Precious Treasure

Introduction

God has surrounded us with a precious treasure—our world. Do we truly enjoy it and thank Him for it?

“Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:3, NIV).

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17, NIV).

Program Ideas

Picnic

Plan a picnic outside in the park where the women can enjoy creation. If possible, set up tables and chairs.

If it’s not possible, decorate the room just like you would for a picnic, with red and white checkered tablecloths. Put toy treasure chests in each table to represent the theme “a precious treasure.”

Refreshments

Provide typical picnic food – hot dogs, baked beans, chips, potato salad.

Icebreaker Activity

Place cards with Bible verses about treasures in the toy treasure chests. Use these verse as the basis for a discussion in regards to treasure: Matthew 6:21; 2 Corinthians 4:7; Luke 12:23; Isaiah 33:6; Job 23:12.

Theme Song

Share these videos or songs after the devotional for a time of reflection.

Theme song in English:

https://youtu.be/ITus_KbaUoE (If I Have You, Vertical Worship)

Theme song in Spanish:

https://youtu.be/7Ne9cbREOnk (Si Te Tengo A Ti Lo Tengo Todo, Marcos Brunet)

Beauty

Ask the women to draw something beautiful that they see around them. Invite them to explain their drawing. Or have photographs of things of beauty and let the women pick one that’s meaningful to them. Ask them to explain the reason behind their choice.

Precious Treasure

When I think about the words “precious treasure,” I think of something with a lot of worth. But the monetary cost does not necessarily equal its worth. For example: a drawing of a child’s scribbles in a thrift shop might not cost a lot of money, but that same picture has a lot of value when given to his mom. For those of us that are mothers, or grandmothers, it is easy to understand why it’s so difficult to get rid of those little art pieces from our children when we find them in our keepsake boxes.

There is truth in the saying, “the best things in life are free.” This is not talking about the things that we can buy at a store or any material things, but rather the things that enhance value and create memorable moments in our lives. James 1:1, NIV says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a gift is defined as “something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation.” God wants to shower us with blessings and memorable moments that don’t cost us a thing. Unfortunately, we tend to stop looking because of the use of technology, cellphones, social media, and our extremely busy lives. It’s important to be intentional in looking for the blessings that surround us. We should look to fill our lives with the type of moments that truly satisfy our souls and not with material treasures that only feed our egos. When we become aware of these things, we should thank God for each one.

Here are some examples of things that happen around us in nature:

• We can see God’s provision when we look at the pigeons’ eating crumbs in a public park.
• When we see the rainbow, we can remember God’s promise of not destroying the earth by a flood.
• When we are going through rough times, we can look at the mountains to remind ourselves where our help comes from. “Our help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth” (Ps. 124:8).
• We can find shelter from the sun under the shadow of a big tree.
• We can also see God’s gifts in our daily lives.
• When your child picks up a flower from the garden and gives it to you and tells you, “I love you.”
• When your mom calls and asks you to stop by because she cooked your favorite meal.
• When we come home, and dinner is ready (This is wonderful especially for those of us that are blessed to have a spouse that knows how to cook).
• When a friend remembers your birthday and throws you a surprise birthday party.

Life is full of moments like these, but we can easily take them for granted and stop thanking God for the blessings that surround us. Sometime this is because we are too busy or too worried. We need to remember that Christ is in the midst of everything created. John 1:2,3 tells us, “He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made” (NIV). Jesus was involved in the creation process with God from the very beginning, and through Him everything was created.

God not only allows us to experience blessings with what we have and who we have around us; He also has given us the biggest blessing by sending His Son to the world to save us. Jesus, who through Him all things were made, came to this world, and walked around so that you and I could be adopted as God’s children and receive salvation. We should thank God for every one of His blessings and gifts.

If you feel lonely or sad, in what are you placing your hope? In what are you taking refuge? What are your treasures in those difficult moments? We all have precious things and people in our lives, but if everything were to be taken away, Jesus would be enough. Jesus is the one that makes our lives complete. Jesus is everything we need in our lives to feel happy. We can fill any type of emptiness by accepting His sacrifice and by bowing to God’s will for our lives. God’s precious treasure of salvation is the biggest thing we should be grateful for.