“A Simple But Intelligent Analysis”

~ Book Review of One Precious Pearl by Foreword Reviews ~

Reproduced immediately below is one of the many positive reviews the book “One Precious Pearl” has received.

ForeWord Clarion Review   (Diane Taylor) 

RELIGION

One Precious Pearl: God's Design for His Church

Robert Lloyd Russell

Infinity Publishing

978-0-7414-6232-9

5 Stars (out of 5)

A book-length exposition on just two verses of the New Testament, One Precious Pearl offers the reader an in-depth analysis of Jesus’ parable of the merchant seeking goodly pearls.

Turning to Matthew 13, where seven parables of Jesus are recorded, Russell (Thy Will Be Done on Earth, 2008) focuses his attention on the two verses (13:45 and 46) containing the parable of the merchant.  The merchant finds one especially valuable pearl and sells everything he has in order to possess that single precious gem.  According to Russell, compared to the other parables—especially that of the sower, the mustard seed, the weeds among the wheat, the yeast, and the hidden treasure in the field—this elusive idea about a merchant searching for a pearl has not received the full explication that it deserves. Russell fears that even those theologians who have studied this parable have overlooked some of its more salient points.  In writing this book, Russell aims to give these two verses their full due and thereby make the parable of the pearl as central to the Christian imagination as is the parable of the mustard seed and the sower.

That Russell's explication is exhaustive there can be little doubt.  Asserting that the one precious pearl is analogous to God's universal Church, Russell explores everything from the chemical composition of a natural pearl to its perceived value throughout history to describe in detail how each and every aspect of a pearl correlates to the creation of God's Church.  From an oyster's point of view, for example, Russell sees the development of a pearl as a result of the oyster's suffering.  A foreign object (i.e., a grain of sand) enters into the oyster's environment, and it is the oyster's reaction to that intrusion that ultimately results in the creation of a lustrous gem.  Given the proper environment, what originally starts as an irritant can become something wondrous to behold.

Though Russell's parsing of the pearl analogy is extensive, the book remains solidly grounded in the land of the laity, making it accessible to virtually anyone who picks it up.  

One does not have to be a biblical scholar to grasp Russell's claim that a pearl is the result of a living creature, as the universal Church is the result of a living savior.  Nor does one have to be versed in Hebrew to share Russell's idea that the spherical shape of a pearl symbolizes the unity of God's Church, which cannot be divided without destroying it.  Nor does one even have to attend services regularly to follow Russell's contention that the perfection of a natural pearl, like the universal Church, is unattainable through manmade interventions.  The ideas may be profound, but Russell's delivery is not.  

A simple but intelligent analysis of an often overlooked parable in the New Testament, One Precious Pearl can be appreciated by a wide range of readers, none of whom will ever look at a pearl quite the same again.

~ ForeWord Reviews

“ONE PRECIOUS PEARL: God’s Design for His Church” has received many accolades including being named

“2011 Book-Of-The-Year” (Religion: Eastern/Western) by Reader Views Literary Awards,

“2011 Runner-up” (Religion: Christianity) by the International Book Awards, and

“2011 Winner” (Book: Biblical Studies) by The Word Guild. 

“2011 Finalist” (Religion: Christianity) by The USA “Best Books of 2011” Awards

“2011 Gold” (Literary Excellence – 1 of 3 Gold Awards across all genres) by the World Book Awards

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

There is more information about One Precious Pearl at the author’s website. 

You may order directly from Amazon or from Infinity Publishing. 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

Isaiah’s Gospel

~ The Good News of the Messiah in the Scriptures ~

Isaiah wrote about 700 years before the coming of Messiah. Yet Isaiah provides a Gospel of the good news of Jesus Christ as do Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Read Isaiah’s Gospel below from The Message.

“So Isaiah told him, ‘Then listen to this, government of David! It's bad enough that you make people tired with your pious, timid hypocrisies, but now you're making God tired. So the Master is going to give you a sign anyway. Watch for this: A girl who is presently a virgin will get pregnant. She’ll bear a Son and name Him Immanuel (God-With-Us). By the time the child is twelve years old, He will be able to make moral decisions’” (Isaiah 7:13-15).

“For a child has been born—for us! The gift of a Son—for us! He’ll take over the running of the world. His names will be: Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness. His ruling authority will grow, and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness He brings. He’ll rule from the historic David throne over that promised kingdom. He’ll put that kingdom on a firm footing and keep it going with fair dealing and right living,

beginning now and lasting always” (Isaiah 9:6-7). 

“‘Just watch my servant blossom! Exalted, tall, head and shoulders above the crowd! But He didn’t begin that way. At first everyone was appalled. He didn’t even look human—a ruined face, disfigured past recognition. Nations all over the world will be in awe, taken aback, kings shocked into silence when they see Him. For what was unheard of they’ll see with their own eyes, what was unthinkable they’ll have right before them.’

“Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?

“The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field. There was nothing attractive about Him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a Man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand. One look at Him and people turned away. We looked down on Him, thought He was scum. But the fact is, it was our pains He carried—our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought He brought it on Himself, that God was punishing Him for His own failures. But it was our sins that did that to Him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through His bruises we get healed. We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way. And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, on Him, on Him. He was beaten, He was tortured, but He didn't say a word. Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, He took it all in silence. Justice miscarried, and He was led off—and did anyone really know what was happening? He died without a thought for His own welfare, beaten bloody for the sins of my people. They buried Him with the wicked, threw Him in a grave with a rich man, even though He’d never hurt a soul or said one word that wasn’t true.

“Still, it’s what God had in mind all along, to crush Him with pain. The plan was that He give Himself as an offering for sin so that He’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life. And God’s plan will deeply prosper through Him.

“Out of that terrible travail of soul, He’ll see that it's worth it and be glad He did it. Through what He experienced, My righteous one, My servant, will make many ‘righteous ones,’ as He Himself carries the burden of their sins. Therefore I’ll reward Him extravagantly—the best of everything, the highest honors—because He looked death in the face and didn't flinch, because He embraced the company of the lowest. He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many, He took up the cause of all the black sheep” (Isaiah 52:13-53:12). 

Do you know the shepherd as your personal Savior, Counselor, and Friend?

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

Christ Is Better, 3

~ Four Ways He Is Better Than The Angels ~

Jesus Christ Is Better Than The Angels. “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they” (Hebrews 1:1-4).  

How/why is Jesus Christ better than the angels? Here are four reasons from the first chapter of the book of Hebrews.

(1) Because He is the Son, and the angels are servants. “For to which of the angels did He [God, the Father] ever say: ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You’? And again: ‘I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son?’” (1:5).

(2) Because He is the object of the angels’ worship, and they are the worshippers. “Having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they… But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: ‘Let all the angels of God worship Him’” (1:4, 6). “Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!’” (Revelation 5:11-12).

(3) Because He rules and the angels are ruled. “And of the angels He says: ‘Who makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire.’ But to the Son He says: ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom’” (1:7-8).  

(4) Because He is on the throne to reign, and the angels are before the throne to serve. “But to the Son He says: ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.’ And: ‘You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You remain; and they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will fold them up, and they will be changed. But You are the same, and Your years will not fail.’ But to which of the angels has He ever said: ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool’? Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” (1:8-14).

the key question: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). This is the most important question you will ever answer. If you do not answer it, or answer it incorrectly, you have made the biggest mistake anyone can make!

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

Messiah, 94

~ Messiah Would Be A Descendant of David, 4 ~

“Search the Scriptures—they testify of Me.”

— Jesus Christ (John 5:39)

The Scripture

“I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: ‘Your seed I will establish forever, and build up your throne to all generations’” (Psalm 89:3-4).

The Messiah

“While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, ‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?’ They said to Him, ‘The Son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How then does David in the Spirit call Him “Lord,” saying: “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool’? If David then calls Him “Lord,” how is He his Son?’ And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore” (Matthew 22:41-46).   “Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, ‘How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ Therefore David himself calls Him “Lord;” how is He then his Son?’And the common people heard Him gladly” (Mark 12:35-37).   “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David” (Luke 1:68-69).    “And He said to them, ‘How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David? Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms. The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” Therefore David calls Him “Lord;” how is He then his Son?’” (Luke 20:41-44).    “Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, ‘Truly this is the Prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Christ.’ But some said, ‘Will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?’” (John 7:40-42).

~~~ EXPLANATORY “MESSIAH” NOTES ~~~   

(1)  Each Saturday ALN posts an example of a Hebrew Scriptures prophecy (or foreshadowing) related to the coming Messiah which was fulfilled in the birth, life, death, or resurrection of Jesus Christ.

(2)  While extensive it will not be a complete list—there are hundreds of prophecies of the coming Messiah which have been fulfilled by one man—Jesus Christ at His First Coming.

(3)  It is important that there are many more prophecies of the Messiah, yet unfulfilled, which Christians believe will be fulfilled at the time of His Second Coming.  A particularly relevant Scripture verse in this regard is: “Do not despise prophesies” (1 Thessalonians 5:20).

(4)  These posts will typically consist only of Scripture—which speaks for itself.  Sometimes italicized or bold font will be used by ALN for emphasis.

(5)  The numbering of these fulfilled prophecies of the Messiah is used to differentiate individual posts. It is not chronological (either by time of the prophecy or by sequence in the life of the Messiah).  The posting sequence will, for the most part, be in the order that the prophecies appear in Scripture.

(6)  Because of the chosen methodology (#5 above) we will find many specific prophecies repeated multiple times throughout the Scriptures.

(7)  These serial posts are in addition to our regular Tuesday ALN postings on random topics.

(8)  Subscription to ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog is simple—just use the link on the left sidebar.  Once subscribed you will not miss future posts.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW