The Mine That Keeps Giving
A mine in Australia has produced what its owner believes are two of the biggest gold specimens in recorded history.
The biggest of the stones came in at 198 pounds and is estimated by the company to contain about 143 pounds of gold, a total that at current prices would be worth around $2.6 million
The second-biggest piece weighed 132 pounds and was valued at about $1.95 million.
Early estimates from RNC Minerals have put the total take of coarse gold from the cut at more than 562 pounds, or more than $10.4 million worth.
Airleg driller Henry Dole has been credited with uncovering the astonishing find at the 45-year-old Beta Hunt gold mine near Kambalda.
Here is what I like about this story…
They have been digging at this mine for 45 years….
And still getting gold, and not only that, but their biggest piece ever!
That is so much like the Word Of God.
Dig in it for years and years, and still haven’t seen it all or exhausted its treasury,
In fact, I believe that the greatest revelation and truth are still to come!
"And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times" (Psalm 12:6).
Finding Our Fixed Point
Studies have shown that if you blindfold a man and ask him to walk in a straight line, he will start out well but will soon begin to turn one way or another, looping around in ever tightening circles. It is a phenomenon that has been demonstrated over and over again: without a fixed reference point we cannot keep a straight line.
The strange thing is that it feels like we're walking in a straight line. But we begin to loop and curve erratically – without ever knowing it. We need a fixed point to walk a straight line.
Robert Kulwich, for NPR, observes, "Without a corrective, our insides take over and there's something inside us that won't stay straight."
[Studies of this phenomenon appear in Chris McManus' book, Right Hand, Left Hand, The Origins of Asymmetry in Brains, Bodies, Atoms and Cultures (Phoenix, 2002).]
God’s word is that fixed point for our souls. Its truths are fixed – “forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens” (Ps. 119:89). Thus, it gives us a safe and accurate reference point for our lives.
A person who rejects God’s word as the source of truth may feel like they’re on the right road – they’re going straight – but inevitably they go astray. The Bible says there is a way that seems right to a man (think they’re going straight) but the end thereof is death (Proverbs 14:12).
Amazingly, Jesus didn’t point people to the fixed point, he claimed to be the fixed point. Jesus didn’t say “I know the truth” or “I can point you to the truth”, he said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6)– He is the sun by which we navigate our lives, the star by which we guide our path. He is our fixed point.
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2, BSB).
The Delphic Oracle
Croesus, the rich King of Lydia who controlled much of Asia Minor, consulted the Oracle at Delphia in the year 549 B.C. to find out if she thought he should attack the Persian King Cyrus. The Oracle said: “If you go to war you will destroy a great empire.”
Encouraged by the Oracle’s response, Croesus marched against the Persians. He was decisively beaten, and the Persians then invaded Lydia and captured its capital, Sardis. Croesus became Cyrus’s prisoner. Croesus sent messengers to the Oracle at Delphi asking why she had deceived him. The priestess replied that he had not been deceived; he had indeed destroyed a great empire .... his own!
Unlike the Delphic Oracle, God's Word speaks plainly of the dangers, risks, and rewards of our actions. Scripture tells us what God does not permit, what are sins, and what we should or should not do. It also implores us to repent of our sins and turn to the Lord. It warns us of what will happen if we don’t, and it tells us how we will live forever in the Kingdom of Heaven if we do!
"As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD's word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him" (Psalm 18:30).