The Heaton File

To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, “These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars.” (Revelation 2:1-2)

I Know Your Works

There are thousands upon thousands of churches spread throughout the world. The church began two thousand years ago in Jerusalem when Peter and the eleven shared the gospel of a risen Christ to a large body of devout Jews. Later, Peter would share the good news with the Gentile world, and the church would expand across the borders of all nations. The New Testament disciples believed in one church under the headship of Jesus Christ. There were many churches or congregations spread throughout the Roman Empire.

After the persecution of Saul, faithful brethren went everywhere preaching the word and establishing local churches. When Saul became a follower of Christ, he and others went throughout the empire establishing local groups of faithful disciples and ordaining elders in every place. Churches sprang up in Corinth, Thessalonica, Phillipi, Colosse, Derbe, Lystra, Antioch, and many more places. John wrote his revelation to seven churches in Asia where the Lord’s church was established. Cities like Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea all had congregations of God’s people.

Each of the congregations in Asia received a special message from Jesus. Ephesus had lost its first love. Smyrna faced persecution. Pergamos was challenged with compromising the truth. Thyatira allowed the corruption of sexual immorality to stain its garments. Jesus called Sardis a dead church, but some remained faithful. Philadelphia was a faithful congregation. Jesus exposed the congregation at Laodicea as a lukewarm church. Each congregation shared one thing with Jesus: He knew their works.

The message of Jesus to the churches was to remind them that each congregation had a responsibility before the judgment of God. They were not judged as a group but as individual congregations. The first judgment was whether they were a church of God. Jesus knew the seven churches belonged to Him because each one had an angel. In the first century, the one church was unified in the will of God. Apostasy began to creep in, and the church began to practice and follow man-made teachings. Two thousand years later, the world is filled with churches that do not have the angels of God over them, as they do not follow the New Testament pattern. The sign out front does not make a group the Lord’s church. What makes a group a body of Christ is what they follow in the inside.

Every church must remember that they are judged by the word of the Lord and that Jesus knows their works. If a church is faithful, Jesus knows. The churches of Asia still had their candlesticks, but some were close to losing their place before God removed them. Sadly, all of the churches eventually lost their candlesticks as they followed the teachings of men. Every church today is judged by the Lord. He knows their works. Jesus knows if a certain congregation has an angel, and He knows whether they are filled with love or division. Every member’s heart is examined under the microscope of God’s word. If a church is filled with grace, Jesus knows. Many churches, like Sardis, have a name for being alive, but Jesus calls them dead. What does Jesus know about your church?

Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:21)

Limiting God

The parable of the unforgiving servant is a powerful statement of God’s mercy towards sinful man. No one deserves the gift of grace given by God through His Son, Jesus Christ (whom the world crucified on a cross). The debt for sin is impossible for man to redeem. There is nothing man could do or say that could justify him before a wrathful God. Asking forgiveness is an eternal gift of grace that God allows man to ask and receive. Jesus points out in the parable that if a man is unwilling to forgive his fellow man, God will not forgive the unforgiving. The background of the parable comes from Peter’s question about forgiveness.

Peter asks Jesus to explain how many times he needs to forgive someone who sins against him. There is a tinge of arrogance in the question, as Peter wants to limit the reaction he must have towards someone who sins against him directly. The Jewish interpretation of the law required a man to forgive another person only up to three times. Peter gave a broad definition to suggest seven times. Still, aside from explaining why Peter uses seven as a number to forgive, the apostle seeks to limit God to something Peter had no right to suggest.

Forgiveness is in the mind of God. Whether a person is forgiven or not rests in the will of the Almighty alone. In a lifetime, God will forgive a person’s sins so many times that the number is uncountable. There is a human arrogance to suggest a need to limit forgiveness as if, after seven times, Peter does not need to forgive another. Jesus’ answer is not a mathematical equation to suggest a finite number (seventy times seven). What the Lord shows is that man has no right to limit what God does in His mind to remove another’s sins. Peter says that someone has sinned against him, and he will limit his grace to a certain number and then refuse to extend any further grace. Thank God the mercy of God’s forgiveness is not so arrogant.

The greatest failure of the human spirit is to seek control of the divine will. Men have tried to change the law of God from the moment Eve decided to change what God told her. Her actions did not change God’s will. She and Adam decided to limit God’s power and authority and to assume divine right. They failed miserably, and God punished them. The reason God destroyed the world in the days of Noah is that the heart of man arrogantly sought to change the will of the Lord. God destroyed them. Peter tried to limit God and failed miserably.

Human wisdom continues to find ways to limit God’s power and authority. The reason there are so many churches is the same failing that Peter approached Jesus about, limiting the times he would forgive anyone. Disagreement about what a man must do to be saved comes from the same seed. What Jesus explained in the parable is that God is God and man is man. God created man; man did not create God. The law of God has more grace than any man could imagine in a lifetime. Human wisdom is shallow at best. Thank God, the mercy of the Lord is so great, showing how empty the mercy of man is. Peter treated the Lord’s will with contempt by trying to limit God to seven times. Never seek to undermine the word of the Lord to find answers for selfish desires. Serve God first. Never limit the power of God.

Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? (2 Peter 3:11)

Thinking About The End Of Everything

The world is coming to an end. That is not a supposition or myth. Clear biblical teachings point toward the fact that one day, the universe will be completely and totally destroyed. This promise harkens back to when God destroyed all life on earth when He flooded the world up to more than twenty feet above the highest mountain. Noah and his family were saved in the ark as it sat above the waters. While God made a promise never to destroy the world with a flood, He did promise to destroy the world with fire. The heavens and the earth are reserved for fire until the day of judgment. It will be a time of judgment against ungodliness.

No one knows when the coming of the Lord will be. Jesus confessed He did not know. The fact remains that the world will be consumed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, when the heavens will melt with fervent heat in the midst of a great noise. Everything on earth will be gone. The moon, sun, and all the billions of billions of stars will be extinguished. There will be nothing left. God will bring His judgment upon what He created by sending His Son and His holy angels to bring home the faithful to the bosom of the Father. Believers and unbelievers will know the day of the Lord. Those who are among the faithful disciples of Christ will bask in the glow of God’s glory. The ungodly will scream in terror as Hell overtakes them and they are consumed without being consumed. Eternity begins.

Most of the world denies the coming of Christ. The world continues on its fevered pace of living for the moment, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and seeking long life and happiness. Nothing is further from reality. Everyone on earth stands upon a rock hurtling towards an eternal destiny of destruction. There is nothing man can do to change the course of man’s destiny. The grace of God is found in His longsuffering, but that will come to an end one day. God will decide when that day will be. Every eye will see the glory of God. Isaiah declared that the judgment of God is when every knee will bow before the throne of the Almighty, and every tongue will confess to God.

If the passengers of the Titanic could have changed their fate, would they have lived differently? Imagine knowing that if a man bought a ticket to that fateful journey of the mighty Titanic, his life would end in a watery grave. How would he live? These questions point to the reality of how the lives of men change when they know they have a death sentence hanging over them. How does a man think when he sits on death row knowing he will die on a certain day? God has told the world that a day is coming when everything will come to an end. Those who disbelieve in the coming of the Lord do not change the truth. Jesus is coming. The exhortation Peter gives to those who are suffering for the cause of Christ is to consider their lives and the coming of the Lord. Knowing the world will come to a fiery end, what kind of person will they be in holy conduct and godliness?

God tells the world He is coming. Ignoring the fact does not change reality. What every child of God must do is to accept the reality of the promise of God and live accordingly. A holy conduct will prepare one for the coming of the Lord. Godliness is profitable to prepare the soul to be ready for the coming of the Lord. If the Lord came today, it would be a wonderful hope fulfilled by those who look for and hasten the coming of the day of God. It is a state of mind. There is uncertainty about when the Lord will return, but that does not matter. What matters is that the Lord is coming, and the faithful must be ready.

After two thousand years, it seems unlikely the Lord will come. That is what Satan wants people to believe. If Jesus has not returned yet, He likely never will. Such thinking is how men will be found unprepared. God does not lie. Every promise of God is true. It took twenty-five years for Abraham and Sarah to realize the promise God made to them, but God’s word was true. There may be another thousand years before the Lord comes. What matters is not when the Lord will come, but that men will live in such a way that it does not matter when He comes. What manner of person should we be? The Lord is coming. Think about that.

I will stretch out My hand against Judah, and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. I will cut off every trace of Baal from this place, the names of the idolatrous priests with the pagan priests— those who worship the host of heaven on the housetops; those who worship and swear oaths by the Lord, but who also swear by Milcom; those who have turned back from following the Lord, and have not sought the Lord, nor inquired of Him. (Zephaniah 1:4-6)

Serving God And Satan

God is a jealous God, and He demands allegiance to be total, complete, and without reservation. When He gave the law to the Hebrews, the first thing He reminded them of was that He was the One who brought them out of the land of Egypt. His declaration that He was the Lord their God affirmed complete and dominant authority over their lives. The warnings contained in the law focused upon the failure of man to remain wholly faithful to the Lord, allowing the influences of the world to corrupt worship. God will not allow His worshippers to have any other gods before him. This is an absolute law. Bowing down and serving carved images was forbidden. As a jealous God whose name is Jealous, worship of the Lord God was unmixed.

Zephaniah was a prophet during the days of revival under King Josiah. As the young king sought to restore a proper respect for worship to Jehovah, Zephaniah preached a message of fearless allegiance to the one true God. He warned the people of the scope of God’s judgment upon their hypocrisy to worship the Lord, but also swear allegiance to pagan gods. The land festered with the stench of godless worship of Baal, Milcom, Ashtoreth, and Chemosh. Idolatrous priests fed the hearts of the people the dung of wickedness to worship the host of heaven on the housetops, swearing oaths by the Lord, but who also swore by their carved images. The pretensions of swearing allegiance to the Lord assuaged the consciousness of the people. Their hypocrisy was evident when they turned back from following the Lord to swear by their idols. They tried to live in both the world of righteousness and the world of unrighteousness. Their hypocrisy led to their destruction.

Worshipping God with one foot in the world and one foot in what is perceived as religion is the common thread for many in the world. With a pretense of spirituality, people will extol the virtues of religion as a part of their lives while basking in the carnality of the world. They fill churches on Sunday and bars and nightclubs on the weekend. For many, life is about living to the extreme, mixing in a little ‘God’ occasionally to soothe the conscience. Serving the Lord is never required because commandment-keeping is viewed with disdain. Like those in the days of Zephaniah, worship is given to the Lord at the same time as pledging oaths to the gods of the world. There are no idols to fall down to because the lives of the ungodly dwell in the temples of pleasure, wealth, and immorality.

Jesus died to open a way of salvation for sinful man to be redeemed. The path to eternal life is a singular, narrow road. Most, according to Jesus, prefer the broad way, where they can worship God while still maintaining allegiance to the gods of the world. God remains a jealous God. He demands complete allegiance and loyalty. It is impossible to serve God and the mammon of the world. When men try to serve God and the gods of the world, they serve Satan. The story of Israel’s downfall declares that God will not accept a divided heart. There are no divided loyalties. Either a person worships God wholly, or they do not worship Him at all.

To follow after “Milcom” is to follow the appeals of the carnal nature and will end in destruction. No man can give his heart to God and allow the trappings of the world to guide his heart. There must be a declaration of either serving God fully or accepting the rule of Satan. Righteousness has no fellowship with unrighteousness. The only hope of eternal life is found in being separate from the world. Serve God and serve Him alone.

The altars that were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, the king broke down and pulverized there, and threw their dust into the Brook Kidron. Then the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, which were on the south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon, king of Israel, had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images, and filled their places with the bones of men. Moreover, the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and crushed it to powder, and burned the wooden image. (2 Kings 23:12-15)

Getting Rid Of The Past

Idolatry was the downfall of Israel. God warned His people that if they turned their hearts to idols, He would punish them. The history of Israel began in a world filled with idolatry. Four hundred years of Egyptian influence could never be taken out of their hearts. While Moses was on the mountain receiving the law from the Lord, Aaron led the people in idolatry and the worship of a golden calf. The Lord warned the Hebrews to remove every idol and place of pagan worship when they entered the promised land, but they refused. Instead of purging the land, they slowly embraced the culture and idolatry of Baal, Molech, and Ashtoreth.

The wives of Solomon turned his heart away from the Lord. He loved many foreign women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. God commanded His people to remain pure from the defilement of the foreign nations, so they would not follow other gods. Solomon’s heart did not remain loyal to the Lord. The king built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, on a hill east of Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the people of Ammon. More than three hundred years later, the same places of idol worship remained. When Josiah became king of Judah, he broke in pieces the places of idol worship to Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Milcom. Many of the idols and pagan places of worship remained from the time of Jeroboam, three hundred years earlier, through the reigns of kings such as Ahaz (100 years) and Manasseh (50 years).

The remarkable story in the history of God’s people is in the midst of a nation governed by the Law of Moses; idolatry filled the land. What happened to the holy nation of God was that the people worshiped the Lord and swore oaths to His name, but they also worshipped and swore oaths to the pagan gods like Milcom, Baal, Ashtoreth, and Chemosh. They tried to keep both feet in the kingdom of the Lord and the kingdom of the world. Their citizenship was a dual residency that allowed them to go through the motions of worship to the Lord God, but enjoy the fruits of the immorality of pagan worship. What Josiah discovered was that this had been the pattern for hundreds of years as the people embraced the idolatry of their ancestors. Instead of getting rid of the past, the people welcomed it.

Israel would be destroyed as they sank deeper into idolatry and turned away from God. Jesus would later remind the disciples that it is impossible to serve two masters. Israel tried to serve the Lord and keep the idols for hundreds of years to placate their carnal desires. In time, the people loved pagan worship more than the Lord. The result was seventy years of bondage in Babylon and the final destruction of Israel in 70 A.D. That old-time religion of idolatry caught up the Jews, and they paid the ultimate price of betrayal. God demands complete obedience and loyalty. What Josiah found was hundreds of years of people trying to mix righteousness with unrighteousness. He took the only course needed: to destroy the places of idolatry.

The lessons of Israel are given to remind the people of God of the dangers of keeping a righteous heart with an unrighteous mind. There is no compatibility with light and darkness, good and evil, believers with unbelievers, and Christ with the carnal nature of the world. What God wants of His people is for them to shine as lights in a crooked and perverse world. He does not want them to be like the world. There is a need for separation from the things of the world. For three hundred years, the people allowed the pagan places to remain, and it corrupted their hearts. The church needs men and women like Josiah who will see the dangers of compatibility with the world and have the courage to remain separate. Tear down the places of idolatry that hinder the influence of the church. Stand for truth.

And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. (1 John 5:11)

The Testimony Of God

Two things witness or testify to the sovereign grace of the Lord God. By His grace, God allows man to come into His presence and to dwell with him. The promise of eternal life is granted to all who are in Jesus Christ. God saved sinful man because of His love, not because of the worth of man. God’s grace promises eternal life. The love of God sent His only begotten Son into the world to save man from the wrath of God. Beginning in the Garden of Eden, the scheme of God’s redemptive love unfolded throughout the generations until the day Christ came into the world. The death of Jesus was not the end but the beginning. Through the resurrection, eternal life was guaranteed. The only way, truth, and life was found in Jesus Christ.

One of the amazing joys of being in Christ is the promise of eternal life. God does not lie. When He promised eternal life, it was a witness to God’s character. He is not like the human heart, which may promise something and be unable to fulfill it. Eternal life is not a maybe, a chance encounter, or a dimly lit hope of possibilities if the stars align properly. Everyone who bears the name of Christ through His blood will share in the promise of eternal life. Knowing one is saved is not a guess but a fact. Believing in God’s promise assures the heart that eternal life is real. Being in Christ confirms the promise of eternal life because there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ.

Satan challenges the hearts of God’s people to view the Lord as a harsh task master demanding impossible things. The devil goes after the hearts of God’s people to make them doubt their salvation. Using the language of Ashdod, Satan weakens the spirits of the faithful to look at the promises of God as tenuous, empty, and void. Nothing is further from the truth. God assures His children of the hope of Heaven because that is His testimony and witness. The character of God does not allow for vacillating hopes built on lies, but for the blessed assurance that eternal life is real. God’s testimony is founded upon the promise of eternal life, which He has given to all who will obey Him. That promise is founded upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The resurrection was not just an event but the eternal affirmation of the promise of eternal life.

Sometimes people doubt if they are good enough to go to Heaven. The answer is a resounding no, and that is why the grace of God is so great. God promised eternal life to the faithful, and the faithful must embrace that promise as true. Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world to affirm God’s promise as the reason for the hope that resides in the hearts of the faithful. There is a confident hope in the promise of God that motivates the heart of the Christian to look with joy to death as the entrance into eternal life. There is no fear of death because it becomes the portal through which eternal life is realized. For all those who are in Jesus Christ, there is no fading hope of salvation or a possibility that someone would be so lucky. It is a firm testimony to the nature of God’s grace to know without a shadow of doubt that the promises of God are true.

Heaven is real. Hope is real. The promises of God are true. Salvation in Christ is where truth resides. Every Christian who is serving the Lord with all faithfulness must realize the wonderful promise of God – Heaven can and will be attained. Live each day with the testimony of God and the presence of Jesus Christ as real. Hope for eternal life. It is a thing to be grasped. What a joy to know the testimony of Jehovah God.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Is The Bible Corrupted?

From the beginning of man’s existence in the Garden of Eden, Satan has attacked the word of God with the intent of destroying the souls of men. His words to Eve are the same words he uses today: “Has God indeed said?” Satan deceives the heart to challenge the word of God as without authority. When the devil convinces the heart to disregard the words of God, he tempts man to become his own god, serving his own desires, and seeking his own wisdom. This is done by changing the word of God to fit the narrative of human reasoning.

During the first century, the writers of the covenant of Christ warned against challenging the word of God. Paul wrote about the apostasy that would come when those with itching ears would draw men to themselves to follow their own perfidious teachings. Peter warned of the scoffers who denied the word of God. History has proven the Holy Spirit correct with the creation of the mother of apostasy, the catholic system of theology (Roman and Eastern). Spawning from its core beliefs, Protestant denominations broke off, creating a surge of religious error that increases with each passing generation. In America, one of the great apostasies occurred when Joseph Smith founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, based on the premise that the Bible was a corrupted book, altered by the will of man.

The Mormon faith created “another testament of Jesus Christ,” calling it the Book of Mormon. For many years, Mormons denied that the Book of Mormon was another testament of Jesus Christ. It is now an accepted concept. In the Articles of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Mormons teach they “believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.” The reason the eighth article of faith denies the Bible is correctly translated is because it is impossible to teach the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints from the Bible. If the Bible stood alone, it would be impossible for anyone to find Mormonism within its pages.

It is easy to declare the Bible unauthoritative based on the assumption that it is not translated correctly. They deny that this charge applies to the Book of Mormon. The sixty-six books of the Bible are corrupted, but the Book of Mormon, the Pearl of Great Price, and the Doctrine and Covenants are not, according to the teachings of the church. This is the only way the teachings of the Mormon faith can be substantiated. The apostle Paul would deny this charge as he wrote to Timothy, telling him the scriptures were inspired by God. This suggests that the Bible is the breath of God, given to man to know what he must do to be saved. Joseph Smith did not fabricate the Book of Mormon until 1830. Mormons would have the world believe that for 1800 years, a corrupted Bible led men to lose their souls and die condemned before God.

How can a God as mighty as the Lord God allow men to corrupt His word? Is it possible God is so feeble that He could not preserve His word for 1800 years without corruption? The Old Testament has been shown to have been preserved intact for 1500 years as the authority of the word of God. It seems God ran out of steam when the covenant of Christ was written, allowing the wisdom of man to corrupt and alter His word until Joseph Smith met an angel and received the true word of God. It is incredulous that the pride of human wisdom would suggest that God failed to keep His word pure. The only way the Book of Mormon can be believed is to accept the Bible as a corrupted text. Knowing the Bible has been translated correctly and preserved by the omnipotence of the Almighty, the Book of Mormon is a false testimony.

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. He is the author and the preserver of His word. He gave the Bible to the world to establish doctrine, reprove sin, correct the will of men who would deny His word, and instruct lost men how to live in righteousness. The Bible was given to the world so that those who desired to be saved could be complete in their understanding of God’s will and be thoroughly equipped for every good work. What is corrupted is the heart of man, not the Bible. The God who created the world and established all things to continue as they are is the same God who gave the world His word and protected it from the false teachings of men who claim to have talked to angels. The Holy Spirit said anyone who listens to angels above the word of God was to be accursed. God reigns. His word is true. Believe it.

By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. (Hebrews 11:11)

Judging God Faithful

After the flood, the ages of men and women diminished dramatically. Abraham would live to 175, and Sarah would die at 127. What is remarkable in the story of Abraham and Sarah is the birth of Isaac when Abraham was 100, and Sarah was 90. Isaac was the promised son when God told Abraham at the age of 75 that he would become the father of many nations. It would be twenty-five years before the promise was fulfilled and became one of the great miracles of Bible history. Unlike the days before the flood, Sarah conceiving a child in her womb and giving birth to a son at the age of 90 was only by the power of God.

Paul used Abraham and Sarah as examples of hope in God’s promises. The apostle reminds the Roman saints that the body of Abraham was dead concerning producing a child, and Sarah’s womb was also dead. Neither could conceive and bear a son, and yet through the power of God, Isaac became the promised son. The faith of Sarah is further explained in the Hebrew letter, which says that she received strength to conceive seed and bear a child, even though she was long past the age of childbearing. What fueled Sarah’s hope was her belief in God’s promises as true and faithful. She had no other ground of confidence to give birth to a son than the divine promises of God. Against all human probability, she became a mother at 90 to a healthy son. Her faith in God was grounded in God’s promises, because she knew God could not lie. She had faith that God would do what He had promised, even though it seemed improbable to human wisdom. Her heart was convinced that God made a promise, and He was faithful to perform the impossible.

Sarah believed God would keep His promise because she believed in the Divine power to accomplish the impossible. Sarah judged that God was faithful to do something beyond the comprehension of human wisdom. Faith is the assurance of the promises of God that whatever the Lord promises, He will accomplish. Peter told the devout Jews assembled on the Day of Pentecost to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins. Three thousand souls believed in the promise of God and obeyed. Ananias told Saul (Paul) to rise and be baptized to wash away his sins. That was a promise Saul acted on, and his sins were washed away. Throughout the story of the Acts of the Apostles, the remission of sins was preached as God’s promise, and thousands responded.

There is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. That is a promise of God. Walking in the light as He is in the light, the fellowship of grace is shared by the saved who are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. That is a promise of God. Sarah judged God faithful to keep and carry out His promise. The promise of eternal life is found in the promised Son of God who came to Earth to give His life for the redemption of mankind. Those who submit to the blood of Jesus will find that God is a faithful God who keeps His promise. In the waters of baptism, sins are washed away as far as the East is from the West. The hope of eternal life is not a chance encounter, but a promise made by God who cannot lie.

Salvation is found in the hearts of those who judge God faithful in His word. His promise is true and will be realized on the final day when death opens the doors of eternity to the hearts of the saved who have believed in the impossible and accepted the word of the Lord as true. Sarah believed in something that was impossible. It may seem impossible to accept that God would save a sinful man, but Jesus died to save all those who will come to Him seeking cleansing in His blood. God is faithful in His promise. He cannot lie. Believe in the impossible. Judge God faithful.

For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. (Hebrews 13:14)

Seeking A Greater City

Someone suggested that home is where the heart is. It shows that the nature of home is not so much about the physical connection that creates it, but about the emotional and spiritual relationship shared by those who make up the home. The difference between a house and a home is that one is made of mortar and brick, and the other is made with the passion of the heart. One of the great challenges of life is to realize that the most important part of living is not what is seen but what is unseen. Life is measured by time, distance, and substance. Men live within the confines of a fleshly tent that is only temporary. The appointment with death cannot be changed. Everyone will die (short of the coming of the Lord). The key is how to view life’s brevity.

When the Hebrew author wrote his letter to the persecuted saints, he sought to instill in them a greater faith to endure temptations and trials. They had been severely tested for their faith. Hebrews is a letter showing the superiority of Christ as a better High Priest, sacrifice, Savior, teacher, and Lord. There is nothing better than the covenant of Jesus Christ. Living in the hope of eternal life is how the early Christians must view their persecuted existence. Some would be delivered while many others would perish. Regardless of which circumstance one finds himself in, the victory in Christ is assured.

As the author of Hebrews concludes his message, he reminds the saints of the enduring hope found in seeking a city whose foundation and maker is God. Abel, Enoch, and Noah received the promise of eternal life because they lived in the hope of God’s promises. Abraham obeyed the word of the Lord to leave his country and go to a place that he knew not. His faith led him to accept God’s promises as true, and a greater blessing awaited him. While he lived in tents, he longed for the heavenly city promised by God. Many died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them by the word of the Lord.

The greater truth is to understand that life is no continuing city. What is found here and now will never last. All the trappings of life are temporary, temporal, and fleeting. Faith is seeing what cannot be seen. It takes great faith to see the difference between what is promised and what is seen with the eyes. The greater faith for the Christian is to seek the city that is to come, the heavenly Jerusalem. Removing the trappings of this world to embrace the hope of eternal life demands the faith to walk away from the tabernacle of flesh here to accept the body of spirit that dwells in the presence of God.

Seek the city whose maker is God. The Lord’s promises depict a city four-square and beautiful beyond imagination. It is not about the physicality of the city but the eternal promise to dwell with the Father. The temptation to live for the world here and now is a ploy of the devil to have the child of God take their eyes off the eternal city and embrace the timbers below. Joy can only be found when the heart yearns for the city that is to come. All that is here will be destroyed. What God has prepared will never be destroyed. Seek the greater city.

My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil. (Proverbs 4:20-27)

Body Parts For The Lord

God created the human body as a wonderful testimony to His divine wisdom. Each part has a role that depends on the others. Ears hear the sounds of the world, the eyes open the mind to the beauty of the creation of God, and the heart, while beating blood nearly 104,000 times a day, is a symbol of the nature of man. God created the mouth to glorify Him. Seemingly small, eyelids serve to protect the eyes and play a crucial role in keeping the windows of the soul moist. Eyelids control the amount of light reaching the eyes, and blinking provides additional protection against foreign objects. Feet serve the body for stability, mobility, and a barometer of the body.

The body is used as a metaphor to teach people about the will of God. Throughout the scriptures, God uses parts of the body to impress His word on the lives of men. The ears should incline themselves to the sayings or teachings of God, not just to hear the sound but to receive them as truth. When the word of God is taught, ears should be listening carefully to what the Lord is saying. Hearing demands action. The ears serve as sentinels for the body to act. Hearing the word of the Lord demands attention.

God’s word should always be before the eyes of the soul to give attention to God’s will. The word of God should never leave the eyes so that all that is seen is the word of God. Those words must be kept in the heart or the soul of man to permeate through life. The heart pumps blood through the body to sustain life, nurture it, and keep it healthy. Life is in the blood. God’s word is life and should flow throughout every part of the lives of His people. Like the blood in the body, the words of God must be a part of everything the Christian does, thinks, and hears. The heart must be kept with all diligence because out of it spring the issues of life.

God created the mouth to praise Him and show Him glory. A deceitful or perverse mouth does not glorify God. The Lord demands a deceitful mouth and perverse lips to be put far away from the Christian. It does not fit the holiness of the saint who seeks to season his speech with the salt of God’s word. The eyes are set on holy things. What the proverb writer declares is the importance of keeping the eyes squarely on what is in front, straight ahead, without swerving to the right or left. There is premeditation in the actions of the child of God. The course is straight and true according to the word of God.

Feet transport the body from place to place and play an important role in determining where the body winds up. As the eyes keep straight the course, the feet or the goals of man should be considered for the consequences of where they lead. All the ways of the heart must be established according to the will of God. The greatest life lesson is to remain true to one course, not turning to the right or the left. God demands singularity in the life of the Christian to keep the eyes on Jesus Christ. The need to remove one’s feet from evil is to never find oneself in a place where temptation is prominent.

God marvelously designed the body. It is the purpose of man to use the body for the glory of God. Every part is important and must be used in conjunction with the other parts to give attention to the words of God. The ears hear, the eyes see, the heart receives, and the feet guide. Where the body finds itself is how the body has responded to the words of the Lord. Remove the temptation to walk in the path of evil. Guide the body to the will of the Lord.