The Heaton File

Nevertheless, even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees, they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue, for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. (John 12:42-43)

Seeking The Wrong Praise

The admiration of others is an important part of relationships and how many people identify themselves. Goals are set early in life to become an accomplished athlete, musician, business entrepreneur, or remembered as a historical figure. Men strive for the gold ring of excellence to hear the applause of others praising who they are. They become stars and famous people with accolades of self-importance. Trophies are given, awards bestowed, names flashed across the screen, and for some, they see buildings and structures named after them. The praise of men. It can be very heady, alluring, and intoxicating.

What happens after the awards show is over, and the cleanup crews are putting everything back together? Where do the golden trophies reside? How long will a famous name be remembered? Who can identify the name inscribed on a building in generations to come? The Oscar for best actor in 1956 is long forgotten. Few will know who won the World Series in 1959. Thomas Starzl was a world-renowned doctor who, in 1963, did something very few people know about. There are myriads of buildings named after people that are long forgotten. This is the praise of men that is so powerful in life and yet easily forgotten in the next generation.

The futility of the praise of men is that it is so fleeting. The span of a man’s life is so brief, and when he dies, his memories fade into distant images of days gone by with little or no significance to the next generation. People get older and more feeble in time no matter how rich or famous they become. When older men and women try to retain their youth by looking thirty years younger, they only succeed in making themselves look ten years more foolish. The praise of men is temporary – very temporary. Nothing is lasting about fame. It flourishes for a time and then vanishes away as quickly.

It is difficult to imagine how those living when Jesus walked among them could not embrace His teachings and His message. The miracles proved beyond doubt that He was God. When He preached before the multitudes, hearts were stirred with either the passion of goodness or the zeal for hatred. There was no middle ground. Jesus was the Son of God, or He was a fraud. Among the Jewish rulers, many believed in Jesus. They accepted His teaching as divine. There was no doubt about His divine powers. His message was always a moving and challenging experience. These men believed in Jesus Christ, but they could not acknowledge any allegiance lest they fall from favor from their peers. They were unwilling to admit they believed in Jesus for fear that the Pharisees would expel them from the synagogue.

Jesus knew why the rulers would not acknowledge Him as the Son of God. They loved human praise more than the praise of God. If they confessed Christ, they would lose their influence among their fellow Jews. People would shun them and treat them as the offscouring of the world. If they wanted fame and power, they could never admit to believing Jesus was the Son of God. So, they held on to the praise of men, and when they died, the praise of men died with them. Their attempt to have praise failed. It was of no value.

Today, there are those in the world who can never devote their lives to serve the Lord as it would harm their social status, job security, or position among their friends. They deny any allegiance to being a Christian because they love the praise of men more. No one knows they are a Christian, and they want to keep it that way. Their lives become empty shells of hypocrisy, showing the world a face of social acceptance, believing that God will accept their pretense to save them. Death comes to all men, and the praise of men ends. What happens next is the tragedy of the story. The praise of men cannot save a soul from condemnation. Only the praise of God can do that. When it is too late, every heart will want to hear the Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; who loved My praise more than the praise of men.” Sadly, few will hear these words. Why? The praise of men is strong, powerful, alluring, and deceitful. The only question left to be asked is whose praise are you seeking? Men or God? Choose.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Spirit Fruit: Joy

There is a lot of sadness in the world. When Adam and Eve spent their first day outside the garden, they reflected on the gladness they had when they walked and communed with God. Sin blighted the happiness of the first couple, and now they stood alone in an uncertain world. They would find joy as they trusted in God and learned to devote their lives to Him. The struggle for humanity has always been how to answer the need for happiness. Sin presents an allurement of great pleasure as a means to obtain joy, but it never delivers on what it promises. The reason sin is so alluring is that it has a lot of joy and pleasure to it. It has an enticement that is irresistible with a promise of grandeur far beyond the norm. Sadly, what is sought for in the moment of pleasure is quickly lost. Sin never lasts.

Joy is the desire of every human being. How they find that joy is what makes a difference in their lives. Some seek after the works of the flesh to find joy. They seek pleasure in sexual immorality, impurity, and lustful pleasures, and while enjoying a temporary euphoria of gladness, it never lasts. Many lost souls live their lives with drunkenness and wild parties and find nothing at the end of the road but misery and heartache. Joy escapes them. Happiness is never found. Sadness fills the heart. Misery overshadows every part of their life. Death comes, and all hope is lost.

The fruit of the Spirit is joy because it comes from God, and it is eternal. Finding joy in the blessings of God brings gladness to the heart and promise to the soul. Life is a hard road to walk and can be filled with challenges that can overwhelm. Finding the joy of God does not take away the problems of life. Paul’s great letter of joy was written from a Roman prison cell. The book of the Bible that mentions joy more than any other is the prophet Isaiah. He lived in a time of great wickedness and turmoil, yet his message was joy and hope in God. Having the joy of the Spirit will not take cancer away, bring back a loved one, increase the bank statement or solve the world’s problems, but it changes the view. Joy brings a faith-lift to the broken heart and soothes the troubled soul.

Joy brings hope in the glory of God. It finds its worth in righteousness and the peace of God. Joy is the measure that helps the eye see the Lord, who, having not seen, is loved and worshipped with gladness. There is joy in the knowledge that sin has no dominion and that through the blood of Christ, sins are washed away. Worship is based on the joy of being a child of God addressing the Father with thanksgiving and love. Remembering the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on a Roman cross fills the heart with gladness. Singing with fellow saints fills the heart with joy. The fellowship of the body of Christ fuels the spirit of joy. Death is no longer feared when the fruit of the Spirit of joy faces the end of life with courage and hope.

Because of the joy awaiting Him, Jesus endured the cross, disregarding its shame. He faced His life and His death with the joy of the Father, and now He is seated at the right hand. Followers of Jesus will find that same joy, and when life becomes a heavy cross to disregard the pain of this world for the joys of eternal life. Joy on earth will end. Joy in Heaven will never end. Let joy reign in the heart. Joy.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

In Christ And In Him

For those seeking the blessings of God, the fellowship of spirit has always been where the covenant of God is established with the heart of man. Whether in the Garden of Eden, the Law of Moses, or the New Testament church, the Lord always provides a haven of redemption. God is a jealous God demanding the will of men bow to His glory and follow His will. This requires a relationship of obedience. When men seek to find salvation outside the bounds of God’s law, they fail to receive the blessings of the Father. Adam and Eve rebelled against the Lord’s command when they took of the forbidden fruit, breaking fellowship with God. When the nation of Israel refused to keep the Law, they were rejected by God and lost their blessings. Jesus came into the world to bring all men to the Father through one covenant, one church, one redemptive plan, and one Lord. If there are any blessings to be enjoyed with the Father, it can only be in Christ.

The importance of being in Christ is highlighted by the possibility of not being in Christ. It is a fundamental lesson of receiving blessings if one is in Christ, but if a person is not in Christ, there will be no blessings. Paul said that all spiritual blessings are in Christ and in Him. God chose His people to be in Christ before the foundation of the world. Only in Christ will the redemption through His blood be found. The inheritance of eternal life is in Him and no other. The Ephesians had trusted in Christ after hearing the word of truth, the gospel of salvation, and were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Every aspect of salvation is found in Christ and in Him.

All spiritual blessings are found in one place and one place alone – in Christ. If a person is not in Christ, they receive no blessings. Many believe in Jesus but are not in Him. It is possible to be religious and follow a pattern of worship and still not be in Christ. To be in Christ means a person has followed the will of God to do what He demands a person to be in Christ. Paul reminded the saints in Rome they were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, showing how a man enters a covenant with God. Through the grace and mercy of God, salvation is offered to all men, but not all men are willing to come into Christ. One of the most seditious teachings of Satan is to convince men that baptism is not necessary for salvation. Baptism is the avenue that puts a man into Christ, and without baptism, there is no entrance and no blessings.

Sin separates man from God, placing him outside the realm of blessings from the Father. God desires all men to come to repentance, but while He pleads for men to go in, He will not force anyone to come through the door. All spiritual blessings are in Christ. Redemption is in Him. If a man stands outside the door and does not enter into Christ, he receives no blessings, forgiveness, and hope. There is no eternal home for those who are not in Christ. Being religious does not put one in Christ. Living a good life will not place a man in Christ. Following the doctrines of men has never put a man into a covenant with God. To be in Christ demands the heart follow the will of God. A man is saved by the grace of God and the obedience of the heart to be baptized for the remission of sins. Until one is immersed in water, there are no blessings. They are not in Christ.

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. As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs that were there on the mountain. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. (2 Kings 23:14-16)

The Defilement Of Death

Josiah was eight years old when he became king in Judah, ruling thirty-one years. His life would end tragically in a battle against the Egyptians at Megiddo at the age of thirty-nine. In a world filled with the darkness of idolatry and pagan worship, Josiah was a reformer to God’s people seeking to bring the hearts of the nation back to righteousness, truth, and devotion to the true God. According to the law, he restored true worship as found in the book discovered during renovations of the Temple. Much of his reform was tearing down. He removed the idolatrous priests that served Baal and worshiped the sun, the moon, the constellations, and all the powers of the heavens. The wooden image of Asherah was removed from the Temple, taken outside the city, and burned. Josiah tore down the homes of the male and female idolatrous prostitutes who lived inside the Temple of God.  

Throughout Judah, the king tore down and destroyed the images of Baal, Asherah, Chemosh, and Milcom. When he broke down the gods’ sacred pillars and wooden images, he filled their place with human bones. Seeing the tombs on the mountain, the king took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar, and defiled it according to the word of the Lord. He executed the priests of the pagan shrines on their own altars, and he burned human bones on the altars to desecrate them. Everywhere Josiah went, he removed the idols and desecrated them with the dead bodies and remains.

The Jews and heathens both considered the body of a dead man as defiled. Under the Law of Moses, a man who touched a dead body was unclean for seven days. The Gentiles recognized the defilement of a dead body. Josiah’s action was a message both to the Jews who rejected idolatry and those who embraced the pagan rituals of the severity of rebelling against the one true God. Filling the places of idol worship with the bones of men showed the putridity of death and the consequence of rejecting God. Burning the bones of men on the altars made them unclean and unholy.

Touching a dead body was not forbidden by God for sanitary reasons. It was a lesson to show how death is the defilement of body and soul. The reason that death reigns is because of sin. Adam and Eve lived in the garden with the tree of life but when they rebelled against God, He cast them away from the tree of life and death ruled over men. The process of the body decaying in death is a testimony of how powerful the pungent stench of sin becomes in the heart of men. Josiah’s act of burning men’s bones on the altars was to show the power of God over those useless idols. The defilement of the bones highlighted the defilement of the idols.

Josiah’s act of burning men’s bones has a powerful fulfillment many centuries later when the disciples of Jesus came to His tomb early on the first day of the week. They found the tomb empty. The angel told the women who entered the tomb that Jesus has risen, and He was not there. They would find no bones. There would be no defilement. Jesus would rise on the third day so that His flesh would not see corruption. Death reigned until the resurrection of the Son of God, and then the defilement of sin was taken away. Josiah defiled the altars with the bones of men. God removed the stain of sin with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The hope for those who follow the Son of God is that death has no power and will not defile the spirit. Death is a blessing as the body embraces the bones but the soul – eternal life.

But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:23-24)

Religion On Campus Fades

The heading in a recent news article reflected the trend that most U.S. adults avoid church, and college students are becoming increasingly disassociated with “organized religion.” Young people suggest religion has not played a significant role in their lives as they begin to form their opinions of life. The changing world values and technologies of the modern age have shifted the attention of young minds away from the values of their upbringing to the desires of self-expression, rejection of establishment, and buying into a culture bent on canceling anything that offends. This new trend is an old path with a fresh coat of asphalt. In the 60s, the same song filled the airways with the hippie movement and protested against the Vietnam war. Women’s liberation, Black Panther, social injustice, and defiance against law and order were the mantra of the day fighting against the establishment. Now the grandchildren of that lost generation are putting on the same clothes with a different style.

There is an appeal for “religious organizations” to adapt to the needs of young people. According to James Cavendish, a University of South Florida sociology professor, churches need to be “less emphatic and less absolutist in its religious pronouncement about issues, whether it be abortion or sexuality,” according to James Cavendish, a University of South Florida sociology professor. There is agreement that what are termed “religious organizations” need to adapt to the needs of young people because they have never represented the pattern of the New Testament church. All of the denominations (Protestant churches) have become social, political, and moral bastions of self-serving, accepting institutions catering to the whims and notions of the masses. Instead of men adapting to the word of God, the will of God must bend to the will of men. That is total nonsense (if I may be so bold).

The popular saying among many is they are “not religious, but they are spiritual.” Religion has become a melting pot of blending the spiritual notions of carnal desires to become the new gods of modern America. It is impossible to be a follower of Jesus Christ and believe abortion is a right. The Bible teaches God created man in His own image, and when a woman has an abortion, she commits murder. Those who argue against this do not defend their belief with scripture but with their own opinions. Accepting sexuality at any level is what society demands. Homosexuality (and all of its cousins) is condemned throughout scripture, but “religious organizations” bow down to the social pressures to accept the perversion as viewed by God. It must be understood that sexual intimacy outside of marriage is condemned, infidelity is condemned, and men with men and women with women is condemned. That is what God says. But that is not the opinions of the liberated, spiritually conscience minds of those who are not religious.

Fundamental to the failure of the modern view of religion is that men have created their own totems of what they want to worship. Instead of men drawing themselves to the Lord God, they demand God come down to their level and become the god of human wisdom. The angels laugh at the absurdity of man’s plight. Created higher than humankind, the angels worship God as sovereign and supreme. Jesus tells a woman from Samaria that worship is based on a clear, demonstrative, and power model: worship must be according to truth, and it must be according to spirit. Anything less is vain worship.

The newest polls showing a decline of worshipers is not new. When men begin to fill their hearts with their own self-deluded grandeur and worth, there is no room for God. They will boast in their arrogance until they die, and then they will discover that God must be worshiped according to spirit and truth. It is a sad commentary to see so many souls lost in the wilderness of pride, believing they are their own gods. Two things are certain: there is a God, and you are not him.

Joshua turned back at that time and took Hazor, and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor was formerly the head of all those kingdoms. And they struck all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them. There was none left breathing. Then he burned Hazor with fire. So all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua took and struck with the edge of the sword. He utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded. But as for the cities that stood on their mounds, Israel burned none of them, except Hazor only, which Joshua burned. And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the children of Israel took as booty for themselves; but they struck every man with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they left none breathing. As the LORD had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses. (Joshua 11:10-15)

Leaving Nothing Undone

The northern conquest of Canaan was a hard-fought and bloody campaign. Israel faced insurmountable odds with their enemies numbering as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots. The Lord told Joshua not to be afraid when he saw the vast armies standing before him as victory would be brought by the hand of God for Israel. All of the kings camped against Israel, and their armies were decimated as the people of God attacked their enemies until they left none of them remaining. Joshua hamstrung all the horses and burned the chariots with fire. The Israelites completely destroyed every living thing in the city, leaving no survivors. Not a single person was spared. And then Joshua burned the city.

When Moses wrote the final chapter of the history of Israel and the law of the Lord for the nation, he reminded the people that whatever God had commanded them to do when they entered the land must be obeyed. He warned them not to add to or take away from the word of the Lord. Part of those commands included the will of the Lord to destroy the idolatrous people of the land and let nothing that breathes remain alive. God commanded His people to utterly destroy the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite. Joshua fulfilled the word of the Lord to the letter of the law.

It is hard to see God’s people slaughtering every human being, leaving no survivors. Not a single person was spared. Why did Israel do this? The word of the Lord demanded it. It was the fulfillment of the word to Abraham concerning the iniquity of the Amorites, and judgment was passed upon an ungodly, idolatrous, and rebellious people. Joshua left nothing undone. He did not go outside the bounds of God’s law, presume to know more than God by refusing to destroy all the people or change the word of the will of the Lord. Joshua followed the word of the Lord from a heart believing God’s righteous judgment was the right thing to do. Many years later, Saul would refuse to do what God said, and he lost his kingdom.

The Bible contains the mind of God, and on every page are the instructions of the Divine to the human heart. All scripture is inspired through the Spirit and must be applied in its proper place. The Law of Moses have been stricken from the pages of authority for salvation. Jesus Christ is Lord, and His will is the authority for salvation. Nothing can be left undone when it comes to what a man must do to be saved. When men refuse to obey the word of the Lord, they find themselves like King Saul, without the blessing of God. The heart must have the courage of Joshua to do all that the Lord commands. Obedience is necessary without exceptions, changes, or revisions to the word of the Lord. Joshua did as he was told, carefully obeying all the commands that the Lord had given to Moses. Can we do any less today?

Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” (Acts 9:10)

Here I Am Lord

The apostle Paul is one of the great characters of scripture taking center stage for the volume of material preserved in the New Testament. He was an incredible missionary for the kingdom of God. His travels are traced through the book of Acts as he and his companions brave the elements, face opposition, suffer persecution and baptize multitudes of men and women, establishing churches throughout the Roman Empire. Paul’s conversion was a measure of the grace of God as he was a chosen vessel of the Lord. Before he became a Christian, another man played a significant role in the conversion of Saul of Tarsus.

There was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. When Saul of Tarsus left Jerusalem with letters from the high priest to the synagogue of Damascus, he was looking for men like Ananias. He planned to take them and throw them into prison in Jerusalem. After Saul arrived in the city, the Lord came to Ananias in a vision. When God called out to Ananias in the vision, the disciple of the Lord said, “Here I am, Lord.” It may seem a trivial thing, but the answer of this devout disciple was the key to the fulfillment of God’s plan for Saul of Tarsus. Ananias knew the voice of God, and he was ready to obey at a moment’s notice. It is unknown if this had ever happened before for the disciple, but he would be asked to do a dangerous yet remarkable work.

The Lord tells Ananias that Saul has come to Damascus but is staying at the house of another disciple of Christ named Judas. This man lives on a street called Straight, and Saul is there praying. In a vision, the Lord tells Saul that Ananias is coming to speak with him and restore his sight after being blinded outside the city. Ananias responds to the Lord’s request with an appeal to the nature of Saul’s work and how much harm he has done to the saints in Jerusalem. The Lord reassures Ananias that Saul is no longer a threat and will be a chosen vessel for the kingdom of God. Ananias immediately goes to the house of Judas, and the rest is history.

What is important to see about Ananias is he is a disciple of Christ ready to hear the voice of God and respond to the call of duty. He was not the first that received this type of call. The Lord called Abraham to sacrifice his only begotten son, and Abraham answered, “Here I am.” The angel of the Lord spoke to Jacob in a dream, and the grandson of Abraham said, “Here I am.” From the midst of the burning bush, the Lord called out, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Young Samuel was in the house of Eli, the High Priest when God called out to him four times, and the answer of the young lad was, “Here I am.” Isaiah the prophet heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” It was Isaiah who said, “Here am I. Send me.” In all of these instances, God calls His servants, and they respond with a willing heart and a ready hand. Saul’s conversion was by the grace of God and obedience of an honest heart to the word of the Lord. The agency of his becoming a Christian was a man who, when he heard the voice of the Lord, stood ready to work. Ananias knew the voice of God and obeyed the call to face a challenging task, fully trusting in the Lord.

The Lord continues to speak to the hearts of men today through His word. What is needed more than ever are saints who are listening for the voice of the Shepherd and who are willing to say to Him, “Here am I.” Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son, and he did. Moses became the leader of the nation of Israel establishing the law. The prophets answered the clarion call of the Divine, with many dying for that message. Twelve men answered the call of Jesus to follow Him. Men and women who listen for the word of God will respond with the willing heart to share the good news of Christ with people like Saul of Tarsus or Rahab the harlot or Simon the sorcerer and a group of women by a riverbank and a black man from Ethiopia. Here am I? Are you listening? Better yet – are you ready to work?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

Spirit Fruit – Love

The foundation of humanity has always been the essence of love. Creation was established through love as the Creator formed the perfect union of a man and woman for His glory. Adam immediately recognized the beauty of the creation before him when God brought the woman to him. He knew she would be a part of him as the union of their souls was united in the bond of marriage. Love was in its infancy, but it would fuel the relationships of humanity and the bond between God and man. Sin destroyed the nature of love as designed by God. Through the word of God, love can find its divine worth to rekindle the need of love for God, love for a spouse, and love for others.

Love is a multifaceted and complex word defined in many ways but at its root it means to have an affection for and show goodwill. The nature of love is essential to the human soul. Developing love becomes how relationships are made and kept. Central the character of love is to never seek anything but the highest good for another. True love removes selfishness, exalting the needs of others above self. Many parts of love come naturally, but more complex avenues of love must be learned.

The Holy Spirit is a blessing given to every Christian when they obey the gospel of Christ. Every disciple enjoys the gift of the Holy Spirit and enjoys all the blessings received from the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is the character of righteousness produced within the godly spirit by the influence of the Spirit of God. Foremost in the fruit of Spirit is love. It does not seem to be a coincidence that when Paul defines the fruits of the Spirit, it begins with love. Walking in the Spirit and being led by the Spirit starts with love. The other fruits of the Spirit come from the foundation of love.

What is unique about love is that while it is an amazing feeling and experience, it can only be known from the action it prompts. God loved the world, but He showed His love by sending Jesus to die for all men. If a man tells his wife he loves her but never shows it; love is vain. Love is defined by the manner it expresses itself to another. The Bible is full of examples of God’s love for man. The Lord wants men to love Him, which is found when God’s commands are kept. Throughout scripture, the Lord admonishes His people to show their love by obeying His word. The Christian’s love is expressed in obedience.

The disciple of Christ must show their love for God and His Son, Jesus Christ, with something more than lip service. Loving others is a part of the character of the Christian, including loving enemies. Husbands and wives are to love one another as God designed the home, including loving the children. Loving others takes courage and faith. This kind of love does not come automatically and without effort. The fruit of the Spirit is where the more profound kind of love comes from. Without spending time in the word of the Spirit (the Bible), love will not be defined. If love is a fruit of the Spirit, love must come from the Spirit. The Holy Spirit teaches in His Word the divine will of love, and as the Spirit leads a man, he will find the fruit of love expressed in his life. Finding the fruit of the Spirit in love will remove the guilt of sin, depression of the soul, prejudice of others, the anxiety of the present, and fill the heart with great confidence and courage.

There is a great need for the people of God to get into the fruit of the Spirit and begin each day with love. Jesus taught in the mountain sermon the test of one’s character is the fruit he bears. The person of God is a person whose heart is directed by love. It must be the beginning. Everything that follows must be fused with a love for God and others. When the fruit of the Spirit is living and active in the life of a Christian, they will bear fruits of love in their lives. Let the Spirit lead with love.

In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” Now all the king’s wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. (Daniel 5:5-8)

Four Words On A Wall

The feast seemed to be going well. It was a grand affair for a thousand of the king’s nobles filled with wine, women, and merriment. Everything was going along so well; the king ordered the gold and silver vessels his predecessor had taken from the temple in Jerusalem to be brought and used for the debauchery. Quickly, the servants went to the storehouse, gathered all the Jewish vessels together, and brought them to the grand hall. His lords, wives, and concubines filled the vessels with wine and continued the drunken feast with great enthusiasm. As they lifted up the vessels of Jehovah, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. It was a time of extravagant feasting as the carnal spirits of ungodliness filled the hall.

In the same hour of the abomination of Belshazzar, the fingers of a man’s hand wrote upon the wall opposite the lampstand. The king saw part of the hand that wrote the words. His face turned pale with fright. His knees knocked together in fear, and his legs gave way beneath him. He demanded his astrologers, wise men, and soothsayers to declare the meaning of the words. The king promised a reward to any man who could tell the meaning of the words purple and gold and third place in the kingdom. All attempts to read the words failed, and the king was left without an answer.

Hearing what had happened, the Queen comes to the hall to find the king trembling with great fear. She assured him there was a man in the kingdom with whom the spirit of the Holy God was upon who could tell the meaning of the words. Daniel was called to tell the interpretation of the words “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin,” meaning the king the Holy God whose vessels the king had defiled had numbered the days of his kingdom, and it was at an end. Further, the kingdom of Belshazzar would be given to the Medes and Persians because the king had been weighed in the balance and had not measured up to the grace of God. Daniel received the honor promised by Belshazzar, but that night Darius the Mede was already outside the city of Babylon. In the same night, the Medes entered the city and killed Belshazzar, just as the word of the Lord had said.

There is a contrast of worldly views found in the story of Belshazzar and the writing on the wall. On one side is the carnal pursuits of the fleshly nature fulfilled in the debauchery of the feast. It was a feast filled with drunkenness, sexual immorality, lewdness, and blasphemy. None of those gathered had a thought of what tomorrow would bring. They lived for the moment. In the midst of their frivolity, a sign was given to remind them of who was in charge of the world. Ironically, all the wisdom of Babylon gathered in one room could make no sense of its meaning. The best and brightest of the kingdom were oblivious to interpreting and explaining the meaning of the words. Their passions were centered upon their self-indulgence. Trying to understand four words escaped them. They were doomed and did not know it.

Daniel is on the other side of the story. The words were not complicated or hard to understand, but the need was to see them from God’s mind. Belshazzar was king of Babylon, but the Holy God of Israel, whose vessels the king had defiled, was the Creator of the universe holding the king’s breath in His hand. God owned all the king’s ways, and the king did not glorify the true God. All the wisdom of Babylon or the world could not make sense of four words. The wisdom of man is useless in the face of the divine word. It took a humble servant of the Lord to explain the meaning of the words. Daniel showed an incredible amount of courage to tell the king – to his face – his kingdom was over, and he would die.

The world is filled with souls who go through life enjoying the sensual joys of fleshly indulgence with no care or concern for God. All the wisdom of humanity will never bring them true happiness, answer the more profound questions of the human equation, or promise anything of value. Like Babylon’s knowledge failed as it faced the word of God, desperate hearts seeking worth in themselves will fail. God’s word is not four words but the message of a graceful God found in the Bible. Only when men turn to the Creator and listen to His words can happiness in life be found. Who do you follow? The wise men of the world or the voice of God?

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

Is There Life On Other Planets?

The news recently rekindled an age-old question of flying saucers, UFOs, and the quest to find life on other planets. Presently, NASA’s Perseverance rover is on the planet Mars to collect samples and find evidence of ancient life. Missions to Mars have taken place since 1965, with plans to launch manned flights to the lunar south pole by 2024 as proving ground for strategies to reach Mars. Neil Armstrong found when he first stepped foot on the Moon the same thing when vehicles landed on Mars – no extraterrestrial beings live there. Scientists believe they will find evidence of life on the planets to understand the origins of the Earth, which is contrary since the only life to be seen is on Earth.

When Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon’s surface, it was a remarkable feat of human engineering. Since 1969, other men have walked on the Moon with Gene Cernan, the last man to stand on the lunar surface in 1972. Mars is the next closest planet to land vehicles upon but requires nearly seven months to arrive on the surface when Mars and Earth align, allowing for a quicker and more efficient journey (occurring every 26 months). While the pictures coming back from the surface of Mars are outstanding, there are no primitive buildings, smiling Martians, and evidence of life. It is a barren, frigid, inhospitable world half the size of Earth.

Is there life on other planets? Will the day come when, like early explorers, new lands and new peoples are found dotting the landscape of the vast tapestry of the star-filled heavens? Long before the advent of Flash Gordon’s Hollywood productions, My Favorite Martian, Star Wars, and Star Trek, men have imagined aliens from the heavens landing on Earth. In 1938, Orson Welles scared the world with his rendition of the War of the Worlds, suggesting Martians had landed on Earth terrorizing the world. Sightings of unidentified flying objects find their way into the news, fueling speculation the government is hiding a covert program of extraterrestrial beings used for science studies. Many believe the day will come that space travel will be as common as going to the store for milk.

The Bible is a book that answers many questions, and it addresses the question of whether there is life on other planets. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. Whatever is seen in the sky was made by the hand of the Divine. The Moon and Mars did not take billions of years to form. They were created at the instant the Creator spoke. Moses reveals that when creation was finished, God formed man from the dust of the ground (Earth) and then took a rib from the first man and created the woman. Adam’s name means “red earth.” Paul will later tell the saints in Corinth that Adam was the “first man” and that he was “of the earth, made of dust.” Whatever beings are in the universe were created by God.  Since Adam was the first, all beings are human or in Adam’s image. The first time a human left the bounds of Earth to travel into space was in 1961 when Soviet pilot and cosmonaut, Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin, entered the void above the circle of the Earth. He was not a Martian or a being from another planet. The search for life on other planets is an exercise in futility because God created Adam as the first and all other creatures follow in his similitude.

A final reason there are no extraterrestrial beings running around the universe is found in the words of Jesus. He told Nicodemus that God so loved the world – limiting the geography of God’s grace. Jesus came to Earth to become a man and die for the sins of the world, not for Moon-people, Martians, or Klingons. If God created all that is in the universe and Jesus only came to Earth to die for humankind, there are no other civilizations on planets spread throughout the universe. UFOs do exist, but only in the context; they are flying objects that are not identified. It may do well to consider governments’ secrets creating machines that are unknown to the public (stealth technology, for example). One thing is sure about UFOs – they do not have little green creatures that look like an octopus on steroids flying them. The suspicion is they are human-made, earthy, and secret. Look to God. He is real.