Scripture Treasures

Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment ~ Matthew 9:22   There are so many beautiful stories which surround our Lord, but for me, this one and the woman at the well in Luke attract me beyond all the others. In her culture, this woman was ostracized. She would not have had a touch, a look, a friend or a spouse, for she was dirty and “unclean”. Not only that, but an impure woman would not dare touch a man’s garment, for in her touch, they would become defiled and would not be able to perform their religious tasks, or enter the temple to worship. But, reach out and touch him she did, and in her act, she was made whole. What made her reach out? What caused her to look beyond her circumstances and her fear to even dare to do such a thing? Certainly, she must have known Jesus had healed others by His touching them, but for her to reach out and do the touching? That is faith! No wonder Jesus turned aro

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed ~ Isaiah 53:4, 5   Many other faiths believe in Jesus Christ in some way. For the Isalm, He is a most-beloved prophet; the Druze faith (an Arabic-speaking ethnoreligious group) believe Jesus is one of God’s important prophets and the Messiah; the Baha’i Faith believe him to be one of the manifestations of God. Buddhism and other world faith’s have no real interest or view of who Jesus is. Christianity is the only faith group which sees Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah and Redeemer, the Lamb that took our sins and was slain in our stead. We as Christians are the only faith group to have a Saviour which died for us; no other religion lays such a claim to their leader. We are indeed saved by grace. Jesus

The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him ~ Nahum 1:7   Faith brings us into a relationship with God, and with that comes his blessedness. To trust God means that we have placed our full confidence in him, that we have submitted to his laws and his ways, that we have received him fully in all that we are and have. The Lord is one we can trust in for he is good. In times of trouble he is our comforter. When we suffer calamities of life, and if we happen then to indulge in thoughts of whether God cares, or if God really is good, our hearts become alienated from God. We become impatient, we murmur and complain, we doubt. We may all have those feelings at one time or another, but to let them remain within us blocks our reception to the Holy Spirit. We learn from these times, hopefully, and our hearts learn to trust in the God of the good times and the bad. In our bad times, God reveals himself to us in a different way – as our stronghold, as th

Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise ~ Jeremiah 17:14   This is a cry for help, for healing, and for saving grace. It is one who is expressing a deep concern about salvation, and a sincere desire to receive that which they are asking for. It is the cry of one whom it seems is at the bottom of the barrel and has no where to turn but to the Lord for help. Most often, that is the place we have to reach before we do cry out for God’s aid. For some of us, we cannot reach back to God unless everything has been stripped away from us that is temporal. Then we stretch our soul toward God for him to Heal and Save, two words our world is crying out right now. We are living in a very sick world in these days with this pandemic, but not only with the pandemic, but our moral compass is way off base as well. We must cry out for God’s forgiveness! God’s healing, which goes deeper than the healing of a physical sickness, deeper than bodily w

Lord  my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me ~ Psalm 30:2   In your times of distress and trouble, where do you turn? David knew the God who would deliver him, and save him from his trouble, and if you believe in Jesus as I do, you too know whom you can turn to when you need help. We are living in a world right now which is in desperate need of help and healing! From what I read, at this point there are more than sixteen million people infected by COVID-19 with more than 648,000 deaths! Not only that, but because of COVID-19, many people are unemployed and at least 265 million people are at risk of famine, as states the Dennison Forum. On top of that, people are losing their businesses; I expect they will also lose their homes due to the inability to make mortgage payments, and the devastating list goes on! I myself and healthy and know no one directly who has suffered in such ways, but more and more people are in the category of first-hand knowledge of such pain. Even

In a loud voice they were saying:  “Worthy is the Lamb,   who was slain,   to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength    and honor and glory and praise!” ~ Revelation 5:12 Seven in the Bible is the number of perfection, and here are seven attributes given to Jesus Christ, but though these “receivables” are perfect they can in no wise fully describe the worthiness of the Lamb of God. However, the angels are singing or saying the praises of the Lamb of God with exuberant voices which could be heard in the all of heaven. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain for our sins, who took on our pain and shame. To Him belongs the power to rule over all things. Many in our world believe power should be theirs, others are given power by others, but not one of us deserves the power over all things or can live up to receiving that power without corruption. Jesus however can and does receive this power. Wealth or abundance too belongs to Him, for He owns all things. We claim this is mine, but not

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,   neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord ~ Romans 8:38, 39   The Apostle Paul is utterly and complete convinced of God’s love and care. He puts forth a series of contrasts to encapsulate the all of life we may encounter so as to leave nothing untouched by the love of God. If we were to suffer the most painful trial of persecution in death, or to encounter angels (and here, Paul is not thinking about good angels, but of evil spirits), or any other powers, none of these should separate us from the love of God. Are you so confident in God’s love? These are such comforting words in times of difficulty when so much we do in this life can at times separate us from each other. We are living in a time that is becoming called “Covid fatigue” because of the separation

He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken ~ Isaiah 25:8   In 1 Corinthians 15:54, the Apostle Paul gives an overview of the first part of this verse when he says, “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’" Paul, here, is referring to the resurrection of Jesus, and in that event, death ceased to have its power and triumph. In Isaiah’s time of writing, the land of Israel was under the effects of war, with the promise of peace coming with the Messiah. Forever, or victoriously, death will be vanquished permanently as something they longed and looked for. What a day that will be, they declare! When not one will have to face the death of a loved one again, or their own death, and when all the disgrace from the earth

“I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions” ~ Daniel 6:26, 27   How wonderful will be the day when this mandate is over the whole of the world – that every man, woman and child must worship the God of Daniel! It will happen when the New Jerusalem takes place, when Jesus returns and claims this world as His. We who believe in Him long for that day! Ever more so our world is taking on every other god there is, and they follow blindly. I was just reading an article about Christian believers in China and how they are increasingly persecuted for believing in Jesus Christ. We must keep them in prayer as they stand up for Jesus and live in constant fear of the government and its power

The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? ~ Psalm 27:1   Today is a cloudy and rainy day, a day so dark that I really need a light on in my home to bring any semblance of brightness to it. Darkness is the emblem of trouble, distress, sorrow. Do you ever have those days when all seems dark? Especially in these days of covid when life is having a real struggle to come back to some kind of normal. The news is depressing to listen to, the world is a mess of emotional upheaval, and every time we seem to take a step forward we end up taking two steps back with covid. Yet, there is a light that cannot be extinguished, a light which is my source. David knew this light as Yahweh, we know this light as Jesus Christ. He saves and delivers me from the darkness around me. The psalm is entitled in most Bibles as ‘To or For David’. The Syriac has, ‘For David on Account of an Infirmity that Befell him’. David knew li

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.      What can mere mortals do to me?” ~ Hebrews 13:5, 6   Some versions of the Bible say to keep your conversations free of covetousness. It is just a different way of saying that our lives should be free from the lusts which so prominently surround us in this day in which we live. The thrust of this verse is to trust in God for all we need in life, for He is our provider. When we long for the “more” to satisfy our wants rather than depending upon God for our needs our faith is divided between Him and the world. When we live in constant longing for more, we are never satisfied with what we have. We become anxious, stressed, unhappy, and dissatisfied with everything and everyone. Trusting in God to provide for our needs gives us greater confidence in His faithf

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus ~ Philippians 4:6, 7 This does not mean we should not care about anything, for we should take care of our families, our homes, our property, our jobs. Proper caring for these things means we love them and will do what is best for them. We will not let our family go hungry; we will not let our home fall into disrepair. This is not what the apostle wants for us, however, his warning is that we should have confidence in God so that we are free from having overly anxious minds. Some people deal with so much anxiety they are crippled in life, sometimes never leaving their home to go outside. Others are so worried about what others will say about them they refuse to speak aloud. Anxiety to this measure leaves us living in fear and that is not what God

For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction ~ Psalm 1:6   The Lord is watching over you…do you believe it? What a glorious thought to know God is keeping a lookout for where I am going and what I am going through. Am I perfect that I am deserving of His attention? No, I am not, but He loves me too much to leave me, and in turn He is my love, so I know I am His and am constantly in His care. Does this mean I will not go through hard times because the Lord is watching over my way? Again, the answer is no, for sometimes those difficulties in life bring me back from either places of sin where I wandered, or they lead my soul into greater faith as I depend upon my Lord to guide my steps. It is the same for you, for the Lord sent His Son to die for you and for me, and to then later send His Holy Spirit as our guide in the highs and the lows of life. The King James version of the Bible says the Lord “knoweth” the way of the righteous.

Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God ~ 3 John 1:11   We imitate those around us, though I think we often would tend not to realize to what extent. When there is a strong personality and a weaker personality put together, the weaker will most often follow along with the stronger. The influence then can be for much good, or it can be for what is evil. When we have a leader which is much admired, we look to them as their actions seems almost to be laws. What So-and-so says must be the truth, for look at their life, look at what they have accomplished…if I do the same, so it will be for me. Not necessarily right, my friends. Many a young person has fallen into the path of an evil person and have found themselves leading a life their mother would never have expected of them. John is appealing to his listeners to ensure who they imitate and what is imitated is that which is good,

By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly ~ 2 Peter 3:7   The heavens referred to here would most likely be the first heaven – the heaven which is visible to the eye. The implication is that the earth and this heaven will be changed, and if God gives the word, they will be destroyed. Most certainly, a breath from God could do such a thing. God has only to give a command and it is done. It is a strange thought that the heavens and the earth are reserved, or stored up, or, are treasured up for such a purpose, but this is what Peter is saying. They are on reserve for a future day and a future use. Ancient philosophers believed the world would one day be destroyed by first water, then by fire, and from where that thought derived is unknown, but remarkable too that they should make statements which coincide with statements from the New Testament. The world was destroyed by a flood in the day of

Jesus replied,  “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin ~ John 8:34 Everyone of us will commit a single act of sin. I may use my words today to sin, or I may even sin In ways as those found in the Bible like Noah, David, and even Peter, who forsook Jesus. These people committed single acts, not sin into which they had given themselves over to do by ways of evil and wicked behaviour. Those who give themselves over in this way enjoy their lusts, their pleasure in it whatever it might be. Jesus came to set us free from our past behaviour. In Him, we are no longer bound by the past, but live with liberty. Around us every day, if we look close enough, we see many people bound up in drugs, alcohol, and the list can go on with those vices which collect people into a common denominator - slaves of sin. We live in a very broken world, this is true, but we also live in a world which is free if it wishes. Jesus came as a gift to the world to release us and free us. When we tur

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him ~ James 1:12 The affliction, trial, persecution that James talks about is very general, and could be anything which tries our “reality” of peace. It is mentioned in a way which will try or test the reality of our faith and religion, and it may lead us to actual sin, but certainly, it is a direct solicitation to entice us. Temptations come in all sizes and shapes, and they vary from person to person. They could be as simple as eating a food which will harm you if you are a diabetic, or it could be as strong as marital infidelity, or even to go further, murder. We are all tempted in the ways in which Satan knows is our weaknesses, and there he will attack. Ultimately, God knows us through and through, and if our faith remains strong in Him, He will help us through the testing, and with Him we will be victorious. We need

This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you  that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life, so that you and your children may live ~ Deuteronomy 30:19 The silent witnesses of sky and dirt speak about the importance of God’s words, and testify to His truth. We rarely, if ever, think of the heavens and the earth as recording the words of God, let alone later being called upon to recollect His words. Yet here, these inanimate objects will speak for God if necessary. We do not think in this way. If we want a witness, they have to have eyes to literally see and a mouth which can literally speak. Our witnesses are alive, not a part of creation in the way the heavens and the earth are. But, indeed the earth and the heavens do witness that God speaks to us the truth of life and death, blessings and curses. When we express words of obedience or of disobedience to God’s ways, the consequence is either life or death. So many people get st

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength ~ Mark 12:30 When we turn our eyes away from God, we are more concerned about feeding our body’s senses than we are our spiritual senses. We, therefore forget all that God will open before us: over our thoughts, over our ideas, over our destiny in Him. Without love for God, we crawl, but with love for God we soar like the eagle! Love for the God of the heavens and the earth, love for the God who sent His Son to die for us is the ultimate feeling of love. Many are weary of their life, and this has come to the forefront during our covid19 experience of living. We have been restrained from each other in serious ways, and people need interaction with others. It is difficult sometimes, even with God in our life, but it is near impossible for some when God is not the love of their life. These two commandments are both very great, though to love God above all others is the great

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:15   Do you ever get so angry with someone that all you can think of is how to get back at them for hurting you? Usually, that is why we do get so angry…we have been hurt somehow in our inner man. Often times, it is due to our background, or how we were raised, or due to past hurts which then exasperate our feelings at that present time. This is hard for us to see though, for our feelings take over, and anger and resentment set in. If we could only settle ourselves to think of this verse, how much more hurt in this world would not occur! This is a positive law…do what is good, even in the midst of your pain and hurt! Boy, it is sure hard to set ourselves aside, even for a moment sometimes, but this is exactly what we have to do. I am not talking about belittling oneself, but about setting aside our pride and vanity. Ugh! That is so destructi

But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! ~ Amos 5:24   We have been in a hot, dry period where I live. It has been excruciating to even step outside, let alone be out there for any period of time. Last night in the wee hours though, something happened! I was awakened by the sound of thunder exploding like a cannon and this morning the ground was found with nourishment from just a bit of rain. How heavenly that was this morning. As I walked my dog, I thought of all the little creatures of the earth that must have been rejoicing too in receiving a fresh drink from a piece of grass or a tiny puddle somewhere. Water refreshes! It cleanses, it gives strength, it gives life! Here, justice is compared to a stream of water, a rich, thirst-quenching stream of life in a heart. Justice is the absence of sin. True judgment comes when we love others as God loves, for we cannot hold a wrong when we love as God does. What an encouragement for mankind this v

But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” ~ Acts 4:19, 20   Oh what boldness and courage! The world we live in is in need of people like Peter and John, ready with an answer because it is right in God’s eyes to speak it! I was watching an interview yesterday of an iconic actor and out of it came his theories of life – basically that it is all an illusion. How sad, I thought, that his life is measured by his acting career and all is not as it seems, for reality in his life is non-existent. Here, Peter and John speak out of their reality of what they have witnessed Jesus do in their presence! Life for them is not an illusion, just as it is not for us whom are Christ followers. They speak the truth in that Jesus is the Messiah; that He was born, lived, died and was resurrected because He is the Son of God! They had received a direct command from Jesus

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” ~ Isaiah 6:8 WANTED! Person needed for the Divine. They must be cheerful, willing, and obedient to the point of going wherever and whenever the Divine commands. They will report to the Divine Three-in-One. Are you that person? Answer with your heart.   Have you answered this call on your life? Have you said to the Great and Only God, “I am here! Use me!” Do you know that you have been divinely chosen to bring the message of Jesus to others? And in this, you have offered yourself for His service. It matters not if what God calls you to is big or small in your eyes, what matters is that He is calling you to act. The other day, I was talking to a lady and she’d had workers around her apartment building. She watched them in the overbearing hot sun, with heavy boots, hard hats, tools and equipment climbing up and down metal poles. She wondered what she could do a

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city” ~ Acts 18:9, 10   I wonder if Paul was intimidated by the rich and elite of Corinth? It is not an image of Paul that comes to my mind when I think of him. He always appeared bold and courageous as I read the chronicles of Acts and his epistles. It could not be so though, not if God would come to him in a vision to strengthen and encourage him. But then, yes, there are other writings where he does claim to be weak and fearful, such as 1 Corinthians 2:3, “And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.” So, if the great Apostle Paul could be fearful, I am encouraged that I am at times fearful too, in my times of weakness. God encourages him in the dark veil of night and assures him that he will not be harmed, though he may be attacked, and here, set about him are

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good ~ Romans 12:9   We continue to build upon the verse of the day before as we talk about love for our brothers and sisters, and for all humankind. We must re-center our hearts in the world in which we live so that the words of Paul enter today’s world with the brotherly and sisterly love of which he taught. Peter too, in his letter in 2 Peter 1:7 states this fact that we are to add to brotherly kindness the charity of benevolence. This love must be what is translated as sincere love, which means it is without hypocrisy, and not found in words which are meaningless, but are actions which are recorded. This means we cannot be friendly with some people while bringing oppression to another person. This is what it is to be “looking good” in the views of some persons, whereas our heart is divided when it comes to whom we will be kind toward when they are not around. We are instead to turn away in hatred from that which is evil.

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love ~ Galatians 5:13   Again, today we are talking about freedom in Christ while our world is talking about freedom in humanity. But, in reality, if we love Christ can we not love our brother and sister? Yes, if we are truly a Christ follower, for Jesus reduction of the Ten Commandments was narrowed down to two, which covers the span of the ten: Love God above all others and love your neighbour as yourself! It is our flesh which terrorizes another, our flesh which shuns and oppresses another, our flesh which abuses another! Humility, on the other hand, strives for the others best, it strives to promote the others welfare, it loves all with the love Jesus showed to us from the cross – with life! Our world has become too much about the “me” movement. I want, I need, I should have, are its cries! Instead, it should be saying what can I give, how

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom ~ 2 Corinthians 3:17   The Holy Spirit, when He comes upon us, gives us insight we could not have on our own, for the clearness and light He grants to us opens our eyes to new ideas, thoughts, and ways. He reveals truth in all situations, and it is under this wondrous influence Paul states he was able to speak with openness, and boldness, for he had this clear view of truth in opposition to the Jewish religious leaders. He, Paul, was free from the dark and obscure views the Jews had, from their prejudices, superstitions of who the Messiah was, and freedom from the bondage of sin by which they tried vainly to follow all their laws of the Torah. They never could fulfill them all, yet, they also tried in vain for all the children of the nation to do what they could not, and judged them accordingly. The law of the Spirit is to love God and love mankind. Only the Holy Spirit can make me free from the law o

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence ~ Ephesians 3:12   Oh, praise God! I can come directly to Him in times of praise and in times of need! I do not need to have another intercede for me before I can come before God’s throne of grace! Because of “him”, that is, because of Jesus Christ, I can speak boldly, with freedom of words, in prayer and confidence! In the Old Testament, the people had to come to a priest who would then offer sacrifices to bring healing, or mercy, or forgiveness to God’s people for the sins they had committed. The priest would come before God for the people when they needed guidance, or strength to fight a foe, or to enter a land. We, on the other side of the New Testament, do not need a priest for we come immediately before God in prayer through the faith of Jesus Christ! We also have to know that a part of this responsibility is ours, for if we come timidly before God, we are not coming with the power He has allotted

I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts ~ Psalm 119:45   What an interesting verse to go along with yesterday. Yesterday we were released into freedom, today we are free and open, not necessarily because there are no restrictions upon us, but that we would feel we are free, and so we walk in it. We are delivered from all that binds us internally; from our wicked desires, our passions which are out of line with God’s word, from all those things which hold us back. We are free from the internal foe! How often to we battle our own self within! We hear this voice which speaks down to us, degrades us at times, or tempts us to do that which we would not desire to do, just as the Apostle Paul confessed. It is interesting, but freedom opens the doorway for other powers to work. If I am free in myself, I will not restrain you or your gifts, I will not try to control you, or overpower you, or hold you back because I am insecure. I will instead uphold you, encourage

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners ~ Isaiah 61:1   This scripture is an important one in my life, for it was given to me three times in assurance that I was being called into pastoral ministry. I thought I was heading to be a missionary in another country, but God had other plans, and behind the pulpit with a congregation I am, and it is now my mission field. In this verse of Isaiah, the Jews were still captives in Babylon. It is also a prophetic word about the coming Messiah, for it is the message in Luke which Jesus spoke, and which called to me. The proclamation is one we can read in our day and exclaim over its meaning. We look around our world at those who in the USA and even here in Canada, and I can say with authority, all over the world, have been ostracized because of their