Your Heavenly Treasure

"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 the field."   Matthew 13:44

The field the man found the treasure in wasn't his.  It belonged to someone else.  Didn't the man have a moral obligation to inform the lawful owner that he sat on a treasure?  Instead, our main character rushed out and did something quite deceptive. 


He didn't offer to buy the treasure from the true owner, but to buy the land, knowing that the owner didn't realize the true value of it.  If this part of the story wasn't important, Jesus could have simple said that the man sold all he had (a statement of deep desire) to buy the field.  But He didn't choose to tell the tale that way.  He turned in into a tale of obsession.


I realize obsession is a strong word, but strong words are sometimes needed to make a critical point.  Think about it.  What kind of man sells all he owns to buy a field?  A man obsessed with that field or, as in this case, the treasure in the field.  Clearly , Christ wasn't promoting deception, but He obviously thought it was a useful tool in showing just how far someone might go to secure the kingdom of heaven.


If there is one driving sentiment that heaven is worthy of, it is obsession.  Unfortunately, like desire and passion, the word obsession has been dirtied by the world.  Pure, irresistible desire has been undermined in many parts of the church.  Yet it best characterizes the kind of hope the early church had for the bliss that awaited them after this life.


Let's take a closer look at this word:
1. A persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling; broadly: a compelling motivation.  (Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 11th edition)


The man from Jesus parable of the treasure in the field was indeed compelled by a persistent preoccupation with a somewhat unreasonable idea, wasn't he?  This is the missed point of the story.


The man did something unorthodox to obtain something he obviously thought was unattainable any other way.  He sold all he owned, and he went to great lengths to own the treasure by buying the field that contained it.  He was guided by obsession.


Jesus point isn't that we should all find deceptive ways to gain wealth.  It is simply that the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, and that treasure is worth our greatest obsession.


I've seen plenty of obsessed Christians in my time.  They are usually new to the faith, and tend to bounce off the walls in their enthusiasm.  Talk about cars with them and they'll find a way to turn the subject back to Christ.  Talk about food and they will tell you they have lost their hunger for the things of this world.  They have a new compelling motivation.  They have a persistent preoccupation with an unreasonable feeling.  They are obsessed (what happened to us?)  Have no fear, new Christian you are in good historical company.


John the Baptist was obsessed:  His obsession with a simple message - prepare your hearts for the coming Messiah - compelled him to live in the desert, wear gunnysacks, and eat insects.  He was thoroughly preoccupied by an unreasonable idea.


David was obsessed:  His whole life reads like a maniacs, so passionate was he for his Deliverer.  Yet he was the one man in history called out by God as having a heart most like His own.


Paul was obsessed:  He spent years alone in the desert, feeding on the Spirit's revelation, before throwing himself into a dogged determination to spread the light to the lost.  Through it all he considered dying to be with Christ far better than living on earth. 


History is made by obsessed humans who are captivated by a compelling motivation for something they do not yet have.  That would be heaven for the Christian.


Question:  Is God obsessed?


If you say no, either you haven't read His story or you've not understood it.  The only difference between His compelling motivation to live as a human and die on the cross, and our own motivation towards heaven is that his required no faith.  But His passion far exceeds any we are even capable of in this life.  God is obsessive.  Remember Webster's definition of obsession?  God is indeed driven by a compelling motivation, a persistent preoccupation with an idea that is beyond our ability to reason.  His ways confound the wise, and his passion for YOU is beyond understanding.


He is preoccupied with YOU!  He is determined to save you from his own wrath.  He has wiped out many cities to protect his own.  He destroyed the earth with a flood in his anguish.  He goes to unthinkable lengths to find those who will allow Him to love them.  And in the end he will once again destroy the earth in the most spectacular fashion for the sake of his kingdom.


Because his ways are beyond our understanding, many people discount the records of what he has done as a fairy tale.  Many humans dismiss even the idea of God because he makes no sense to them.


Yes, God is obsessive.  Many frown on that term, but our faith in part depends on it.  God is obsessed, and now we, too, can be obsessed.


We can preoccupy our minds with an unreasonable treasure and enamor our hearts with the hope of glory.


Heaven, a treasure worthy of our obsession:


There are some people who believe that their treasure is found here on earth, that the kingdom of heaven is found in the here and now.  The treasure we experience here, now, is merely a foretaste of the great bliss that awaits us.  We do have incomparably great power to live victorious lives as we await our salvation, but we must understand that this power is designed to propel us down the road to our destiny.  Heaven.  That is the goal we are running for.  And the moment we take our eyes off the prize, our power to run the race to the finish is compromised.

"In this way they (those who put their hope in God vs.17) will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."  1 Timothy 6:19

What a bold statement by Paul!  Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  If the treasure you obsess after is on this earth, your heart will remain on this earth;  but if your treasure is in heaven, your heart will be there as well.


God Bless and Press On
Larry


* from Ted Dekker's
"The Slumber of Christianity"

Be Angry...part 2

“He who angers you conquers you.”                            Elizabeth Kenny

“When we hate our enemies, we are giving them power over us: power over our sleep, our appetites, our blood pressure, our health, and our happiness. Our enemies would dance with joy if only they knew how they were worrying us, lacerating us, and getting even with us! Our hate is not hurting them at all, but our hate is turning our own days and nights into a hellish turmoil.”     Dale Carnegie

As you can see I want to continue with the topic of anger. I do so because it’s such an obvious problem in our communities today, and because it has been such a huge obstacle in my life as well.

Do you allow yourself to be angered by other people’s actions or words? Do you ever find yourself saying; “He made me mad!” or “She got me angry!” to explain away an emotional blow-up of words or actions?

One thing that I have learned is; other people do not have control over your thoughts, your emotions or your actions unless you give it to them.

If you remember some of my previous posts I made reference to my past gang involvement and the violence associated with it. In that type of lifestyle anger was a necessary evil, necessary for survival. You never wanted to be caught with your guard down, or unprepared to defend yourself. You always had identifiable enemies that were just a drive-by away, that possibility was there anyway. This kept me on my toes and ready to strike at a moments notice. It also forced me to keep the anger and hatred close at hand, always at the tip of my emotions ready to explode. Many times it was expressed to the wrong people in the wrong situation for the wrong reasons. When you live like I was living anger becomes your primary emotional outlet.

It is much the same for people coming out of an abusive background or a consistently hostile work environment or children being constantly bullied. When we don’t learn to deal with this emotion properly it becomes a very destructive element in a persons life.

So where does anger come from and how are we supposed to deal with it? Is it normal? Is it always a bad thing? Can we use it to benefit us in any way? Why did God give us this capability?

Everybody must deal with anger from time to time, some of us more than others depending on our job, family, where we live and the lifestyle we are living. But how often we deal with it has much to do with our own perceptions. How we view the world and our part in it determines most often whether we become offended and get angered by a perceived slight or injustice.

Now, I’ll be the first to say, yes, there are many real abuses, offenses and injustices in the world, but most often the things we get worked up about are not genuine threats or slights, but perceived. We think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. Have you ever thought or said, “How dare you talk to me that way! Don’t you know who I am?” or things with a similar attitude. We are called to be humble but our pride often gets in the way.

“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

So the first thing is to identify or differentiate between the real and the perceived. In doing so, we can probably eliminate at least fifty percent of the things that would usually cause us to become angry. Often times we take ourselves so serious that everything seems offensive to us.

What is anger? It is an emotion expressed by feelings of displeasure, indignation, hostility, wrath and vengeance. Anger begins with a feeling that’s often expressed in words or actions. We feel something and it causes a reaction.

Joyce Meyer says in “Dealing with Anger…God’s Way” that anger is the “fruit of rotten roots” and one of the primary roots of anger is family. Angry people come from angry families (this was absolutely true in my case), and the same behavior will eventually be passed on to our children if we don’t get a handle on it in our own lives.

She goes on to list other “roots of anger”

Injustice: When we are mistreated we become angry because we feel it isn’t fair.

Strife: Which is usually hidden, is often exhibited in arguing, bickering, heated disagreements and angry undercurrents.

Impatience: When we can’t get what we want when we want it.

Abuse of any kind: Sexual, physical, verbal, emotional or mental abuse almost always leads to anger.

Unmet needs: What I call “unfulfilled expectations”, we all have needs that can and should be met by those closest to us; however, they don’t know and understand our needs unless we communicate our needs and desires with them.

Jealousy: Anger is one of the more extreme results of jealousy. It reminds us of how dangerous jealousy can be. The local newspapers in recent weeks have had multiple stories of domestic violence to the extreme – murder/suicides and the likes – and the root of this evil was jealousy.

Other root causes of anger include fear, insecurity, and feelings of being controlled by a job or other people and their problems.

“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” 1 Peter 5:8,9

When we begin to feel angry it’s the perfect time to exercise the fruit of self-control. You may have a good reason to be angry, but don’t use it as an excuse to stay that way. Instead of denying or justifying it, ask God to help you deal with it in a positive way.

Romans 12:21 gives us some good advice, it says “Do not let yourself be overcome with
evil, but overcome evil with good.” When Satan attacks you, instead of getting mad, go bless someone. Responding in a positive way is the direct opposite of what the enemy wants you to do. It doesn’t come naturally, and it’s not always easy, but when we do what we can do, God will do what we can’t do.

“Do not be quick in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.”

Ecclesiastes 7:9

Is all anger sin? No, but some of it is. Even God Himself had righteous anger against sin, injustice and rebellion. Anger sometimes serves a useful purpose, so it isn’t necessarily always sin. Obviously, we’re going to sometimes lose it or not handle a situation correctly or else God wouldn’t have needed to provide the fruit of self-control. Just being tempted to do something is not sin. It’s when we don’t resist the temptation, and react to it, that it becomes sin.

While anger is often a destructive force, it can also enable a person to set limits and say no to unreasonable demands and take steps to meet important needs that have been ignored.

God sometimes allows us to feel anger so we will recognize when we’re being mistreated. But even when we experience true injustices in our lives, we must not vent our anger in an improper way. We must guard against allowing anger to drag us into sin.

“Be angry and do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.”

Ephesians 4:26,27

Refuse to give the devil any opportunity to get a foothold in your life through anger.

All anger, regardless of its cause, has the same effect on our lives. It upsets us, causing us to feel pressure. Keeping anger locked inside and pretending it doesn’t exist can even be dangerous to our health. Most of the time we’re only hurting ourselves, and the person who angered us isn’t even aware of it. So we must take responsibility for our anger and learn to deal with it. Process it and bring closure to it, and that will relieve the pressure. When you face your anger and decide to deal with it God’s way, you can overcome it. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to be stable and walk in the fruit of the Spirit. We have the power to forgive those who do injustices in our lives and to love the unlovely.

So it really comes down to this; it’s how you respond, what you say and what you do in response to those feelings of anger that’s what really matters, that’s what’s at issue here.  So walk in the Spirit, be at peace with all man and allow God the bring you the victory!

God Bless and Press On
Larry

Be Angry...But Sin Not

"You used to walk in these ways, in the life once lived.  But now you must rid yourself of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices."  Colossians 3:7-9

It always amazes me what actions people will justify without regard for how the Bible instructs us to conduct ourselves as Christians.  It seems that the lines of behavioral demarcation have been clouded in many areas and totally annihilated in others.  Areas ranging from sexual sin and divorce to drug and alcohol abuse, from lack of respect for others to angry and violent outbursts.

"Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.  And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone able to teach, not resentful."  2 Timothy 2:23-24

Last weekend I was at a home Bible study and the conversation turned to a discussion on anger and how we are to act when confronted with injustice or harmful behavior toward someone we love or ourselves.  One of the sisters in the group described how she had responded after she witnessed a teacher's mistreatment of her young son.  I then related a personal story of an incident that took place about eighteen years ago, involving one of my sons who was ten years old at the time, a football coach and myself.

"A quick-tempered man does foolish things, and a crafty man is hated."  Proverbs 14:17

We were two weeks into the season of Junior All-American football, the last day of conditioning and the boys would be getting their pads and practice uniforms at the end of practice.  When practice was over the kids were told to line up to get their gear.  There was a mad dash for the box of equipment and all the boys were jockeying for position.  My son was a small guy back then, and was having trouble finding a place in line.  He was half way down the line and the kids were still pushing each other and messing around.  While they were pushing and shoving one of the coaches noticing my son out of line, went over to him and shoved him in the chest knocking him to the ground.  He told him to get up and get to the back of the line, my son complied, but was upset and began to cry.  He was embarrassed and his feelings were hurt.

What would you have done as the parent?

"A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel." Proverbs 15:18

Now, all this time I was on the sideline watching, when I saw my son hit the ground I was furious.  I approached the head coach and asked to speak to him and his assistant coach (the shover), after they were finished distributing the gear to the kids.

"If a man be under the influence of anger his conduct will not be correct."  Confucius

When the assistant coach came over to where we were standing I shoved him with both my hands to his chest and got all up in his face.  I challenged him to push me like he had done to my ten year old son and see what would happen to him next.  This coach was bigger than I, but I didn't care, I was about to kick his behind to show him nobody would treat my child that way.

"An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered man commits many sins."  Proverbs 29:22

As things began to cool down I took a look around and realized for the first time that most of the other parents and children were still there, watching me.  Here's this Christian man, this Pastor, getting crazy and trying to pick a fight with one their coaches.  They were all very surprised at my behavior as was I.  I had been around the league for a few years by then, and had been outspoken about my faith.  I was a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ and everyone knew it, and here I was letting my anger get the best of me.  Man was I embarrassed.

"Whatever is begun in anger ends in shame."  Benjamin Franklin

I've told this story several times now to different people, at work, at church, at Bible study, to other parents and the response I get most often is something like this;  "you did the right thing", "I would have done the same thing" or "you have nothing to be embarrassed about".  And these are some of the nicer responses, some guys and even the women talk about doing great bodily harm or worse to anyone who would hurt or injure their child or a loved one.  The responses didn't seem to differ between those in the church, the Christians, and those that were not.  This concerns me.

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."  Ephesians 4: 31-32

Before I even left the park I began to feel the Lord's conviction in my spirit.  Before I made it home I was absolutely sure that my actions and words were wrong, were sin and offensive to God.  I had failed a huge test and had cast a shadow over my witness.  I knew I had to apologize to these coaches, parents and kids and ask for forgiveness for my actions.  But the most difficult part was having to apologize to my son for my behavior and explain to him why it was wrong.  To him I was his hero, I had stood up for him, and was willing to fight for him.  I know that meant a lot to him, nevertheless my actions were wrong and there was a lesson to be learned both by him and by me.

"There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness."  Josh Billings

Obedience, this is where the growth takes place, where you are changed.  When the Holy Spirit convicts you of some wrong done, and you know by the Word what your response should be, and you do it, you grow spiritually.  It's not necessarily the easy thing.  Try humbling yourself and apologizing to a group of people who didn't really think you did anything wrong.  I could have very easily ignored God or justified my own actions, but in doing so I wouldn't have given God an opportunity to make the necessary changes in my life.

"A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense."  Proverbs 19:11

I'm surprised at how often we justify the actions of the flesh -- even us Christians.  We look at our circumstances through the eyes of the world instead of being led by the Spirit.  Instead of  living in obedience to Him we listen to the people around us saying, it's okay, you didn't do any thing wrong, I would have done the same thing, all the while ignoring God's Spirit convicting us.

"In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent."  Psalm 4:4

There have been other opportunities through the years for me to be tested in the area of self-control and I can't say that I've always passed.  But I've become much better at hearing and obeying.  I've learned not to ignore the Holy Spirit's conviction and to use it as a guide for my conduct at all times. 

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.  My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life God desires.  Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you."

God Bless and Press On
Larry

"HE WHO FINDS A WIFE..."

"The man who finds a wife finds a good thing, she is a blessing to him from the Lord"  Proverbs 18:22 (TLB)
 













I was competing in a track meet at a rival high school (Gahr), and stopped to watch the junior class girls practicing for their "Powder Puff" football game.  A friend and I hung around to talk to a group of these girls; one in particular caught my eye.  She was short and slim with long flowing black hair, I thought to myself "Wow, she's beautiful, I'd like to get to know her."  But, she was the quiet one; I don't think she said one word to me.  It was 1975 - little did I know ten years later she would become my wife.

Patsy and I started dating the following year at Christmas time and we've been together ever since.  It hasn't always been bliss; we virtually grew up together, experiencing all of life's ups and downs, not always agreeing on how to handle things and making more then our share of mistakes.  But our love for each other was strong enough to get us through the many break-ups and make-ups and today we look back and wonder how it was that we made it through those early years.

I attribute our success to the Lord, for without Him in our lives we would have folded the relationship many, many years ago.  I was a hotheaded homeboy and she an obstinate young girl from a family of twelve children.  She definitely had learned how to fight for what she wanted and I just loved to fight, period.  This made for an explosive combination and boy did we have our battles.

All that started to change when God got a hold of our lives.  We were at a turning point in our relationship in 1984, we had just come off a six-month separation, we had two children and Patsy was pregnant with our third.  She wanted me to leave again and I wanted to be the man in her life, but it was clear that it wasn't going to happen the way I was living.  Violence, partying with my friends and drugs were the things that made up my life at that time and I was ready for a change.  During that separation time I began to realize what was really important in life and it wasn't what I was doing, my heart was ripe and ready for a change, a change for the good.

"Behind every good man there's a woman, pushing him"  
no, wait, that's not how it goes.

"Behind ever good man there's a woman, rolling her eyes." 
no, no that's not how it goes either.

"Beside every good man is a good woman." 
yes, I think that's more like it.

Through a promotion at work I was put directly under the supervision of a man who was a committed Christian.  By his invitation Patsy and I joined he and his family at church.  It was Sunday October 14, 1984 and we both gave our lives over to Jesus, we got "saved" and that was the beginning of our restoration.

Life didn't all of the sudden become sweet and pleasant.  We both had so much baggage (more me than her); Things that took years to work through, but with the help of God we worked through each issue and we are on the other side now, the last 15 years or so have been the best of our lives together.

"House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent (wise) wife is from the Lord."  Proverbs 19:14 (NASB)

We were married on May 18, 1985, with our three children present, a year and a half later our fourth and final child was born.  We are now coming up on our 25th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks, and I'm thinking once again of how very blessed I am.  Patsy truly is my best friend.  I know without a doubt that she loves me and that she always has my best interest at heart.  As we've grown up together and are growing older together we have become partners in life, we share most everything and have "become one flesh" as the scripture says in Genesis 2:24.

I don't know how it's possible that our love has grown stronger over the years, but it has.  I think of her throughout my day, wondering how she's doing.  I call her on the phone for a quick "hello, how are you doing today?"  and I feel better just because I spoke to her briefly, she tells me she feels the same way.  I really enjoy her company and miss her when we're apart.

"An excellent wife is the crown of her husband"  Proverbs 12:4a (NKJV)

One thing that I've noticed also, she knows how to love me.  What I mean by that is; she knows the things in our home, our family and our relationship that are important to me, and she puts a great deal of effort into doing those things.  She does them to make me happy, to bring me joy, she is a very giving person.  And because she does all this for me it makes me want to love her more and show her more and give her more.

"Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies."  Proverbs 31:10

To some of you I probably sound like a sap, or a love struck schoolboy.  But that's all right, I have found joy and contentment in this life and I'm not ashamed to share with others where it comes from.  For me it comes from three main sources: first and foremost is my relationship with my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, next, my relationship with my wife Patsy and finally my relationship with my family.  If these areas are okay than I'm okay - everything else will take care of itself.

Patsy my love, Happy 25th Anniversary, I want you to know that I love and appreciate you.  I truly consider you a gift from the Lord, and I look forward to many more years together.  To anyone else who may read this, my prayer is that you find the same love, joy and contentment in your life that I've found in mine, and it all starts with a relationship with your creator.
  

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."  Matthew 6:33

God Bless and Press On
Larry