Pearls from God

 In a recent conversation I shared a past miraculous spiritual experience with a fellow believer.  I told them that there were only a handful of people on this planet that I would share that experience with.  I shared a pearl with them and they appreciated its value.

In times past when I received a revelation, I wanted to share it with the entire world.  That is a bad idea.

Matthew 7:6  Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest haply they trample them under their feet, and turn and rend you.

Our Lord is clearly intimating that we are not to give holy revelations to unbelievers.  Frankly, there is no point.  They are unbelievers and they will not believe us in the first place.

Pigs do not appreciate the value of pearls.  They just trample them as you display them.  Then they often turn and rend you for your error.

This principle holds true in the church as well.  We can start with the outer circle where Jesus had approximately 5000 (Matthew 14:21) followers.  Next, we find the 70 people (Luke 10:1) that Jesus sent out.  They did not attain to the   twelve disciples (Matthew 10:1).  The twelve disciples as a whole did not have the intimacy with Jesus that Peter, James, and John had.  Peter, James, and John were Christ's inner circle.  They got to see and do the most miraculous stuff!  They got the best pearls!

Upon reflection, we can perceive that each level graduated in intimacy, belief, and discipline.

Jesus spoke in parables to the mass of followers so that only those with ears could hear (Matthew 13:9).  The more earnestly they sought Jesus He would reward them with more revelation.  Better pearls.

Do you want better Pearls from the Lord?  Then seek God diligently through faith.  Strive to become part of His inner circle.

Hebrews 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

New Year's Soup

Last year, I read a post and the last sentence made me think, “And the empty pot awaits, ready for a fresh batch.”

It reminded me of the story of Stone Soup. If you’ve never heard of it, here’s a synopsis of this version of the story:

Many years ago in Eastern Europe, people hoarded their food in a time of famine. One day, a soldier wandered into a village and asked to stay for the night. The people told him to move on as there was no food.

“Oh, I have everything I need,” he said. “In fact, I was thinking of making some stone soup to share with all of you.”

Pulling out all he needed from his wagon, he filled his cauldron with water and built a fire for it. Then, he took a velvet bag and drew out an ordinary stone and dropped it into the water.

The rumor of food spread and the villagers came to the square to find out.

As the soldier sniffed the broth, he said, “Ahh, I do like a tasty stone soup. Of course, stone soup with cabbage – now that’s hard to beat.”

Soon a villager brought him a cabbage he’d been hiding and added it to the pot. Then, the soldier said, “You know, I once had stone soup with cabbage and a bit of salt beef as well, and it was fit for a king.”

The village butcher brought out some salt beef and added it. Over and over, the soldier raved how good the soup is with added potatoes, onions, carrots, mushrooms, and so on.

Villager after villager brought out the necessary ingredients until there was indeed a delicious meal for all.

With all the added ingredients, the soup turned out to be delicious.

If your year was anything like mine, the cauldron of 2011 contained a variety of ingredients, some positive, some negative, and flavored with a dash of hope and a soupcon of joy or maybe even en grande quantité.

Now, the kettle for 2012 is empty and sits waiting to be filled, ready for all the ingredients of a new year.

What ingredients will fill your New Year? What will fill your heart?

I pray the Lord will fill your New Year with hope, peace, comfort, joy, and an abundance of blessings.

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 15:13 NKJV)

Bad Temper

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day, the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one."

Please forgive me if I have ever left a hole and I have hurt a person and have not been to bring about healing.

Ephesians 1:7 Through the blood of his Son, we are set free from our sins. God forgives our failures because of his overflowing kindness.