National Treasure

Fellow Traveler,

I watched the movie National Treasure again yesterday. It’s popular enough to revisit the cable channels here and there, and it’s one of the few movies I can watch more than once and see some detail I missed before. And who doesn’t like a good treasure hunt full of riddles and mazes? Some of us are drawn to solving problems, so movies like this satisfy that urge. For some it’s crossword puzzles, and for others it’s following the clues in a murder mystery. There’s a reason why the latest craze at the NY Times website is so popular, where we can out best ourselves and friends on Facebook playing Wordle – it is the thrill of word game victory. But playing games isn’t the reason for writing today.

We’re going to consider the word, “treasure.” We’re going to ask, “what is a treasure to us?” And we’re going to let God throw in His infinitely valuable two cents. In the movie National Treasure the main character, Ben Gates, is driven to prove his family’s belief in a huge treasure of loot that was brought to Europe from Egypt and the Mediterranean area during the Great Crusades. This wealth was then transferred by ship to the New World by the Freemasons, where it was hidden from the British during the Revolutionary War. A convoluted plot eventually brings the treasure to light and everyone lives in a big house, but not happily ever after, waiting for the movie sequel. 

God has a lot to say about treasure. He separates earthly treasure from heavenly treasure, revealing the true values of each. He tells us to be seekers of treasure. He tells us what is truly precious in this world in verses like 2 Peter 1:4, “. . . by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises . . .” Psalm 36:7, “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.” And, “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” The Apostle Peter uses this word a number of times, saying believers are redeemed, “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” I Peter 1:19. And of Christ Himself, Peter says, “Unto you therefore which believe He is precious . . . ” I Peter 2:7.
 
The Bible puts the emphasis of valuable treasure on heavenly things, not earthly. Jesus goes so far to say, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also . . . Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? . . . But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:19-21,25,26,33.
 
This is utter foolishness to most planet dwellers in our day and age. We are driven by our culture to accumulate wealth for its own sake, have the largest nest egg possible in the shortest amount of time, and lean back and enjoy old age without a care. Of course, the Scripture demands that we provide for our families and children, but doing so without listening to what God says on the subject is a mistake with eternal consequences.
 
Faith plays the biggest part in this. We worry about our future – especially in our rocky world. But God lets us trust Him for it, saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35. Just how faithful are we in receiving this word? What is our trust level? I confess that my worry wart capacity is right up there with yours, and I cry out with the man who said, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!” Mark 9:29. 

Today, let us pray for greater, childlike faith as we trade earthly treasure for heavenly. 

Old Davy

Casting Lots

Fellow Traveler,

Israel’s King David reigned one thousand years before Jesus was born. The Prophet Samuel penned his biography in First and Second Samuel. David’s songs are recorded in the Book of Psalms, and some of them contain prophetic passages about the Messiah who would come. Few passages are as striking as those in Psalm 22, which is labeled The Suffering, Praise, and Posterity of the Messiah.

The nation of the Jews to this day refuse to acknowledge Jesus as their Anointed One – Messiah, their King and Ruler. They gloss over Psalms like this one or the 53rd chapter of Isaiah, rejecting the notion that the Messiah would suffer, die, and be raised from the dead. Paul, in fact, writes about this in Romans 9-11. “For I do not desire that you should be ignorant of this mystery . . . that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” Romans 11:25. For the past two thousand years, this blind rejection of Jesus of Nazareth has prevailed in Jewish homes throughout the world. Of course, there are those who hear the Gospel and believe, thankfully. Jews for Jesus and One for Israel are just two ministries led by those who have believed that Jesus is their true Messiah, and God is using them to spread the Gospel in Israel today. Here are the prophet David’s words that speak about a suffering Messiah:

Many bulls have surrounded Me; strong bulls of Bashan have encircled Me.
They gape at Me with their mouths, like a raging and roaring lion.

I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax; it has melted within Me.
My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.

For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones.
They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots. Psalm 22:12-18.

All of these details were fulfilled at Jesus’ crucifixion. Only God Himself could have given these words to David. And only God Himself could so orchestrate future events in their fulfillment. We read about Roman crucifixion (unknown in David’s day) in the New Testament gospels. It was the most painful and shameful way to die at the time.

On this Resurrection Day, we celebrate the victory that was Christ’s, when three days after His death He was raised to life, never to die again. He had perfectly fulfilled the hundreds of prophesies written about Him, and is now seated in heaven, ruling with all authority and power. His resurrection promises OUR resurrection. It is a day to rejoice and be glad. It is a day of humble adoration, and we can say with Moses and Israel who had just crossed the sea on dry land after been given freedom from slavery in Egypt, “Who is like You, O LORD, among the mighty ones? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” Exodus 15:11. And we can proclaim with Paul, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” Romans 11:33.

Fellow believer, let us be in joyful awe today as we celebrate the greatest event in world history.

Old Davy

Back to the Future

Fellow Traveler,

What if I told you who would be the President of the United States in the year 2124. No, not in 2024, but one hundred years from now. And what if I told you not only his name, but also how old he would be, what color hair he would have, who he was married to, that he would be assassinated after two years in office, and where he would be buried. If I told you all these things, what would you say? You would have to say I couldn’t possibly know any of these things and would be right to call in the white coat brigade. Telling the future in such detail and be 100% right is a total impossibility for mere mortals. But it is not beyond the mind of God who told the prophet Isaiah, “I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.’” Isaiah 46:9b,10.

There are over 1800 prophesies in the Bible. There are over 300 that speak of the Messiah, the Son of God, Jesus hundreds of years before He was born in Bethlehem. And that is one of them, that He would be born in Bethlehem, even though Mary and Joseph lived in another part of Israel at the time of her pregnancy. Here are a few of those predictions that were fulfilled to the letter: He would be of the lineage of Abraham; He would come from the tribe of Judah; He would be called Immanuel; He would go down to Egypt when a child; He would be a prophet; He would be the Son of God; He would be called a Nazarene; He would raise the dead and heal, speak in parables, would be called King, praised by children, rejected by His people, betrayed, mocked, insulted, be silent before His accusers, be spat upon and struck, be crucified with criminals, have His hands and feet pierced, be given vinegar to drink while on the cross, be forsaken by God, pierced in His body by soldiers, be a sacrifice for sin, buried in a rich man’s grave, would be raised from the dead, and ascend to God’s right hand in Heaven. All of these events and many more came to pass just as predicted hundreds of years before. The ‘chances’ that even 8 of these would be fulfilled has been calculated at one in 10 to the 17th power or 10^17. To visualize how great a number that is, think in terms of silver dollars. You would have to cover the entire state of Texas 2 feet deep with them, then blindfold someone and have them find the one that is marked with an “X.” It is virtually impossible for 8 examples, let alone over 300.

Bible prophesy is one way that God proves not only that what He says will come to pass, but that everything written in the Scriptures is to be trusted as “God-breathed.” I don’t have to doubt His promises. I must not doubt His warnings. I will fully trust every word that He has spoken. When Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” it is futile to water down, distort, or reject what He has declared.

Let us be assured in our hearts that God’s Word is true, that He has preserved it through the ages, and that every prediction yet to be fulfilled will come to pass in God’s time, to His glory. Let us put our trust in Him alone as the One who speaks truth in our lie-loving world.

Old Davy