Treasures in God's Word

By James Smith

"Treasures in God's Word" is a Bible study book that invites the reader to explore the depths of Scripture and discover the spiritual treasures found therein. James Smith guides the reader on a journey of discovery through the pages of the Bible, showing how each passage contains a wealth of wisdom and teaching that can be applied to everyday life.

The book is organised into thematic sections covering a wide variety of topics relevant to today's world, from faith and salvation to hope and love. Each chapter includes reflection and study questions that help the reader to dig deeper into the Scriptures and apply biblical principles to their lives.

With a practical approach and a deep understanding of the Scriptures, "Treasures in God's Word" is a valuable tool for anyone who desires to deepen their knowledge of God's Word and grow in their relationship with Him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: FELIPE CHAVARRO POLANÍA INC
• Release date: Jun 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223489412

Book preview

Treasures in God's Word

––––––––

By

james smith

Treasures in God's Word is a Bible study book that invites the reader to explore the depths of Scripture and discover the spiritual treasures found therein. James Smith guides the reader on a journey of discovery through the pages of the Bible, showing how each passage contains a wealth of wisdom and teaching that can be applied to everyday life.

The book is organised into thematic sections covering a wide variety of topics relevant to today's world, from faith and salvation to hope and love. Each chapter includes reflection and study questions that help the reader to dig deeper into the Scriptures and apply biblical principles to their lives.

With a practical approach and a deep understanding of the Scriptures, Treasures in God's Word is a valuable tool for anyone who desires to deepen their knowledge of God's Word and grow in their relationship with Him.

Contents

For the Lord, one day is as a thousand years! 2 Peter 3:8

"I was once young, and now I am old. Psalm 37:25

Owe no one anything, but to love one another Romans 13:8

Jesus said to him, Receive your sight; your faith has made you well. Luke 18:42

I have waited for your salvation, O Lord. Genesis 49:18

I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. Romans 1:16

The tempter came to Him. Matthew 4:3

"Oh, if I had wings like a dove! I would fly and rest. Psalm 4:6

The voice of one who cries. Isaiah 40:3

We were with Him on the Holy Mountain. 2 Peter 1:18

Ye are the salt of the earth, says my Master.

"I have gathered silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. Ecclesiastes 2:8

If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. Matthew 27:40

We love Him because He loved us. 1 John 4:19

I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. John 16:12

Overcome evil with good! Romans 12:21

The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. 2 Kings 17:9

We will sing for joy because of your victory, and in the name of our God we will lift up our banners. Psalm 20:5

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people now and forever. Psalm 125:2

He will keep the feet of His saints! 1 Samuel 2:9

But Naaman was a leper! 2 Kings 5:1

My salvation is from Him! Psalm 62:1

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May those who love you be safe. Psalm 122:6

"Peter knocked at the outer door, and a servant girl named Rhoda came out and opened it. Acts 12:13

They rejoice before you as people rejoice in the harvest. Isaiah 9:3

The deceitfulness of sin! Hebrews 3:13

Blessed is the one who is not offended for my sake. Luke 7:23

For He who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23

My soul longed for the first ripe fruit. Micah 7:1

If you want to, you can cleanse me! Mark 1:40

A person who has had a bath only needs to wash his feet John 13:10

So he made two gates of olive wood. 1 Kings 6:32

Speak to the whole assembly of Israel and say to them, 'Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy'. Leviticus 19:2

He who endures to the end will be saved! Matthew 24:13

Men ought always to pray and not faint. Luke 18:1

You have robbed me! Malachi 3:8

As Moses had promised, Hebron was given to Caleb, who drove out the three sons of Anak from it. Judges 1:20

"The people who know their God will be strong and do exploits. Daniel 11:32

The elder brother was angry and refused to go in. Luke 15:28

My Lord, keep me from this evil heart! Give me the soul that is right with You in its innermost centre and core. Give me the humility that makes confession: I am not worthy to be called Your child. Give me the love that is "a spark, O Jesus, of Thy fire, a drop of Thy deep!

Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?. Matthew 22:12

I have appeared to you to appoint you a servant and a witness of what you have seen of Me and of what I will show you. Acts 26:16

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell. Colossians 1:19

His kingdom reigns over ALL! Psalm 103:19

O earth, earth, earth - hear the word of the Lord! Jeremiah 22:29

For out of His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. John 1:16

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21

"The wilderness and the solitary place shall rejoice; and the desert shall be glad and blossom as the rose. Isaiah 35:1

The end of a matter is better than its beginning. Ecclesiastes 7:8

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Romans 8:35

For the Lord, one day is as a thousand years! 2 Peter 3:8

What delights await me in Heaven, unspeakable, inconceivable, sublime!

To the Lord, a day is like a thousand years. In His society, the shortest period of time will seem the longest - so many things will crowd into it, and it will bring me such wonderful treasures and joys. In that better country, a single day will be full of satisfaction for my senses, my intellect, my memory, my imagination, my conscience, my will, my heart - satisfaction that I could not find in a whole millennium here on earth. Because I will be

with my Lord,

admitted in their most intimate intimacy,

transfigured in its beauty,

participating in His dominion.

I will behold not only His glory, but my King and Saviour Himself.

I need not grieve because these heavenly pleasures seem far off and distant. For a thousand years are to the Lord as one day. Whether my time of waiting is shorter or longer, whether the hour of reception into my eternal inheritance is far off in my reckoning - God sees the consummation near at hand. The decades and centuries of this world's chronology are nothing to Him who is eternal to eternity. It is as if, in the morning, I wait for the night - so brief seems the space that elapses before I see Him - and be with Him where He is. This thought should curb my impatience and intensify my hope. "In a little while, in a very little while, I shall enter into my eternal abode with God.

Thus, here and hereafter, all is well.

In your presence there is fullness of joy, at your right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psalm 16:11

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"Enter through the narrow gate.

For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter by it.

For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life - and there are few who find it" Matthew 7:13-14.

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There are only two DOORS:

One of them is wide. Its name is Yo .

my own wishes

my own proud thoughts,

my own justice,

my own chosen and beloved sins,

my own plans and pleasures.

The other gate is narrow. Its name is Christ - Christ sought in repentance and godly sorrow - Christ followed at all hazards. It is the door of the crucifixion of self.

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There are only two WAYS:

One of them is wide, easy, pleasant, comfortable, pleasing to the flesh, crowded with crowds - a road of roses, always tending downwards, and bringing disastrous consequences.

The other way is difficult and narrow, as if through a gorge between steep rocks that almost meet, beset by dangers and enemies, chosen by relatively few. The Christian's weary pilgrimage and his long campaign: ah, how the road climbs and climbs!

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There are only two ENDS:

One of them is the destruction -

dark, hopeless, hopeless, hopeless,

the death of peace,

the death of hope,

the death of all good impulses,

the death of the soul.

The other extreme is life.

the fullest, most sublime, sweetest life,

life without sin and without pain,

life in the land of life and glory,

life in the presence of Christ for all eternity.

Consciously, deliberately and unequivocally, I prefer . . .

the narrow door

the hard road,

the end which is eternal life.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"I was once young, and now I am old. Psalm 37:25

Older people often err through over-caution and prudence. As the years go by, their early enthusiasm wanes and their first love grows cold. They are cautious and cautious to a certain extent. However, if this is their characteristic defect, they also have the wisdom of experience. The revolution of the seasons, when they have had a listening ear and an understanding heart, has taught them many priceless lessons. It always pays to listen to a veteran disciple of Jesus Christ.

Young people, on the other hand, are prone to err through undue recklessness and daring. They do not reflect enough. They do not calculate the cost sufficiently. They do not look before and after. They are often not very willing to listen to advice. Yet they have the burning heart, the fire of passion, zeal, courage. Theirs is the courage that despises consequences. Theirs is the soul that girded itself for the accomplishment of great undertakings. Theirs is the passion to spend and be spent for Prince Emmanuel.

Surely the best Christian is the one who combines the reflection of the old with the daring of the young; the one who has the skill to calculate and plan and yet the determination and abandon to venture, achieve and conquer.

Unite these diverse and complementary qualities in my heart, my Lord. Make me a whole and complete man in Christ Jesus.

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Now abideth faith, hope, and love, these three; and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13

Faith is good. It is the eye through which I see the richness and beauty of Jesus Christ - my Saviour, Master, Friend.

It is the hand by which I grasp and hold and possess all His treasures.

It puts me in touch, it keeps me in communion with the glorious Lord, who is a place of broad rivers and streams. And so my sorrow becomes song, and my night becomes noon. Faith apprehends and appropriates the ineffable gift of God; and without it, how poor I am!

And hope is good. It travels far and wide, beyond the present, with its troubles and vexations, into the glorious future. It soars with. . . .

the apostle John, from the sea rock of Patmos, to the New Jerusalem;

John Bunyan, from Bedford Bridge Prison to the Celestial City;

Richard Baxter, from the turmoil of Kidderminster, to the eternal rest of the saints.

Hope has wings to carry me away from sadness, loneliness and hostility, to the country where it is summer all year round.

But love is the best, because love is so selfless. It does not seek its own, not even its own spiritual prosperity and joy. It forgets itself, it denies itself, it sacrifices itself and walks the path that the King of glory walked. He thinks . . .

in God on high, to be worshipped;

in the surrounding world, to be enlightened;

in poor and needy hearts everywhere, to be cheered and refreshed.

Love prays, plans, lives and works, not for itself.

So what I covet most is love, a selfless love that takes its sunny tint and blossoms from God's boundless love for me.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

His own new tomb. Matthew 27:60

Let me come and see the place where my Lord lay.

It was the tomb of a disciple. For Joseph of Arimathea was a lover of Jesus, though he had hitherto followed the Master in secret. But truly it will be well with me, if my affection, like his, is revealed when Christ is ridiculed, shamed, and rejected. Then my devotion and obedience will be beyond doubt.

It was the grave of a rich man. Not many mighty men are called; but here and there, let me rejoice, the great ones of the world are not ashamed to acknowledge their Lord. And, as for me, let me lay all my little treasures at His disposal, and let me make a home for Him, not in my grave, but in my soul.

It was a new tomb. No man had ever lain in it before. And surely it was fitting that it should be so. Had not my Saviour done something new in the world? Had He not defeated enemies that had seemed unassailable before? Had He not brought a justice and a redemption that had seemed unattainable? He deserved a freshly made tomb.

And it was a garden tomb. Around it the little anemones sprouted, and the purple lilies stood tall and majestic, and the blood-red roses bloomed. Above it, the fruit trees bent lovingly. Ah, it was a chamber of rest that became my King. For He was turning the wilderness into a harvest field, and the wilderness into the garden of the Lord. He was replanting Paradise on earth.

My Lord slept well after that horrible cross.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"How terrible for you who lie on beds of ivory and recline on your couches, eating the flesh of tender lambs from the flock and choice calves fattened in the stall. You sing trivial songs to the sound of the harp and think yourselves great musicians like David. You drink wine by the bucketful and perfume yourselves with aromatic lotions. You care nothing for the ruin of your nation. Amos 6:4-6

There is an aristocracy to which it is no honour to belong. The one that neither works nor spins. The one from which nothing good ever comes. That which is the root of much of the nation's evil. I do not covet a place in the ranks of its members.

But there is the true aristocracy, in which I would like to be: holy and upright men, and graceful women and queens.

I would have an ideal of social life above the level of those who satisfy their souls with the fat of lambs and calves in the stable, with bowls of wine and fragrant ointments. I pray to be set free

of the inanities and vulgarities of the world,

of the follies of fashion and pleasure,

of pride in wealth and prestige.

I would wish to share even in the sorrows of those who grieve over the sins of the nation. I would bear the cross of Christ and be crowned with the sharp thorns of His love and shame. He would share in the afflictions of His people. For all other pleasures are not worth these pains.

It comes to this: I would rise with my Lord, and seek only and always the things that are above.

The joys of earth are dimmed. The glittering rewards of earth are transient and unreal. Only he who does the will of God remains forever.

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Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house will return, whether at evening, or at midnight, or when the cock crows, or at dawn. Mark 13:35

It will be well for me, in the evening, to accustom myself to prayer and meditation on things unseen and eternal. Then I shall be ready to receive my Lord, if in the twilight He stops at my door and calls me.

Thus, whenever I awake from my sleep and darkness surrounds me, I must train my mind to turn instinctively towards Christ and Heaven, as the magnetic needle shudders after each deflection towards the Pole. It will not take me by surprise then, if suddenly, while all the world sleeps, my King calls me.

I remember that dawn was the time chosen by Henry Vaughan for the Lord's return. So I should rise early, alert and active. And the first thoughts of the new day should be about my Master and His love and His commandment. Come, my heart, and rededicate yourself to Him. I will be ready then if He says: Friend, come up higher.

So, as I turn again to my earthly tasks, I must see that my spirit is at rest and that my life is hidden with Christ in God. I