, the owner of the smallest cafe will become suspicious before you drop the tenth coin on the counter.’ The article continued, ‘Their punishment is included in their success. They will have to spend their loot franc by franc. They can buy millions of bottles of soft drinks. But what else?’”
The end result is pretty much the same for those who live only for this life accumulating whatever and make no preparation for eternity. How much wiser to follow the words of Jesus who also said, “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:20-21, NIV).
Suggested prayer: “Dear God, give me the wisdom and the courage (’the smarts’) to invest my life, my abilities, and my resources in eternity by being actively involved in doing your work on earth. And grant that I will do this out of a loving, thankful heart and not merely for rewards — and certainly not for the praise of man! Gratefully in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
When there was money in Joseph Bucci’s bank account, he spent it. The Trevose, Pennsylvania, laborer burned through almost $69,300 in roughly a month -- the amount that had been credited to him when a Wells Fargo teller miskeyed another depositor’s account number.
“He spent a majority of the money helping family and friends,” said his lawyer, Michael Parlow. “He lent money to a lot of people.” He also bought a computer, a dog, and a used car, among other things, the attorney said.
Bucci is charged with stealing lost property and receiving stolen property, but he’s trying to complete a first-offenders program that could clear his record. He’s recovered some of the money by selling his purchases and being repaid by people he’d helped, but he still owes the bank about $50,000.
Parlow said his client had been like “a kid in a candy store,” emphasizing Bucci’s youth. “He was a young, impressionable, naive, young kid,” the lawyer said,” who didn’t realize the consequence of his actions.” Bucci is 22. [1]
Alexander Cohen adds the comment: How old do you have to be to know the candy in the store isn’t yours?
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1. Philadelphia Inquirer.
Johnny Pope once visited Vance Havner and heard him share this story from one of the evangelist's sermons (later he made it into a book):
“Outside a diamond mine in South Africa there were a group of boys shooting marbles. A diamond expert saw the boys and stood in awe as they played. Then the man inquired, “Boys, do you know what you are playing with?” The youngsters replied, “No.” He said, “Boys, you are playing marbles with diamonds.”
Dr. Havner made this point, “And that is where the Church is at this hour. We have the inspired Word of God; we have the avenue of prayer that changes things; we have the privilege to serve Christ with more opportunities than ever, but we don’t know what we have! We are playing marbles with diamonds!”
=============
Rev. J. David Hoke made this application:
The choice of obedience is the natural result of coming into contact with God’s truth. God’s truth always presents us with a clear choice. The choice is whether to obey or to simply ignore it. There are really no other choices. Some today erroneously believe that intellectually agreeing with God’s truth is enough. These people simply make note of God’s truth. But when you look at their lives, they are unchanged by it. We’ve all been guilty of doing this, I’m sure. But to treat God’s truth in that manner is to treat it with disrespect. Vance Havner said we are guilty of playing marbles with diamonds.
Mary and her husband Jim had a dog, Lucky. Lucky was a real character. Whenever Mary and Jim had company come for a weekend visit they would warn their friends to not leave their luggage open because Lucky would help himself to whatever struck his fancy. Inevitably someone would forget and something would come up missing. Mary or Jim would go to Lucky’s toy box in the basement and there the treasure would be, amid all of Lucky’s favorite toys. Lucky always stashed his finds in his toy box and he was very particular that his toys stay in the box.
It happened that Mary found out she had breast cancer. Something toldher she was going to die of this disease… she was just sure it was fatal. She scheduled the double mastectomy, fear riding her shoulders. The night before she was to go to the hospital she cuddled with Lucky. A thought struck her… what would happen to Lucky? Although the three year old dog liked Jim he was Mary’s dog through and through. If I die Lucky will be abandoned, Mary thought. He won’t understand that I didn’t want to leave him. The thought made her sadder than thinking of her own death.
The double mastectomy was harder on Mary than her doctors had anticipated and Mary was hospitalized for over two weeks. Jim took Lucky for his evening walk faithfully but the dog just drooped, whining and miserable. But finally the day came for Mary to leave the hospital. When she arrived home Mary was so exhausted she couldn’t even make it up the steps to her bedroom. Jim made his wife comfortable on the couch and left her to nap. Lucky stood watching Mary but he didn’t come to her when she called. It made Mary sad but sleep soon overcame her and she dozed.
When Mary woke for a second she couldn’t understand what was wrong. She couldn’t move her head and her body felt heavy and hot. Panic soon gaveway to laughter though when Mary realized the problem… she was covered, literally blanketed in every treasure Lucky owned! While she had slept the sorrowing dog had made trip after trip to the basement and back bringing his beloved mistress his favorite things in life. He had covered her with his love.
Mary forgot about dying. Instead she and Lucky began living again, walking further and further together every night. It’s been 12 years now and Mary is still cancer-free. Lucky? He still steals treasures and stashes them in his toy box but Mary remains his greatest treasure.
Several years ago an old man living in New Jersey discovered about $5,000 in a family Bible (a sum which was quite large in that day). The bank notes were scattered throughout the Book. In 1874 the aunt of this man had died, and one clause of her will was as follows: “To my beloved nephew, Steven Marsh, I will and bequeath my family Bible, and all it contains, with the residue of my estate after my funeral expenses and just and lawful debts are paid.”
The estate amounted to a few hundred dollars, which were soon spent, and for about thirty-five years his chief support had been a small pension from the Government. He lived in poverty, and all the time within his reach there was the precious Bible containing thousands of dollars, sufficient for all his wants. He passed the Bible by. His eyes rested on it, perhaps his hands handled the old leather-bound Bible, with its brass clasps, but he did not open it once.
At last, while packing his trunk, to move to his son, where he intended to spend his few remaining years, he discovered the unknown riches which were in his possession. What thoughts of regret must have come to his mind. If he only had opened that Bible years ago, he then might have used the money to great advantage. Instead of it the treasure lay idle for thirty-five years. And he might have had it and enjoyed it all that time.
This is a sad story. But there is some thing infinitely sadder than the experience of this man. It is the neglect of the Bible by God's people. Our God has given to His people a costly treasure in His own Word. In this Book of books the riches of the wisdom and knowledge, the love and grace of God are made known. All the child of God needs spiritually is to be found on its pages; all wants are there supplied. And yet these riches, put at our disposal by a loving Father, are unknown and unused riches. Instead of being enjoyed, used, and in using them multiplied, they are neglected. Oh, the neglected Bible! May we arise and possess our possession. -- Faithful Words
Oseola McCarty, 87, did one thing all her life: laundry. Now she's famous for it -- or at least for what she did with her profits.
For decades, Miss McCarty earned 50 cents per load doing laundry for the well-to-do families of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, preferring a washboard over an electric washing machine. Every week, she put a little bit in a savings account. When she finally retired, she asked her banker how much money she had socked away.
"$250,000," was his reply. She was in shock. "I had more than I could use in the bank," she explained. "I can't carry anything away from here with me, so I thought it was best to give it to some child to get an education."
This shy, never-married laundry woman gave $150,000 to nearby University of Southern Mississippi to help African-American young people attend college. "It's more blessed to give than to receive," she tells reporters. "I've tried it."
-- Christian Reader
#3936
*
Oseola McCarty, 87, did one thing all her life: laundry. Now she's famous for it -- or at least for what she did with her profits.
For decades, Miss McCarty earned 50 cents per load doing laundry for the well-to-do families of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, preferring a washboard over an electric washing machine. Every week, she put a little bit in a savings account. When she finally retired, she asked her banker how much money she had socked away.
"$250,000," was his reply. She was in shock. "I had more than I could use in the bank," she explained. "I can't carry anything away from here with me, so I thought it was best to give it to some child to get an education."
This shy, never-married laundry woman gave $150,000 to nearby University of Southern Mississippi to help African-American young people attend college. "It's more blessed to give than to receive," she tells reporters. "I've tried it."
-- Christian Reader
#3936
*
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