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GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD Experiencing an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue #1,004 January 10, 2004 Treasure Hunt The first rays of the sunrise found me three hours from home, standing on the banks of a river with a pack on my back, shovel in one hand and a gold pan in the other. It was June, but the water was still cold. I had recently taken some classroom lessons on gold panning and this was the first practice. I felt a little self conscious. The old timers all knew one another and while they weren't unwelcoming, they weren't exactly friendly. They had well worn gear and I had a shiny new pan. They knew exactly where we were going and I just tagged along. The rest of the rookies looked like I felt. Watching the more seasoned veterans, I picked what seemed like a likely spot. I unloaded my pack, tossed a shovel full of gravel into the pan and crouched by the river. I tossed all the bigger rocks (we don't have nuggets here) and began the process of washing the smaller stuff away. The old timers seemed to be working ten times as fast. Soon I was down to sandy debris, then nothing. I knew some of the old timers had already found some color by their excitement. Determined to be next, I repeated the process. This time with the sand was some black and red garnet sand. I continued to wash carefully, and soon I had a tablespoon full of garnet sand and the tiniest flake of gold you can imagine, no bigger than a grain of flour. From the whoop I let out, people must have thought I found a fortune. The old timers just looked over and smiled. I panned for hours. My legs ached from crouching, my back screamed from shovelling and leaning over the pan. It didn't matter. By the time we were finished I had a small vial of black sand and a few grains of gold. I doubt that what I earned that day was worth a dime, but it was worth a million dollars in excitement. It wasn't the value of the treasure as much as the satisfaction of finding it. There is a treasure worth far more and I've learned where to find it. "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. Matthew 13:44-46 NIV The kingdom of heaven is worth the search. The excitement I found over my few pennies worth of gold was something I'll never forget, it ranks right up their with my first jump out of a plane. All of that pales in comparison to the realization that Jesus is real and that He loves me. Nothing compares to that realization. Until next time, if you know Him, think about the value of His gift to you and rejoice. If you don't know Him yet, start looking, He's the most valuable thing you can ever find. Be blessed Hallelu Yah (Praise God)! Kevin OUR GOD IS Our God is our fortress and our deliverer. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2 NIV YOU ARE Once you have accepted Jesus as Saviour you are rich. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. 2 Corinthians 8:9 NIV Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. You have value in the eyes of God so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. You are so precious to God that heaven will not be complete without you. HELP FOR THE HURTING Perhaps you've "tried" church and found that you felt uncomfortable around "seasoned" Christians because they had well worn Bibles, knew all the songs, knew when to sit, stand, kneel and do whatever else needs to be done. They had their own language and rituals and you felt a little (or a lot) out of place. Perhaps they weren't unwelcoming, but they were not exactly friendly either. Perhaps they were overly friendly and welcoming and made you feel conspicuous and overwhelmed. Don't let any of that "stuff" keep you away. Finding Jesus is the biggest treasure. The love of Jesus is far to valuable to lose out on because of some bad experiences with some of his followers. He's there with love for YOU. He wants to forgive you, bless you and give you a free pass into heaven. That's worth more than all the wealth and "success" in the world. There's nothing better. He waits with open arms for you. Will you respond to Him today? You can simply begin the relationship by honestly and completely opening your heart, admitting you need God's help, and saying a prayer along the lines of: Jesus: I have made many mistakes in my life and done things I am not proud of. I have sinned. I need your love and forgiveness. I believe that you came into this world and gave your life on a cross to pay for my sins and that you defeated death and rose again. Please forgive me, and be the Lord of my life. I give my life to you Lord. Amen If you pray this prayer for the first time let me know so I can rejoice with you. Did you know that at Gleanings, we have a dedicated team of prayer warriors and all prayer concerns are kept strictly confidential? Your comments, your questions and your joys are shared with the prayer team, to keep me accountable as the head of the ministry and to encourage them as they see God at work in your life. As with prayer all these things are kept confidential within the Gleanings team. To share your questions, comments, thoughts, prayer concerns and praise reports email us If you enjoyed this issue of Gleanings From The Word, email it, in its entirety, to a friend. For information on use of Gleanings in your church newsletter or other situations please visit the permissions page . You can write to us at Gleanings From The Word Ministries International 114 Oak St Sherwood Park, AB Canada T8A 0V8 © 2003 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin Gleanings From The Word Minististries International - All Rights Reserved
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