Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Treasures, Old and New

This is my blogging station - brand new computer on an old drafting desk!

Matthew 13:52

He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."

Our home is furnished with an eclectic blend of old and new items. This lends an air of rustic modernity to our living space. It's amazing how stainless steel appliances enhance the warmth of wood floors, and how a stone fireplace compliments the flat screen television in our family room.

While we own only three pieces of furniture which could be classified as antiques, we have put the to use in up-to-date ways.

There is the cedar chest given to my grandmother as a wedding present. I treasure it both for its sentimental value and its practicality. It holds everything from my children's first pairs of shoes to a throw we received last Christmas. Old and new, mixed and matched. Such a hodgepodge contained within its sturdy, sweet, cedar-fragrant frame!

A lady's writing desk which belonged to my other grandmother is now home to stepson, Giovanni's, computer.
I know, I know, why isn't mine there?

Because, it wasn't initially intended for any use other than a desk, and I already had my computer set up. It was simply the only place, once Giovanni got his own computer, for him to put it. The rich wood and delicate filigree of the desk provides a unique contrast with the sleek, predictable lines of his monitor.

So, where does my computer rest? On an ancient, wood and wrought-iron drafting table. It is worn and nicked and chipped, but it's solid. And, it works. And, I love it!

~

In today's verse, Jesus tells us that those who understand the Law and the Prophets and become His disciples will have better insight into the Kingdom of Heaven. He has come, not to abolish the old promises, but to fulfill them. Old and new are made one through Him.

Are you balancing your Bible studies between both Old and New Testaments?

Give it a try! It's solid. It works.

I promise!

Readings
Psalms 61, 62 or 68:1-20 (21-23) 24-36
Nehemiah 12:27-31a, 42b-47
Revelation 11:1-19
Matthew 13:44-52

15 comments:

  1. Mixing old with the new creates new views. Be it in a desk, chair or even living with elders... One gets a chance to the see the world differently and sometimes one learns from that combination

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  2. The old and the new are all part and parcel of the same message. Thanks for the reminder of that!

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  3. Old is always gold. We should never forget the old and what it gave us for the new. Each has its own place

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  4. Thanks, everyone, for stopping by today!
    @Savira - I love your mention of the older generation; we can learn so much from them!
    @Hank - Glad I was able to remind you of this today, my friend!
    @Rimly - What you wrote reminds me of "Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other gold". Great reminder!
    Blessings to all!

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  5. Great comparison Martha! And combining old with new works in everything...including reading the Bible :)

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  6. Thanks for stopping by, Mary!
    Especially good in reading the Bible as so many nuances in the New Testament can be misread or not understood.

    Blessings!

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  7. This was so refreshing to read Martha! You have such a wonderful way with words. I love mixing and matching old with new but sadly I don´t own any antique pieces of furniture :(

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  8. haven't picked up my bible in 2 years but was nudged this weekend..we'll see...As always...XOXOXOXOX

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  9. Thank you, Nelieta and Bonnie, for stopping by!
    @Nelieta - thank you for your sweet compliment! Well, mine are antiques due to their age, but not worth much in $. The sentimental value is really what matters to me.
    @Bonnie - Let me know if you do, my friend! I'm ready to the raise the roof for joy in hearing this!!!
    Blessings to you both!

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  12. My home is full of furniture, china, art, and collectables that have been passed down from my grandparents, aunts, and parents. They create a strong since of continuity and roots. And that is comforting since my homes, schools, and neighborhoods of my childhood have disappeared. I even have a chess set from Japan given to my grandfather by his interpreter during the post war reconstruction. What I cherish most is a framed bible verse, hand written in calligraphy, that my mother gave me:

    1 Corinthians 13:1-13

    1. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

    2. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

    3. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, it profits me nothing.

    4. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;

    5. does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

    6. does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

    7. bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

    8. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

    9. For we know in part and we prophesy in part.

    10. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

    11. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

    12. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

    13. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

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  13. "But, the greatest of these is love"!

    These verses are some of my absolute favorites in scripture. They persevere, they abide, they speak and translate, old to new, old with new, ever abiding.

    Thanks, David, for visiting and taking so much time to share these most meaningful verses.

    We both know how hard it is to lose a home, a neighborhood, a school. Thank goodness, God's words remain forever!

    Blessings!

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