The Prized Treasures

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  “Will the prized treasures of today always be the cheap trifles of the day before? Will rows of our willow-pattern dinner-plates be ranged above the chimneypieces of the great in the years 2000 and odd? Will the white cups with the gold rim and the beautiful gold flower inside (species unknown), that our Sarah Janes now break in sheer light-heartedness of spirit, be carefully mended, and stood upon a bracket, and dusted only by the lady of the house? . . . .   The “sampler” that the eldest daughter did at school will be spoken of as “tapestry of the Victorian era,” and be almost priceless. The blue-and-white mugs of the present-day roadside inn will be hunted up, all cracked and chipped, and sold for their weight in gold, and rich people will use them for claret cups; and travellers from Japan will buy up all the “Presents from Ramsgate,” and “Souvenirs of Margate,” that may have escaped destruction, and take them back to Jedo as ancient English curios.” Jerome K. Jerome, “T...

Happy New Year!

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I hope you didn't look at your calendar but if you did, you would notice that today is Rosh Hashana. This holiday is one Israel’s calendar, one festival of three celebrated in the seventh month. Students of scripture would call this the “Feast of Trumpets.” Many today would call this “New Years” so if you need to “start over,” this is a great time to do it. Why wait for January 1?

The Torah instructs (the book of Numbers, chapter 29) that this is a day of worship, sacrifice and suspension of labor. Such a time of refreshment intends that one literally stop whatever is keeping one busy and worship. Lay down the tools, get your fingers off the keyboard, gather with others who love the Lord and worship. Each time we worship, we do a spiritual “check”, make certain we keep clean before the Lord by confession and repentance. Are you clean before the Lord?

How committed are you to the things of God? He gave us the best gift of Himself as the perfect sacrifice. Why not take this time to give Him all of yourself, let Him clean you up and restore you to fellowship with Himself and with others?

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