It would have been more appropriate if the scene had been closed off with police tape. If 'DO NOT CROSS' and 'POLICE INVESTIGATION' surrounded the scene. They had killed him hadn't they? It could only be described as cold-blooded murder. A guilty, sinful life exchanged for one that was innocent and pure. Not only that, but the body is now missing! Stolen?! Not possible! A huge stone blocked the tomb. However, this is not a crime scene. It is a scene that represents new life. It a scene that tells us in the midst of death, God can bring about life and newness.
This weekend many of us celebrated this scene. The fact that Christ died for our sins and rose to life that we may have abundant life. This shows us how Christ has made a way for us to enter into the Holy of Holies (Hebrews 10:20)- but I love that there is more to this!
He made a new way for us. We need to follow Him to where He is. A lot of us know that we have been redeemed and know that God has called us, but do we allow our minds to be renewed to live out this new life? One of my favourite scriptures at the moment is 1 Peter 1:18 - we have been redeemed from a useless way of living. I have been redeemed from so much, but why do I still walk in it? Most of the time I identify myself with this 'useless way of living'.
Out of the old and into the new. We still look for Him in the tomb. We still look for ourselves in the tomb. We identify Him with death. We identify ourselves with death. BUT He is no longer in the tomb. He is no longer dead. He is not in the tomb- He is now seated at the right hand of God!! Ephesians 2 lays it out nicely. We were living a life that was dead, habitually walking in our sins, but we were raised to life WITH Christ. We are now seated with Him in heavenly places. We have been raised to life again!! Because of this we now need to walk as He walks. There has been no murder. Whatever has happened in our lives does not need police tape. And even if a stone has been rolled to bury it, God is able to raise anything dead back to life again.
You've been given abundant life, how will you live it out?
Monday, 21 April 2014
Saturday, 19 April 2014
We found a hope....
**Nothing is impossible**
I was listening to a sermon and the other day and Luke 1:37-38 was mentioned. This scripture challenged me, causing to me reflect upon my faith. After announcing to Mary that she is about to give birth to the Saviour of the world, the angel Garbiel says to Mary, 'For with God nothing will be impossible'. Not a problem. Not impossible. Children are born regularly. One born every minute! But Mary was a virgin. Then yes, okay, impossible!
This challenged me because how many times have I questioned things God is doing in my life? I recently went through some frustrations, not yet seeing things that I wanted to see. Situations looked differently to how I expected them. 'This is impossible!' I am often screaming! I hear God tugging on my heart leading in a certain direction. My response is, 'This is impossible!' If only I would believe that with God, nothing is impossible.
I was challenged even more so with Mary's response. 'Let it be to me according to your word.' Hold up! Before we start thinking about how lovely Mary's response was or let our imaginations wander and creatively think about how Mary then had a magnificent birth surrounded by encouraging people. Mary was a virgin! In their culture that did not mean Mary was going to be understood as they were expecting the Messiah. It meant that she could be stoned to death. Not being married, but betrothed (engaged) Joseph, could only mean one thing - adultery. If I was Mary my response would be far from, 'Let it be to me...'. I would be yelling about how I could die! Going off on a tangent how people will be talking about me, accusing me and I would be subject to the opinion of others. Not only would a baby seem impossible, but surviving the whole nine months would be impossible.
**No hope**
So I begin to pray about these impossible situations. Situations where I feel God has led me to where there is no way out. Reminds me of when Jesus and the disciples are out at sea. Jesus is taking them across to the other side. They follow their Teacher. All of a sudden a storm began to violently rock the boat. It's all good, the disciples have Jesus on their boat. But they forget who He is and say instead, 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing'. In my state of anxiety in what feels like impossible situations I have this perspective. God, do you not care that I may drown in depression, in pain, in hurt. And my prayer was more like this. God softly responds 'Build'. :/ Eh? What am I supposed to build in a hopeless situation?
**Build**
I am now hopeless and doubting where hope is. What I speak over the situation reflects that. Instead of speaking hope and life, I was speaking death. 'Lord, don't you care if I drown?' Who says I am going to drown?! So I began to think about what God could have meant by the word build. I was then reminded that scripture in Proverbs 14:1 'The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.' A wise woman will build her house, but it is a foolish woman who pulls it down. I was pulling down mine with my negative words. Many people argue that positive words have a huge affect on our lives. God's Word also tells us this. We are told that death and life are in the power of the tongue. Our words should build up. So when God says build, I should be speaking life into the situation. Not fighting against where God is taking me, but staying committed the process knowing that when God is with me, nothing is impossible.
I was listening to a sermon and the other day and Luke 1:37-38 was mentioned. This scripture challenged me, causing to me reflect upon my faith. After announcing to Mary that she is about to give birth to the Saviour of the world, the angel Garbiel says to Mary, 'For with God nothing will be impossible'. Not a problem. Not impossible. Children are born regularly. One born every minute! But Mary was a virgin. Then yes, okay, impossible!
This challenged me because how many times have I questioned things God is doing in my life? I recently went through some frustrations, not yet seeing things that I wanted to see. Situations looked differently to how I expected them. 'This is impossible!' I am often screaming! I hear God tugging on my heart leading in a certain direction. My response is, 'This is impossible!' If only I would believe that with God, nothing is impossible.
I was challenged even more so with Mary's response. 'Let it be to me according to your word.' Hold up! Before we start thinking about how lovely Mary's response was or let our imaginations wander and creatively think about how Mary then had a magnificent birth surrounded by encouraging people. Mary was a virgin! In their culture that did not mean Mary was going to be understood as they were expecting the Messiah. It meant that she could be stoned to death. Not being married, but betrothed (engaged) Joseph, could only mean one thing - adultery. If I was Mary my response would be far from, 'Let it be to me...'. I would be yelling about how I could die! Going off on a tangent how people will be talking about me, accusing me and I would be subject to the opinion of others. Not only would a baby seem impossible, but surviving the whole nine months would be impossible.
**No hope**
So I begin to pray about these impossible situations. Situations where I feel God has led me to where there is no way out. Reminds me of when Jesus and the disciples are out at sea. Jesus is taking them across to the other side. They follow their Teacher. All of a sudden a storm began to violently rock the boat. It's all good, the disciples have Jesus on their boat. But they forget who He is and say instead, 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing'. In my state of anxiety in what feels like impossible situations I have this perspective. God, do you not care that I may drown in depression, in pain, in hurt. And my prayer was more like this. God softly responds 'Build'. :/ Eh? What am I supposed to build in a hopeless situation?
**Build**
I am now hopeless and doubting where hope is. What I speak over the situation reflects that. Instead of speaking hope and life, I was speaking death. 'Lord, don't you care if I drown?' Who says I am going to drown?! So I began to think about what God could have meant by the word build. I was then reminded that scripture in Proverbs 14:1 'The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.' A wise woman will build her house, but it is a foolish woman who pulls it down. I was pulling down mine with my negative words. Many people argue that positive words have a huge affect on our lives. God's Word also tells us this. We are told that death and life are in the power of the tongue. Our words should build up. So when God says build, I should be speaking life into the situation. Not fighting against where God is taking me, but staying committed the process knowing that when God is with me, nothing is impossible.
God has called us to great things, but we may have to walk through what seems impossible. Through God, the impossible becomes possible. Bitterness can turn into forgiveness, pain into healing and darkness into hope. God has given us everything we need, use that to build hope....
Saturday, 14 September 2013
The King is enthralled by your beauty
The King is enthralled by your beauty
Like stars that twinkle,
Rubies that glisten,
Songbirds that sing,
As roses listen,
A rainbow banner across the sky,
A butterfly dancing quickly,
Like our amazement with creation,
The King is enthralled by your beauty
Do you know your treasure,
Do you know your worth,
Do you know why He formed you,
Positioned you here on earth,
Why He chases you with His love,
Furiously, feverently
Admiring you
The King is enthralled by your beauty
We forget our true value,
Sell ourselves short,
Live below the bar,
When He calls us for more.
Treasured possessions,
Inspiring identity,
Always remember
The King is enthralled by your beauty
Sunday, 21 July 2013
Failure
So often in life we can sit and reflect on where we are at- sometimes in relation to where we were, or to where others are or most often where we want to be. My list of where I would be at this age was long and extensive - and then I look at the list now and could probably tick two things off! Have I failed? Am I not enough? Plaguing and haunting questions!
But then my reflections brought me to the story of a man. A man who never necessarily had a long and extensive list- but at the time had one goal he was devoted to. He spent his life upon. And he planned to live devoted to that. It was going well until his devotion was challenged. Seemingly, he failed. When asked whether he was a follower of Christ. He denied. Not once. Not twice. But three times! And now I can see Peter asking himself those plaguing and haunting questions. Have I failed? Am I not enough?
That's where we can end up a lot of the time. However we not only have those questions but can live in that place of failure. I remember someone preaching about this story from the Bible where Peter denied Christ and saying that due to Peter's failure he abandoned his calling. Christ had called him to be a fisher of men. Where was Peter after he denied Christ? Fishing for fish! How many of us have abandoned what we were called or what we love because we feel we have failed? We live in that place, set up root and do everything there.
Here we come to my favourite part of the story. Redemption. The Friend who he had strongly denied returns. Does He return reminding Peter that he is a failure? 'Yes Peter you have failed!' 'Yes Peter, you are not enough!' 'What were you thinking Peter?!' No. Not at all! All Christ asks Peter is if he loves Him and then instructs Peter to feed His sheep. Christ reaffirms Peter's calling, and He is here to reaffirm ours. One of the translations of Isaiah 60:1 reads to arise out of your depression. Our light has come. The glory of the Lord has risen, it is time for us to arise and shine! We may have many obstacles and flop for real, but God makes all things new. He will turn it around and reaffirm our calling. His saving grace redeems us. Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2)
(8) He calls us out to deeper waters, where feet may fail (8) I love that Hillsongs tune. It reminds me that God is calling me to deeper waters to release all that He has put in me. That the gold in me can be refined. But the problem with deeper water is that difficulty arises, it requires more strength especially as the current can be stronger. Feet may fail. But when I get to the end of myself, He is there. Hence why I can do all things through Christ. When I am weak, He is strong. We only fail, when we don't try...
But then my reflections brought me to the story of a man. A man who never necessarily had a long and extensive list- but at the time had one goal he was devoted to. He spent his life upon. And he planned to live devoted to that. It was going well until his devotion was challenged. Seemingly, he failed. When asked whether he was a follower of Christ. He denied. Not once. Not twice. But three times! And now I can see Peter asking himself those plaguing and haunting questions. Have I failed? Am I not enough?
That's where we can end up a lot of the time. However we not only have those questions but can live in that place of failure. I remember someone preaching about this story from the Bible where Peter denied Christ and saying that due to Peter's failure he abandoned his calling. Christ had called him to be a fisher of men. Where was Peter after he denied Christ? Fishing for fish! How many of us have abandoned what we were called or what we love because we feel we have failed? We live in that place, set up root and do everything there.
Here we come to my favourite part of the story. Redemption. The Friend who he had strongly denied returns. Does He return reminding Peter that he is a failure? 'Yes Peter you have failed!' 'Yes Peter, you are not enough!' 'What were you thinking Peter?!' No. Not at all! All Christ asks Peter is if he loves Him and then instructs Peter to feed His sheep. Christ reaffirms Peter's calling, and He is here to reaffirm ours. One of the translations of Isaiah 60:1 reads to arise out of your depression. Our light has come. The glory of the Lord has risen, it is time for us to arise and shine! We may have many obstacles and flop for real, but God makes all things new. He will turn it around and reaffirm our calling. His saving grace redeems us. Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2)
(8) He calls us out to deeper waters, where feet may fail (8) I love that Hillsongs tune. It reminds me that God is calling me to deeper waters to release all that He has put in me. That the gold in me can be refined. But the problem with deeper water is that difficulty arises, it requires more strength especially as the current can be stronger. Feet may fail. But when I get to the end of myself, He is there. Hence why I can do all things through Christ. When I am weak, He is strong. We only fail, when we don't try...
Philippians 4:13
New King James Version (NKJV)
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Thursday, 23 May 2013
Beyond our wildest dreams...
Galatians 6:9
'Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart'.
We are constantly making 'resolutionary' decisions in life and some of those choices are to do good.
We have been created for good works (Ephesians 2:10) and we are to be zealous for good works (Titus 2:14). But how many times do we stick to our good decisions?
I liken this to the parable that Jesus tells, The Parable of the Sower. The seeds were sown in different places and dependent upon where they were sown, this impacted whether or not the seed grew. Jesus likened the seed to the word of the Kingdom. We can hear the Word and it can be snatched, tribulations can cause it not to take root, the care of the world choke it, or it can be understood and acted upon. I know Jesus refers to scripture, but I liken this to non-spiritual decisions that we make.
For example, we can make a decision to exercise a few times a week. We could even have based this decision upon a word we received...but then hear comes the cares of the world...interrupting our schedule! Six months later we are wondering whatever happened to our exercise programme!!
Matthew 13 says the man who understands the Word and acts upon it will bear fruit and produce. The Message Bible reads, 'He produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams'. I like how Paul puts it in Galatians - don't grow weary in doing good.
I must confess that I am that person who looks back and thinks, 'What happened to my training programme?!...and where is my six pack?!' Who knows? Maybe if I had not grown weary, I would have been competing in last year's Olympics :p. We make good decisions but they can be easily thwarted - so we have to choose to not grow weary, but persist in doing good, as we will reap a harvest beyond our wildest dreams. :)
Saturday, 20 April 2013
Live...Love...Laugh...On Purpose!
Live...Love...Laugh...On Purpose!
How hopeless the world can seem at times. If we're not facing natural disasters, we are trying to cope with man-made disasters. Desolation can happen anytime and any place - sometimes accidentally or sometimes on purpose. Think about it, I could accidentally step on your foot. But at the same time, I can purposely step on you foot! Sometimes things happen in the world accidentally - factory explosions, traffic accidents. However there are things that happen purposefully like terrorism. People make it their mission to cause disaster and misery to others and they are passionate about it too!
I love something that Bob Marley was quoted saying, 'The people, who were trying to make this world worse... are not taking a day off. How can I? Light up the darkness'. If there are people who cause pain on purpose, will I bring joy purpose? Or I will I live passively and let whatever happens, happen, or will I live on purpose?
In response to all that is happening in his world we are to be zealous for good works and not lose hope- we are to rise & shine. I think of Esther as an example. We can go through life and fall into things by God's grace. We can not intend to be in places or be things, but life sometimes leads us there. We can see this in the life of Esther. After her parents died, she spent her early years being brought up by her uncle. Being a Jew, they were living in a foreign land away from their people. Interestingly, Esther soon found herself in the king's palace as the king was looking for a new queen and so sent a decree for his servants to find beautiful virgins. The woman who entered into the palace alongside Esther, were to go through a year of beauty preparations and await to see who the king chose to be his wife. Esther kept her identity hidden- nobody knew she was a Jew, she seemed to be going along with where life was taking her. But how long could she keep this a secret? Especially as the king had chosen her to be his wife! Esther continued to keep the secret hidden well...but life was going to take a sudden turn, a violent shaking, where Esther would have to make an important decision. One of the king's servants had been promoted and so the king had given him a lot of authority, so much so that he had the authority to make decisions. The problem was that this man carried bitterness in his heart and wanted to have all Jews killed! Remember that there was a Jew living in the palace....Esther. The servant's plan was soon made known to Esther and she had a decision to make. Keep her identity hidden or fight for the deliverance of her people. Esther was in two minds, but a word from her uncle seemed to change her mind. 'You may have been called for such a time as this.' Could it be that this was a good work that Esther was prepared for? Was she called for this time? Esther fights for the deliverance of her people and exposes her identity, as she trusts in God....and...the people were delivered!
I can so relate! We can passively go through life, forgetting that we have something to offer, forgetting that we have this treasure in earthen vessels, forgetting that the world is waiting for the beauty inside of us to be unveiled. Isaiah 60 reads
Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
Like Esther and we are not to be passive but we are to live purposefully with understanding and wisdom and choose to walk in the good works thst He has prepared for us. He has good works prepared for you to walk in today, will you walk in them? You have treasure inside of you, let it shine :) Live...Love...Laugh on Purpose!
How hopeless the world can seem at times. If we're not facing natural disasters, we are trying to cope with man-made disasters. Desolation can happen anytime and any place - sometimes accidentally or sometimes on purpose. Think about it, I could accidentally step on your foot. But at the same time, I can purposely step on you foot! Sometimes things happen in the world accidentally - factory explosions, traffic accidents. However there are things that happen purposefully like terrorism. People make it their mission to cause disaster and misery to others and they are passionate about it too!
I love something that Bob Marley was quoted saying, 'The people, who were trying to make this world worse... are not taking a day off. How can I? Light up the darkness'. If there are people who cause pain on purpose, will I bring joy purpose? Or I will I live passively and let whatever happens, happen, or will I live on purpose?
In response to all that is happening in his world we are to be zealous for good works and not lose hope- we are to rise & shine. I think of Esther as an example. We can go through life and fall into things by God's grace. We can not intend to be in places or be things, but life sometimes leads us there. We can see this in the life of Esther. After her parents died, she spent her early years being brought up by her uncle. Being a Jew, they were living in a foreign land away from their people. Interestingly, Esther soon found herself in the king's palace as the king was looking for a new queen and so sent a decree for his servants to find beautiful virgins. The woman who entered into the palace alongside Esther, were to go through a year of beauty preparations and await to see who the king chose to be his wife. Esther kept her identity hidden- nobody knew she was a Jew, she seemed to be going along with where life was taking her. But how long could she keep this a secret? Especially as the king had chosen her to be his wife! Esther continued to keep the secret hidden well...but life was going to take a sudden turn, a violent shaking, where Esther would have to make an important decision. One of the king's servants had been promoted and so the king had given him a lot of authority, so much so that he had the authority to make decisions. The problem was that this man carried bitterness in his heart and wanted to have all Jews killed! Remember that there was a Jew living in the palace....Esther. The servant's plan was soon made known to Esther and she had a decision to make. Keep her identity hidden or fight for the deliverance of her people. Esther was in two minds, but a word from her uncle seemed to change her mind. 'You may have been called for such a time as this.' Could it be that this was a good work that Esther was prepared for? Was she called for this time? Esther fights for the deliverance of her people and exposes her identity, as she trusts in God....and...the people were delivered!
I can so relate! We can passively go through life, forgetting that we have something to offer, forgetting that we have this treasure in earthen vessels, forgetting that the world is waiting for the beauty inside of us to be unveiled. Isaiah 60 reads
Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
3 The Gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
There is darkness in this world! But we are to arise, and shine like stars! Let His light shine from us! It is hard but Paul talks about fighting the good fight of faith, which makes me think that it is not something we can passively do. We have to be active in this walk of faith, knowing that everyday we have opportunities to shine our light and expect God to do great and mighty things through us. Besides He has good works prepared for us too! Could it be that He has called you for such a time as this?! Titus 2:14 says that we are to be zealous for good works. Passionate for good works. Just as I mentioned earlier, there are people who want to bring destruction, will we purposely build up our world, or continue to walk naively without understanding?
Like Esther and we are not to be passive but we are to live purposefully with understanding and wisdom and choose to walk in the good works thst He has prepared for us. He has good works prepared for you to walk in today, will you walk in them? You have treasure inside of you, let it shine :) Live...Love...Laugh on Purpose!
Thursday, 18 April 2013
"Because I'm worth it!"
The worth of something. What determines the worth of something? How do you know the worth of something? How do you know your worth? Why am I asking so many questions?! These questions are important to ask. Do you think it is true that the way you treat something is determined by the worth you place on it?
A couple a months ago the garage where I bought my car was doing a deal, where you could upgrade a newer model, so I thought I would check it out. I was happy with my car, but my car lacks some of the facilities the newer models have, so I thought it would be good to check out these new vehicles. I could soon be hitting the road with more hi-tech facilities! Now I am not very knowledgable about cars, so I am afraid I am one of those who is just looking for something that looks good! So I was getting ready to trade my car for something I thought would be better! We get to the garage and the guy goes to take a look at my car to give me a valuation for it. When he comes back he tells me all about my car. The spec that it was built to and the uniqueness of it all. How I wouldn't find another car with interior like it and so forth...unfortunately somebody else had to tell me about the worth of my car. But what if he hadn't? I would have traded my car for something 'standard' because I didn't know the worth of my car.
Wow! How easy we will trade the things of worth for something sub-standard, because we don't know their value. We hear of this story in the Bible. Hungry, a young man comes in from hunting to find that his younger brother is cooking stew-the smell of the delicious stew seems irresistible, so the young man asks his brother for some of the stew. The younger brother agrees, under one condition. The young man must give him his birthright. In those days, the older brother had the birthright, which meant that a great part of the inheritance and the family name passed to that older brother. The young man failed to see the value of the birthright (the Bible even said he despised it) and so he sold it to his young brother! (Genesis 25)
What about somebody else who made a trade? Moses grew up in a rich family. Born a Hebrew, he was brought up by Pharaoh's daughter from a young age. Hebrews 11 paints an interesting picture of this all:
24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in[e] Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
Moses grew up surrounded by riches, but he made a trade. He traded those temporal things for eternal treasures. Why? Because he saw the value. Because he saw the worth. Without seeing the worth or value of something, we can easily give it away or let it pass us by.
What are you worth? How do you treat yourself? Do you sell yourself short?
So many times we settle for less, or we allow ourselves to be used because we don't know our worth. We trade ourselves in and compromise for what seems great, but we soon find out that all that glitters is not gold and we have given up something great for the temporary pleasures.
The Bible says we have this treasure in earthen vessels. It says we are a royal priesthood. It says that we are God's treasure possession. It says that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten, whosoever believes in Him will not die but have everlasting life! He traded all for us...He saw us as worth it. He saw my worth- when nobody else saw it, not even me, He died for me! Like how I didn't see the worth of my car - times we don't see the worth of ourselves. But we can't treat ourselves anyhow or sell ourselves short, for we have this treasure in earthen vessels.
If you had treasure what would you do with it? Hide it? Flaunt it? Protect it? Share it? Value it? Knowing that you have treasure in yourselves, what will you do with you? We can hide ourselves, not knowing the treasure that is in us is a gift for the world see. We can flaunt ourselves, spending our treasure unwisely- flashing it here and there-compromising ourselves. These are things we can do...what will you do?
A couple a months ago the garage where I bought my car was doing a deal, where you could upgrade a newer model, so I thought I would check it out. I was happy with my car, but my car lacks some of the facilities the newer models have, so I thought it would be good to check out these new vehicles. I could soon be hitting the road with more hi-tech facilities! Now I am not very knowledgable about cars, so I am afraid I am one of those who is just looking for something that looks good! So I was getting ready to trade my car for something I thought would be better! We get to the garage and the guy goes to take a look at my car to give me a valuation for it. When he comes back he tells me all about my car. The spec that it was built to and the uniqueness of it all. How I wouldn't find another car with interior like it and so forth...unfortunately somebody else had to tell me about the worth of my car. But what if he hadn't? I would have traded my car for something 'standard' because I didn't know the worth of my car.
Wow! How easy we will trade the things of worth for something sub-standard, because we don't know their value. We hear of this story in the Bible. Hungry, a young man comes in from hunting to find that his younger brother is cooking stew-the smell of the delicious stew seems irresistible, so the young man asks his brother for some of the stew. The younger brother agrees, under one condition. The young man must give him his birthright. In those days, the older brother had the birthright, which meant that a great part of the inheritance and the family name passed to that older brother. The young man failed to see the value of the birthright (the Bible even said he despised it) and so he sold it to his young brother! (Genesis 25)
What about somebody else who made a trade? Moses grew up in a rich family. Born a Hebrew, he was brought up by Pharaoh's daughter from a young age. Hebrews 11 paints an interesting picture of this all:
24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, 25 choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in[e] Egypt; for he looked to the reward.
Moses grew up surrounded by riches, but he made a trade. He traded those temporal things for eternal treasures. Why? Because he saw the value. Because he saw the worth. Without seeing the worth or value of something, we can easily give it away or let it pass us by.
What are you worth? How do you treat yourself? Do you sell yourself short?
So many times we settle for less, or we allow ourselves to be used because we don't know our worth. We trade ourselves in and compromise for what seems great, but we soon find out that all that glitters is not gold and we have given up something great for the temporary pleasures.
The Bible says we have this treasure in earthen vessels. It says we are a royal priesthood. It says that we are God's treasure possession. It says that God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten, whosoever believes in Him will not die but have everlasting life! He traded all for us...He saw us as worth it. He saw my worth- when nobody else saw it, not even me, He died for me! Like how I didn't see the worth of my car - times we don't see the worth of ourselves. But we can't treat ourselves anyhow or sell ourselves short, for we have this treasure in earthen vessels.
If you had treasure what would you do with it? Hide it? Flaunt it? Protect it? Share it? Value it? Knowing that you have treasure in yourselves, what will you do with you? We can hide ourselves, not knowing the treasure that is in us is a gift for the world see. We can flaunt ourselves, spending our treasure unwisely- flashing it here and there-compromising ourselves. These are things we can do...what will you do?
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