Treasure Digest

• 50 French Francs
• Overcoming Fear
• Endure Till the End
• Turning the Hearts: Giving...a Way of Life
• Children's Corner [see PDF Version Page 8]
• Share Your Treasures!

50 French Francs

Several years ago, we kept the Feast of Tabernacles in southern France. As with all our Feasts in Europe, we were traveling on a proverbial "shoestring" and this year we had agreed not to let ourselves exceed our carefully planned budget. We had been very diligent and had thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, but as we came to the last full day of our visit, we realized that we didn't quite have enough for our last evening's dinner. My wife decided to pray about it. We didn't need much more, so she prayed for 50 French francs—about $7.

Later that day as we were driving, "something" made my wife put her hand down between the passenger seat and the center console of the car. She brought her hand out with a 50-franc note and stared at it in amazement. It was exactly the amount she had prayed for! She later wondered why she hadn't asked for more, but 50 francs was what we needed and that's what God provided.

How did God provide for our needs? To answer that, we have to go back to the Last Great Day. Some people needed rides to the Nice airport, which was just a few miles away from the Feast site. I volunteered to drive a man who was traveling alone to the airport that afternoon. As we got closer to the airport, he started looking for some money to give me for gas for taking him to the airport. He was fumbling a little with his wallet and then we arrived at the airport.

He had to quickly get out of the car and couldn't find the money. I said good-bye and returned to the Feast site. What had apparently occurred was that when he was fumbling around with his wallet, he accidentally dropped 50 French francs and it fell down beside the passenger seat, which is where my wife found it several days later.

In Matthew 6:8 Jesus Christ is teaching a principle about prayer: "Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him." This experience definitely demonstrated that. God provided exactly what we needed before we asked. It was left to us to do the asking.

It was a small thing, but answers to small prayers build faith for the big requests. It is a lesson we've never forgotten.

—Jim Springer
Sacramento, California, congregation

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Overcoming Fear

In Revelation 21:8 we read, "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." It is interesting to note that the cowardly, translated "fearful" in the King James Version, will have the same fate as a murderer.

As humans, we experience various fears. However, the only fear that will keep us out of God's Kingdom is a fear that keeps us from obeying God.

In our Christian life, the first obstacle that usually has to be overcome is the fear of observing the Sabbath. Our society is geared toward observing Sunday rather than the seventh-day Sabbath. And it can be quite a fearful experience to have to tell our employer that we need to have Saturday off so that we can observe the Sabbath. Yet to obey God we must keep the Ten Commandments, including: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the L ord your God. In it you shall do no work" (Exodus 20:8-10).

Since the cowardly cannot enter the Kingdom of God, we must be brave and overcome any fear that restrains us from obeying God. To overcome this fear, we must first believe that God truly exists and that He is our rewarder (Hebrews 11:6). Secondly, we must love God with all our heart, soul and mind fulfilling the first and great commandment (Matthew 22:37-38).

If we love someone, we try to do the things that will please that person. So if we love God with all of our being, we will keep His commandments because we know that this will please Him. This is verified in 1 John 5:3 where it says, "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome."

To take this a step further, we are told that, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love" (1 John 4:18).

So if perfect love casts out fear, then by loving God with all our being and placing our trust in Him, our fear is overcome.

So the only fear that can keep us out of the Kingdom is a fear that keeps us from obeying God. That fear can be overcome by loving God with all our heart, soul and mind because there is no fear in love.

—Bill Faith
St. Louis, Missouri, congregation

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Endure Till the End

One bright morning I awoke and went about my normal routine. My drive to the Ambassador Bible Center classroom was a quiet one.

When I arrived, I greeted my classmates as usual. Our instructor arrived; we had our prayer and class started—just a typical day. Around noon, we took a lunch break, and I left to get something to eat.

When I returned, several of my classmates told me the receptionist was looking for me. My sister was on the phone.

I picked up the receiver, and then everything changed. My sister blurted out that my dad had died suddenly and unexpectedly from a heart attack. I was shocked. What had started out as a typical day was not so normal anymore. I was now faced with the prospect of making a long, lonely drive back to Big Sandy, Texas, for the funeral and to take care of my responsibilities.

The reason I want to share this with you is to show we have to endure many things to be a part of God's family. We must hang on even when we feel at our lowest point. If we endure and don't give up, we have a wonderful future to look forward to.

Paul wrote, "This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him" (2 Timothy 2:11-12). To endure means to suffer patiently. I learned a lot about that after my dad's death. The trip back to Texas was one of the longest trips I have ever taken. Two years prior to this, I had been going through some severe personal trials. It was a very dark period in my life. My dad, however, helped provide the support I needed.

I had decided to attend ABC to gain some perspective and determine what direction I wanted to take with my life. The loss of my father, as I was recovering from the other setbacks, made enduring even harder. I wondered how I could recover from such a feeling of loss.

However, we learn in hard times that God will step in to help. When we go through trials, we can endure by asking for God's help and studying and praying in order to be closer to Him.

Paul encourages Christians to be "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer" (Romans 12:12).

As I was traveling home to Texas and feeling the pain of the loss, I had to call upon God to help me drive the truck and help me think of the good times I had with my dad. I found it helpful to remind myself of the following scriptures:

"Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help? My help comes from the L ord , who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:1-4).

I left Ambassador Bible Center in 2002 due to my dad's death. I was determined, however, to finish, and I returned and graduated with the class of 2003. I became the first student to take two years to finish.

I'm back in Big Sandy now and doing well. I'm grateful for the help and comfort I received from many people during that difficult period in my life.

When trials come our way, it can be easy to feel God doesn't care, but if we trust and call upon Him, He will help us endure.

We have a wonderful future to look forward to, being a part of God's family. Paul reminds us that we are "heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Romans 8:17-18).

John also records God's encouraging words: "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son" (Revelation 21:7).

You never know when your life will take an unexpected turn and trials will come your way. Remember that God will help us endure. Let's focus on our fantastic future ahead as a part of God's family.

—Terry Shipman
East Texas congregation

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Turning the Hearts
Giving...a Way of Life

We have completed another year of God's Holy Days. We pictured the wonderful world tomorrow when God's way will prevail on this earth, led by Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. One very important facet of godly character is being a giver. God wants to "give" us the Kingdom (Luke 12:32). God gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, for us—with Christ's full agreement. God gave us His law and His Spirit—precious presents indeed. Every good and perfect gift comes from God (James 1:17).

When we receive a gift from someone, that act is something very special. The giver must take of his or her time to buy or make the gift, and it is touching to the receiver to know that the giver cares. Whether the gift is expensive or inexpensive, the meaning is clear.

In any family or among friends, giving ought to be a way of life. Giving is especially meaningful when it is not expected. When a giver presents a gift unexpectedly to a family member or friend, it carries a special message that the receiver is important and valued.

Try it in your family or with your friends. Buy or make a gift for someone just because you care. Then present it to the person. Watch the person's face light up as he or she wonders what it is for. When you tell the person it is because you care, he or she will feel honored and loved.

We don't always have to spend a lot of money on a gift. Phone calls, e-mails or postcards are some inexpensive ways to send meaningful messages to our family members or friends. We may also give of ourselves in service to others and have the same effect (2 Corinthians 8:5). These giving acts will go far in demonstrating the love that we feel for others by actually doing something for them (1 John 3:18).

Having just concluded a wonderful Feast with so many in a giving mood, I wanted to remind us all that giving needs to become a way of life for us now and forever in the Kingdom.

Remember Jesus' teaching in Acts 20:35, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

—Gary E. Antion

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Share Your Treasures!

Do you have any short items of biblical wisdom, humor or practical information that you would like to share in this section? Or if you have any suggestions, please contact United News, P.O. Box 541027, Cincinnati, OH 45254-1027 or mike_bennett@ucg.org.

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