We must be mindful of the immense gift that Jesus provides to all that believe. Eternal life with Him will be a greater time by far than anything we can possibly imagine it will be. We must remind ourselves daily or even more often of how special this gift is and how rich we are that possess it. When we put the gift's value on a pedestal and truly understand it's impact and value, all other things seem much less important.

I am rich and those riches are limitless in Christ Jesus. Relate to this gift and it will change your life and how you look at life. I thank God for His great mercy for which there is no words to express how awesome it is. Think on the gift and relate to it's value every chance you get and you will understand what is truly important in life. If you do not do this, Satan will distract you and cause you to take the gift for granted. His job is to keep your eyes off Christ and keep them on your problems and desires. Once he has done this, he has stripped you of your joy and brought you into bondage. Doubt, depression, stress, strife, and worry are just around the corner. Believer beware.

Philippians 3:8-11 

⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

It is a prize and reward that I did not earn nor am I worthy of it but it is freely given to me by way of faith. It is more valuable and more coveted than any other item I possess. I can not smell it, taste it, feel it, or see it but I have been promised to receive it by God Himself. This is the hope I must cling to and stay grounded in. I must meditate on this gift and though priceless it may be, I must find a way to hope in it and stay focused on it's immense value. It is the single most important thing I could ever own.

It is easy to take such a gift for granted. It is not fully understood or known just how great this gift actually is. We can only imagine and how pitifully poor a picture we draw for the gift is so grand and immensely valuable that it is beyond human comprehension. Our physical mind may never be able to fully understand how great the gift of grace truly is. Yet, it is nevertheless important for us to set it as the pinnacle reward of our life. As we do this, it makes a greater impact on our lives and how we live it.

^{Romans 15:13}

¹³May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

God's wisdom is so amazing. So often we are taught that the 30,60, or 100 fold return (fruit) we reap (mentioned in the parable of the sower) is for us. The fruit is not for us. The fruit is for God. It is not about money, although there are many other scriptures that relate to tithing and money, this is not one of them. This parable is simply about how faith works from beginning to end.

We hear the word of God (or the gospel message) and we accept it with joy. The world immediately (with it's commitments, deadlines, troubles, persecution, responsibilities, and social/cultural structure) applies pressure to us to take our eyes off the prize and strip us of our faith and joy. If we push past these obstacles, we will bear fruit for God 30, 60, or 100 fold.

^{Matthew 13:18-23}

¹⁸"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: ¹⁹When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. ²⁰The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. ²²The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. ²³But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

He indeed has no power over us, only the power we give him. He was defeated 2,000 years ago but he doesn't want you to concentrate on that. The law is also powerless against us and we are free from the law and the requirements and curse of the law through Jesus. However, Satan uses the law to try to get us to sin against it and eventually use that to undermine our faith (which is his true motive). For obeying the law is not righteousness but faith in Jesus Christ. It is key that we understand our enemy and his schemes. Doubt, unbelief, despair, hopelessness, and fear are all weapons that he uses against us to take our faith.

We must stay focused on the pearl of great price which is the gift of righteousness and mercy through Jesus and the cross. Everyday is a new day to be mindful of His Kingship and to be aware of the fantastic gift that he gives to us freely. This is the basis for our joy and worship. Once we have lost this joy, Satan and the world will try desperately to strip you of the rest. It is easier not to fight. It is easier to just lay down the sword and shield and give in. It is more convenient to retreat. Yet, we must fight for our right to be called children of the most high God.

^{Ephesians 6:10-12}

¹⁰Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

¹¹Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

¹²For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

It is the most precious of all gifts. You could win the lottery hundreds of times over and never come close to being able to purchase such a priceless gift nor would anything be able to compare to it. It is this pearl that is the pinnacle gift in all the world and in the one to come. Assign it's proper value today. Do not delay in understanding how priceless of a gift it is. Give God His proper place and make Him your number one priority and help someone else find this great gift of life.

It is easy to de-value the gift once you have it. Salvation is no big deal, right? Wrong. It cost the Son of God His life and none of us has any idea what He went through to obtain it for us. When you keep your eyes focused on the only reward or prize that matters (salvation through Christ), it helps you to understand that most of whatever else we have or want is not really as valuable as we think. It is the only prize and we wait patiently for it. Come Lord Jesus, Come!

^{Philippians 3:13-16}

¹³Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

¹⁵All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. ¹⁶Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Amen, if it be possible, let us live up to what we have already attained!

It is something God has been working to get me to understand. He is trying to get me to see value in the gift of grace to the point where it stirs joy. The world makes that difficult but He constantly challenges me to stay in joy and remember the value of His great salvation.

I am reminded of this one thing:

Zephaniah 1:17-18

17 I will bring distress on the people
and they will walk like blind men,
because they have sinned against the LORD.
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their entrails like filth.

18 Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the LORD's wrath.
In the fire of his jealousy
the whole world will be consumed,
for he will make a sudden end
of all who live in the earth."

Even though silver and gold will not save us on that day, the gift of grace through faith will save us.

Psalm 51:10-12

10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Why is it important to remind ourselves of how great this gift of grace really is? It is the basis for our praise and the motive behind our worship. If we do not tap into the reality of how awesome this free gift is, we will lose our joy. Joy is an essential element of our praise. Often people thank God or praise Jesus because of simple things that happen in their daily life but God is also to be praised for this gift that He has given to us freely.

It is also noteworthy because as we assign more and more value to the gift of righteousness, it puts all other assets or objects of desire in their proper place. Thinking and meditating on how awesome the gift is, puts a new perspective on life and what we should be doing with it.

Basically, by concentrating on the gift and it's worth, our attitude becomes forward thinking. We are not so caught up in this life or in our past but instead we look to a future time period and a future promise. This place and time means less and less when we realize the glory that is to come when we stand together in the presence of God.

 Isaiah 61:10

10 I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

The only thing that will be important on that day will be our faith in Jesus Christ and belief in God. Along with this faith will be (hopefully) a long string of events during our lives that pay tribute to Christ showing His love and light to others. As I mention in the last post, we must remind ourselves of how important the gift of grace actually is. When we see it's immense value, we start to understand how the things we covet and cradle in this life are actually of very little value. When we have faith in the afterlife and the things God promises in the hereafter, we realize that there is something better beyond this life and this Earth.

This is our hope and what we look forward to. All things that mankind has used to exalt himself will be made low and the only thing that will be exalted will be God.

Philippians 3:4-11

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

It is more important than any item we covet or cling to in life. It is more valuable than gold, silver, any material possession, any accomplishment, or anything else we may gain out of this life. We know that this gift leads to eternal life which is what comes after this life but we must never take this gift for granted. Nothing is worth anything when you truly consider the impact, the cost, and the value of this gift or grace. It trumps all other things. One day ,when we stand before Christ, Kings will be equal with the homeless and the rich will be equal with the poor. All earthly things will be lost and all that will be left is each person and whether or not they made a decision for Christ.

In that day, our bank accounts and our educational degrees will not save us. Our earthly accomplishments outside of bearing fruit for God's glory will hold no value. Fear will be so intense on that day when people realize that nothing is important and nothing is of value. The only thing that will separate each individual is a decision for Christ. Some will have that gift and will have made a decision for Christ and others will not. As Jesus separates all mankind placing them on His right or left, sheep and goats. However, we will not be in fear on that day but confidence that He will save us by this great grace that He gives to us freely. This is the pearl of great price.

Matthew 13:44-45

44"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.