Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.
Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.
Deuteronomy 7:6-11
This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Can you remember watching movies or shows where someone was going after a treasure? Typically, they are following a map or some other clues to try and find where the treasure is hidden so they might find it and have it for their own. These people…the treasure hunters…have three distinct yet common traits when it comes to dealing with treasure:
1. They seek it. Treasure hunters are always on the hunt for a bounty. They are relentless in their searching…perseverant in their quest…devoted to the chase. Nothing can sway them from finding what they set out to discover. This is why treasure hunters usually find what they’re after. And this leads to their second common trait.
2. They value their treasure. If you spend a lot of time and effort seeking something…if it was so important that you were willing to make significant sacrifices just to find your treasure…then you can bet you will value it once you find it. You will ensure you take good care of it because you value it. And when treasure seekers find the treasure they value so much then a third trait is revealed.
3. They protect the treasure they value so much. Treasure isn’t left unguarded. If it were, then someone else would step in and steal it away. And a treasure seeker can’t allow that to happen. Not after the pursuit that was invested to gain the treasure. Treasure seekers protect the treasures they find.
So what does this have to do with today’s devotion? Everything.
For as we see in verse 6, Moses tells the people of Israel that they are treasured…treasured by God:
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.”
Truly, God treasured Israel. His words said so. And He treasures us as well for we are His children. The only problem is that too many people fail to treasure God as He treasures them. This places God in a position where He seeks the very treasures He cherishes so much...namely us. And in doing so, He displays the same traits of the treasure hunters discussed prior…only His seeking is not worldly but holy and righteous. Consider these traits of God…the One who seeks us, His treasure:
1. He seeks us. The Lord is always on the hunt for those who have gone astray. He is relentless in His searching…perseverant in His quest…devoted to the chase. Nothing can sway Him from finding the lost…those He sets out to discover. This is how God has found and continues to find His children who need to come back to Him. He never gives up the pursuit. Why? Let’s go to the second trait.
2. He values His treasure. He invests a lot of time and effort seeking His treasures. You see, they can be quite elusive and stubborn. Yet, God is willing to make sacrifices for His treasure. In fact, He was willing to give His only Son Jesus up because he loved and valued His treasure…His children…us…so much. He values us…and when He finds us…He takes such good care of us because this is what you do with treasure. And as He takes care of the treasure He finds, God performs trait 3.
3. He protects His treasure. If God left His treasure unguarded, Satan would come in and steal the treasure away. And God isn’t about to allow that to happen. At least not unless His treasure decides to not value Him as He values them. For we, as living treasures, can do something that material, inanimate treasure can’t do. We can leave the One who found us. And I can’t help but think this breaks the heart of God every time it happens…every time when someone decides to turn from Him and instead be stolen away by Satan.
Friends, this message today contains great news…great, good news from the Father. He loves us...He treasures us...He values us...He wants to protect us. Could we ask for anything more from a Heavenly, Almighty Father? Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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