Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV
Matthew 13:44 NKJV
I Timothy 6:17-19 NKJV
BE Grateful
Outside of the daily news and one game show I don’t usually watch a lot of television. I’m more of a movie kind of person. I do occasionally watch an interesting documentary. Last week I happened to be passing by the television and a documentary was on about a treasure hunt. I didn’t watch it long enough to pick up on the details but I did hear the narrator say this treasure hunt had gone on for years and many different groups had spent a great deal of time searching for the hidden treasure.
I knew by the size and scope of the hunt that looking for the treasure would have cost millions of dollars.
I thought that was crazy but interesting.
Crazy because of the risk involved (because it was in the ocean) and interesting because of the odds involved in actually finding the treasure.
As I understood it, no one actually knew there was a treasure. They thought there was a treasure.
It made me think about this lesson. When I write I plan ahead, do research, pray, sit with the text, do in-depth research, pray more, then meditate on the text until God reveals to me what He has to say about the text.
I do hunt for golden treasure every day.
Unlocking scripture is the greatest treasure I know.
We read in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
I thought about the treasure in the sea that has been there for centuries. Time and the elements would have make its mark on the ship. Depending on the depth of the ship actually finding the treasure could be problematic. I do realize that current technology makes it more possible to get to the ship, but it’s my understanding that no one knows for sure there IS a treasure,
When I search the scriptures for God’s treasure I have never walked away empty handed. I am also filled with a full heart when God shows up.
This treasure hunt…searching for answers in scripture is the best kind I treasure hunt on earth.
God never fails to show up.
Matthew 13:44 says, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
The treasure we find in scripture when we pray and seek God’s face reveals truth and imparts great joy!
I have to admit that I’ve been reading and searching for answers in scripture for around sixty years. I learned about reading scripture and praying from my dad. When God called me to go to Seminary I was 54 years old. At the time I wasn’t sure why God called me late in life to take that journey, but now I know.
I never in a million years expected the journey to bless me, but it did. See…even though I’d prayed and studied scripture all my life, I didn’t have all the tools in my toolbox. I hadn’t studied the original text. While I’d learned how to do research in college, I found that learning to do deep dive research took it to a whole new level.
I also learned something very interesting. I learned that in comparison to my professors I knew very little about the text. In Seminary I met and studied under truly gifted men and women. Having a PhD in New Testament really is akin to the level of study that neurologist has done. In comparison I learned that I know very little about the text.
As I studied and wrote papers, I also learned how to really listen for God’s divine Words. Looking for buried treasure in scripture is time consuming, requires research, and it requires waiting, watching, and listening for where God is at work. It truly is a humbling experience.
Everyday, every time I study I am humbled and moved by God’s great wisdom.
That reality brings me back to the treasure of the golden coin variety. I don’t necessarily believe possessing golden coin treasure is always bad. I’ve known people who have accomplished great and marvelous works with their coins.
Scripture does give us a warning about relying too much on those coins. In I Timothy 6:17-19 Paul warns his younger brother Timothy to teach carefully, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”
Coins can do great good.
But they do not replace having a relationship with the Living God.
Coins can help do good works and coins are often needed.
But coins alone cannot offer eternal life. Only God through Jesus can offer LIFE.
The secret is in relying on God. If you have little, rely on God for your provision. If you have a lot, rely on God to teach you how to use your coins. Both are a treasure and both require God’s help and guidance.
Today’s Spiritual Practice is: Rely on God
Turn to God and ask Him to give you your treasure. Ask God to show you how to use it for the Kingdom.
In God, Deborah
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