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Gleanings From The Word

Tag: Gleanings

  • Gold, treasure hunting and the kingdom of heaven

    A vial of Nova Scotia gold

    The little vial in the photograph contains raw gold. It was mined in a small private mine in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia gold is prized as some of Canada’s finest because of its warm, buttery color.

    I’ve always been attracted to bright shiny things. My mother used to tease me that I must be related to crows and ravens because they too are fascinated by shiny things.

    I’ve panned for gold and hunted for many other forms of treasure. I love semi-precious gems or even simply interesting-looking rocks and stones. I hate to leave a pretty rock behind.

    I’ve found dinosaur bones and fossils. I have stumbled across the occasional arrowhead and other artifacts. Old bottles and bits of metal have caught my eye.

    I have a small piece of driftwood that is actually a root. It is different because a rock is entangled in the root, and the root grew around it. It has no value other than to me, but it sparks my curiosity. 

    Old, rare, leather-bound books seem to call to me. I have this desire to collect and curate them for future generations.

    I love thrift stores, garage sales and auctions. Even if I don’t find something to buy I enjoy the thrill of the “treasure hunt”.

    Yet, as much as I appreciate such things, I know that their value is transitory. I don’t know that the streets of heaven are literally made of gold or the walls of precious stones, but the Bible uses that imagery. Certainly, the value of things will be inverted in glory.

    In this world people value things and use people. There we will use thing and value people. I know that saying is a bit cliché, but it holds truth nonetheless.

    At least two of Jesus’ metaphors about the kingdom speak of treasure seekers of sorts. Especially people who prize the earthly value of treasures.

    “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

    “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:44-45 NIV

    As much as they understood the value of earthly treasure, these men understood that the kingdom was of more infinite worth. It was worth everything they had.

    Jesus said,

    “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 NIV

    There isn’t anything new to us in these words. If we have been in church for any length of time, we can probably quote them and understand their context and meaning.

    Still, we are like sheep, easily distracted. Something shiny comes along and distracts us, and suddenly we have veered off course and are chasing the treasure of this world.

    There is no harm in owning some of the treasure unless they really own us. When we seek them to the exclusion of God, or we worry more about them than the things of God, we have a problem.

    Now, the earthly things that I consider treasures may hold no value whatsoever in your eyes. Still, we all need to examine our hearts to see what we place ahead of God. What treasures have become idols in our lives?

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    A vial of raw Nova Scotia gold got me thinking about my lifelong love of collecting treasures, from rocks to rare books. Jesus reminded me that the kingdom of heaven is treasure worth far more than anything we could ever dig up or collect.

    TAKEAWAY

    However precious, earthly treasures are only temporary. The kingdom of heaven is worth infinitely more than anything you could ever collect or own. 

    Loving beautiful or interesting things isn’t wrong in itself, but it becomes a problem when you value those things more than you value God. 

    Take time to examine your heart and ask what treasures may have quietly become idols competing with God for first place in your life.

    Celebrate your identity in Christ

    Is it right living or right belief?

    Our earthly treasures

  • Body of Divinity: Why Sound Doctrine Still Matters 

    I have been doing some reading in Thomas Watson’s “Body of Divinity”. Watson was a Puritan, and the “Divinity” is from his sermons on the Heidelberg Catechism, published after he died in 1776. It’s readily available for free from many sources online, including https://digitalpuritan.net/

    I’m not affiliated with them in any way and can’t endorse everything on their shelves, but they are a great source of free Puritan works. The Puritans get a bad rap in the world today, but they have much godly wisdom to impart.

    Spurgeon said,

    “Thomas Watson’s Body of Practical Divinity is one of the most precious of the peerless works of the Puritans; and those best acquainted with it prize it most. Watson was one of the most concise, racy, illustrative, and suggestive of those eminent divines who made the Puritan age the Augustan period of evangelical literature. There is a happy union of sound doctrine, heart-searching experience, and practical wisdom throughout all his works, and his Body of Divinity is, beyond all the rest, useful to the student and the minister.”

    Unlike some, I am a fan of catechisms and statements of faith. They should not in any way replace Scripture, and where they conflict, Scripture should always be trusted over them. They help articulate what the Scriptures teach. 

    In his introduction, Watson says,

    “It is the duty of Christians to be settled in the doctrine of faith. The best way for Christians to be settled is to be well-grounded”

    I have to agree. It is, of course, possible for someone to be so theologically minded that they miss out on God’s love and grace in their lives. For the vast majority of Christians, this isn’t a risk at all.

    The Bible is clear that we need to know what we believe, why we believe it, and why it matters.

    Our doctrine matters because our faith is grounded in a very specific message.

    For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures… 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 ESV

    Our destiny is grounded in truth.

    In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, Ephesians 1:13 ESV

    But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits[a] to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 ESV

    We’re called to share the truth in a world of competing views and false teachers. We need to do our best to proclaim the truth and that requires understanding.

    The gospel is a sacred trust. We don’t often think of the gospel in those terms, but it is true.

    Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Jude 1:3 ESV

    Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 2 Timothy 1:13-14 ESV

    How well have you been guarding the truth entrusted to you? We can all use improvement.

    Read the Word. Study the Word. Apply the Word.

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    Reading Thomas Watson’s Body of Divinity reminded me that doctrine matters. My faith rests on one unchanging message I’m called to guard and pass on.

     

    TAKEAWAY

    Your faith doesn’t rest on a feeling. It rests on a fixed message: Christ died, was buried, and rose again, exactly as Scripture said.

    The gospel isn’t yours to reshape. It’s a sacred trust, and you’re called to guard it and pass it down intact.

    You won’t get settled in what you believe by accident. Being well grounded means knowing what you believe, why you believe it, and why it matters.

    Check these posts out

    Right belief or right living?

    Read the Word

    Whirlymagigs and the importance of Bible reading

    Celebrate your identity in Christ

    In between born again and glory