A TREASURE

God, your God, chose you out of all the people on Earth for himself as a cherished, personal treasure. — Deuteronomy 7:6 (MSG) Cherished by God, chosen by God, selected for Himself, spoken of as a personal treasure by the King of Kings! This pearl of truth, this mention in the holy book, that God chose me, that He plucked me from the beach of all of creation, to be cherished as His beloved treasure --- is to have confidence in my immeasurable worth. Unable to hide in the sand of shame, my Father, my Lord, uncovered me and lifted me up as His prized possession. Trembling with awe, fear and respect, He comforted me and whispered truth into my soul. That I am His child and that I am the focus of His love, and that I can rely on the ever presence of the Holy Spirit to intercede in prayer for me, to go before me, to open doors, and give me the power to overcome the temptations of this world. Special gifts have been bestowed upon me, and the Holy Spirit assures that I am included in His mighty plans, that I am acceptable in our Father's sight. My true value is unquestionable as I am His. Once I surrendered my life to His Son Jesus as my Lord, nothing else was required, asked or expected of me to earn His unfailing love, or to receive the annointing of the Holy Spirit. To gain a greater understanding of His wisdom, His love, His purpose for my highly regarded life, He gives me His Word, the treasure of my soul. In it I find His sincere repeated encouragement, that I ASK for whatever I need, and to BELEIVE that He is able to satisfy and supply me abundantly. "My beloved, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and under
standing. He holds victory in store for the upright, He is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for He guards the course of the just and protects the way of His faithful ones." Proverbs 2 (MSG) "Good friend, take to heart what I'm telling you; collect My counsels and guard them with your life. Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom; set your heart on a life of Understanding. That's right—if you make Insight your priority, and won't take no for an answer, Searching for it like a prospector panning for gold, like an adventurer on a treasure hunt, Believe Me, before you know it Fear-of-God will be yours; you'll have come upon the Knowledge of God." Can you see the oak tree within the acorn? Walking by faith, not by sight, is to trust confidently that whatever my need is, my God is able to do for me what no other can do. With faith the size of a mustard seed, when I say I am trusting God, that means I believe in His Word, His doctrine, His existence, His character, His love. Who made all seeds? Who formed the clouds and caused them to rain? Who made planet earth and placed it just close enough to the sun that it would cause growth, not destruction by fire? Having faith in God is to refuse to doubt that a GIANT oak doth grow from an acorn, and that all that is good came from our heavenly Father.
"But Jesus was matter-of-fact: "Yes—and if you embrace this kingdom life and don't doubt God, you'll not only do minor feats like I did to the fig tree, but also triumph over huge obstacles. This mountain, for instance, you'll tell, 'Go jump in the lake,' and it will jump. Absolutely everything, ranging from small to large, as you make it a part of your believing prayer, gets included as you lay hold of God." Matthew 21:21