Treasure with Which to Store the Mind
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compels us to acknowledge that heavenly things are superior to the
things of earth, and yet the depraved heart of man leads him to give
precedence to the things of the world. The opinions of great men, the
theories of science, falsely so-called, are blended with the truths of
Holy Writ.
But the heart that is surrendered to God, loves the truth of God’s
word; for through the truth the soul is regenerated. The carnal mind
finds no pleasure in contemplating the word of God, but he who
is renewed in the spirit of his mind, sees new charms in the living
oracles; for divine beauty and celestial light seem to shine in every
passage. That which was to the carnal mind a desolate wilderness,
to the spiritual mind becomes a land of living streams. That which to
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the unrenewed heart appeared a barren waste, to the converted soul
becomes the garden of God, covered with fragrant buds and blooming
flowers.
The Bible has been placed in the background, while the sayings
of great men, so-called, have been taken in its stead. May the Lord
forgive us the slight we have put upon his word. Though inestimable
treasures are in the Bible, and it is like a mine full of precious ore,
it is not valued, it is not searched, and its riches are not discovered.
Mercy and truth and love are valuable beyond our power to calculate;
we cannot have too great a supply of these treasures, and it is in the
word of God we find out how we may become possessors of these
heavenly riches, and yet why is it that the word of God is uninteresting
to many professed Christians? Is it because the word of God is not
spirit and is not life? Has Jesus put upon us an uninteresting task,
when he commands us to “search the Scriptures”? [
John 5:39
.] Jesus
says, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are
life.” [
John 6:63
.] But spiritual things are spiritually discerned, and the
reason of your lack of interest is that you lack the Spirit of God. When
the heart is brought into harmony with the word, a new life will spring
up within you, a new light will shine upon every line of the word, and
it will become the voice of God to your soul. In this way you will take
celestial observations, and know whither you are going, and be able to
make the most of your privileges today.
We should ask the Lord to open our understanding, that we may
comprehend divine truth. If we humble our hearts before God, empty
them of vanity and pride and selfishness, through the grace abundantly