TREASURE

September 28th, 2012 | By admin

by Katt Anderson

Everyone has a treasure, one thing we value greatly. Your treasure may be your car, your home, or your bank account. Our forefathers treasured the freedom to worship as they thought was right. Freedom was their treasure. What’s your treasure?

Freedom should be on the top of the list. Americans value the freedom of many things. We have the freedom to write this blog. Freedom to express beliefs in the Bible. Freedom to teach others about Christ. This freedom should be held dear. Freedom should not be taken away from us. This sets us apart from other countries, and people want to come here to enjoy this freedom.

Freedom of religion should be very important. Freedom from being persecuted when we worship God. Freedom to worship God publicly, and as many times a day or week as we want to. Freedom to associate with other Christians.

What if these freedoms were taken away? What would you do? Would you accept them and do nothing, or would you go to prison for your beliefs, even to death? Would your faith be as strong as the early Christians or as the apostle Paul?

Stop a minute and put yourself in this situation. Every Bible you own is stripped from your possession.  The churches are boarded up and padlocked. People cannot associate to worship God. If you try to worship, you’re taken to jail. If you do not deny God, you are killed.  The only knowledge you have of the Bible is what you remember. These were your treasures, and they have been taken. There is no way to get the treasures back. The things you hold dear.

Would the above scenario scare you? Would you start living better if you thought this could happen? Would you fight to keep these freedoms alive?

You answer most likely is a big “Yes.” Begin by enjoying these freedoms more. Christ gave us freedom from our sins. He died for us on the cross that we might be free from sins. Christians have fought for freedom for centuries. Many have died because they were Christians.

Think about your treasures. Let me tell you what mine are.

1. Freedom to worship God. When this freedom is gone, so is our country as we know it.
2. Freedom to read the Bible. Without the Bible, we have no way to study God’s Word and to teach others. It could be taught by memory, but the written Word is much better.
3. Freedom to be with my family. Family is one of the biggest treasures a person can have. We need the family to lean on, whether it is our blood family, or our Christian family.
4. Freedom to write as we feel is necessary. Whether it’s this blog, a book, or a newspaper; we need this freedom to express ourselves.
5. Freedom to vote as we see best. No one should ever tell you how to vote in any election. Voting should be a personal thing and a conviction.

Our freedoms are taken for granted, and we no longer treasure them. The freedom of speech is taken advantage of. Lately, it’s a freedom to say untruths against another person. That is not freedom of speech. We are warned in Galatians 5:13  to . . . not use liberty as a opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 

Don’t take advantage of your treasure of freedom.

A MILLION DOLLAR HIDDEN TREASURE

August 24th, 2012 | By admin

BY Paul Holland

            Karl Kissner earlier this year was rummaging through the attic of his grandfather’s house. He found a cardboard box containing baseball cards. The cards were in near-mint condition. They believe the cards were part of a promotional deal from a candy company to Kissner’s grandfather, who was a butcher.

            The collection contained cards of such hall-of-famers as Ty Cobb and Cy Young. Their worth? According to World magazine (11 August 2012, pg 18), it is valued at about $3 million. Surely at the death of Kissner’s grandparents, they did not know how much the collection could be worth. When Kissner’s aunt took over the house, she did not go through the attic and did not know she had millions of dollars hidden away.

            Every person you meet on the street – every man, every woman, every child – is a hidden treasure. Jesus died for each individual person (Galatians 2:20). That means that each man, each woman, each child is worth something considerable to God.

            In Mark 5, we are told of a man who was demon-possessed. Under the influence of the evil spirit, this man cut himself, screamed out, and was a social outcast. He ran around naked as well. But he came into contact with Jesus. After that, he clothed himself, was in his right mind, and began to heal.

            He wanted to go with Jesus on His travels. Who wouldn’t?  But instead, Jesus told him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” (Mark 5:19). Jesus turned that beggar into an evangelist. He saw something inside that man that others did not see.

            We need to look beyond the façade so many wear. Sometimes the exterior is intentionally put into place; sometimes it is unintentional. Sometimes the exterior is a psychological defense because he or she has endured hard times in the past. Regardless of what is covering up the inside, there is a treasure. To God, it’s worth the price of His Son.

            Let us look at others through the eyes of Jesus and see the potential in others. Then do what we can to help them reach that potential.

TREASURES

June 12th, 2012 | By admin

by Katt Anderson

Recently I had a stay in the hospital. It was not enjoyable, but it made me think about the things important to me. On thing that I treasure is my health. It is so important to everyone to have a healthy body. Eat right. get enough sleep, and dwell on pleasant thoughts. Don’t abuse your body by eating unhealthy foods. Look around you the next time you go to a fast food restaurant. Do you see many skinny people? Probably not because they are chowing down of greasy french fries and monster hamburgers where the grease is running out of them.

That’s not good. That makes gallstones, diverticulitis, and a host of other problems. We should treasure our health. In some things, I agree with Mr. Bloomburg, the mayor of New York City. He is limiting the fat served in that city. We should be doing that on our own.

Another treasure is the ability to study God’s Word. I found out that I had more time to study the Bible while I was in the hospital. I have the Bible downloaded on my Kindle. It is so easy to read and keep up with my reading that way. I found out I enjoyed reading. It was quiet and I could get more read than normal. I had more time to think about what I was reading. I know that sounds odd, but sometimes life gets in the way and we don’t have time to think about what we read. The Word has become one of my treasures.

My family has always been a treasure. They are very important to me. I’ve not been able to enjoy the ball games this year, but maybe I can soon.

Another treasure is my church family. I don’t know where I would be without them. They are more important than anything when there is sickness. They are always there. They have so much love for everyone.

I didn’t mention money, cars, or material things that I could treasure. They are not important. They don’t make me as happy as the things mentioned above. My car runs, it gets us to church and back and anyplace we want to go. I have everything I need, so I don’t need anything extra. God has blessed me over and over with what I need. I’m happy with what I have. I don’t need or want luxuries.

You may think your treasure is in money, things, or possessions; but it is in the Bible. Study it daily and find the treasures that lie there.