A Master Treasure Hunter

But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ... Philippians 3:7-8 (NASB)

I love watching Antiques Roadshow. To me, it is exciting to see what people find at garage sales and flea markets. I laugh with them as they find out that their $2.00 find is actually worth $2,000. They found treasure! In one way or another, all of us are treasure hunters. It is a thrill to pay next to nothing for an item that is really worth something. But sometimes the thrill of treasure hunting taints our outlook. When we find that we can get something for almost nothing, we begin to think that greater effort or investment should bring a higher margin of reward. Pretty soon, we begin to apply this outlook to every part of our lives, even our service to Christ. We tithe - we expect God to increase what we have. We sacrifice our time - we feel that God should reward us for our sacrifice. We expect our service to reap dividends of blessing and for the most part, the blessings being sought are material and physical.

In Job 8:5, in the midst of Job's intense suffering, Bildad said these words to him: "...if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty, if you are pure and live with complete integrity, he will rise up and restore your happy home."(NLT) Bildad felt that if Job was really serving God and doing what He desired then Job would not know his current suffering. In his own way, Bildad was a treasure hunter. He expected godly living to reap material benefit. How much do our expectations line up with a Bildad-view of blessing? In some ways, do we want the material and physical reward so that others will see it and say that our life is blessed? Or, do we just think that we deserve material and physical reward? Is material reward the only thing that makes service to Christ worth it?

If our focus is on external benefit -- in suffering: release, in sacrifice: reward, in ministry: praise -- then our service is to ourselves. Such a description does not define a bond-servant or true friend of Christ.

Philippians 3:7-8 shows us that Paul did not agree with Bildad's outlook. Paul had known the deepest of suffering and yet he did not see this suffering as a lack of blessing. On the contrary, he saw the suffering itself as blessing. Why? Because he entrusted his entire life to God. He knew that anything that God allowed in his life was to bring about the greatest of treasure: deeper relationship with Christ which would enable him to be made into the image of Christ. Yes, Paul was a treasure hunter, but his treasure was not financial gain, physical blessing or release from suffering, Paul's treasure was Jesus Christ -- his greatest pursuit was to know Christ more.

External reward will deteriorate, but true friendship with Christ is an eternal treasure which will never depreciate. Paul, like any good treasure hunter, knew that consistent appreciation is the most coveted characteristic in treasure. Actually, Paul was not just a good treasure hunter, he was a Master treasure hunter. He sought the lasting treasure of his Master, Jesus Christ.

~Lord, you know I love a good bargain. I want to be a good steward of all that you have given me, but I do not want to look for external treasures at the expense of eternal treasures. May lasting treasure be the focus of my life. I want to be a Master treasure hunter. In Jesus' Name, Amen~

Words Fitly Spoken

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.
~Proverbs 25:11 (KJV)

In the third testament, Malcolm Muggeridge says of Saint Augustine: "Augustine was so aware of the universality of God's love and presence that he could easily communicate with all sorts and conditions of men."

This statement gives hope, for I desire to easily communicate with all sorts and conditions of men. I realize that my faith in God's love, His working out His will in me and my yielding to it, is the vehicle by which this becomes a reality. Faith in God's love - a love that has no evil in it, a love that will go to any length to make me like His Son - is the prompt of His leading in both word and deed.

Such faith in God's love produces an abundance that fulfills and stimulates a thirst for more of everything that God desires to bestow. This thirst (seeking) for more of God's abundance is what Mark 9:50 refers to when it says, "Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other." Salt in yourselves is a constant desire for righteousness, a consistent thirst for more of Christ.

This thirst for more of Christ will have an impact on every moment, word and deed of your life, for yielded lives are Christ-empowered lives. Your saltiness, or thirst for Christ, will impact others. To some, it will be a source of thirst, leading them to thirst for Christ (or thirst more for Christ). For others, such saltiness will repel, yet seeds of salt will be planted.

Words fitly spoken -- words suited for every occasion (for all sorts and conditions of men) -- result from yielded, salty, lives. Christ knows the words which need to be spoken. As we trust Him and surrender mind and heart to His full command, we become salt-dispensers and His salty words of life are spoken through us.

Sandpaper Situations

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. ~Hebrews 12:13-14 (NIV)

The admonishment from these verses reverberates within me. God gently says to me, "Crysta, child whom I love and desire to transform, get over yourself so that My grace can be expressed through you."

I have always had a strong sense of justice. I do not want others to be hurt or mistreated. I empathize with the pain of others and deeply grieve when I have been the cause of pain. But all too often, my sense of justice has been spent on myself: A threat is perceived, hurtful words are hurled, disrespectful treatment catches me by surprise and every nerve in my body cries for justice. Thoughts of defense and protection come to my mind, my feelings and emotions demand that I take up the fight against flesh and blood. Ephesians 6:12 tells me that my fight is not against flesh and blood, so why does my flesh cry out for a roll-in-the-mud, let's-settle-this-now, flesh-and-blood fight?

James 4:1-3 asks this same question and gives a very powerful answer: What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Isn't it the whole army of evil desires that war within you? You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have and you can't possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. (NLT)

Basically, when my flesh rises to take on a fight with flesh and blood, it is because I didn't get what I wanted. I coveted something different than what I was given. I wanted a different scenario. I was offered unkindness, I coveted kindness. I was ignored, I coveted attention. I was interrupted, I coveted respect. I looked at the situation, the hurt, the insult and said, "This is not just treatment." At this point, whether I recognized it or not, I took my eyes off of God's truth and God's way and wanted my own way. My heart, which a moment before was yielded to God, stood up in rebellion against this slight of injustice which God had allowed.

Is God unable to work for good in me or in this situation? Is God too weak to enable me to respond in service and kindness? Is this person too difficult for God to show mercy? To all three, the answer is No. Flesh and blood may have meant that hurt or insult for evil, but God, in His foreknowledge, meant it for good.

The hurts and insults that come into my days are sandpaper situations. In order to buff out the rough edges of self, these sandpaper situations are lovingly used by God so that Christ's beauty may smoothly flow from my life. When the pain of the sandpaper is at its greatest, the rough edges of self are the most predominant. When self has found its proper place of anonymity, the sandpaper slides smoothly across my soul producing greater reliance on the Giver of all good things.

In Genesis 4:3-5, Cain faced a sandpaper situation. Both Cain and Abel brought offerings to the Lord. Cain offered some of the fruits of his garden. Abel offered the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked on Abel's offering with favor, but He did not look on Cain's offering with this same favor. So enters the sandpaper. Cain wanted his own way AND recognition for his offering. He coveted the favor given to Abel. Instead of seeking to do what was right, he became angry because he did not receive what he coveted.

The Lord talked with Cain and admonished him, saying: "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." (Genesis 4:6, NIV)

Cain did not listen to the Lord's admonishment, instead he allowed sin to master him. As a result, he killed Abel - his own brother. Cain could not have two masters. He chose the master of sin over the Master of love.

The warning given to Cain rings in my own ears, yet God's mercy and offered grace beckons even louder. God will give me the grace and strength to stand against my own selfishness and covetousness, but I must submit to Him and resist Satan, the master of sin. God must be my only Master. (II Corinthians 10:3-5, II Corinthians 12:9-10, Hebrews 4:14-16, James 4:6-8)

The temptation to fight against flesh and blood is crouching at my door. Wanting the comfort of my own way, my soul will attempt to resist the sandpaper of submission and transformation, but grace...Grace reminds me that I have been bought with a price and my life is not my own.

I am graced to grace others. I am set apart to be a vessel of grace. The question is, will I get over myself and submit to the Sander and Lover of my soul that His grace can be expressed through me?

Nothing Wasted, Part II

As I see loss through the lens of God's love, I realize that not only does God want to transform me through loss, He also wants to comfort me in loss. II Corinthians 1:3-4a says, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our troubles. In loss and pain, the Lord longs to comfort and strengthen us. Beautifully, the comfort that He brings to us in our loss and the lessons which He teaches us through loss can also be recycled so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. (II Corinthians 1:4b-5)

Yes, the sufferings of Christ will touch our lives, for on the cross He took upon Himself every sin that had or would touch this world; along with that sin came all the accompanying loss and pain. Words are inadequate to describe the burden that He willingly undertook that we might know a lighter burden. Christ allowed Himself to be yoked to sin that we could know a yoke of love.

Though Christ took on this yoke of sin, the yoke of love and truth which He and the Father shared was stronger than that yoke of sin. This yoke of love and truth was Christ's comfort, and this is the same comfort that He offers to us. As we trust His love, we are comforted in our loss -- and the comfort that we experience is recycled through us to bring comfort to others.

Just as in the physical realm, where a flower must die to bring about new life, so it is in the spiritual realm. In John 12:24-25 Jesus tells us: ...unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Where there is loss, there are manifold purposes for that loss to be recycled into abundant fruit. In order for this recycling process to take place, we must surrender our own way. We must die to the familiar and expected that new life may spring forth. With new life comes a new song: a song from which comfort and encouragement will overflow into the lives of others.

Any loss surrendered to the Lord will bring about transformation that will last for eternity. So until Christ returns, and the ultimate recycling of body and soul is known: trust the Lord's love, surrender to be recycled through loss, because you know that nothing He allows, nothing He does in or through you is ever wasted.

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. ~Psalm 40:1-3~

Nothing Wasted, Part I

Walk as children of light: (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness, and truth;) proving what is acceptable unto the Lord...walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil. ~Ephesians 5: 8b-10, 15, 16~

Our world is filled with ideas and designs, yet there is not a single idea or design which originated with man. God created. Man, inspired by His creation, imitates. This is seen not only in things that are designed, built or produced, but also in the way that man views this world. The farther man strays from God's truth, the more his worldview becomes distorted; nevertheless, every idea originated with God.

Take for example the idea of recycling. We see the concept of recycling throughout creation: a flower dies but its seeds fall to the ground and another flower springs up from those seeds. But it is not only in nature that such recycling is seen, the pattern of recycling is a spiritual concept as well as a physical. In the language of Scripture, the idea of recycling is termed redemption -- the Lord redeems broken hearts, lives and bodies. He restores by transforming loss into life.

God never wastes anything. What He allows to touch my life in this moment is to prepare, re-shape and provide for what will arise in the next moment. There is depth and design to all that God has created as well as to what He permits His creation to encounter. He is not bound by time, but He ordained the laws of time. While outside of time, He prepares us for what will come in time, and all who surrender to be shaped within the realm of time are redeeming that time for eternity.

In other words, as I surrender to God's will being done in this realm (of time) as it is done in Heaven, time is being redeemed. With such knowledge, my understanding of loss is transformed. I can face any loss with an assurance that it is wrought with multi-faceted purposes of redemption. Some fruits of the Lord's recycling handiwork will not be seen on this side of eternity, but others will be clearly seen. In fact, there are specific recycling promises throughout God's Word.

With any form of suffering or trial there is some sort of loss. The thought of rejoicing in the midst of our losses is foreign to our desires, but Romans 5:3-5 explains tht the Lord's promise of recycling is a good reason to rejoice: because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom he has given to us.

As I surrender to the losses which God allows, each loss will be recycled to enable the Spirit's fruit to blossom from my life...specific loss producing specific fruit; fruit that is essential for tomorrow, fruit that will endure when the pain of loss has faded and fruit which evokes hope, causing me to see loss through the lens of God's love.

Part II will soon follow...

Isle of Exile

I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos...Revelation 1:9

Isle of Patmos. John. Banished. Suffering. Alone. And yet not alone: The great I AM, who is and who was and who is to come, was with him. This was the darkest time of John's life and yet amidst this dark and abandoned place, he was not abandoned. Far from it. Rather, on that Isle of Exile, God came to him in comfort and revelation.

This seemed like the end for John...his days of fruitfulness were over...or were they? Was not God in this forsaken place? Was not his ministry to God? Had he not always lived for an audience of One? This had not changed. His heart was ever surrendered to the Lover of his soul...as relationship with the Righteous One abounded, so, too, would fruit abound.

Despite this harsh existence, there was Love. There was purpose from the One that loved him - and His purpose is the only actuality. The One who works and wills to His good pleasure was present with John on that Isle of Exile.

In ostracism, John may have felt that he was being put "on the shelf", that the days of being used of God were over. Yet, in this lonely place, John was given the privilege of coming to know God in a way that few could even fathom. At a time of seeming unproductivity, John was given the Revelation of Jesus Christ as King of Kings.

I know nothing of physical exile or imprisonment, but my metaphorical exile has been illness. There have been many moments when, due to illness, I felt "out of service". But the faithfulness and love of God has dispelled that deception. For truly, 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 me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus my Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

I have come to see that times of exile, metaphoric though they may be, are marked by love and purpose. In these seasons of seeming unproductivity, the activity of the One who works and wills to His good pleasure has not ceased. He weaves His wonder through every part of my days, gently calling me to trust the work of His hand. Through these pivotal time periods of my life, I have been reminded that relationship with God is the dearest treasure, that living for an audience of One is a priceless privilege.

The seasons of exile in a believer's life can have multi-faceted purposes: the birth of a new vision, preparation, a greater understanding of truth or even much needed rest...but whatever the appointment, these periods of life are first and foremost about sitting at the feet of our Master and learning more of Him. If we will seize the occasion, these seasons will have further reaching results than we could ever foresee.

Now I look for the revelation in my Isles of Illness. I embrace these periods of my life as an opportunity to learn more of God -- I seek His face, relish His Word, talk to Him about everything, and I am filled with awe that He brought me to the Isles of Illness so that I could know Him more.

The Ministry of Reconciliation, Part II

Living a life that is reconciled to truth means that I cease to see myself as the instigator or producer of change. I throw out all idea of trying to convince others, of trying to change their minds toward Christ. For I see that to bring change in anyway is not my job, nor is it even a possibility for me. I cannot change myself, why would I assume to change the minds or hearts of others?

Any form of discipline I inflict upon myself will not change my heart. My routine may become altered, my traditions may be adjusted, but my heart, who I am within, cannot be altered by actions to which I attempt to adhere. No, it is only Christ that can bring about change within me. Only submitting to His truth can relax and free my stiff-necked soul. Likewise, it is only the truth of Christ which can bring about change of mind and heart in others.

Definitely, I must know the truth. Knowing and surrendering to the truth is how I am prepared to always give an answer for the hope that is within me: as I surrender to truth, Christ will communicate the answer through me. The answer that is needed on every occasion can only be provided by Christ. I do not know the hearts of others. I know nothing of their inner suffering, their past hurts and triumphs, but Christ knows their thoughts. He knows what they need, and if I will surrender to be reconciled to the truth of His Father, I will be granted the privilege of His life being fitly spoken through me, both in word and deed.

A life reconciled to truth is a life transformed, a life that everywhere and in every way exudes the fragrance of Christ. Some will breathe in this fragrance and will also long to wear such a scent. Others will sniff with caution, unsure if they desire to be permeated by this perfume. Still others will cover their noses; overpowered by the draw toward change which such a scent demands, they will turn away their faces not wanting the redolence of truth to affect their fixed focus. All who encounter the scent of reconciliation will have to make a choice between the abundant aroma of Life or the withering stench of death.

Yet no matter how others respond to the fragrance of reconciliation, my sole responsibility is to allow the aroma of Christ to invade every pore of my being. Christ is the aroma of life, to exude His perfume is my inheritance, my privilege, my calling, my ministry.

The Ministry of Reconciliation, Part I

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come! All this is from God who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation...II Corinthians 5:17-18

Christ died for all mankind so that each individual man and woman could be reconciled to God. At God's request, the sinless Christ became sin, thus providing the way for us to know and become the righteousness of God.

Once we are in Christ, we are a new creation. As II Corinthians 5:17 says, the old is gone, the new has come! This is an incredible gift of God -- it is the gift of constant renewal and unending reconciliation. Colossians 2:6 explains the sustenance of this incredible gift: ...just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him...Christ Jesus is received by grace through faith when a soul confesses with his/her mouth that Jesus is Lord and believes in his/her heart that God raised Him from the dead. Likewise living in abundant newness of life is only possible by grace through faith.

This means the question which overshadows every second of a believer's life is: Who reigns?...Who reigns over my thoughts? Who reigns over my emotions? Who reigns over my body? Who reigns over every part of my life?

II Corinthians 5:15 tells us that Christ died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and rose again. Christ's death provided the way for the old man (the fleshly nature) to also die, thereby breaking the power of the old man in the life of any soul that would believe in His death and resurrection. The old man is only able to express himself when he has not been made subject to his Lord, when he is unreconciled to the truth of God.

Our calling is constant reconciliation, consistent alignment, to the truth of God. Alignment with the truth of God is only realized by grace through faith. This means that our mouths must continually confess that Jesus is Lord over every area of our lives and our hearts must continuously believe that His way is the only way of life, the only reality. Through continuous confession and belief, we are being crucified with Christ. By faith, we are bringing the old man's default actions into subjection, and the glorious outcome is Christ living in and through us. The life that is being lived in our body is lived by faith in the Son of God who lovingly gave Himself for us. (Galatians 2:19-20)

A life that is in every particular surrendered to truth is a life that is in every particular reconciled to truth. A truth-aligned life lives in the power of God; that same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is raising us to live in newness of life. Therefore, it is our ministry to live a truth-aligned life, for a life truly reconciled to God's truth causes others to ponder such reconciliation.

Part II will soon follow...

The Performer

When I was in high school, I enacted a monologue from a play that was written about Anne Boleyn. Anne had been unable to give Henry VIII a male heir, so he found a way to dispose of her. The scene I enacted finds Anne awaiting her execution...it depicts the thoughts of a woman sentenced to death, but not just a woman, a mother. Yes, she had produced a child. Her crime was that the child was female rather than male. She mourns leaving her child behind, mourns that her child must face the world without her.

The monologue was dramatic. I practiced my lines. I memorized them, but then I went past memorization....I began to think as Anne, what she felt, how she hurt and mourned. I empathized with her so deeply that in saying the lines, I became Anne.

At a national competition, I performed Anne's monologue. I poured my empathetic heart into the lines. I had no vision of winning the competition, after all, my piece was a monologue while other competitors entered pieces of complicated and intricate dialogue. Nevertheless, I had thrilled in being Anne. As I stood on that stage, I was Anne Boleyn.

The competition had taken place in the morning and awards would be presented in the evening, so my afternoon was free to take in other performances. As I was walking to a particular presentation, I passed by one of my judges. She looked at me, with a sparkle in her eye, and said, "Hello, Anne". My heart somersaulted within me. In that moment it made no difference to me if I won or lost the competition, my purpose had been realized: Anne's story was lived through me to such an extent that when my judge looked at me she did not see Crysta, she saw Anne Boleyn.

Today, as I was reading James 1, this memory came rushing back to me. James 1:22-23 says, ....receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. I looked up the word doers in the Greek and found that it is the word poietes which means poet or performer. I rolled this thought over and over in my mind. I know that a root of this same word is found in Ephesians 2:10 which says that we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. The word workmanship is from the same root word as doers. Workmanship is from the Greek word poiema meaning a product or a thing that is made.

My life is a play, or poem, of God. God has written the lines of the play, and He desires for me to beautifully express the lines of truth that He has written for me. In order to express these lines of truth, I must know the lines of truth, I must memorize the lines of truth...but I need to go past memorization and begin to think these lines of truth. These lines are to be breathed and eaten, they are to become my foundation and my only reality. Each minute of each day, I must stand on truth. To stand on truth requires that I fill my mind with God's lines and allow His lines to replace my default lines. These are not lines of improvisation or lines of my own interpretation, these lines require complete adherence.

Yet God is the Master Playwrite, for He does not require that I find it within myself to perform these lines. No, for anything that He has written, He has arranged a way of execution. Anything that He requires, He supplies. He makes no requirement without also making provision for the requirement. He knows that I am not capable of performing these lines. But the lines were not written for me to perform them, they were written that I would surrender to them. The lines of truth, the lines of God's Word, demand surrender. They are to be accepted as the only truth, the only reality.

Such surrender will mean that I no longer live to quote my own lines. Those error-filled lines have been transformed. Christ, the very Word of the play, has taken command of the sentence structure and has brought the story to life. This was the vision of the Master Playwrite, this story was written with one Performer in mind, no other could enact these truth-filled lines.

And thus the purpose of my play is realized: for as my Judge, peer jury, and a varying gallery of onlookers watch this play, they will not see Crysta, they will see only Christ.