treasure

08
Feb
2023

Then You Will Understand

As we study the book of Proverbs there are some key threads that can be found in almost every chapter, fear the Lord and listen to those that are wise. If we were to outline the book almost every topic would be able to fall under these two major categories.

As we dive into Proverbs 2, both of these major themes are interwoven. As I have grown in the Lord and been seeing the things of my heart revealed through various circumstances that happen, I see how valuable fearing the Lord is.

Proverbs 2:5 tells us “THEN you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”

If we look at the verses preceding verse 5, we can see what the prescription is for understanding the fear of the Lord and finding “the knowledge of God.”

Proverbs 2:1 tells us to “receive God’s words and treasure up His commandments.”

We must receive God’s Words. When we receive something we have the idea of accepting it. Have you ever taken something, but did not really want it? One of my daughters (who shall remain anonymous) had asked for a specific shirt for Christmas. I saw one that was similar and I really liked it, so I bought it for her instead. It was not the one that she wanted. She opened the present and took it home with her, but most likely won’t wear it or will wear it for yard work or as a paint shirt. However, when I got her something that she really did want she told me all about how she was going to use it and how much this was going to be helpful in her life. This is what receiving God’s Words is like.

We sit in church, read our Bibles, go to a Sunday School class, or listen to a podcast and hear the Words of God, but what do we do with them? Are we like the shirt that was opened but not used for its intended purpose? We hear the words, but there is no application or change in our lives? Or are we like the other gift that will transform our lives and bring about change.

When we receive God’s Word and treasure it, there will be change. There cannot help but be change. However, when we accept the gift of God’s Word, but do not see the value and the treasure that it will add to our lives it is in essence going in one ear and out the other. No brain cells captured the words of wisdom.

Proverbs 2:2 tells us that we must “make our ear attentive to wisdom and incline our heart to understanding.” This sounds purposeful. This is not something that happens naturally. We are naturally bent towards laziness and gluttony or the satisfaction of our sinful desires. We don’t want to listen to wisdom if it contradicts the desires of our hearts. Have you ever taken a moment and actually thought about what you really wanted? Try it and see what you come up with. Would you be like Solomon who asked God for wisdom when you could get whatever desire you wanted?

Proverbs 2:3, 4 concludes in telling us what we must do in order to understand the Fear of the Lord.

“Yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures” (Proverbs 2:3, 4)

These verses are telling us that every part of our lives is seeking wisdom. We are listening for wisdom. We are seeking wisdom from all the right sources. We are searching for it like we would a lost treasure.

My husband and I love to watch mystery shows. Right now we are watching a show that involves some college students searching for a lost treasure that was hidden by three different tribes of Indians to keep it safe. They are setting aside everything in their lives and laying aside their own personal safety to find this treasure. Their goal in life is to find the treasure.

Is your goal in life no matter the cost to seek wisdom? Godly Wisdom? When you receive this godly wisdom do you seek to use it in your everyday life or do you cast it aside because it does not help you in satisfying your desires?

The key to understanding the Fear of the Lord is searching for wisdom from the right sources and then using it daily in your life because it is a treasure!

“Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:5)

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 0 comments
14
Apr
2021
What is your aroma?

What is your aroma?

Only a few more weeks and our youngest daughter will be home from college. I love having the girls home and being able to see them every day and here about their days and make memories with them. Every time, after this daughter leaves to go back to school, I have a hard time going into her room. Not only does her room remind me of her, but the smell of her perfume always lingers in the air. When the smell of her perfume permeates my senses, I am reminded of her in an even stronger way. Sometimes, I think the smell causes me to tear up more than the sight of her room. Our senses are a strange thing.

This is a positive association I have with smell.

On the flip side, I had a different experience a few weeks ago. All day long as I went through my day, I kept smelling this smell. It smelled like fish. It didn’t seem to matter where I went or what I did, I could smell this fishy smell. I started smelling my shirt, my hair, my skin. You name it, I was smelling it. I may have even smelled my feet. Even though I could smell this fish smell, I could not figure out where it was coming from. As the day was drawing to a close, I smelled the pocket of my pants. That was where the terrible fish smell was coming from. I had accidentally washed one of my fish oil pills and it had spread its wonderful smell to the pocket of my pants.

This was obviously a very negative smell association.

As I went through my day smelling fish oil, I began to think about my life. What kind of smell/aroma was I giving off with my actions, attitudes, or words? How was I spending my time, talents, or treasure? Did these things show forth Christ or did they show forth my own selfish desires and ambitions? Am I worshipping my Savior and Lord with my life or am I worshipping the idols of my heart?

I was reminded of Ephesians 5:1, 2. “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

In order to give off the sweet smell like my daughter’s perfume rather than the smell of fish oil, I need to be an imitator of God. An imitator of God, walks in love. Not only does an imitator of God walk in love but they willingly sacrifice for others. Jesus not only sacrificed His life on the cross for me, He also sacrificed His life on the cross for the thieves hanging next to Him, the Roman soldiers who crucified Him, and all the onlookers standing there that day.

Does every word, action, or attitude bring glory and honor to my Father in heaven or bring honor and glory to myself? Does the person who leaves my presence feel encouraged and challenged to look to God in heaven or discouraged?

Pastor Townsend used to remind us that we are either joy givers or joy suckers. Do you ever think that many of the decisions you make in life could be put into these two categories? Every decision that we make is reflection on who we are as a person and if we are believers, it is a reflection on our Savior.

Are you a joy giver or a joy sucker?

Let’s look at small decisions of how we spend our time, talents, and treasure. When you make a decision about going somewhere are you early, on time, or late? If someone has to wait for you because you are late, whose time is more important to you? What aroma are you giving off?

Has God given you talents and abilities that you are not using for His honor and glory? What aroma are you giving off?

The treasure that God has so generously given you, do spend your money with the thought of being a good steward with what God has given you? Or do you spend your money with your own selfish desires in mind?

Every decision we make, every word we speak, every action we do speaks of what is in our hearts. The way we spend our time, talents, and treasure gives off an aroma of being either an imitator of God or seeking after our own pleasures. Every decision we make.

Are you a sweet smelling perfume that brings smiles and sweet memories to those you leave behind or are you the stink of fish oil? I think I washed those pants about 5 different times using all sorts of different products to get rid of the smell. The fish oil did not bring about smiles and sweet memories, but rather was a lot of work to get rid of.

Ephesians 5:1, 2. “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

 

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 0 comments
03
Feb
2021
It’s Bigger than Flannel Graph

It’s Bigger than Flannel Graph

I started reading the book of Exodus for my daily devotions last week. I love the stories of the Old Testament. They are real and authentic people going through real and authentic challenges, difficulties, and hurdles. Too often we relegate these Old Testament narratives to “flannel graph” stories. As kids we would go to Sunday school and sit in front of the flannel graph board and listen to the Sunday school teacher tell us the Bible story as we watched her/him put the flannel graph pieces on the board. I appreciate all the time and effort that every Sunday school teacher put into preparing their lessons. I learned so much from them.

However, has it ever seemed that the Bible characters weren’t real? It was just a nice story, but it’s not applicable to me.

Joseph is such a giant in the faith, he must have had something that I don’t have. There is no way that if I went through all that he went through that I would be able to say “you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” (Gen. 50:20). What about Daniel or Job? They endured so much, they most certainly must have had something that I don’t have.

Actually, we have so much that they don’t have. They didn’t have a copy of the Bible, yet we have it in its entirety. They couldn’t look back and see all that Christ did for them while He was on the earth culminating in His death and resurrection. So we actually have it better than they did.

Job went through horrendous suffering without having the written word of God and he was still able to say, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:20, 21).

So what can we learn from the Old Testament? First, we must appreciate that the Old Testament narratives are stories with real people going through real struggles, just like us. Their lives were filled with difficulties and daily challenges that resulted in daily hardship. Not only that, they didn’t have the modern conveniences that we have today. They didn’t have running water and grocery stores or cars and computers with internet. We have these things going for us.

We also have the inspired Word of God in our hands. Many of us have multiple copies of God’s Word. We have the words of God in a written form that we can read and memorize and meditate on. Do we see this as one of our most valuable treasures or do we take it for granted? The God of the universe wanted to make sure that we had His Words so we could read them and live by them. What a special treasure that is for us today.

In this magnificent Word of God we have multiple examples on how to live. We have encouragement from these saints. When you begin to talk to someone that has gone through a similar life struggle as you, doesn’t it provide encouragement to know that they have been through what you are going through and they have made it through to the other side? We have this same scenario in God’s Word.

So when you struggle, go to God’s Word. See how the narrative plays out and see what they chose to do in the midst of the trial. They didn’t have something you don’t have, you actually have something they don’t have.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1, 2)

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 0 comments