Finding Pure Treasure

Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times; And the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His treasure. Is.33:6

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. 

Psalm 34:8

As I took a walk on my Christmas holiday, my feet crunched upon the little round droplets of ice encrusted  snow. The little circles of ice droplets made a lovely pattern in my sister's yard. I thought about God's words to Job about the treasury of snow (Job 38:22) and the mystery of every different single snowflake. It looked so pretty I snapped a picture with my camera. Just one nanosecond of time that pictured a certain amount of molecules ordered together by a loving God who holds the entire creation together by His awesome power.

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. [Col 1:17 KJV]

God is the author of all the mysteries in the universe, both great and small. Whether it is staring into the Milky Way Galaxy from a ranch in Arizona (as I did in 2006) or staring at the crystals of snow on the ground in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania in 2016, I am reminded that my God is a God of wonders, a God of limitless treasures. And He Himself is the treasure that I will never grow tired of, or bored with, or become dissatisfied with.

He, and He alone, is the treasure.

Some things happened yesterday that helped to rouse me from the slumber I fall into so easily. Not only slumber but also spiritual doldrums  hit me hard at this time of year. How is it that my heart can wander away from God so easily? How is it so easy to want to find something that will replace what only God can give me?

Food and all the pleasures of eating cannot give me that satisfaction.

Friends and family members, no matter how near and dear they are, cannot give me that satisfaction.

Novels with great plots and great characterization cannot give me that satisfaction.

Being the girl with the most fabric and sewing projects cannot give me that satisfaction.

The Steelers winning against the Kansas City Chiefs tonight cannot give me that satisfaction.

Even the satisfaction of seeing my name in print cannot give me that satisfaction.

Still, the liar whispers to me that I will not find satisfaction in God.

But, all that enemy can do is to lie, and cheat us and steal from us all the abundant life that Jesus wants us to have.

Last night, I read a book called Taste: My Life Without Food by a pastor named Gordon Meier. I found it at  Goodwill, of all places . He suffers from a rare disorder that makes it impossible to eat food, and can only be fed by parenteral nutrition. A man who loved food in all its differing delicacies can no longer partake of one bite of it, but he praises God anyhow that he is learning how to really taste and see that God is good. I highly recommend it if anyone may struggle with looking to food to meet their inward satisfaction.

I took a long walk today and tasted that God was good as I just sang along a melody of praise to Him in my heart, telling myself I need nothing more than Him to be my happiness. If ever I think I might grow bored with God, that thought can be immediately dismissed for His depths are unlimited. He has no boundaries and He is not a man with feet of clay like all of us. He is the Perfect Man, the God Man. And the best news of all is that this wonderful God never gets tired of me coming to Him to fill up that needy cup that I have once again.

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 

For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 

For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. [Rom 11: 33-36 KJV]

There is nothing I can do to stop this wonderful God from loving me. (Romans 8: 28-39) Even my sin will not separate me from His love. 

He is the treasure my heart is seeking for, both now and forever. I pray today you may also find Him as your most precious treasure.

Hotcakes with Jesus

"Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am."

Philippians 4:11

"If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content."

I Timothy 6: 8

Sometimes I look around me and it seems like the devil whispers in my ear that I should be jealous of others. He suggests I somehow have a right to be jealous when I hear about friends' vacations, homes, successes, careers, yada, yada, yada.

I thought about that  this afternoon as I sat eating hotcakes at McDonald's by myself after church. Thankfully, I checked myself in my spirit and nipped this green monster in the bud. I thought, "Jesus is here with me as I enjoy these hotcakes."  I was blessed sitting there alone, but not really alone. Because He was there with me.

Many times I've been warned from the pulpit that if we aren't content with " just what we have, just where we are, we will never be content no matter what we have, or where we are. "

We could always have something more, something we think will  really make us happy. Then we get that thing and are happy for about 10 minutes and then are just as miserable as before, if not more miserable. For we realize that once again we've been duped into thinking that something other than God alone can fill that craving in our soul.

 Sometimes I feel  I've drifted away from God by my day's end. But He hasn't left me. No matter where I am, or where I go, or even if I have really cut off my fellowship with Him through personal sin, He is still there, waiting to be all my soul requires.

Colossians 2: 10 declares:

 "in Him you have been made complete..." 

He is all I need, whether I eat lunch by myself or with the Queen of England. If I do not have the experiences others have, well, guess what, that's OK!   This isn't my final destination. I am only a stranger passing through. When I get to the other side, there will be pleasures that eye has never seen, nor ear has ever heard. (I Cor. 2:9)

"You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever." Psalm 16: 11

I am so happy that this is the truth! No matter what situation we're in, if we have Christ, we have everything. If we don't have Christ, no matter what we think we have, we have nothing.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6: 19-21

Where Your Treasure Lies...

The LORD is exalted,
for He dwells on high;
 He has filled Zion
with justice and
 righteousness. Wisdom
and knowledge will
 be the stability of
your times, And the
strength of salvation;
 The fear of the
LORD is his treasure.


Isaiah 33: 5-6






Where our treasure lies, that is where our heart will be, Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:21. That resonated with me this morning, even as the hymn on the radio reminds me that He alone is a shelter in the time of the storm.

God blesses me so much when I take the time to read His Word and commune with Him in prayer. It is my own little shelter from the storms of life. I used to think these were a "have-to," but now I realize they are such a wonderful "get-to."

I get to know the mind of Christ as I delve into His Word. Right now I have so many study tools available to me, it would be to my shame to neglect them. As I dig down sometimes into the meanings of the words, I am blessed to learn more and more about my wonderful Creator.

If I have wandered from Him through some sin, why do I ever think I could hide it from Him? He knows all things, He knows my failures. He is not mad that I failed, but wants to show me that I can only please Him by total reliance on Him, and not my own meager resources. I have nothing to offer Him but coming to Him and offering myself to Him each day as a living sacrifice. The enemy would want me to fear this as a difficult and scary thing, but the more I get to know Him, I only realize more and more how reasonable it is. Instead of running from Him like Adam and Eve I can run to Him anytime, anywhere, 24/7. He is always waiting there for me.

Here are some of my beloved study tools that have helped me to grow in the grace and the knowledge of my Lord and Savior. They have helped me to see God's Word is an unfathomable treasure trove. Maybe you might be blessed by some of them too.

• The Hebrew-Greek-Key-Word-Study- edited by Dr. Spiros Zodhiates     This Bible has a lexicon and word study aids and is most wonderful, explaining the deeper meaning of both Hebrew and Greek words. (Also available in other Bible versions.)   AMG Publishers
• The Complete-WordStudy-Dictionary-New Testament- edited by Spiros Zodhiates   I bought a copy in the hardback edition with some money I received from my birthday. It is a huge book and explains the meaning of the words in context. Not every word is used in the same way, and Zodhiates helps you to get the closest meaning for each particular usage.  AMG Publishers
• Interlinear-Greek-English-New-Testament- Jay P. Green, Sr.    I picked up this treasure at a rummage sale. It gives me the number from Strong's for each word. It also gives the literal translation. I use this in conjunction with the dictionary listed above. Wonderful.  Baker Books.
• Nelsons-Cross-Reference-Guide-to the Bible    This lovely hardback gives an abundance of cross references for the entire Bible. You can get lost in studying a word or concept here.
• New-Testament-Expanded-Translation by Kenneth Wuest    This expands the translation of the New Testament. Eerdman's Publishing Co.
• Dake-Annotated-Reference-Bible-KJV-Publishing/   (Also available in other Bible versions.) This study Bible is packed with cross references and thousands and thousands of study notes. I don't agree with him on everything, but his work is amazing in this study Bible. I got mine on a closeout one time from CBD at a very reasonable price. But the print in my version is quite small, it is not the large print, although a large print is available. Dake Bible Sales, Inc.

These are just a few of my favorites, but I thought in sharing them it might help someone else out in their walk with the Lord. Maybe you might be able to purchase one secondhand. In knowing Jesus, the Word personified, we can have stability in such uncertain times. Though the mountains quake and are cast into the depths of the sea, we do not have to fear.  (Psalm 46:2) We can be like the noble Bereans, who searched the Scriptures daily, to see if these things were so. (Acts 17:11)

Do you have any favorite study materials you would like to share? I would love to hear them!