TREASURE: Keeping our eyes on the right things!

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."

Matthew 13:44

Compare for a moment the difference between a mountain hiker and a pearl diver. The hiker is, for the most part, indifferent to the ground under his feet; whereas the pearl diver earnestly examines the ground under him.

That which can be easily obtained is appreciated little by those who obtain it. However, for those up to the task, the joy of obtaining that which requires effort is heightened by the promise of its possible possession.

It is part of the plan of God that His people undergo discipline by requiring they search for His hidden things in order that He may reveal still greater treasures.

Christianity, Illustrations,
Religion, Treasure

LIGHT: How great is that darkness!

U.S. researchers [announced recently] they have made the darkest material on Earth, a substance so black it absorbs more than 99.9 percent of light. [Reuters]

I'm afraid the material they seek already exists; Jesus spoke of it 2 millennia ago:

"If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!"

Matthew 6:23b

The Lord's implication is that there is a state of absolute darkness that is attainable (even the scientists, by virtue of their research, believe a condition absolutely free of all light is potentially achievable). But is not attainable in this age.

The article explains the researchers' discovery in this way ...

Made from tiny tubes of carbon standing on end, [the] material is almost 30 times darker than a carbon substance used by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology as the current benchmark of blackness.

And the material is close to the long-sought ideal black, which could absorb all colors of light and reflect none.

From Genesis 1:3 to Revelation 22:5 the word "light" is mentioned in 200 verses (in 31 by the Lord), from Genesis 1:2 to Jude 1:13 the word "darkness" is mentioned in 145 verses (in 13 by the Lord); notice the absence of the latter in John's Apocalypse.

We must acknowledge that up until the "taking away" of the saints of God, darkness has no chance of an absolute existence because ...

"[We] are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house."

Matthew 5:14, 15

Consider the sense of all of this? Absolute darkness will be the standard for all in Perdition; absolute light the standard for all in Heaven, for ...

"And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever."

Revelation 22:5

'Nough said!

Christianity, Illustrations, Religion

SEALED: Marked for Eternity!

"Mark the blameless man …"

Psalm 37:37

"… you were sealed in Him …"

Ephesians 1:13 [also 4:30]

"… sealed the bond-servants of our God on their foreheads ..."

Revelation 7:3

I was reminded the other day of how our American hobos marked the homes of those who befriended them.

Contrary to urban legends, American generosity is not a guaranteed commodity. Going from town to town and living on the road many times resulted in an empty stomach. Handouts were often few and far between. So when a generous person was found, it was a good idea to remember where they lived, should you pass their way again.

The mark was well-known to those on the road; hobos could quite easily travel from border to border and coast to coast never lacking for a meal or a grubstake.

God has marked those who belong to Him. The Bible says, "His name shall be on their foreheads" [Revelation 22:4]. And it also says we have been sealed … the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His” … [2 Timothy 2:19].

But God has also marked others: "who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ" [Jude 1:4].

Then again, Satan also has his mark [Revelation 13:16-17]. Oh, beloved, be certain of your mark [2 Peter 1:10-11].

Christianity, Illustrations,
Justification, Religion

THIRST: Take a long pull on the Living Water!

SPIRITUAL THIRST: [John 4:1-26 or Revelation 21:6]

My wife and I were involved in foster care; we’ve had a foster child with us for over six years. From time to time we were required to take certification classes. In one session, the instructor was explaining how some children are abused by depravation.

She told us of three siblings who had been deprived of water. When they arrived at her home they were fascinated by the availability of water … they ran around turning on every faucet, inside and outside. But what fascinated them most were the toilets, they flushed them again and again.

A negative side to these discoveries was a sense of desperation when leaving home; their new mom solved the problem by getting each of them a mini-water bottle.

When people are deprived of a thing they “want,” they generally get along pretty well without it; however, when it’s something they “need,” or require, they suffer horribly in its absence.

These little boys didn’t consciously know they were suffering from a lack of water, but they were … so too is man as he is deprived of God’s living water! Just as he thirsts for physical water, so too he thirst for spiritual water. Only One can satisfy that thirst: The Living Water of Life!

GRIEF/MOURNING: Reserved for Those Left Behind!

Heavy-laden Pebble Droppers [Matthew 11:28-29; Love, Weariness]

Barney Visser lost a son to an inherited illness. It devastated him. To compensate for the grief he wrote and published a memorial booklet in his son’s honor. The book is titled Chad and is authored by “Dad.” In the book Visser shares a poignant illustration concerning the handling of grief; the following paraphrases that ...

Grief is like carrying a backpack filled with pebbles. Each pebble is like an particle of grief. “We must carry that pack the rest of our lives,” Visser says. “There are pebbles in some … pockets we’ll never … get rid of.”

The objective for the grieving is to get through each day, one day at a time, dropping pebbles as we go, and one pebble at a time. If we don’t, we will become stooped and heavy-laden, unable to accept other burdens life has to offer. As time goes on, we will feel the load grow lighter.

[Barry Visser, Chad, © Barry Visser, 1998, p.11]

How Deep Is Your Grief [Revelation]

Watching the second episode of NBC's new mini-serial, Revelations, was not as "edge of the seat" as episode one, but the personal reward was worth the whole television season.

Co-star Dr. Richard Massey, an astro-physicist, (co-star Bill Pullman) is patiently hearing-out a nun he'd just met, when the subject of death comes up. Massey offhandedly refers to his daughter's murder at the hands of Satanists, expressing the grief he feels.

The nun, a close friend of Sister Jo (co-star Natascha McElhone), responds, "Grief is God's way of letting us know the true depth of the love we have for the one over whom we grieve. To the extent we love, that is the extent to which we grieve." [my paraphrase; I refuse to buy a transcript and I don't have Tivo].

This is deep, introspective, and reflective. Think about those who do not grieve when loved ones die; may we say they do not grieve because the did not love? Think about those who grieve deeply and long; may we say they loved deeply and genuinely?

Think now about the Son of God on the Cross of Calvary dying for the sins of the whole world; may we say that the Father grieved perfectly over the death of His son because He loved perfectly? How deep is that love?

TIMES GONE BY! [2 Samuel 12:19-23; other topics - Death, Guilt, Regret]

I was told of a woman who had been hung up on by her best friend; she was so shocked that she sat for a long time just listening to the dial tone. It wasn’t until the phone company determined the line was dead and disconnected her that she broke down and cried.

Some people are like that when they lose a loved one. They just can’t accept what has happened, so they go through each day listening to a line that has gone dead.

Death definitely separates the dead from the living, but some of the living are hanging on for dear life. They evidently regret things said, things not done, or times gone by. It’s not until something breaks their grip on the dead that real crying and grieving begin, and then it’s deep and passionate.

We must understand that it’s before our loved ones die that we must apologize to them, love them, forgive them, and enjoy them … not after. It’s too late after the connection is severed.

END TIMES / ESCHATOLOGY: The Really Last Days!

As & Cs ARE HERE, BUT THE Bs ARE MISSING (Where Will All the Flowers Go?) [1 Thessalonians 4:17; other topics - Pre-Trib, Rapture] (New 31 May 2007)

A recent report by Joel Garreau, a WaPo Staff Writer, gives us some food for thought. I found this very interesting ... explains how God could bring about an end to runaway Western materialism. Garreau writes ...

In "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," just before Earth is destroyed to make way for a hyperspatial express route, all the dolphins in the world disappear, leaving behind just the message: "So long, and thanks for all the fish."

Now, around the world, honeybees are vanishing en masse, leaving their humans engaged in a furious attempt to figure out the meaning of their exodus. Entire colonies are following the Shakespearean stage direction, "Exeunt omnes." They're flying off and not returning. Commercial beekeepers open their hives and find them empty except for a queen, a few immature bees and abundant honey and pollen. The rest of the bees are simply gone, leaving behind not even dead bodies.

A third of our food supply - including much of the boredom-relieving stuff, from cranberries to cucumbers - is dependent on animal pollinators like the honeybee. As a result, this mystery is rapidly joining the all-star ranks of millennial end-time run-for-your-lives threats, right up there with Y2K, mad cow disease, West Nile virus, SARS and avian flu.

Of equal note is the way the bees are setting a new standard in human emotional resonance. Absolutely no one yet knows why the bees are checking out, though not for lack of abundant effort on the part of the world's scientists. This dearth of data allows us to project our greatest anxieties onto the bees.

No bees, no pollen; no pollen, no flowers; no flowers, no agri-business; no agri-business, no shirt ... and as the old saying goes, no shirt, no service.

Source link >>>

TAGS:
Bees, Great Tribulation, Left Behind, Rapture, Science

DEVELOPED NATION’S PROBLEM [2 Timothy 3:1ff; Sin; Social & Moral Values; Youth]

In a poll conducted by NBC News and The Wall Street Journal “three out of four respondents said they didn’t trust politicians when they talked about social and moral values."

The public’s apparent contentment with the state of the nation and its economic prosperity appears to have been shaken, partly as a result of a spate of murders by students at public schools from Pearl, Miss., in 1997 to last April’s massacre in Littleton, Colo. "Youth violence" was ranked highest among respondents’ personal concerns about American society.

“By a lopsided margin -83 percent- the Americans surveyed in the poll agreed that ‘parents not paying enough attention to what’s going on in their children’s lives’ has become a ‘very serious problem.’

“More than two out of three poll respondents said that ’the influence of sexually explicit or violent media on children’ has become a ‘very serious’ social problem. And 63 percent identified ‘the high rate of divorce and the breakup of families’ as a very serious problem for American society.

“When asked what change in American society over the past 15 or 20 years has most disturbed them, the highest number of respondents cited ‘the lack of respect for authority and elders.’

“The NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey was conducted by pollsters Peter Hart and Robert Teeter. They surveyed 2,011 adult Americans between June 16 and June 19. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 2.2 percent.”

I was told many years ago that third world and underdeveloped nations don’t have the problems with their children like we have with ours.

[Adapted: Tom Curry, MSNBC, June 24 (1999)]

FEATHERED STOWAWAY [Matthew 22:11-14; other topics - Day of the Lord, Wedding Feast, Preparation]

Steve Harvey writes a weekly humor and miscellany column, “Only In LA,” for the L. A. Times. In his July 24th column he tells the story of a fine-feathered friend who found himself in a place where he was not welcome.

It seems the small bird stowed away on an Air Canada flight before leaving Los Angeles International Airport. He either had help or imitated a passenger so well no one noticed. Once discovered, the pilot announced the unwelcomed guest would be put off upon landing and the door would be shut forever to reentry.

In another place and another time, there will be those who will want to join a wedding party; they will be denied entry ... because they won’t have the right ticket. Others will attempt to gain entry through stealth, but their clothing will reveal them as uninvited guests. They, like the bird above will each and every one be put out and the door will be shut forever to entry.

NO ESCAPE! [1 Thessalonians 5:1-3; other topics - Day of the Lord, Judgment, Second Coming]

Recently, The Los Angeles Times (May 7, 2002, A10) reported on a Palestinian thief who has single-handedly embarrassed the entire Israeli security service. Mahmoud abu Jamous, 31, a kind of local folk hero and jailbird, recently escaped from an elaborate security effort while being transported from one jail to another. Abu Jamous was locked inside a special cage, inside an armored police van, with leg restraints and handcuffs, and watched by no less than 10 prison guards. What’s more, his vehicle was preceded and followed by two other security vehicles.

The sad but comical part of this fiasco is that none of the security personnel noticed the felon was missing. A motorist called the local police and reported that he saw Abu Jamous drop from a barred window of the van and run away. He’s not been seen since.

Paul tells of another day when all of the world’s security systems will fail. He writes:

“Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” [1 Thessalonians 5:1-3]

There will be no folk heroes among the unrighteous who will escape; no one is going to slip out a window unnoticed.

NOTHING BUT THE SKIN ON YOUR BACK [Revelation 13:1; other topics - Nakedness, Old Nature, Sin]

Reuters News Service reported “a naked man was found dead [July 6, 1999] on the back of a killer whale in the tank at SeaWorld Orlando.” The man was found laying nude on the whale’s back - absent any signs of trauma. He evidently hid until after the amusement park was closed.

Many in the world think life is just one big amusement park, where they can play and play to their hearts content. They think they can play with the beasts and hide while they do it. But like this man, they will end up naked and dead on the back of a beast that has risen up from the sea.

SOME PEOPLE ARE REALLY HARD HEADED! [Matthew 5:30 & Revelation 6:15-17; Hope, Hopelessness]

CNN recently reported on a Pennsylvania construction worker who inadvertently severed his hand with a power saw; then repeatedly shot himself in the head with a nail gun, apparently hoping to stop the pain. The young man had no fewer than a dozen 1-inch nails protruding from his skull, reports said. Thankfully, surgeons reattach his hand. The twenty-five-year old was hospitalized in stable condition. [excerpted from CNN, 25 January 2001]

This is no joke. More than once construction work supported my family while a bivocational pastor … personal experience reminds me how easy one can be injured in this demanding work. Thank God He made some of our heads harder than others.

The shock and despair at the moment of a severe injuries are extreme; first a sense of stupidity arises, then despair … the more serious the injury, the greater the despair. Obviously, this fellow’s despondency exceeded his wound.

When Christ comes again, however, more than a few people are going to wish they had severed offending hands, when they had the chance; their despair will be so great they’ll hope more than a nail gun to assaults their heads.

VEILED: [Hebrews 10:19-20; other topics - Separation, Veil]

A lens cover not only protects a camera's lens but it prevents the camera from seeing the scene right in front of its eye.

In the same way, the veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies prevents anyone seeing the scene right in front of them.

Remove the lens and voilà, the panorama unfolds as a image within the camera. Likewise, remove the veil and there is no more separation between man and God. [New 20 February 2007]

TAGS:
Christianity, End-times, Separation, Veil

CHRISTMAS: Theft of Jesus – The Sequel!

"Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.

Revelation 22:12

If you recall, a few weeks ago I reported on the theft of Baby Jesus from a South Australian Brewing company’s annual nativity. Well, I’m happy to report that Jesus has been returned; not by the thief but by a benefactor.

Brewing company managing director Mark Powell said despite a reward of six cases of beer for the return of the original Jesus there’ve been no leads.

United Church Minister Lawrie Linggood presided over a simple reinstallation service, offering the new Jesus his blessing. He prayed, “that this little doll will touch people's lives."

Well now, those who live by faith know that Jesus is coming quickly and there will be no need for a benefactor. There will also be no need for Jesus to touch people’s lives at that time … it will be too darn late!

Christianity, Christmas,
Illustrations, Religion