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”

‘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’”

‘Allegorium’

What it takes to keep love!

A sample from Book 11

 Allegorium
 
(what is it in life
if you can't tell
wrong from right
to see in sight
what is of great heights
to know
from a wrong fight
and a right fight
‒one worth the cry
one not worth the try)
 
there was a yell, a scream
an act of rage
mixed in scents of sage
 
she would leave
she would leave today
her bags...she began to pack
‒the stress off her back
 
she voiced everything
she wanted to sack
her mind lost in a haze
remembering
all those great days
‒reasons why she stayed
 
anger filled in a maze
this way, that way
‒which path to take
 
wanting to run
in spite of the fun
then in comes the pun‒
standing eye to eye
tears suddenly
fill in cry
 
we just can't be together  

shaking
coming from deep inside

I know

each not willing to move‒
standing their ground
knowing
without making a sound
it all comes down
to mixes in race
different traditions
different tastes
 
but that's just the base
to what lies beneath‒
experiences
in the lace
 
wanting her to stay
knowing
his moments in rage
‒can't keep her in a cage
from her mind
it won't fade
searching
for words to say
 
wanting nothing in fright
in his dark eyes‒
seeing the willing light
wanting her to seek it
please make it bright
understand the hard in my life
for it, I had to fight
sealing up everything inside

 
confusion succumbed‒
the sudden in rays
from his silent, pleading glaze
it's not just his aces and eights
that's on the take
 
she adds up the sum
to it, he wasn't dumb
every piece, every crumb
has to be sorted‒
to smooth out
the constant lump
 
another chance
another steady ride
taking each side
‒what's buried in hide
no matter how many lows and highs
wobbling
through pass homicides
all those moments‒
others confused their minds
making them want to pounce‒
in anger...quickly dive
 
thinking through it‒
hearing every sound
warnings, confusion, heart‒
feeling the surface of found
wondering where its bound
this constant round
has to sooner or later
release its hound
when wanting to stay
is all around
 
softly relaxing
the lines on her face
that unconditional
is not in a trace
‒it's in the base
of foundation's lace
without living in a race
 
what others see as a toxic tray
may just be
the difference in race
in raised traditional's case
‒angers set in
wanting to be erased
 
each learning to let go‒
what once slapped them
in the face
releasing anger's ways
that keeps trapping them
in a haze
‒exploding in a blaze
 
what is it in life
if you can't tell
wrong from right
to see in sight
what is of great heights
‒to know Yeshuah's† life
why for us, He† died
 
love is worth the ride
for it, pay the price
for the reward
everlasting life
Continue reading “‘Allegorium’”

‘I’m But a Child’

Take It To God and Let the Child In You Breathe!

A sample from Book 7

 I'm But a Child
 
would you believe in Him†
if you had riches of gold
would you honor Him†
if you weren't in the cold
 
in your darkest days
do you hold faith
 
when no money's in hand
when deceived by man
do you cry out to Him†
in a simple hymn
 
when possessions
flood your gates
when you have so much to take
do you stop a moment
say wait
let me give some away
 
do you welcome
the sinful in
treat them
like a friend
or do you shun them
thinking
you're better than them
 
do you hide
what's deep inside
swallowed by ego and pride
not wanting the outside
see you cry
or do you rise high
trusting in God†
that He†
won't turn with a sigh
but see your I
never asking you why
never you, He'll† deny
 
are you strong enough
to admit
I'm but a child
I've failed along the miles
but God's† with me

all the while
 
it takes strength
to admit defeat
falling to His† feet
forgiveness...plead
 
unconditional love
free will
 
His† love is sealed
His† love is real
 
He† forgives you
it's all up to you
with nothing
to others
to prove  
Continue reading “‘I’m But a Child’”

‘Salvation’s Need’

To Deny Others Is To Deny God!

 Salvation's Need
 
test after test
I have failed
my 360
to the cross...nailed
You† brought people to me
in their time of weak
‒salvation
I failed to help them seek
 
instead, I buried them deep
words from my mouth
did seep
actions
I didn't allow to creep
in self
I curled up in weep
 
my time has come and sailed
out of all of it
I tend to bail
turning my back
not wanting to see
how another's picture
on them...creeps
I just give up and flee
 
whatever awakens
this ignorance of me
strip it
take it from me
strengthen me
help me to see
keep me from feeling sorry
lost in self pity
 
Lord†, this part of me
that lived unselfishly
I lost
please return it to me
without this lumpy throat
from way down deep
without fears and anxiety
help me open my mouth
speak
in words of calm
humility, peace
without selfish
insecurities
Continue reading “‘Salvation’s Need’”