Hidden (Krypto) Treasures

To get pearls, one must dive deep!

Month: May 2009

Lessons from the Night hawk – incessant, hidden, audible

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On May 7, 2009

In Bible Animals, Christian

Leviticus 11:16 and Deuteronomy 14:15 are the only instances in the Bible in which the night hawk is listed, as a bird amongst prohibited or unclean birds.
Three distinctive characteristics of the night hawk that we can learn from are
1.  its ability to incessantly keep singing that bewilders the hearer as to how a bird can hold its breath for such a prolonged period of time.
2. it sits longitudinally to the branch it perches, making it almost impossible for a viewer to see where it is and only its cry gives away its presence and
3. its cry is so distinctive that it can be identified by its voice.

So what can we learn from the night hawk?

  1. Do we pray incessantly as we are asked to. Paul, the Apostle admonishes believers to “pray incessantly (without ceasing)” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
  2. Are we aligned (sitting longitudinally) with the word of God, hiding in the word of God, so that we may not be caught in the sight of sin which seeks to turn us away from God. The psalmist says that hiding the word of God in our hearts, will hide us from the sins that try to encumber us (Psalm 119:11)
  3. Can we be identified by our voice?Are we known by what we speak? This is of paramount importance. Our words can build others or break others. The Bible says that we are accountable for every word that we utter (Matthew 12:36-37). James cautions us to control our tongue (James 3). There is a time to be silent (Be Still and know that He is God in control) and there is a time to speak (with the boldness of the Apostles when we are in the business of sharing the Gospel). How are we known by our voice?

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (KJV)
17 Pray without ceasing.

Psalm 119:11
11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Matthew 12:36-37
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

Lessons from the Moth – ephemeral to eternal

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On May 6, 2009

In Bible Animals, Christian

The moth in the Bible has been used to describe the ephemeral nature of life. The Hebraic word that describes the moth is literally a derivative from the root that mean ‘to fall away’ like moth eaten garments.

Job 4:19 reads “How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are cursed before the moth?
Isaiah 50:9 reads “Behold the Lord God will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up”

Closer introspection of these two texts reveal three wonderful hidden truths

  1. the creation of  man,
  2. the aging  and falling away (natural death) of man and
  3. the glorious Truth of Salvation.

The creation of man –
We were created in the imago dei [image of God], formed from the dust of the ground (Gen 1:27; Gen 2:7) and we hold in our clay-molden (jars of clay) bodies, the excellency of the power of God, and the glory of God which is Jesus Christ (2 Corinthian 4:7). Our created bodies dwell in houses of clay and our foundation is the dust (Job 4:19)

The aging and falling away of man –
Isaiah 50:9b states that these jars of clay (our bodies) shall wax old as a garment; that the moth will eat away.  It has been appointed unto man that he should die once and then enter into judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Our days of life are not only numbered, but each day is recorded in God’s calendar and will come to pass. While on this journey on earth, however, let us remember not to count our days but make our days count.

The glorious Truth of Salvation –
Isaiah 50:9a states that the Lord God will help us and questions the reader as to whether there is anyone who shall condemn us.  Jesus (Lord God) is the ONLY way and our helper. In him, there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1). He did not condemn the woman caught in  the act of adultery or the malefactor on the cross. If we ask him to, He will accept us, just as we are, unclean and unworthy. He can transform our ephemeral (short-lived) lives into eternal living (with him). Ask him to, now, if you have not already done so.

Romans 8:1 (KJV)
1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Lessons from the Lamb – one for all

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On May 5, 2009

In Bible Animals, Christian

God created man to have a relationship with him; Man disobeyed (sinned against) God; This separated man from God; For man’s sin, a price had to be paid! God wanted to punish sin, and not the sinner (man) and so He had to come up with a way;
This is where the lamb comes in –  As a payment for sin, a lamb (that is perfect without any blemish) had to be sacrificed; But this payment (sacrifice) had to be paid every year;

Man continued to sin and sacrifice, sin and sacrifice ad infinitum;

God had to do something and his love for man was so great, that he took the form of the son of Man, and became the Lamb of God;
He came to earth in the form of a baby, named Jesus, which means that He will save His people from their sins; (Note : His people, their sins)
But when John the Baptist, a harbinger prophet, who was pronouncing God’s redemptive plan that will break the circle of sin and sacrifice saw Jesus, He did not call him Jesus, but instead, recognized Jesus to be the Lamb of God (that taketh away all the sins of the world). He said, Behold Jesus (look at Him)  – the Lamb of God (withouth blemish, perfect in all)

This Lamb of God (Jesus) was slain, and his vesture dipped in blood, a blood that purifies you and me from all our sinfulness. Before Jesus died on the cross, where he was crucified so that we (man) may not be punished, he said – Tetelastai, meaning It is finished, paid in full. The payment for sin was complete and no other sacrifice is necessary for man to be restored into the relationship with God. His sacrifice is one for all.

Are you in relationship with this God, who loves you dearly? Do you know the the Lamb of God?

If not, let me reiterate
the cry in the wilderness by a prophet (John the Baptist)  – Look at Jesus, the Lamb of God, who can take away all our sins.
the call of a messianic prophet (Isaiah) –  Come reason with Jesus and he will make us clean (righteous) before God.

John 1:29
29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Isaiah 1:18
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

P.S: The image in this post is a photo I shot in Brazil and the inscription in it is in Portuguese, which states God’s promulgation to mankind, that Jesus (pictured as the Lamb of God) is His Son with whom He (God) is well pleased. Click on the picture for a clearer view.

Lessons from the Kite – kind irrespective

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On May 4, 2009

In Bible Animals, Christian

Leviticus 11:14 and Deuteronomy 14:13 both enlists the kite or any of it’s kind as unclean birds, that must not be consumed and in fact abhorred by the people of God.

Again, I don’t believe that this is in any way discriminatory against the kite itself, but it has in the undercurrent an important lesson that we must not overlook. Note how, God says, the kite or any of its kind (paraphrased).
Likewise sin (which is unclean and unholy) and any of its kind is all sin and therefore unclean. Many a times, we console ourselves into thinking that, what we deem as a small sin (such as a white lie etc) is okay because it does not hurt us or it may not hurt anyone else. However, sin or any of its kind (big, small, white, black, yada yada yada) are all to be detested (abhorred) and we must not partake (consume) of it.

Deuteronomy 14:2,3 and 13
2 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.
3 Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.
13 And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind,

Lessons from the Jackal – glorify God and lament

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On May 1, 2009

In Bible Animals, Christian

Jackals which belong to the dog family are smaller than wolves and larger than foxes.  In the Bible, the jackal is depicted to be an animal that inhabits desolate and abandoned homes that have been subject to divine judgment (Isaiah 34:13). The prophet Isaiah, also records that the jackals (amongst other beasts of the field and birds) will honor God, because of God’s provisions to His chosen people (you and me).

Jackals have a distinctive howl. In fact the prophet Micah, is described in Micah 1:8 as one lamenting (wailing and howling) like a jackal as he pronounces God’s impending judgment and exile on God’s people for their rebellion.

So what can we learn from the jackals?

As prophet Micah expressed, we must have an yearning and our hearts should ache, making us lament and wail and cry (howl like the jackal) for those who have not experienced salvation by accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and believing that He is the son of God, who came into the world, died as an atonement for all sin, and who was buried and rose from the dead to be alive today. We must cry (howl like the jackal) for those around us who are rebelling against God, on whom his impending judgment will be poured out. We must cry (howl as the jackal) for those souls that are not saved.

Isaiah 43:20 (NASB)
20 The beasts of the field will glorify Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert,To give drink to My chosen people.

Micah 1:8 (NASB)

8 Because of this I must lament and wail, I must go barefoot and naked; I must make a lament like the jackals And a mourning like the ostriches.

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