Christian Family Services Ministry

8-21-2019 – A Word to the Wise – Have you ever wondered what the pearl of great price Jesus refers to in Matthew 13:45? Jesus says that it is something for which a man will sell everything that he owns to purchase.

I have pondered for many years the answer Jesus hides in this parable. The parable just before it speaks of a man finding a treasure in a field and going and buying that field with all that he had.

There are not many things in life worth selling all one owns to buy it, or is there? I know many a soul who sell all they own and much not owned to buy drugs, alcohol, sex, or a host of other things. Cheap things without any true value. When purchased they bring no satisfaction, nor peace or joy.

Yet Jesus, says that there is something worth selling all ones worldly possessions, what is it?

I have no doubt that the Pearl of Great Price that for which I would sell everything is friendship with the Lord.

Do you have any idea what it would be like to be considered a friend of the Lord. This is a position held by very few in scripture. Abraham, Enoch, Elijah, Job, Daniel, David, Peter, James, and John, and Paul. The list indeed is short. The price is tremendous. We can only guess at the tremendous stress these men of God endured.

Yet, the reward makes the price but a small matter. Many think of heaven or even the grace of the Lord as a great prize, and yet this matter of friendship, the Lord having affection for us. Not just love. But to think that when He hears our voice, or beholds are presence, it brings the Lord great satisfaction.

This admiration is reflected in the reply the Lord gives to Satan when He says; “have you considered my servant Job…”

What feelings do you think were aroused in Job when he is writing his story down for posterity, as Job pens the words that reflect the heavenly conversation? “Have you considered my servant Job”?

True, a person may consider many thing priceless, yet for a few, friendship with the Lord is the pearl of great price.

8-20-2019 – A Word to the Wise – A sense of gratitude is one trait that seems to be absent in our society. Yet it is a cure for a host of our diseases. But it was a plague in the days of our Lord as well. Time and again we see Jesus healing all manner of ills but rarely do we hear expresses of appreciation.

It is an oddity of scripture that there is not a biblical example where a woman fails to praise the Lord for her healing! Amazingly, lepers, demon possessed, withered hands, palsy, you name it, man is afflicted with it, but that affliction and healing so often did not merit a simple thank you. The chief illness is a lack of appreciation.
It is imperative that we list as many as we are able, that have contributed to our well-being from birth to the present. Yes and while you are working on the list do not forget all of those dirty, stinking diapers someone had to change.