The Case of the Buried Treasure

by Ray Stedman, Authentic Christianity

[k. e. leger Note: This article was written June 27, 1971. Please take note how this article, written 48 years ago, still holds true today. This really helps us to understand the struggle with Israel, and why the governments are acting the way they are. This goes with my article titled ‘Discovering the Hidden Treasure in Yourself.’]

In the great series of parables in Matthew 13 our Lord gave us, as He said, ‘The secrets of the kingdom of Heaven.’ The kingdom of Heaven is God’s work among men, God’s rule and authority in the midst of human affairs. In this series, Jesus is revealing the work of the kingdom as it is going on throughout the centuries of this present age since His first coming and before His return. We come to the fifth parable this morning, the parable of the buried treasure.

I don’t know what that may evoke in your mind. It always reminds me immediately of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, of Long John Silver, and doubloons and pieces-of-eight, peg-leg pirates, and all the exciting things usually associated with the idea of buried treasure. It is intriguing to realize that Scripture deals with this subject as well. It recognizes the allure and the mystery, which always gathers around the notion of hidden treasure. God has His buried treasures and He is speaking of them in this parable.

Continue reading “The Case of the Buried Treasure”

‘Anger’s Infest’

Anger wants you steadfast! God wants you moving forward!

 Anger's Infest
 
feel it beneath your skin
evil's way of getting within
actions in horror's den
‒ways of evil's perfect sin
 
it'll trap you in cussing
it'll condemn you in swearing
pulling at you...probing
wanting your reaction
for it's only satisfaction
 
it'll take all
of your triggering notions
you...down...dragging
as it smiles
in sadistic laughing
craving your giving in
your fight...it's welcoming
celebrating
your mind's condemn
 
anger...evil's infested gem
words, actions
its consistency in playing
wanting you
self to defend
so it can celebrate
in its win
 
feel it beneath your skin
evil's way of getting within
actions in horror's den
‒ways of evil's perfect sin
Continue reading “‘Anger’s Infest’”

‘Humble of Mercy’

You Want It to Be! So Bad….

A sample from Book 12

 Humble of Mercy
 
she shivered in the sun light
thinking of words in the night
take care of yourself
make this all count
it's not as bad as it seems

 
–wondering...
if this is really all right
 
she covers her eyes from the bright
words...thoughts in her head
filling her morning's sight
you've heard this before
words of deception
he doesn't want you no more
don't let 'fool' be your salvation

 
‒wondering...
why the needless blight
 
then the bible's insight
saying it's going to be all right
 
the unease feels her insides
but her heart digs in tight
it was always him‒
since all the darkened twilight
why so hard to get it right
why so much fight
 
she washed her face
forced a smile to the light
dawned her makeup
ignored age's height
the saddened night
throwing sorrow to the wind‒
the need to cry...howl
all night
 
her heart sits right
she adhered to the boundaries‒
set outright
time needed with the light
she can't fight
without insight
cleansing her insides, beautying her outsides
letting the magic pour from God†
as age moves on
lessening her life
–each piece
becomes more precious, more fragile
 
learning not anymore
to gamble
what's wrong, what's right
just listening to the light
without a fight

(September 26, 2018)—

Keep me safe, O God, for in You I take refuge. I said to the Lord, ‘You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.’ As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom in all my delight. The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips. Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.―Psalm 16

Continue reading “‘Humble of Mercy’”

‘Aversion’

Forgive Yourself for God Has Already Done That!

(April 8, 2019)—The commentary for my piece titled ‘Salvation’s Need’ I speak about salvation and God taking grace away if we go against Him. A friend called and told me that God does not take away grace. I beg you differ.

Ever since the incident with the Jeep, I have been reverted back to feeling like crap. I can’t seem to return to the good diet that was making me feel great, nor the tanning, nor the exercising. I’m told to get an attorney and sue these people, but, at the same time, that’s not what I’m supposed to do. Faith. I’m supposed to rely on faith. I’ve been battling with all of this lately.

I finished my vow. I’m supposed to wait now. And my relationship with the sweet man…what relationship? All my values, morals, principles are in question right now…every single thing I stand for! The voice of death has crossed my threshold several times in these last couple of months because I’m so tired of fighting, so tired of people lying to me. I’ve been in a battle per say.

I have been working late on my website and getting up late each day. I had gotten myself on a schedule, but that has been thrown out the window. I suddenly have that rush again…like I’m up against a clock. So, this morning after reading a few things on Facebook, I got my coffee and sat down. My Bible and writing tablet staring at me. The pull to cry came from way deep inside. And the tears started to fall. I started to feel sorry for myself. I see my sisters posting about their lives. My little sister and her family. I asked myself, ‘Where’s my joy? Where’s my family?’

 Aversion
 
You† stripped me of life
sent me into strife
in order for me
to truly see the light
 
I knelt...prayed for truth
stripped of wisdom‒
made into a fool
only to rise then fall in glue
stuck in deceived...malice
drowning in the body's surface
lust took hold...every crevice
 
my mind stuck in evil's drool
lying, stealing...seeking revenge‒
all evil's time in consume
I surrounded myself‒
in the duel
bathing in its fumes
yelling, pulling, yanking
trying to see truth
‒in all I assumed
 
all its evilness‒
pulling me from the light
pushing me‒
to take my very life
over and over‒
keeping me in strife
leaving...I think not!
laughing at my struggle‒
in fight
holding me down from flight
suffocating‒
blinding my sight
 
I prayed to see truth
now I see evil's embedded rules
the play‒
leaving countless clues
lust being its endless tool
using love‒
in its game of fools
 
Lord†, I see the aversion‒
I see the message in truth
in my mind‒
the careless insertion
‒troubled heart
sunk in its inclusion
 
I know why they sink‒
into drugs...sexual immorality
they were too young
when it all begun
to fight evil's manipulating reality
get to the children first
‒You† showed me this
before any verse
revealing truth‒
way before my coming doom
 
then my 360...then the loop
three adults in evil's coop
the wreckage‒
I didn't know what to do
for I was encaged, too
 
get to the children first
 
innocence‒
pulled from the light
no strength
to put up a fight
‒growing up
with an inside strife
splitting the mind
evil...preventing
the thinking of twice
 
Lord†, thank you
for the truth
please clear my mind‒
fill me with You†
evil strangles
all that's true
I'd rather be filled with You†
than lust's
careless drool
Continue reading “‘Aversion’”

‘Thank You for the Time’

Let yourself learn from the lessons given!

A sample from Book 12

  Thank You for the Time
 
I often mix up the rhyme
wanting the rhythm
in times
then I think
this life of mine
has to end some time
 
thank you, Lord†, for the time
the silence
the frozen bones
thinking deep...on my own
without stories to tell
‒just a visit home
 
thank you, Lord†, for this time
everyone has seeds sewn
everyone to everyone...cloned
beeps from a wireless phone
passing on‒
without really being known
 
I thank you anyway, Lord†
for this time
for bleak bitterness
in my mind
for the tearing love
in my heart
‒I once fought so hard
feeling so torn apart
in this space...I am caught
reading words‒
to me...once taught
 
thank you, Lord†
my lessons are mine
listening deep‒
watching go by...the time
wondering if enough‒
I've been kind
 
no backwards
only forwards
can I move the line
taking the lessons‒
building new rhyme
understanding the journey
through time
is not just mine
 
thank you, Lord Yeshuah†
for all those moments
in time
I'll bring them all in
play with them
in my mind
then cherish the rhyme
after all, You've† given me
the time
Continue reading “‘Thank You for the Time’”

‘Live’

Don’t put it off until tomorrow!

A sample from Book 11

 Live
 
today means nothing in tomorrow
today means nothing in yesterday
today is today
 
yesterday was once today
tomorrow will be today
one known, one unknown
yet, today is
 
what happened yesterday
won't happen again
what will happen tomorrow
just a guess, my friend
 
today, oh! today
each second, each minute
each hour...is ours to devour
 
don't think of what was
nor what will follow
 
today...over...tower
be its blooming flower
without counting
seconds, minutes, hours
 
for death still comes
for all...not some
never knowing the exact hour
no more, blooms the flower
 
today, shines the light
no need to fight
it's up...so bright
use it in delight
without thinking twice
 
for yesterday is gone
tomorrow...an unsung song
today, oh! today‒
today is
so...go on...live
 
Continue reading “‘Live’”

‘Truth’

Racism, hate: Evil’s best friends. Don’t let it consume you!

A sample from Book 11

 Truth
 
liars seek truth‒
falsifying a life
without any light
 
manipulation...their due
cutting it on cue
‒without noticing
the coming dues
 
their belief‒
trying to convince you
all they do
true, true, true
backing them‒
there are few
 
their spots change
sending you to the loo
oh! what to do?
‒without cursing them, too
 
truth is truth
existing
no half truths
‒it's either all true
or just makings
of a waterloo
Continue reading “‘Truth’”

‘Looking Within’

Men miss the point of what makes a woman special!

A sample from Book 10

 Looking Within
 
it's not to your treasures
you are bound
look carefully around‒
is your heart sound
 
quantity of possessions
do you measure
your worth
all your journey's identities‒
do you take pleasure
now...from your birth
is that the quality
your only creation
 
all your roads traveled
of life‒
are you still baffled
wishing‒
you were still
in the cradle
wishing‒
on no experiences
to tattle
 
is it no more a mystery
your back there history
 
for every lesson
comes a reason
for the next season

 
round and round
goes the merry-go-round
'til no more
you see the clown
never lost, never found
stuck in between
that round and round
not seeing the lesson
not rightfully sound
 
'til it comes from within
the stuck
always in begin
again and again
 
so sad at the end
feeling still in begin
Continue reading “‘Looking Within’”

‘Hands to Hold’

Is race going to continue to rule your life?

A sample from Book 10

 Hands to Hold
 
you come at me
you're not discrete
bold...unsure
 
maybe there's a gun in my hand
maybe I've some contraband
 
or maybe I just like hands in pocket
or wearing my earphones in my car
so I can answer this here phone
for this car absent of bluetooth–
protecting me and you
 
or maybe you're angry–
having a bad day
I pass your way
through your veins runs hate
so I become your play
 
I'm just like you‒
generation after generation
passed through
without obligations
to changing the view
 
–it all seems like voodoo
we both–
not really having a clue
‒taking it upon ourselves
get off that dusty shelf
change the view
so our kids
won't suffer too
 
maybe I do have a gun
–anger raging in stun
do you see inside of me
my hard history
maybe my hand shakes
though you can't see
–you're so angry
not seeing what's at stake
 
maybe I did some drugs–
stopping the pain
keeping from going insane
but soothing I didn't gain
all looks like a game
emotions adding to more pain
 
then you come along
thinking I'm a thug
you want to cut me down‒
stump me like a bug
without knowing the deal at home
why I'm here–
a gun...all alone
 
maybe don't yell
talk...love–
let it swell
 
instead of jail–
lead my soul to help
without making me
hate myself
 
I, too, want peace
between you and me
 
maybe instead of arrogance‒
show understanding
compassion
 
I don't want a free ride
just a reason...inside
not to cry
 
I am tough
I've got muscles, tats
my life has been rough
–crazy and all that
it doesn't mean
I'm just stuff
to pluck
 
a handshake
a hug
 
–that just might be
enough
 
I'm a human being
I don't mean to sting
 
just a little bitter
please, your anger–
could you reconsider
 
look at me for me
God's† child
making my way...like you
through the miles
 
–the past is gone
this is now
together–
we can make it all
worth while
if we just remain calm–
approach each other
in mild
without death coming in foul
Continue reading “‘Hands to Hold’”

‘Troubled Soul’

Other people’s issues are not yours!

A sample from Book 9

  Troubled Soul
 
your mixed personality
doesn't blend with reality
 
your verbal kindness
doesn't add to
your stalking rudeness
 
returning to reality
‒stripping all vulnerability
takes...taking responsibility‒
actions of self
before experiencing life...truly
 
changing personalities
doesn't insure securities
needed‒
to strengthen possibilities
 
living in denial
mile after mile‒
brings the mind
to crash
heading south‒
once there
‒getting there
you can only ask...how
 
take a look inside
your round and round ride
‒a mind in hide
never subsides
'til you stop for a while
sink in like a child‒
all your wounds...untie
 
open that book
given by God†
look deep...deep into your I
write down your whys
all that pain
bringing you to hide‒
all those cries
 
all those ancient words‒
so many have heard
let them be your guide
it takes time
 
people won't untie‒
all those knots inside
‒admittance...of self
the help of only God†‒
your only needed drive
way...way deep inside
‒then He'll† show you
how to fly
without you‒
having to ask why
Continue reading “‘Troubled Soul’”