Jesus, Cherished Treasure...

This past weekend we (my husband, the college group at church, and myself) went to the Passion Conference in Ft Worth, TX. It was incredible.  God gave me the amazing opportunity to share the gift of interpreting He blessed me with at the conference.  Speakers like Louie Giglio, Francis Chan, and John Piper were in attendance. The worship leaders were incredible!! BUT... MOST IMPORTANTLY... My Jesus was there and He was POWERFUL! I feel like that word, POWERFUL, doesn't begin to describe my Jesus, but that will have to work for us feeble-minded humans. Ha! It was an incredible weekend and truly had to put into words.  People have asked me to tell them about Passion, but I don't know how.  The Passion Conference is done for the sole purpose of igniting a Jesus Movement! Period.  For me, that means that everything I experience I am now obligated to LIVE IT OUT LOUD! I don't know how to describe it, I don't know how to put into words the majesty of Jesus, but I am LEARNING how to LIVE IT!

One question that played over and over in my head was this: "WHAT IS YOUR TREASURE? IS IT JESUS?"  We sang a song that called Jesus our Cherished Treasure and I thought that was so powerful, yet so intimate.  It called me to examine my life and as that question "WHAT IS MY TREAUSRE? IS IT JESUS?"  Is it my comfort? My plans? My status? My job? My..., my..., my...??  I really had to come face to face with a living, breathing Jesus and confront that question. 



In Philippians 3, Paul says:
7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!

My heart attempts to echo this! I am not perfect and do not claim to be... but my heart sincerely treasures JESUS!! He is my JOY! He is my reason for living! I delight in KNOWING JESUS!!!! How awesome that we can KNOW Jesus and be KNOWN by Jesus!! That is incredible to me. He IS my delight! He IS my treasure!! I don't want things competing for my affection... I just want Jesus!!  Yes, it is a daily decision and devotion, but JESUS IS WORTH IT!

Right now, I am feeling numb for a lack of a better words.  I'm sure you have all experienced it, but it's just a feeling of... nothing.  Some people call it a valley.  I want to cry, but I can't. I want to laugh, but sometimes it doesn't come out. I just want to feel SOMETHING.  Last night, as I was talking to the Bible study girls about this very topic, God told me to think about the word TREASURE! A treasure... a treasure map... you have to SEARCH for treasure.  When I'm feeling nothing, DIG DEEPER.  When I'm feeling overwhelmed, DIG DEEPER. When I'm tired of digging, DIG DEEPER.  His treasure is worth it, because He IS the treasure! Jesus is my cherished treasure. I will hold Him closely.  I will show Him to the world.  I will search for Him each daily. I will hold Him above everything else.