Treasure!

Treasure!

Matthew 13:44 NIV

[44] “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

Jesus took time to lay out the principles and practices of His kingdom. At several times in the Bible, there are accounts of Jesus teaching both the crowd and His disciples about God's expectations from all who seek to follow and serve Him. One thing that was peculiar about the teachings of Jesus was that He spoke to the crowd in parables. These were short, simple and allegorical story that was designed to teach a spiritual lesson. He would take any earthly experience that was familiar to the crowd, and use that to teach the crowd about the principles, practices and policies of the kingdom of heaven. 

Even the disciples wondered why Jesus was always speaking to the crowd in parables, and His response is instructive: "because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them".  What an awesome responsibility for any one choosing to follow Jesus. The verse above is recorded as Jesus speaking to His disciples in the house, with the crowd now long gone. Indeed, deep secrets are best valued in privacy. I do not know of anyone who shares trade secrets openly, or who is careless about precious treasure, unless that thing is not important to you, or you do not really know the true value of what you hold. The verse above lays out clearly that God's kingdom is like treasure hidden in a field. 

As already mentioned, no one places treasure in open sight for all and anyone to see, take or steal. It is always hidden and this tells me that whoever will take hold of it must be ready to get pretty uncomfortable. I have also yet to see where anyone finds hidden treasure without working hard for it. Gold is mined; oil has to be refined and diamonds too are rare. You do not walk along the streets to pick them up. For those who claim to have Him, do you really know the value of who you claim to have? It is called a kingdom, because it is a place of power and authority. It is also called a kingdom because from it proceeds blessings and benefits for those who willingly submit to its authority. 

Anyone outside the coverage of this kingdom will never know why those who are in it live the way they do. Those who have truly tasted of the benefits of the kingdom will not desire anything else. Anyone who has seen the good of the kingdom of heaven knows that there is no better offer anywhere else. That is why anyone who has come to the knowledge of this kingdom will do all they can to take hold of it to the end. The verse above makes reference to selling all you have in order to own the field in which the treasure is buried. Knowing and having God is my greatest possession. I must do all I can to retain that knowledge and possession to the end. Where I end up is defined by who I know. Do I really know God? Does He also know me as His own? God's time of favour is here.

Faith's Harmony!

Faith's Harmony!

Romans 10:9 AMP

[9] because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Paul was writing to a specific audience: those beloved of God, called to be saints, and set apart for a sanctified life. That is specific. God is not the author of confusion. He has a purpose for every life He has made. The Bible makes that very clear. The accounts of the new testament started with the ministry of Jesus amongst  His own people the Jews, before it spread out to the uttermost parts of the world. This is in line with the plan of God for the salvation of the whole world. Paul, a Jew, found himself as a minister of the gospel of Jesus to those that the Jews thought were beneath them, and not worthy of the benefits and blessings of the new life available in Christ. 

Thank God that the story did not end with the message to the Jews only. When the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost, He descended on all who were in the upper room, but His touch also extended to all who were in Jerusalem at the time. 3,000 souls were saved, and the move of God amongst nations was now in full force. Men and women have come to the saving knowledge of Jesus, not because of where they were from, or their tribe or language, but simply by the power of the gospel of Jesus. Men and women who the world had given up on because of their past, now had a new lease of life, by virtue of the operation of the Holy Spirit.

How does this work? The verse above lays a bit of an emphasis on both an inner witness and an outward expression. Both are critical and important. There has to be an inner witness that cannot be shaken by earthly experiences. It comes from a conviction that only Jesus can save, and that only in Him is there true salvation and eternal redemption. It is this harmony between the heart and the mouth that makes it a complete experience. If the heart does not believe, it becomes a case of hypocrisy. I do not want to pay lip-service to faith; God cannot be deceived by outward piety that is empty of inner conviction. Have you come to both believe and confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour? 

Remember: the door is open to all who seek to come. God does not force Himself on anyone, and He will not go against the exercise of my freewill. It is an open door, but it will not remain open for all of eternity. He offers eternal life to all who come to Him. At least, you know with certainty what lies at the end of your decision, whatever it is: if I confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in my heart that His Life is now my own life, I am saved. This is the simple message of the cross that many struggle with. It does not ask for money, labour or striving; it just asks me to believe and confess. If you have tried others and not experienced the joy only God can give, why not try Jesus? He waits for anyone who will come. God's time of favour is here. 

The God-Factor

The God-Factor!

1 Corinthians 3:7 AMP

[7] So neither is the one who plants nor the one who waters anything, but [only] God who causes the growth.

Paul introduced himself to the church in Corinth as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. He was writing jointly with Sosthenes to the church in Corinth, a church described as those sanctified in thd same Christ that he, the writer, had come to know and serve. The church is the body of Christ, and are selected and called as God’s people. It is this special relationship that defines the church and Christ. It has no regard to height, weight, culture, language, or gender; what is important is faith in Christ, and that is what makes me one and the same with someone who does not even look, speak or interact like me. 

This is the church that Christ had come to lay down His life for. At the time He died, none of us alive now were there, so we could not say that He died for only those who looked a certain way. He died at a time when the world did not even recognise or acknowledge Him. His gift paved the way for anyone at all, no matter the weight or depth of sin, to make an approach to the throne of grace, and receive mercy, forgiveness of sin, and full restoration of access to God. The one who has now been forgiven and restored now has a duty to live out the demands of this new faith on a daily basis. There is now new ownership, and the demand on my time and resources have now changed.

Then comes the message in the verse above. If my racial or cultural differences with another person did not matter at the time Jesus died for all of us, why should it become important now when we am saved? If where we are from was not considered at the time Jesus paid the price for us, it means that it is now not important after we have secured the  eternal life that was promised to all who believe. The letter of Paul referred to the church in Corinth as still being worldly, with jealousy, strife and discord among the church. It was a church that was still holding allegiance to the men who preached to them; not to the One who saved them from eternal damnation. 

That is a practice or attitude which needs to be addressed. All men, no matter how smart or influential, are tools in the hands of the Saviour to lead men to the personal knowledge of, and encounter with the Saviour. It is this personal encounter that preaches the loudest message. Men will come and go, and make different impressions upon your life as you grow, but all of them must be treated as vessels in the hand of God to draw the hearts of men to God. Jesus Christ is the most important factor in this discussion: He is the One who is the gift as well as the Redeemer. He saves and preserves; and He can use anyone and anything to achieve His purpose. Am I available? Am I yielded? God's time of favour is here.

Choices and Consequences 2!

Choices and Consequences 2!

Acts 10:43 AMP

[43] All the prophets testify about Him, that through His name everyone who believes in Him [whoever trusts in and relies on Him, accepting Him as Savior and Messiah] receives forgiveness of sins.”

The foundation to the verse above is tied to a man called Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Regiment. The bible referred to him as a devout man and one who, along with all his household, feared God. He made many charitable donations to the Jewish people, and prayed to God always. Consider this: he was not the usual Jew, but he had heard about God. He sought God the way he knew how to, making sure his life's choices, actions and decisions reflected his faith in God. He was charitable to those who he had authority over, which means that he did not let power or position get into his head. That is the recipe for the experiences this man would later have.

This man's story also makes it clear that just having the right reputation is not enough, and just being known for doing good things, as nice as it sounds, but that fact alone does not make it perfect before God. There has to be something extra. God appeared to this man, asking him to send for Peter. Details were not given, but Peter initially struggled with the assignment, but he acknowledged that God was about to do something quite extraordinary in the lives of people. Can I set aside my prejudices and assumptions, so that God can move in and through me to touch lives? There are lives in need of God's touch of mercy and forgiveness, and He needs me to be His arms, mouth, feet and heart. 

Peter came, and he knew why God sent him to the house of Cornelius. Jesus died for all, and the message of eternal life is for all. No one is exempt from the coverage of this gift, and no matter how dirty the past is, or how terrible the present looks, God is able to take all that weight off me, and give me a brand new start. In His hands, no life is a waste. In His hands, no sin is too great to forgive. The blood of Jesus has capacity and capability to wash clean and make whole. If it could not, it means the blood is not effective. Through all the generations of men, the blood has been applied to the sin of man, and there is yet to be any situation so dire that the blood of Jesus could not cure. 

This is the message in the verse above. Even before Jesus was physically manifested, the prophets of old had testified about Him. We are privileged to live in the time of the power of the Holy Spirit. His acts are all around us, and He testifies to the saving knowledge of Jesus. In the name of Jesus lies the solution to the problem of sin. All I have to do is to believe in Him. He is not asking for sacrifices that will bankrupt me. There is nothing in me that I could offer to pay Him back for what He has done, and all He is asking me to do is to trust in and rely on Him. When I do that, I receive salvation from sin and eternal life is sealed. What could be bigger or better than this? Are you saved? Am I truly saved? God's time of favour is here. 

Choices and Consequences!

Choices and Consequences!

John 1:12 AMP

[12] But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—

There was a problem that needed a personal and permanent solution. The problem had to do with the human nature. God had made man in His own image, but man gave up the truth and reality of the image of God for some lies from the devil about some falsehoods about the image of God that was not real. The devil convinced man to give up what God had already given man, for something man could never get. Man was promised that if he ate the fruit, he would be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil. Man ate, and now, we know the difference. We are not able to choose the good by ourselves without help, because we had traded God's help for the deceit of the devil. 

The verse above starts with a BUT, and it is critical to examine what came before the BUT, so we can determine the best steps forward. Man had fallen, and needed help. The drama in the Eden had eternal ramifications. There was a need for the full price for sin to be paid by those who committed the sin. However, the one who fell into sin deserved punishment, and could not now offer a fitting sacrifice for his own sin, except to die for the wrong done. That would have been justice, in line with the standards of God. God knew that man could not help himself, so He sent His own Son to stand in my place and pay the full price for sin that I could not pay. 

Christ came, and because He did not come to the sounds of bells and whistles, man missed it. As He did not come with a loud trumpet, man did not recognise the grace that was now made manifest. Jesus came in the form of the man He needed to save, but the world did not recognise or receive Him. The issue of familiarity became the burden; He is like us, so He cannot be anything special. This is how many people in His time missed the day of their visitation. Heaven backed Him up, but earth treated Him like ordinary man. He made man, but man now seeks to replace Him with alternative images and altars. 

As it was then, so is it now. Men are still in search of alternatives to Jesus; unfortunately, there is no other name or person who can secure that which Jesus offers. As the verse above makes clear, there is no favouritism with God. He offers all men the chance to come in and take hold of the benefits and blessings of a relationship with Him. To as many as will believe in and receive Him, He has given the right and the privilege to  become children of God. We are now in line to inherit all that Jesus has. That is both amazing and sobering. It is not something to be missed or trifled with. How do you respond? God's time of favour is here. 

As Promised!

As Promised!

Genesis 21:1 KJV

[1] And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken.

What do you do when it appears that God has forgotten you? What do you do when you were sure that God made a promise to you, but with the passage of time, it appears that the promise no longer applies to you? This must have been the experience of the Sarah, the wife of Abraham. At the time God spoke to Abraham, asking him to leave his father's house and go to an unknown place at the time, it must have taken a strong and certain faith for him to take his family and move from the known to the unknown. We know now that Abraham obeyed because we now read about it, but it could have been easy at a time when walking with God was not popular. 

Abraham had a promise from God that he would be the father of many nations. We know that being a father means having your own child. It means that the many nations would start from your own offspring, but here was the man and wife, both getting past the ages of childbearing. Both had passed 90 and 80 years respectively, and there was no sign that the promise was even still being considered by God. Well, man's expectations or doubts have never limited God's capability and ability to fulfil His promises. He does not need my permission or authorisation to be God. Time does not limit Him the way it does for mortal man. 

In His own time, He makes all things beautiful. In His own time, He works out His perfect will. In His own time, He fulfills His promises. When He says a thing, He stakes His name and reputation on the integrity of His Word. He can be trusted, but He must be trusted to come through in His own time, not in line with our own expectations. Time as we measure it has no impact on Him. A day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like a day to Him. He stopped the sun from going down for a whole day, simply because a child of His asked. He added 15 more years to a man's life because the man asked. His mercy applies across several generations. He is the Omnipotent God. 

When it was His time, He visited Sarah again. He had sent His Word about 25 yesrs before it was fulfilled, and even the people involved had tried to help God speed up the process. For God, His Word cannot return to Him void. The power of His Word cannot be resisted by anything or anyone. When it was His time, He carried out His promise, and the one who had been mocked as barren became the mother to Isaac. The promise came to pass, even if it did not happen the way Abraham and Sarah wanted it to be. Take comfort from the legacy of truth that God has laid down: He always keeps His promises. Trust Him; your future is secure in the hands of an eternal God. God's time of favour is here. 

The Assignment!

The Assignment!

Mark 16:15-16 AMP

[15] And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. [16] He who has believed [in Me] and has been baptized will be saved [from the penalty of God’s wrath and judgment]; but he who has not believed will be condemned.

The plan of salvation was made manifest at the same time the first sin happened. The cross brought shame to Jesus, but it sealed our redemption. By the resurrection of Jesus, He has also sealed our eternal life. All these events happened in front of the disciples at that time, and it is not a wonder that all of them who witnessed the resurrection became witnesses to His Person, Power and Presence. We who are alive today may not have physically witnessed His resurrection, but there is a strong witness in our hearts that we belong to Jesus, He is ours, and we are bound for eternal life with Him. What a future to look forward to.

However, as the verse above makes clear, there is an assignment all who claim to follow Jesus have been given. The One who died needs witnesses to the power of the cross, the limits of the grave, and the hope that His life is and gives. It takes personal experience to be able to speak boldly about what you have and hold. How can I be a witness to a thing I did not touch, taste, feel, see or hear? It is not a surprise that the verse above is directed at disciples, not the crowd. The crowd flows by numbers and popularity, not by conviction or personal experience. Those who follow have a clear leader: Jesus Christ, and His instruction is to GO. 

To go means to take steps in the direction of the work to be done. It cannot be by sitting in the dark, or folding your arms, expecting some one else to do it. The platform for the work is the whole world. As I cannot be present everywhere, it means I just have to take care of the corner where I am. I show off the Person and Presence of the God I serve, and let Him shine in and through me. I do not get to determine who hears the good news of Jesus; He died for all, so the message of love is for all. It is not a call to promote myself, but to point men in the direction of the One who saves to the uttermost. That is the good news: the cross has sealed life for me.

The verse above also makes clear what lies at the end of whatever decision I make. If I choose to believe in God, I stand to enjoy His salvation. I am saved from the penalty of God's wrath, the natural consequence of sin. I am also kept from the judgment thst is sure to come on the world. Again, I note that I am not asked to bring anything else, except my heart. He does not need my money; but He can use everything I have and hold to bring His purpose to pass. The person who does not accept this free gift is condemned: that is a statement of fact. There are two choices: life and death. The end of both has been made clear. What would I choose? Where would I end up? God's time of favour is here.