God's Treasure Hunt

 King Saul of Israel had failed miserably. God commissioned Samuel, the prophet and high priest, to find a new king. God sent Samuel on a treasure hunt. He was to find the young man chosen by God and anoint him as the next king.

Where was Samuel sent? Not to Jerusalem and not to a noble family. God sent Samuel to a farm. The farmer had strong and handsome sons.

Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 1 Samuel 16:10 NIV84

The farmer had another son, but he was only a boy.

Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.” 

“Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes. And the LORD said, “This is the one; anoint him.” 1 Samuel 16:11–12 NLT

Samuel was directly led by the Holy Spirit.

Today many of us are so wise in our own eyes. We are taught that we have the whole Bible and theological training. We think we no longer need the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Or else we do what we think is right and assume we are led by the Spirit.

Some Christians are too easily led by emotional impressions, but it is dangerous to rely on our own human understanding of the Bible without the help of the One who inspired it.

And what are the results of this educated Christianity? In many formerly Christian countries, Christians are merely tolerated. The power and glory of God are not found in most churches.

Many churches have excluded the Holy Spirit, just like King Saul, but God is looking for outsiders and children like David who will continue His work with the love and power of the Holy Spirit.

 Agostino d' Antonio, a sculptor of Florence, Italy, wrought diligently but unsuccessfully on a large piece of marble. "I can do nothing with it," he finally said. Other sculptors, too, worked with the piece of marble, but they, too, gave up the task. The stone was discarded. It lay on a rubbish heap for forty years.

Out strolling one day, Michelangelo saw the stone and the latent possibilities in it. It was brought to his studio. He began to work on it. Ultimately, his vision and work were crowned with success. From that seemingly worthless stone was carved one of the world's masterpieces of sculpture—"David!" (cf: 1 Samuel 16:13)

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF 15,000 ILLUSTRATIONS SIGNS OF THE TIMES By Dr. Paul Lee Tan  

 You may be rejected by the world and even other Christians as a worthless stone. God still has good plans for your life.

Love One Another

 No community can function without leadership. As Christians, we need leaders, elders, preachers, teachers and managers. Parents must have authority over their children. But when Christianity is dominated by hierarchy, we have lost our way.

But he said to them, “The kings of the gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. 
But not so with you; rather, the greatest among you must become like the youngest and the leader like one who serves. Lk 22:25–26 NRSVue

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. Jn 13:34 NRSVue

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Jn 15:12 NRSVue

I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. Jn 15:17 NRSVue

Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Rom 13:8 NRSVue

Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Rom 14:19 NRSVue

Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. Rom 15:7 NRSVue

For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; likewise, the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 1 Cor 7:4 NRSVue 

The essence of Christian marriage is not male dominance but equal partnership. 

… being subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. Eph 5:21 NRSVue

There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:28 NRSVue

Gender based hierarchy violates the key biblical principle of mutual love and respect.

Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, Eph 4:26 NRSVue

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Eph 4:32 NRSVue

Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Col 3:13 NRSVue

Now concerning love of the brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anyone write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 1 Th 4:9 NRSVue

Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing. 1 Th 5:11 NRSVue

See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. 1 Th 5:15 NRSVue

God wants you back.

 If you have ever had a son or daughter who turned against you and disappeared, you know what heartache feels like. 

Jesus told a story about a young man who claimed his inheritance while his rich father was still alive and travelled to a foreign country. There was no internet and there were no mobile phones. The father did not mount a search party but every day he went out and looked down the road to see if his son would come back. 

One day he looked out and he actually saw his son in the distance.

I don't want to share personal family secrets but I know what this father went through.

Jesus also told a story of a farmer with 100 sheep. One sheep ran away and was lost. The farmer left his 99 sheep behind and searched for his lost sheep until he found it and took it home.

Today I read a news story about a young couple who went for a holiday on Kangaroo Island off the coast of Australia. They took their one year old pet dachshund with them. One day their beloved Valerie escaped and disappeared into the bush.

They were heartbroken and after searching for 5 days, they had to return home without their pet. The people on the island were very compassionate and deeply concerned. They searched with video cameras and drones for over a year. 

A farmer set up a trap with food for Valerie’s owners were afraid their spoilt house dog might not survive in wild country where snakes and other predators were a constant danger. Finally, a strong, muscular little dog got into the trap. The farmer saw Valerie on his remote video camera and pushed the button to shut the door and lock her in.

Valerie’s owners were beside themselves with joy to get their Valerie back. They had a pet cat and two other dogs but they loved Valerie like their own child.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NRSVue

If you are not in a personal relationship with Father God, He wants you back. He will stop at nothing to win your trust.

(Jesus said…) “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Jn 10:11 NRSVue

If you are not sure you believe, you might be like Valerie, the little dog that panicked and went wild. If you are not sure, you can talk to God. 

“If you are real and you do love me, please help me to believe.”

God wants to forgive you, to love and care for you.

If Christians have bullied you, abused you, or betrayed you, God did not do it.

For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.” Lk 19:10 NRSVue

God Promises to Help in Dark Places

 When you are going through hard trials, God promises to help. Here are some Bible promises that you can rely on. 

You are weak, but you refuse to stop believing.. God will reward you.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Mt 5:3 NIV

You are broken, misunderstood, mistreated, but you refuse to blame God. God wants to comfort you.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Mt 5:4 NIV 

You are in a dark place. You see no way out, but the light of God's love shines in the darkness.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Jn 1:5 NIV

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Ps 23:4 NASB95

You are in trouble, but Jesus is on your side. Don't give up!

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jn 16:33 NIV

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Rom 8:31 NIV

When you are mistreated, never give in to hate and bitterness. God still loves you. Never give in.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Rom 12:21 NIV

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. Jas 1:12 NIV

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Ps 23:4 NASB95

 God is our shelter and strength,. always ready to help in times of trouble. 

So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken. Ps 46:1-2 Good News Bible
 

You Can Pray for Everyone

 I was reading a book of daily devotions by Max Lucado, when I was inspired by his teaching on this verse. 

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 1 Ti 2:1 NRSVue

He encouraged me to pray for people all around me.

The name of man immediately came to mind, a man who was in my class at school 60 years ago. I looked him up on the internet and read the story of his amazingly successful career. 

There was no mention of Christian faith, so I prayed for him to have a direct personal encounter with Jesus Christ. You can have everything in this life and have no hope for eternity.

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Mk 8:36 NIV

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 
and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Jn 11:25–26 NIV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Jn 14:6 NRSVue

God is your creator. If you have been successful, it is because God gave you talents and you used them. But never forget who gave you the ability.

I prayed for this man, and I am sure God will answer.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 
For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Mt 7:7–8 NRSVue

If you have faith in Jesus, you can ask for blessings for yourself and God will answer. 
You can pray for your family and friends and God will answer.

But don’t stop there.

Pray for everyone. But that is surely impossible. True. But when I go for a walk or go shopping, I often notice someone who looks sad or broken and I quietly pray. I am sure, that when I go to heaven, I will meet some of those sad and broken people who caught my attention and I prayed.

If you follow Jesus, never underestimate the power of God to answer your small prayers.

Sabbath Law and Christian Freedom

 In the New Testament, many of the Christians were slaves. It is interesting that Paul does not completely abolish the Ten Commandments in his letters. 

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, 
idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 

envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Gal 5:19–21 NRSVue

(See also 1 Corinthians 6:9–10.)

Paul forbids idolatry, adultery, theft, greed, etc., but in no letter does he forbid work on the Sabbath.

Why?

Many Christians were slaves. If a slave was ordered to work on the Sabbath, he could be killed on the spot for disobedience. 

Paul claimed that we must be faithful to the ethical principles in the Old Testament, but we are no longer like the Jews under the law. 

In the Roman Empire, slaves had no human rights. A slave was the property of his master, just like a tool or a donkey. Some slave owners valued their slaves as human beings, but they were not obliged to do so.

There was a woman from Canada in Saudi Arabia. Her husband was Arab. She wanted to leave him and return to her homeland, but she was not allowed to because in Arabia a wife is the property of her husband.

The situation is similar for young Arab women. If they emigrate and want to lead a free and independent life in the West, they can be abducted or murdered because they are considered the property of their father.

When I read in a Christian devotional that I belong completely and unreservedly to God. I felt intimidated. 

As a young Christian, I attended churches where the pastors ruled over the members in a very authoritarian manner. It was like the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. If the priest or bishop condemned or excommunicated you, you thought you were lost and damned. 

I was excommunicated as a young Christian. I panicked and despaired. It took me years to learn that a pastor was not my master, that I was not an unemancipated child, that I did not have to tremble before God like a slave.

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 
For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” Rom 8:14–15 NASB95

Abba means daddy or papa. 

What does it really mean to be God's property?

But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me.” 
“Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. 

“Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me. Isa 49:14–16 NASB95

God wants to help you.

 Jesus left Judea and returned to Galilee. It was a long walk, and at noon he took a break at a well in Samaria. 

There he found a woman drawing water from the well.

 It was taboo for Jews to talk to Samaritans. Jesus was also a Bible teacher, and no rabbi was allowed to speak to a woman alone. 

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”

Jesus was alone with this woman because his disciples had gone to the nearby town to buy supplies. The woman was surprised that Jesus spoke to her.

So the Samaritan woman said to him, “How do you, being a Jew, ask from me water to drink, since I am a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jn 4:9 LEB

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you had known the gift of God and who it is who says to you, ‘Give me water to drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” Jn 4:10 LEB

Are you a little religious, virtuous and idealistic? That's a good start, but there's more. Many pastors preach humanistic philosophy, and their listeners have nothing more than vague ideas about God and eternal reality.

Are you a Christian? Do you expect an eternal future in heaven? That's good. But if you knew what Jesus wants to give you here on earth, you would pray from the heart and expect miracles.

Are you entangled in drug addiction, prostitution, pornography or the occult?
 
The woman in this story was despised in her society, but she may not have been to blame.

The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband,’ 

for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” Jn 4:17–18 NRSVue

In this society, only the man had the say. Five husbands had rejected her? Why?
Was she unable to bear sons? 
Had she been sexually abused and was unable to satisfy her husband? 
Was she extremely depressed, traumatised and moody?

How could she survive as a woman who had been divorced five times? As a beggar? As a prostitute?

Jesus did not look at her sins, but at her need. He simply loved her.

Jesus died on the cross for you and your sins. He simply loves you.

No matter where you are, Jesus wants to bless you.

When you entrust your life completely to Jesus, God's Spirit comes and dwells in your spirit.

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, Eph 3:20 NRSVue

Why do we expect so little from God? What is your problem?
Have you failed? Jesus can give you strength and wisdom to live a new life.

Are you caught up in a colourless, decent religious routine? Jesus freed the decent Jews of his time from their religious treadmill. Jesus gave his disciples a new life filled with joy, freedom and adventure.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Jn 10:10 NRSVue

Are you addicted to pornography? You can never enter God's heaven with pornography, but Jesus can set you free.

Jesus was tortured on the cross. Through his suffering, he took the punishment for all your sins upon himself.

If only you knew how God can and wants to help you, you would cry out for God's help and have a new life.