Live in His Word

As we read through the New Testament it is so easy to look at the Pharisees and judge how manipulative and self-righteous they were. It seems like all they did was follow Jesus around trying to trap and discredit him. I read about them and think of how angry they must have always felt and how sad their lives must have been. As quick and easy as it is to judge them I can look around at our world today and realize that there are so many similarities- especially in the Church. God's goal was for the Jews then, and the Christians now, to focus on Him and have a right relationship with Him. As Christians, our focus should never be so set on being right that we forget to be righteous. The Pharisees were so focused on proving that they were right and Jesus was wrong that their focus was completely off of the God they claimed to serve and completely on themselves. They no longer cared what the truth was, they only cared about their interpretation of the truth, and they would do, believe, a...

  We read about the parable of a hidden treasure and a pearl of great value. Where the people sold everything they had to buy the treasure. In my study on these parables, I read two different interpretations that I found interesting. The most common interpretation discussed is that these parables do not mean that we can buy our way into heaven. It is that the treasure is the Kingdom of Heaven and the value is so great that it is worth more than any earthly thing. Everything else that we could have fades in comparison to that treasure and we should be willing to give up everything for the Kingdom of Heaven. The second interpretation was that we are the treasure. Jesus sees us and our value and He gave up everything He had to save us and purchase us with His blood. He gave up everything even to the point of His own life because he found us valuable and worthy. Both are very thought-provoking! To think of ourselves as a treasure worth Jesus giving His life for. It causes me to pause ...