pe·cu·liar [pi-kyool-yer]
adjective
2.uncommon; unusual:
3.distinctive in nature or character from others.
4.belonging characteristically (usually followed by to ):
5.belonging exclusively to some person, group, or thing
treas·ure [trezh-er]
noun
Peculiar Treasures- What does that mean?
Exodus 19:5 says,
"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant then ye shall be a Peculiar Treasure unto me above all people: for all the Earth is mine."
So a Peculiar Treasure is someone who obeys Gods voice and keeps His commandments even when the world is doing the exact opposite. Ask yourself this: "Can I be defined as a Peculiar Treasure?" So look at this--are you obeying God's voice? Some of you may be thinking, "God's voice? huh? How do I 'hear' God's voice?" Am I right? The following is Karen Wolff's (founder of Christian-Books-for-Women.com) answer to How to Hear from God:
So that covers the first part: Listening to God's Voice. Now how about the second part "Keeping God's commandments"? What does that mean exactly? It means to follow the rules that God has set for us. Read what Exodus 20 says:
who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of a life of slavery.
3 No other gods, only me.
4-6 No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don't bow down to them and don't serve them because I am God, your God, and I'm a most jealous God, punishing the children for any sins their parents pass on to them to the third, and yes, even to the fourth generation of those who hate me. But I'm unswervingly loyal to the thousands who love me and keep my commandments.
7 No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter; God won't put up with the irreverent use of his name.
8-11 Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don't do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day.
12 Honor your father and mother so that you'll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you. 13 No murder.
14 No adultery.
15 No stealing.
16 No lies about your neighbor.
17 No lusting after your neighbor's house—or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don't set your heart on anything that is your neighbor's."
Okay, so now we know how to hear God's voice and we know what His commandments are let's take a step back and get some perspective. Ask yourself this question again, "Can I be defined as a Peculiar Treasure?" I want to challenge you to go out this week and be a Peculiar Treasure. Listen for God's voice and follow the rules He's blessed us with. Strive to be the person God has destined for you to be! I pray you'll encounter many Peculiar Treasures this week!
1.wealth or riches stored or accumulated, especially in the form of precious metals, money, jewels, or plate.
2.wealth, rich materials, or valuable things.
3.any thing or person greatly valued or highly prized: This book was his chief treasure.
Peculiar Treasures- What does that mean?
Exodus 19:5 says,
"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant then ye shall be a Peculiar Treasure unto me above all people: for all the Earth is mine."
So a Peculiar Treasure is someone who obeys Gods voice and keeps His commandments even when the world is doing the exact opposite. Ask yourself this: "Can I be defined as a Peculiar Treasure?" So look at this--are you obeying God's voice? Some of you may be thinking, "God's voice? huh? How do I 'hear' God's voice?" Am I right? The following is Karen Wolff's (founder of Christian-Books-for-Women.com) answer to How to Hear from God:
How to Hear from God
"Wouldn't it be great if God decided to use billboards to talk to us? Just think, we could drive down the road and God would simply choose one of a zillion billboards to get our attention. There we'd be with a mapped out message straight from God. Pretty cool, huh?I've often thought that method would certainly work for me! On the other hand, he could use something more subtle. Like a gentle rap on the side of the head whenever we veer off the course. Yup, there's a thought. God smacking people whenever they don't listen. I'm afraid we'd all be walking around in a daze from all that rapping "activity."
Hearing from God is a learned skill.
Of course, you could be one of the lucky ones like Moses, who was walking up the mountain, minding his own business, when he stumbled upon the burning bush. Most of us don't have those kinds of encounters so we find ourselves looking for skills to help us hear from God.
How Can I Tell if God is Talking to Me?
Here are some common ways God talks to us:- His Word
In order to actually "hear" from God, we have to know some things about God's character. We have to develop an understanding of who God is, and the way he does things. Fortunately for us, all that information is available in the Bible. The Book goes into a lot of detail about how you can expect God to react, what kinds of expectations he has for us, and most specifically, how he expects us to treat other people. It's actually a pretty good book, given its age. - Other People
Many times God will use other people to try to get through to us. It's possible for God to use anyone at any time, but I find more messages coming from people who are practicing Christians than non-practicing ones. - Our Circumstances
Sometimes the only way God can teach us something is to allow circumstances in our life to lead us to and through the very thing we need to discover. One of my favorite authors, Joyce Meyer, says, "There's no such thing as a drive-through break-through." - The Still Small Voice
Most of the time God uses a tiny voice inside us to let us know when we're not on the right path. Some people call it "the voice of peace." Whenever we're contemplating something and we don't have peace about it, it's a very good idea to stop and carefully look at the options. There's a reason you don't feel peace about it. - The Actual Voice
Sometimes we're able to "hear" something in our spirit that sounds to us like an actual audible voice. Or all of a sudden, you just know you heard something. Pay attention to those occasions because it is very likely God trying to tell you something.
When God Talks, Shut Up and Listen
Let me give you an example. A couple years ago I signed up to become a hospital visitor for my church. When I first saw the notice in our church bulletin, I immediately felt that I should respond. But, I let it pass. Over the next couple of weeks, the thought occurred to me off and on so I said to myself, "If I see the notice in the bulletin this coming Sunday, I'll sign up."Of course, it was in there. But this time when I saw it, there was no getting away from it. I finally had to say, "Okay, okay God, I'm going!"
So there I was doing hospital visits for the first time. I was nervous, but I prayed a lot before I went, and I was doing okay. But on my way to the second hospital, I prayed again that God would use me to represent Him to all the sick people, giving comfort, etc.
Right in front of the hospital was a crosswalk with a traffic light. As I stood at the corner I kept praying, starting to cross, even though the light was red. I mean, I was in a hurry trying to get to all those sick people!
Right in the middle of the street I heard, "So you want to represent Me, and you can't even make it across the street without breaking the law?"
I was so shocked by this, I said the most spiritual thing I could think of, "Oops."
God uses lots of things to talk to us. But actually hearing from God isn't so much a matter of if he's talking, but rather, whether we're listening.
So that covers the first part: Listening to God's Voice. Now how about the second part "Keeping God's commandments"? What does that mean exactly? It means to follow the rules that God has set for us. Read what Exodus 20 says:
Exodus 20
1-2 "God spoke all these words: I am God, your God,who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of a life of slavery.
3 No other gods, only me.
4-6 No carved gods of any size, shape, or form of anything whatever, whether of things that fly or walk or swim. Don't bow down to them and don't serve them because I am God, your God, and I'm a most jealous God, punishing the children for any sins their parents pass on to them to the third, and yes, even to the fourth generation of those who hate me. But I'm unswervingly loyal to the thousands who love me and keep my commandments.
7 No using the name of God, your God, in curses or silly banter; God won't put up with the irreverent use of his name.
8-11 Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don't do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day.
12 Honor your father and mother so that you'll live a long time in the land that God, your God, is giving you. 13 No murder.
14 No adultery.
15 No stealing.
16 No lies about your neighbor.
17 No lusting after your neighbor's house—or wife or servant or maid or ox or donkey. Don't set your heart on anything that is your neighbor's."
Okay, so now we know how to hear God's voice and we know what His commandments are let's take a step back and get some perspective. Ask yourself this question again, "Can I be defined as a Peculiar Treasure?" I want to challenge you to go out this week and be a Peculiar Treasure. Listen for God's voice and follow the rules He's blessed us with. Strive to be the person God has destined for you to be! I pray you'll encounter many Peculiar Treasures this week!
