Recognizing Real Treasure

“One of the largest known amber nuggets in the world, valued at around €1 million, has been found in the home of an elderly woman in Romania. The woman, who found the 3.5-kilogram (7.7 lb) stone in the bed of a stream in Colti, a village in the southeast of the Eastern European country, used it as a simple doorstop for decades without anyone realizing its value…Members of the owner’s family reported that the old lady was the victim of a break-in in which only a few pieces of gold jewelry of little value were stolen, while the amber nugget was completely ignored. “In their frantic search for valuables, they overlooked the real treasure that was there before their eyes,” they said.”*

It’s so easy to overlook what is truly precious in life. The apostle Paul highlights this in his letter to the Philippian church. In 3:1-7, he lists several things that were precious to him at one point in his life. But after becoming a disciple of Christ, such things didn’t carry so much value anymore. He describes the upheaval of his value system this way: “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:8–11).

Christ and His church were viewed as a doorstop by Saul of Tarsus. Paul the apostle viewed them as a priceless possession. How do we value them? Do our lives reflect our assessment?

God loves you!

Mike

*https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-09-03/elderly-romanian-woman-used-amber-nugget-worth-over-1-million-as-a-doorstop-for-decades.html

Where Did The Time Go?

“The life expectancy for the average woman in the United States is 81 years and 2 months. For men, it’s 76 years and 5 months. These are the most recent estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Just subtract your current age from those numbers for a rough estimate of how many years you have left.”*

How many years left? Sobering thought, isn’t it? Especially for those who are closer to the end than the beginning. Do you remember when you were younger? How you couldn’t wait to get older? Years seemed to slowly drag by when you wanted to be old enough to drive, to get married, to get a good paying job, etc.. But now that you are older, the yearly pace seems to have picked up. A minute is still sixty seconds long. But you could swear time goes by much quicker. The years past on your timeline now outnumber the years left. Where did the time go?

As we contemplate these things, remember that we are more than a statistic. If you are a believer, you know that the passage of time is not as important as how you pass the time you have left. Like Moses, we should number our days, not so much to determine how many we have left but to use them to learn to live wisely before God (Psalm 90:12). Rather than being concerned with how many opportunities we have left, we should make the most of every opportunity we have been given (Ephesians 5:15-16; Colossians 4:5). Even when it appears that statistically we have time left, we don’t boast about tomorrow because we don’t know what tomorrow may bring (Proverbs 27:1).

Don’t live in the past or the future. Live in the present. A Christian isn’t limited by their earthly timeline. “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).

God loves you!

Mike

*flowingdata.com

That's Crazy!

““So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place; that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His resurrection from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! Your great learning is driving you mad.” But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I utter words of sober truth”” (Acts 26:22–25).

The apostle Paul has been given an opportunity to tell his story before King Agrippa. He talks of his background as a Pharisee, including his strong opposition to the followers of Jesus. He then relates his incredible encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. When he gets to the point of mentioning the resurrection of Christ, the Roman governor Festus has heard enough. In essence, he says, “Paul, you're crazy!” The phrase “out of your mind” is from a Greek word that is the root of our English words “mania” or “maniac.” When critics resort to questioning our sanity, it shouldn’t surprise us. They did the same thing to the Lord. His own family thought He had “lost His senses” (Mark 3:21). Fellow Jews in John 8 claimed He had a demon (John 8:48,52). A couple of chapters later in John 10, some added insanity to the list (John 10:19).

To many in the time of Jesus and Paul, the talk of crucified and resurrected Messiah were beyond sane belief. It remains true today. “To a worldly, materialistic mind, it seems insane to risk so much to gain what seems to be so little. But as you follow Christ, you soon discover that one’s most prized possessions cannot compare to even the smallest eternal reward” (Life Application Study Bible).

God loves you!

Mike

Winners And Losers

“Aaron Burr is an example of a man who allowed the desire for revenge to destroy him. Burr was a bitter political rival of Alexander Hamilton. When Burr and Thomas Jefferson were deadlocked in the House of Representatives for the Presidency, Hamilton’s influence led to Burr’s defeat. Later, when Burr was running for Governor of New York, Hamilton’s influence again contributed to his defeat. In his hatred for Hamilton, Burr determined to destroy his enemy. Burr eventually killed Hamilton in a duel — but the same pistol shot that ended Hamilton’s life also ended Burr’s political career. Years later, Burr confessed he would have been far wiser to have acknowledged that the world was big enough for both Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. Revenge has a way of destroying the one seeking it as well as the target of that revenge” (Clarence Macartney; preaching.com).

“Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves” (Confucius). Bitter animosity is a deadly game. Revenge and retribution have a way of backfiring on the perpetrator. One would think that followers of Jesus would avoid such behavior at any cost. But, sadly, even brothers and sisters in Christ fall into the same deadly trap of mistreating each other. Paul dealt with this very problem in his letter to the churches of Galatia. In the latter part of the writing, the apostle strongly affirms the principle of Christian freedom (5:1). But a bit later in the same chapter, he reminds his readers that Christian freedom does have some limits. Our freedom in Christ doesn’t give us license to mistreat each other (5:13-14). Notice how Paul describes the aftermath of being ugly with fellow believers: “But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another” (5:15).

Burr may have won the duel Hamilton but he destroyed his own career in the process. There are no winners in church duels as well. When we bite and devour each other, the only winner is the devil.

God loves you!

Mike

Flights Of Fancy

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is certainly the primary focus of the Bible. But some students go astray in their efforts to find Him on every page. I ran across this recent example as I prepared a lesson on Genesis 14.

Jeremy Myers shares how “...certain teachers of the past have twisted Genesis 14:14 to get it to be a reference to Jesus Christ. This teacher noticed that the consonants of Abram’s name add up to 318. Then he took the number 318 and converted it into the Greek alphabet, kind of like Roman numerals. The Greek letter tau stands for 300, the iota for 10 and the epsilon for 8. And then they say, “Oh wow! The tau looks like the cross, and the iota and epsilon are the first two letters of Jesus’ name in Greek, Iesus, and so here in Genesis 14:14, we have a prophecy that Christ will die on the cross. The man who taught this wrote, God “...knows that I never taught to anyone a more certain truth.””

He goes on to warn that we must guard “...ourselves against all such forms of Scripture twisting and treating the Bible like a magical incantation book full of secret codes and magical formulas. It is not a book of Christian horoscopes. The Bible is not to be treated like Tarot Cards.”*

I whole-heartedly agree. Numbers did occasionally have significance in both the Hebrew and Greek languages. But sometimes (perhaps more often than not) a number was just that -- a number. When we go assigning a meaning to a number when that meaning isn’t revealed in Scripture, we are in uncharted and untethered territory. When we head down that road, we can end up wherever we want. The illustration above proves it. The 318 fighters in Abram’s army suddenly becomes a prophecy that Christ will die on the cross. Something not clearly taught in the Bible suddenly becomes a “certain truth.” Imagine that! 

God loves you!

Mike

*https://redeeminggod.com/sermons/genesis/genesis_14/

Freedom Isn't Free

“Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces. It coincides with holidays in several countries, including Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which also occur on the anniversary of the end of World War I. Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 when the Armistice with Germany went into effect. At the urging of major U.S. veteran organizations, Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954” (wikipedia.com). This holiday, along with Memorial Day, is an annual reminder that freedom is not free. We are brought face to face with the fact that there has been, and continues to be, a great cost associated with the securing and maintaining our civil and national freedom.

This reminds me also of the great cost linked to our spiritual freedom. God just didn’t snap His fingers and it was done. No, making us free from sin came with great sacrifice. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The Son of God went to war with Satan, who had the power of death, and defeated him. But it cost Him his life. “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil…” (Hebrews 2:14).

Every Sunday, as we share in the Lord’s Supper, we memorialize the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who fought and won the greatest battle of all time. It’s a war that will never have to be fought again because it secured eternal freedom for those who put their faith in Christ. “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). Praise God!

God loves you!

Mike

Weakness And Strength

“Our God does not need noble characters, as the ground-work of His masterpieces. He can raise up stones as children. He can turn thorns into fir trees, briars into myrtle trees. He can take fishermen from their nets, and publicans from their toll-booths, making them into evangelists, apostles, and martyrs. We are not much by nature -- wild, bad blood may be flowing in our veins; but God will be the more magnified, if from such stones He can raise up children unto Abraham. The miracle of His grace and power will bring more conspicuous glory to His holy Name, in proportion to the unpromising character of the materials on which He works” (F.B. Meyer, Abraham or The Obedience Of Faith).

As Meyer penned these words, perhaps the words which the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church so long ago were in the back of his mind. There was a time in his life when Paul felt particularly weak and useless. He doesn’t give us the specifics of the problem but he describes it as “a thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7). He prayed three times, asking the Lord to take it from him. But each time, the Lord said “No.” The lesson for the apostle was that true strength is found in weakness. Why? Because when we are weak, God’s strength is most clearly seen.

Here is how Paul describes it: “And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

(2 Corinthians 12:9–10).

Some of God’s mightiest works are accomplished through weak and flawed people. Feeling weak and useless? Great! You are in the perfect position to bring glory to God. He specializes in using imperfect people. Frankly, it’s all He has to work with.

God loves you!

Mike