Matthew 13:45-46 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Recently, a jeweler friend of ours sent us his beautiful interpretation of Jesus' parable of the pearl and we wanted to share it with you.
In Matthew 13, we see that a merchant sold all that he had to purchase a single pearl. But why, of all things, a pearl? As a jeweler, I would question the choice the Lord made -- choosing to leave the Father's side for a pearl instead of what I would think has much greater significance, the much coveted diamond. You may know that the diamond is graded in value according to the 4 C's, Cut, Color, Clarity & Carat-weight. The answer to my pondering was right there! The diamond receives a substantial portion of its value from the way a person cuts it -- the work of man's hand! Interestingly, the only natural gemstone that has more value when it is found than when men finish with it is the PEARL!
In the same way, we can add nothing to the work of Salvation! God has paid the price for us in full -- and a tremendous price it was. The God of glory, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords left all the splendor of Heaven to claim this pearl. And He gained it by paying a price that was far more precious than any of us could pay.
Sometimes we get so busy and we don't take time out consider this incredible work of God in our lives. He has bought us with a price. We are fully paid, fully ransomed, fully redeemed! We are the pearls of great desire! Let's walk in that victory today!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Near Eilat, in Southern Israel, there is a life-size replica of the tabernacle in the Negev desert, a couple hours from where we live. One particular year, as we visited and entered the Holy of Holies, the guide shared something I never heard before.
My wife used to teach Israeli dance workshops all over the world. And over the years, she has acquired a few interesting and rather funny stories of people, including herself, tripping and stumbling over each other during a class.
We've been in full-time ministry just over 20 years now, and boy, have we had our share of trials and tribulations!
Sometimes when we are in the midst of trials we start to wonder -- Lord, will it ever end? In case you haven't noticed, it doesn't. But the good news is that with each faith-testing experience, our ability to deal with these trials and tribulations becomes better and our faith grows stronger!
A group of scientists and botanists were exploring remote regions of the Alps in search of new species of flowers. One day they noticed through binoculars a flower of such rarity and beauty that its value to science was incalculable. But it lay deep in a ravine with cliffs on both sides. To get the flower someone had to be lowered over the cliff on a rope.
When Peter stepped out of the boat to walk on water – he literally stepped out of the boat! Imagine that! But was Peter going overboard? No, I don't believe so -- he was literally taking a step of faith with his eyes fixed on the Lord!
On December 25, 1908, a newspaper in Messina, Sicily dared God to make Himself known by sending an earthquake. Three days later, the city was destroyed by an earthquake that killed over 84,000 people.
My wife and I both came from very worldly back rounds. We both enjoyed alcohol and drugs and lifestyles that come with that before we became believers. I think of all the awful things we did -- yet God chose to forgive us and cleanse us. And then allowed us to know Him and serve Him in holiness.