THE TREASURE CHEST

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The Bible tells us that we love God because He first loved us. It is critical we understand how much He loves us. I am reading the book of Colossians from the New Testament. It reminds me of all the "treasures" we have in Christ and how loved we are. When I first became a Christian I could not stop reading the Epistles (all the books after Acts through Revelation). My husband accused me of not being secure in my faith, saying that I emerged myself in the Bible because I was still looking for answers. I remember saying, "Oh no! The Bible is like a treasure chest filled with beautiful promises from God. When I read the Bible I find more and more things God has done for me." It is still that way today.

Colossians is a perfect example of reminders of the treasures we have in Christ. If I were asked, "What does being a Christian practically mean to you?" I would say, "Jesus came into my life to save me from myself." I was young when I realized I was not perfect - I kept shooting myself in my own foot. Also, because I was a sensitive child with a sensitive conscience, I even compounded the shooting by telling my parents what I had done wrong, therefore guaranteeing for myself appropriate discipline. I realized early, I needed help, but I didn't know where to get that help. Now I know. I get it from God.

God's first desire for us is to know deeply and clearly He loves us with an unconditional love. Secondly, He wants us to understand what He has done for us in Christ to prove that love. Way too many believe God's love is unconditional yet act and teach as if His love is conditional. If you do this then I will do that for you. But this is not what the New Testament teaches. Conditional love is not Agape love. In truth, understanding God's unconditional love is like those of us who cannot comprehend Albert Einstein's fact (no longer a theory but a fact) that the faster we go, the slower time passes. If we were to reach the speed of light time disappears and everything - past, present and future - merges into a whole. (Gerald L. Schroder, The Science of God)

For me love is better understood by using the word “acceptance”. Everyone is accepted by God because of Jesus' completed work on the Cross. (we'll talk about this at another time). This sounds like Universalism but is not. All we have to do is have a burning desire to accept our acceptance and we become God's child. We are born again not to an earthy father but to a Heavenly Father.

How many people do you know who are beautiful yet they will not accept that they are beautiful? How many people do you know who are too thin or addicted to something (drugs, golf, work, gambling, exercise etc) yet they will not accept that they have a problem? These people continue in their distortion of truth to their detriment. Additionally, they hurt those who love them. The same is true for God. For six thousand years He has been offering His love. Some accept it others don't, to their detriment.

For those who accept Jesus, the Treasures of God are available. Now as Christians we can either accept His treasures or not. It is our free will choice that God gave us, spoken of in the book of Genesis. I have counseled with so many Christians who cannot get their hearts around receiving God's Treasures. My heart aches for them. They continue their Christian lives only accepting that at the end of their lives they will go to heaven. Yes they will, but they will have missed the Treasures provided by God that are ours now while we are alive.

If I wrote of all those Treasures I would be rewriting a large part of the New Testament. Listed below of some of those Treasures.

1. A love relationship like no other. A fire in the belly type of love.

2. Our emotional state: "experienced" as calm, at peace, filled with joy, loved, filled with hope that God will do what is best in each and every circumstance that comes into our lives, filled with assurance of God's acceptance, experience faith (even if it is as small as a mustard seed).

3. Our intellectual state: I have (present tense) an inheritance in Christ to use now. Christ in me is my Hope of Glory. We have been taken out of our own darkness and the world's darkness and put into the kingdom of God's light. We have the actual mind of Christ. Jesus took away my sin nature (not desiring to have a relationship with God and wanting to do life Frank Sinatra's way, "My Way"). All of my sins (missing the marks of perfection) past, present, and future are removed

4. Our spiritual state: We are born again by the Holy Spirit, accepted in the Beloved, filled with the Holy Spirit, forgiven, no more condemnation by God forever, joint heirs with Christ Jesus, Child of God, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in me, the Holy Spirit and I are in Christ. The Holy Spirit, myself and Christ are in God. I am, at this very moment, present with and seated with Christ Jesus in heavenly places. (Remember Einstein's Fact)

5. Our relational state: Our negative personality traits are being changed day by day by the Holy Spirit. There is no more predigest as we who are in Christ (Chinese, Indian, Blacks, Europeans, those from the Middle East etc.) are all brothers and sisters in Christ having one Father and the same brother, as Jesus was the first born among many brethren.

I truly could go on. If you want a conformation regarding where to find the affirmations I have listed contact me. You will find the “contact me” button on the right hand side of the page under Ending the War with Myself book cover. Consider signing up and you will receive a post once a week.

Paul's prayer for us is: "In Him (Christ) all the treasures of [divine] wisdom ([d]comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God) and [all the riches of spiritual] knowledge and enlightenment are stored up and lie hidden (for us). Colossians 2:3



Christian Living, In Christ, ending the war with myself, Free Will, Colossians, Born Again, sin nature, unconditional love, conditional love, help