Following your treasure map for 2018

Bold and exciting, we were following the path of buried treasure on Oak Island which we thought we would discover at any moment. It was about five years ago and our daughter Sarah, who worked for Tourism NS at the time, arranged for her Mother and me to have a guided tour of historic Oak Island located in Lunenburg County.

I remember going in as a sceptic thinking what a lot of nonsense to this myth, that this was just designed to lead foolish people into thinking there was actually treasure buried here 200 years earlier by pirates who roamed the seas plundering other ships that fell victim to their raids. That was until I read the information plates and saw the pictures of the tunnels that had been burrowed throughout the Island supposedly to hide the treasures brought to Oak Island centuries earlier and some of the fragments that had been unearthed by the presentday treasure seekers.

When I saw the names of the investors, one being a prominent grocery family member from Pictou County, I began to think perhaps there might be some treasure here. The guide’s story was so believable as we explored the whole Oak Island and so I became a believer that one day the Island will reveal its buried treasure and that the presentday owners will be successful in following their treasure maps of buried gold and precious jewels.

However, there is a more valuable treasure for all of us to find, more precious than silver or gold and that is our search for the Lord Jesus Christ and the goal of inheriting eternal life. There is a wonderful scripture verse found in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 6:21 that says: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

This is the treasure map for 2018 that all of us should be following, for in many homes we have closed the door to the Lord Jesus Christ and while He continues to knock on the doors of our hearts, why is it we have not opened up our hearts to this Treasure who calls us to serve Him? Perhaps we have moved away and are no longer interested in seeking the treasure of eternal life to one day live with God for eternity. All we have to do is accept his invitation to enter our lives, believe in our hearts that God has raised His only son to become the sacrifice for our sins and confess that we are sinners and ask for forgiveness for the sins we have committed. That is the entry point for God accepting us into His family.

Doctor Terry Cole-Whittaker, a former Mrs. America runner-up and Mrs. California is the American Woman’s success story. In 1983, Terry’s “How to Have More in a Have-Not World,” became a #1 New York Times bestseller, she laid bare the unspoken beliefs we all harbour — beliefs that keep us from attaining the kind of spiritual and material wealth we all long for. In her 2001 book, “Every Saint has a Past, Every Sinner a Future,” she reveals a step-bystep program for a life filled with all of God’s goodness.

These steps are her sacred treasure map and I share them with you in the hope that the treasures we seek are not found in the earth but are treasures laid up in heaven “where neither moth nor rust can corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal.” (Matthew 6:20)

Desire the topmost. Pray and ask for what you desire. Seek knowledge of how to attain the ultimate. Do what works and don’t do what doesn’t. Control your mind and be positive. Upgrade on a regular basis. Keep on keeping on.

My own search for the upmost treasure began as a teenager as I sought the Lord in my youth. I prayed and asked the Lord that He would use me to promote His message of love and service to those whose paths I would cross. I sought out the fellowship of believers in a very caring church as they taught me the riches of God’s word. Sometimes I got lost as the enemy of our souls tried to drag me down and to give up on the Saviour I was following.

I knew I had to read my Bible, pray and seek the Lord with all my heart and understanding. I knew the peace of God which surpasses all understanding would keep my mind and heart through Christ Jesus. Lastly, I knew “whom I have believed and was persuaded that he was able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day. (2 Timothy 1:12)

It has been a long journey for me with some failures and disappointments but I have never regretted opening the door of my heart to find the Treasure (Jesus Christ) knocking at my door asking for permission to enter. That was my roadmap way back then and it still remains the same today.

This Faith Article, my personal testimony, was written by Fred Jeffery, retired school administrator and member of the Salvation Army.