The Heaton File

Now two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him. And one woman said, “O my lord, this woman and I dwell in the same house; and I gave birth while she was in the house. Then it happened, the third day after I had given birth, that this woman also gave birth. And we were together; no one was with us in the house, except the two of us in the house. And this woman’s son died in the night because she lay on him. So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I rose in the morning to nurse my son, there he was, dead. But when I had examined him in the morning, indeed, he was not my son whom I had borne.”

Then the other woman said, “No! But the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” And the first woman said, “No! But the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king.

And the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son, who lives, and your son is the dead one’; and the other says, ‘No! But your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’ ” Then the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to one, and half to the other.”

Then the woman whose son was living spoke to the king, for she yearned with compassion for her son; and she said, “O my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him!” But the other said, “Let him be neither mine nor yours, but divide him.” So the king answered and said, “Give the first woman the living child, and by no means kill him; she is his mother.”

And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had rendered; and they feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice. (1 Kings 3:16-28)

Show The Wisdom Of God In Your Life

After the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon of Israel, she proclaimed the wisdom of Solomon exceeded his fame and the half had not been told of his vast library of knowledge. The scriptures reveal the wisdom of Solomon was a gift from the Lord to bless the new king in his reign over the kingdom of God. No story best illustrates this impression than early in his reign two women come before the king claiming the other had taken their child. Two prostitutes had given birth to sons but one of the children died in the night. One harlot accused the other of taking her dead son and replacing her live son with the deceased. The second harlot denied the charge. It would seem an impossible task to know the truth as one accused the other and there was no defense.

Solomon understood the paternal love of a mother and knew the heart of a good woman would not allow her son to die. Demanding a sword brought, the king threatened to kill the remaining son. The true mother would give her life for her son and begged the king to spare the boy. Immediately the evil harlot permitted to kill the son showing her deception and deceit. Solomon commanded the child to be given to his mother because he could see the true love of a mother in her tears.

The matter of the two harlots had a great impact on the people of Israel when they heard of Solomon’s decision. His wisdom impressed the people with great awe and admiration for his knowledge to see the treachery of the one harlot and to know the love of a true mother. They saw the wisdom of God was in Solomon in how he handled the affair. This story is a clear indication of his divine wisdom granted to him by the power of God. When the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night and asked the king what he desired most, Solomon asked for an understanding heart to judge the people, to discern between good and evil, and to give glory to God. His request was granted along with great riches and honor. He will always be remembered as the wisest of all men who possessed great knowledge.

No man is blessed with the measure of divine knowledge as Solomon. When Solomon died, that knowledge died with him. During the early days of the church, the gifts of the Holy Spirit included wisdom, knowledge, and faith. These gifts would have secured the place of the growing church to understand the revealed word of God but they also came to an end. Paul reminded the Roman saints that faith would come through knowledge and that knowledge would come from the word of God. Divine knowledge does not come through dreams or special gifts by the finger of God. What a Christian knows today comes through the study of the word of God.

Solomon possessed special wisdom granted to him through the power of God. That knowledge was given to the king without the requirement of study and examination. The Bible is the fully revealed word of God and any person can have greater knowledge than Solomon when they spend the time to know the will of the Father. All of the mysteries of human history are unfolded in the pages of holy writ. God explains how the world came into existence, why man was created, what his purpose in life is all about, and why God loved the world so much to give a cruel and dark world His only begotten Son. Redemption fills the pages of the Old and New Testament. Mercy, grace, and love permeate every crevice of scripture. The image of Jesus Christ is woven within the fabric of every tapestry of God’s word. No book is so complete, so full and so needful for the needs of men than the book of books called the Bible.

It is said that Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived. That is not true. The man that comes to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His redeeming love becomes the wisest man that lives. When the story of Jesus Christ changes the heart of a man to live a fully devoted, sanctified, dedicated, and purposed life, that man is wise. No message is greater than the cross of Jesus. Solomon dividing a baby boy was a stroke of genius but the condemned man on a cross outside Jerusalem is the message of divine forgiveness. The people were in awe of Solomon because they could see the wisdom of God in his life. What the world needs to see in the Christian is the wisdom of God.

There was a time the people of God were known for their knowledge of the Bible. Sadly, those days are gone. Not only has this weakened the church in many places but the world is not in awe at the lives of those who profess to be Christians. Solomon’s wisdom made an impression on the people. The life of a true Christian should have an impact on the lives of those who see the wisdom of God in their lives. Can the world see you as a husband who serves God or a wife that glorifies the Lord in your life? As parents, are you devoted to showing Christ to your children so that others can see the wisdom of God in your home? When you go to work each day, do your fellow laborers know that you are a faithful Christian showing the wisdom of God in your work? When you post on Facebook and various social mediums, does the light of Christ show your understanding of the word of God? Solomon was a wise man. You must be a wiser person. God has given you a book and He expects you to read it and to know it. It will not come through dreams, gifts, or osmosis. Your level of knowledge of God’s word depends on how much energy you expend to know what the Bible says. You cannot know what you do not know. Faith will always come from hearing the word of God. Seek wisdom. Be wiser than Solomon. Let the world see the glory of God in your life through your knowledge of His word.

But I acted for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles among whom they were, in whose sight I had made Myself known to them, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. (Ezekiel 20:9)

For My Name’s Sake

The third commandment given to Moses by the Lord at Sinai warned against profaning the name of God. Taking the name of the Lord in vain was punishable by death. The people who heard a man curse the name of God would put their hands on his head and all the congregation would stone him to death. It was a grievous sin to worship idols and to fall down before carved images and taking the name of God in vain was a capital offense deserving of execution. Using God’s name in vain can be viewed with disregard but one of the most important elements to the character of the Lord is the sanctity of His name.

During the captivity of Israel in Babylon, Ezekiel the prophet explained the purpose of the bondage of God’s people in a foreign land. In telling the history of the children of Abraham, Ezekiel reminds the captives of the patience and longsuffering of God towards the people as they left Egypt and began their march to the land promised to Abraham. The forty years of wilderness wanderings came as a result of the rebellion of Israel to obey the word of the Lord. God had pleaded with His people to give up their idols of Egypt but they refused. He poured out His fury and His anger upon the nation. At Sinai, the Lord was going to utterly destroy the people had it not been for the intercession of Moses. Throughout the next forty years, the people murmured, complained, rebelled, and acted in every rebellious manner imaginable and through it all God’s love and mercy allowed the people to live. Ezekiel is reminding the captives in Babylon that their salvation was not because of their worth that God did those things. Everything God did for Israel was for His name’s sake.

Every action of God is for the name of the Lord; it is not for the glory of man. Much of what the Lord did for and against Israel had as much to do with the impact on others as upon the Hebrews. The Lord acted to protect the honor of His name not allowing shame to be brought on His name among the surrounding nations. Delivering the Hebrews from Egypt brought fear to the citizens of Jericho forty years later. Rahab knew the Lord had given the land to Israel and the terror of them had made the inhabitants fearful of the power of the one who dried up the water of the Red Sea and defeated the kings of the Amorites. God’s name was glorified by His power but the action of the Israelites brought shame to the name of God. Now in captivity, Ezekiel reminds the people allowing Babylon to enter the city of Jerusalem and destroy the temple was by the will of the Lord and for the glory of God.

There is a powerful lesson for the nation of God in the church to realize the influence of the lives of His people will either bring honor to the name of the Lord or dishonor. God acts in a way that brings glory to His name so that His name will be exalted among all people. No matter what man does, God’s name will be exalted on high. However, the character of the person of God can impact the name of God by the way they act, how they talk, the manner of the dress (or lack thereof), and the attitudes of the heart seen by the world. The church is heavily impacted by the lives of members who live like the world because they bring shame and reproach to the name of God. The Lord acts for the glory of His name. All of those who call upon His name should wear His name in purity, nobility, and honesty. The name Christian bears the name of God’s Son. No man or woman should call themselves a Christian if they are not willing to live up to the name that is to be holy, sacred, and revered. God acts for His name’s sake. Let my life reflect that honor.

Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart! They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways. You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently. Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes! Then I would not be ashamed when I look into all Your commandments. I will praise You with uprightness of heart when I learn Your righteous judgments. I will keep Your statutes; oh, do not forsake me utterly! (Psalm 119:1-8)

Blessed In The Word

Words are the vehicles that move thoughts from the mind of God to the heart of a man. Without the word, humanity would be in darkness to the character, nature, and disposition of its Creator. The natural world testifies to the majesty of a grand designer but it cannot tell what the will of the Father will be for the good of men. Only when words are given from the mouth of God does man realize what he is and how much the Father loves and cares for him. He learns this from the law of the Lord, His commandments, the statues of righteousness, and the judgments of God. Knowledge comes from listening to the word of the Lord. All the problems of humanity come from a lack of respect for the word of God. Every word given by the Lord is for the good and perfect well-being of a man’s heart.

Walking in the way of the Lord brings peace and security. The word of God is the knowledge the Creator gives to His creation so that he can understand why he is made in the image of the Divine. When man was created, he was formed of the dust of the ground infused with an eternal presence that will never cease. This moral character must be guided by the principles of its Creator and the only way a man will find happiness is to live in such a way as he was designed. Following the instructions of the Lord gives man integrity. Obeying the will of the Lord will keep him from harm and destruction. This is how God has created all men.

Evil is the nature of rebellion to the word of God. As Lawgiver, the Lord determines what is right and what is wrong. He has that inherent right as Creator to design man for a specific purpose and when His creation refuses to follow the divine pattern, consequences will come. The rebellion of men is like the clay crying out to the potter who formed it. God has all power and authority established through His word to direct the steps of man. Everyone has been charged to keep the commandments of God carefully so they will find happiness in life. Joyful people are those who obey the will of the Lord by keeping His word.

Life is about comparing the heart with the word of God. Measuring personal happiness by the frailties of life will only bring heartache and disappointment. Man was created as a dependent creature needing the guidance of God to determine his steps. Outside these boundaries is where failure awaits because it is not the will of the Father. Learning the righteous character of God’s word is where fulfillment is found. The word is life and life is in the word. Without the word in the heart, there will be no hope, no promise, and no joy. The greatest message of the word of God is that He will never give up on man. God will not forsake those who seek Him. Following the word of God will put a man in a place of security for the grace of God to guide his feet to the eternal throne of redemption. Those who dwell in the word will be blessed – now and in the world to come. Get into the word. You will find yourself and you will find God.

Through the Lord’s mercies, we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. (Lamentations 3:22-26)

It Is Good

The book of Lamentations is a series of five lyric poems lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem yet interspersed with the abundance of hope for Israel. There will be terrible calamities that fall upon Israel because of their disobedience and disloyalty to the Lord God as He brings judgments against the rebellious nation. The language is hard, the message unyielding and the consequences are written in the stone of God’s wrath. When the Chaldeans come against Israel it will be the terrible day of the Lord. While the immense power of the anger of the Lord is brought to bear against His people, a kernel of hope is always found in the message to remind the people of the love, mercy, and grace of a kind Father. Israel will spend seven decades in captivity but it will come to an end because God will bring His people back. The wrath of God is poured out but measured by the hope in the salvation of the Lord for those who trust in Him.

Jeremiah is called the “weeping prophet” for good cause. There was much to mourn as the people of God plunged deeper into idolatry, rebellion, and a stubborn refusal to return to the Lord. The message of hope also abounds in the writings of the prophets. God was not a cosmic bully that reveled in destroying what He had created for His glory. Israel was going to suffer many things from the hand of God for their disobedience and through that destruction, the love of God would be shown to the world. The mercy of God was everlasting in sparing Adam and Eve from destruction, saving Noah and seven others from the flood, and redeeming Israel from total annihilation. God is a compassionate Creator as much as He is a wrathful avenger against unrighteousness. Each day is a fresh dawn of God’s mercy and love. It the midst of trials and turmoil, there is hope in God.

God never fails His people but His people often fail Him. When they refuse to put their trust in Him alone relying on their own wisdom, they will find no hope. Making God the inheritance of the heart is establishing the will of God as the portion of life that will give hope in the time of despair. Hope comes from putting the Lord first in life. Life becomes good when the heart trusts in the way of the Lord. Faithful people will search for the Lord in every part of their life. During the dark days of Israel when Babylon took them off to a foreign land, God was still among His people. Men like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah knew the Lord was good and they put their trust in Him. They waited on the power of God to work in their lives. Every part of their life sought to understand the word of the Lord. They were in a captive land but they lived in hope with the promise of God.

Jeremiah reminds the people of God that it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. This will come about in His time, in His way, and according to His will. Hope is built upon the patient endurance of a soul at ease with the salvation from the Lord. In a world of chaos, the soul of God’s children can rest assured that He still reigns, He still rules and all the affairs of life are measured by the hand of Him who spans the universe with ease. There is nothing to fear. The world cannot change the will of God. No man will find peace outside of Christ. The joy of salvation is waiting for His will to be completed. This is a good thing. It is good to hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. (2 Corinthians 4:7-10)

United We Stand In Christ

It is certain the apostle Paul could never imagine the impact of a virus upon the church but he understood something of a greater magnitude than anything facing the church today. The COVID-19 virus has turned the world upside down. Economies are struggling with the impact of businesses closed or learning to work within a masked and social distancing mandate. Society has shifted with a new normal that find children wearing a mask to school, churches reorganizing assemblies to accommodate audiences, medical facilities heavily regulated with strict guidelines, grieving families unable to hold funerals for loved ones, and a political tsunami sweeping the nation with an odious rhetoric of division. These are troubled times.

Paul lived in troubled times. It was not a virus. The main problem that hindered the apostle to the Gentiles was the persecution from the religious zealots of Judaism and the oppressive hand of the Roman government either politically motivated or by the false gods of idolatry opposing the preaching of Christ. He faced a world divided, confused, and rebellious and filled with tyranny no generation today has ever experienced. Pundits of fear try to convince the present world that things are worse than ever before. They do not realize how well they have it. This can be especially true for the people of God who believe the present crisis is more than they can handle. The truth remains there are periods of history that are worse than others and no generation has the market cornered for the most troublesome times. It is not such much the events that shape the world but the way men react to events of the world. This is true with the COVID virus.

Do you feel hard-pressed on every side and perplexed by the present distress? Some may feel persecuted under the social conditions imposed by the government. With all the mandates and restrictions a person can feel knocked down all around. There can be an overwhelming feeling of despair and downtrodden in spirit. The apostle Paul appears over two thousand years of history and asks the people of God, “What is your problem?” The world the apostle lived in was filled with many troubles but he was not crushed. Why? He did not allow the troubles to trouble him. There were times of perplexity and confusion and again the apostle Paul was not driven to despair but taken to the throne of God. He knew who was in control of the chaotic world he lived and it was not the Jews or the Roman government. Christians were hunted down and yet they did not abandon their faith. The conditions the early church faced did not destroy them.

Change the channel to the modern-day – why has COVID caused problems in the lives of God’s people? Has their faith been challenged? Are the troubles of our day making it hard for the people of God to remain faithful? God’s people are not crushed, they are not in despair and forsaken and nothing should destroy them because God still reigns, rules and His will continue to hold the world together. If there is a time for the church to be stronger – that time is now. This is a time to be united. There is a need to gather as one united with a common purpose and single cause. The virus will end one day but the church will not. Let the church of Jesus Christ let the world know that God rules and His kingdom is the house of God filled with devoted and faithful people. We shall see the King one day. Let the King see His subjects brave and true. May the Lord see His people united as one under the banner of courage.

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3)

It’s Not Hard To Be A Christian

God created a world in perfection and beauty. Everything touched by the hand of God was the highest expression of His glory, His majesty, and His wisdom. Creating the world, the Lord made a perfect union between light, energy, space, and matter that in its own right was perfectly matched and placed in its exact order. When the man was formed from the dust of the ground and the woman taken from the side of Adam, the family became a perfect union of two creations fitted for one another. God placed the man in a garden that suited every need he had with the provisions of taking of every fruit of the trees except one. There was nothing harsh about the conditions set forth by God or oppressive that would punish man. Everything was provided for the good of man. At the time of the garden, there was only one tree man was not permitted to eat and that became the downfall of humanity.

Before Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, what did they lack? What had God denied them? Were the commandments of God too strict for them and did the Lord impose too harsh a law upon His creation? A cursory examination of the story finds there was nothing hard or difficult for Adam and Eve to understand and it was not a law that was complex in its meaning and consequence. If they ate of the forbidden fruit, they would die. They ate of the forbidden fruit and they died – first spiritually and then physically because they lost the garden. What Adam and Eve gave up was everything good God planned for them. After the fall of man and his expulsion from the garden, life was more difficult and harsher but the commandments were not harder or impossible to keep.

What time in history has the Lord demanded more of man than he could deliver? Outside the garden, conditions would be more severe but if man could not keep the commandments of God in the perfect world of Eden he would struggle with keeping the commandments of the Lord outside the garden. The Lord did not impose impossible commandments upon the people of Noah’s day yet everyone died in the flood except eight souls. During the days of Abraham, which laws were too difficult to understand and obey? Abraham did not think anything God asked of him was impossible; even when he was asked to sacrifice his only son. The children of Israel were given a law written down in the book of Moses. Which one of the commands were the Hebrews unable to keep? Only the ones they did not want to follow. There was nothing in the Law of Moses that was a burden for the people to follow.

Jesus came and died for all men teaching the world to obey the Father and follow after His will. Which of the commandments of Christ (from the Father) did He give the world that is burdensome? There is nothing God has asked a man to do today that he cannot do. Men act as if God has given them something they cannot do. A father can ask more of his children at times. The employer may expect more of his workers than can be done. There can be expectations from the world that men can never achieve but there is never a time that God has commanded a man to obey His will that any man could not follow. The law of God is not burdensome. It is not impossible to follow. The Lord has not asked any person to do something or to live in such a manner they cannot follow through. All the commandments of God are for the good of man.

Too many men act as if they cannot follow the will of God because it is impossible. With God all things are possible. Each command of the Lord is structured to bring out the best of a person and to show the beauty of God’s creation. Commandment keeping shows love for the Father. Refusing to keep the commandments of God shows distrust and disloyalty to Christ. If a man says he loves God he is a man who is willingly subject to all the commands of God. There are no complaints or misgivings of what the Lord demands. Obedience is open and free and willing to go however far the measures required. There is not one soul who will stand before God in judgment and claim the commandments of the Lord were too hard to follow. They will know at that moment that God expected nothing more than what a man could do if he was willing. Sadly, most men will realize too late how wonderful the commandments of God were for their lives and their eternal souls. Love God. Keep His commandments. All of them. It is a good thing.

How that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets. (Ephesians 3:3-5)

The Joy Of Reading

There is a fundamental part of life that almost everyone takes for granted: the ability to read. Few if any take thought over the power of being able to read although for many cultures this is not the case. There was a time in years past that many people did not know how to read. Public education was not common and any knowledge children gained was from working on the farm or in industrial mills in large cities. When America was largely an agricultural community, schools where a part of every community but few were able to spend time away from the farm to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic (more commonly referred to as the three “R’s”.)

With public education compulsory, reading is a gift that is as normal as breathing and yet the most underrated ability used by man. One of the most significant inventions in the history of humanity was Guttenberg’s printing press in 1436. It allowed for the printed word to more easily produced including the publication of the Bible but in this time, few could read and fewer could read the language of the Bible: Latin. Through the years (and under great persecution), the Bible was printed in English and other languages to where it is the most read book in the world today translated into every known language. It is also the least-read book in the world.

The advent of technology has blessed the world with incredible inventions. In the digital age, the printed word has fallen on hard times. Bookstores have closed, and newspapers in print struggle to stay profitable and children grow up seldom opening a book to read. The days when libraries teemed with curious seekers of knowledge are gone. Reading is a byword that allows for the commerce of business and entertainment to prosper but the reading of the Bible is becoming a lost art. Churches are filled with people who sit passively listening to the preacher without opening the Bible to follow along. The art of note-taking has disappeared. Few keep notes of sermons or classes anymore. As the prophet Hosea declared, the people of God are destroyed by a lack of knowledge.

When Paul wrote his letter to the saints in Ephesus, he explained that what he had received from the Lord, he wrote down in a few words so they could read and understand a mystery hidden since the beginning of time. It should not be lost in the incredible blessing of being able to read the mystery of God and understand things hidden for millennia. Reading is a powerful tool to enlighten the soul of the word of God. It is the vehicle that takes the mind of God and plants the seed of eternal knowledge within the heart of a man. The Bible is printed in so many different forms and fashions today that few homes do not possess multiple copies. How often are the pages opened and read? That is the key to who we are, what we are, and what we can become. The greatest avenue to take the knowledge of the divine into our hearts is to read the word of God. How simple and yet how powerful a thought.

There is a great hymn that says “Take time to be holy.” Feeding on the word of the Lord takes time and reading is how that word can be imparted. There is value in listening to the word but there is greater value in allowing the eyes to fill the pages of God’s word in our minds and our hearts. I am old fashioned for a reason but I believe the printed page is the most effective manner to read. There is a connection with the hand and the book. Palm oil is the most powerful means to preserve a book. Pages worn from reading tell about a life that is worn the cross of Jesus on the heart. The Bible is a pearl of great price that should be treasured not because of the material that binds its cover but the treasure that is found when the pages are opened and read. Paul said that we can read what he wrote and we can understand the mystery. Lord – let me read.

And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. (Deuteronomy 8:2)

The Testing Of God

Four decades had passed since the Hebrews crossed the Red Sea on dry land and the Lord made them a great nation feared by all. Now the Israelite nation stood before the Jordan River poised to cross again on dry land and begin the conquest of the Promised Land. Moses has been forbidden to enter the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He views the rich land of bounty from Mount Pisgah where he will die. He writes the final legacy of the children of Israel exhorting them to be faithful and follow the commandments of the Lord. The book of Deuteronomy is a history lesson for the Hebrews to understand the nature of God and how He blessed the generation before and will bless the new generation if they will heed His word. The generation that stands ready to enter Canaan watched their parents and grandparents die in the wilderness. Moses reminds the people that God led Israel through the wilderness for forty years to humble the people and to test their faith. The Lord wanted to know what was in the heart of His people if they would retain their allegiance to Him or deny Him.

The forty years in the wilderness were hard years for Israel. They had first come to Kadesh-Barnea where they could enter Canaan and begin the conquest. Because of a lack of trust in the power of God, the people heeded the warnings of ten spies and rebelled against the word of God. In His wrath, the Lord declared Israel would wander one year for every day the spies were in Canaan. Forty years would see the deaths of everyone above the age of twenty. Throughout the wilderness journeys, the people murmured, complained, rebelled, and started insurrections against Moses and Aaron. In just four short decades, the Hebrews were decimated with plagues, snakes, and the wrath of God bringing judgment against a rebellious people. What happened to Israel was not a coincidence. Throughout the forty years, the Lord was testing the heart of the people to know if they were willing to serve Him and obey Him.

Two reasons are given by Moses why God punished Israel for forty years. It was the plan of God to humble the Israelites and to prove their character. In many ways the people failed; yet in many other ways, the people succeeded. Moses reminds Israel that God needed to take the pride and arrogance out of the people as they enjoyed the blessings of a righteous God. It was easy for the people to take for granted all the Lord had given them. They did not go hungry or lack for water during the forty years. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell during those forty years. Enemies were defeated by the hand of the Lord. Israel was a nation blessed above all other nations on the earth and yet they still did not appreciate the blessings of God. The Lord made things hard for them to test them and see what kind of character they had. For many, the test of God proved they could not remain faithful. During times of crisis, the weak strengthened their resolve to deny God and perished. At the same time, men like Joshua and Caleb increased their faith in the Lord as they faced the trials of life becoming stronger in their resolve to serve the Lord. The forty years of crisis proved what was in the heart of the people.

There is a great crisis overshadowing the world and impacting the nation of God’s people. Like Israel of old many murmur, complain, rebel, and refuse to serve the Lord. The pandemic has opened the weakness of their faith giving them more resolve to serve the world rather than the Lord. Instead of turning to the family of God in the body of Christ for greater strength, they have embraced the religion of convenience and ease to worship in their own way. The COVID virus has changed the face of the world and the character of the church. For many, it has heightened preexisting weaknesses that are now driving them away from serving the Lord. They are failing the test. In the midst of the pandemic, many have become stronger and more resolute to draw closer to one another and the Lord. Tests of life will always do two things: make a person stronger or expose their weakness.

When this pandemic is over and we stand on the banks of another day, who will be left? Like Israel of old, there will be those who perished in the wanderings of COVID-19 who lost their way, lost their faith, and gave up. The new day will be conquered by those who kept the commandments of the Lord, vanquished their fears, and devoted their hearts to serve the Lord. This pandemic says a lot about the hearts of God’s people. What does your heart say?

Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes. (Song of Solomon 2:15)

The Little Things In Life

Vineyards were plentiful in Canaan providing a large source of the food supply in grapes, raisins, and juices. Construction of the vineyard began with a boundary trench dug, and posts were driven in to support a hedge or fence. As the vines grew, the branches were raised up on supports. During the months June to August the vines were pruned and cared for with harvest coming in August and September. After the grapes began to form, a shelter of branches or a stone tower was erected to help secure the vineyard against robbers and raiding foxes or jackals. The fox of Palestine was a small creature that enjoyed the fruit and often ruined the lower vines of the grapes. They would steal into an opening of the fence of a vineyard and nibble at the young shoots of the vines. They were small creatures about the size of a medium-sized dog but they could do a lot of damage.

Like the little foxes of Palestine, the little things in life can often bring more harm and problems than the expected looming problems easily identified. The owners of vineyards had a healthy respect for the little foxes because of the incredible amount of damage they could do. Many small things of life left unattended grow into larger problems. Sometimes it develops into the ruin of those who failed to attend to the matters early on. Small cuts and bruises left untreated can result in serious injury, disease, and sometimes death. Little things in a marriage left undone and uncared for will fester into resentment, distrust, and infidelity. Over time, a pebble of sand in a shoe will bring about great discomfort and disharmony and possibly injury. The husband and wife who allow small things to irritate and aggravate will often face the danger of marital dissolution. A marriage that began with deep love will dissolve under the pressure of small things that erode the heart of its soul.

Churches fall prey to the little things that Satan brings against the people of God. He intends to destroy the church. He does not always bring looming threats of persecution by “outside sources” but rather utilizes letting little foxes loose among the brethren who complain and murmur about little things. It may not be seeds of apostasy that destroy a church but the little things that cause disharmony and division. So often these little things do irreparable damage to the kingdom. In the present distress of 2020 many churches are asking its members to wear masks during services. This is a little thing in the scheme of eternal salvation. Wearing a mask may not be an enjoyable thing to do but it looks out for the interest of others in love considering the needs of others more than self. However, murmuring and complaining begin when some refuse to wear a mask and the little things begin to chip away at the harmony and peace of a congregation. Naaman of the Old Testament was reprimanded by his servants for not obeying the command of God by asking him if the Lord had told him to do some great thing, would he not have done it. Yet it was a small thing to dip in the Jordan and he refused.

There should never be a time when brethren allow small things to disrupt the work of the church. Having a mind like Christ is to view what He gave up to save mankind. Was it a small thing for Jesus to leave His Father and come to earth to die? Why should anyone balk at the small things of life to help others? The little foxes could do a lot of damage when left unchecked. There are plenty of dangers lurking outside the walls of the city of God that must be addressed. Do not let the little foxes or the small things of life bring greater harm to the family of God.

For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part, I believe it. (1 Corinthians 11:18)

When The Church Comes Together

The church at Corinth was in turmoil. A pandemic of division had swept through the congregation on winds of personal allegiance, carnality, immorality, and disrespect for the authority of Christ. The apostle Paul had a long list of challenges that had to be addressed in the church of God at Corinth. His first letter outlined the problems with solutions given that seemed to strike a responsive chord as evident by the apostle’s second letter to Corinth. In the course of Paul’s rebuking of the manner the saints were abusing the Lord’s Supper, he established a pattern of truth that defined the New Testament church. Worship was a personal act of devotion to the Lord but it was also a collective action of the church coming together as one. Seven times in his letter Paul uses the idea of coming together to address two separate needs of the church.

The first time Paul uses the phrase “come together” is when he admonishes the married couples who were having troubles to not deprive one another of sexual relations unless they agreed to abstain from sexual intimacy for a short time; giving themselves to prayer. He then admonishes the man and woman to come together again so they will not fall to the wiles of the devil and be tempted to commit sexual immorality. The married couple cannot fulfill the design of marriage apart from one another. When God created the woman, He brought her to the man so they could be one together. The union of the man and woman as complete when they were together. Jesus said the Father joined them as one.

Addressing the problem of the Lord’s Supper, five times Paul reminds the Corinthian church that coming together was a requirement of the church. At first, they were coming together not for the better but the worst and there were divisions among them when they came together. By abusing the Supper, they were not coming together for the divine purpose of God. Paul instructs the brethren when they come together to wait for one another lest they come together for judgment. Later, as the problem of the spiritual gifts is addressed, Paul refers to the church coming together with a psalm and teaching showing that worship is a collective action of people coming together in one place for edification.

Corinth did not have the internet. The church would have been in worse shape if they did. One of the challenges of the present distress is the action and reaction to the health concerns facing the world. These concerns are real and viable. The virus that has swept the world is not a political plan to disrupt the governments of the world. Many groups have used the pandemic to further their agendas but the virus is real and people are dying. The reality is clear but the interpretations are anything but. Regardless of how a person views the present distress the challenge of the church is how to address the pattern of New Testament authority and the will of the Father regarding His church. Responsible shepherds of God’s people have addressed this pandemic in the best way they know as well as leaders of the churches who do not have that oversight. The message that must remain at the forefront of any discussion is the matter of the church coming together as directed by the Lord in His word.

A pandemic cannot change the will of God. It may rearrange the normal patterns of a local congregation but it must always be viewed as temporary. Living in Florida there are times that hurricanes close communities because of concerns for safety and well-being. Churches will not meet because of a hurricane bearing down on the area. That is understandable and needful for the church not to come together. There would be danger of demanding people get out in the storm to risk their lives. The COVID virus has become a real threat and churches have taken appropriate actions to deal with the problem. But like a hurricane, these measures must be temporary with a view of coming back together again as a church to fulfill the divine pattern of the New Testament church. God wants his people to come together to worship Him. While stopgaps were put in place at the beginning of the crisis that was necessary, leadership must find ways to bring God’s people back together again.

There are many measures now in place that can create a safe environment for saints to worship together again. All of these decisions are made on a personal level by the needs of a local community and how that can best be served. No group has the right to judge another group in how they are responding to the virus as every situation is different. What is common among all the saints is the admonition to come together as God’s people. This must be done with the greatest care and wisdom for all those concerned. There have been many lessons on how to bring this about but bring this about it must be done. Worship by the proxy of the internet is not the purpose of the Lord. Too many families have become too at ease with this means of televising the services. Leaders must look for the means to return the local family of God to its rightful place of assembling together. Members must respect and honor the leadership in submitting to the role given those who shepherd the flock of God. Paul exhorts all Christians to esteem others better than themselves and be like-minded with the same love, being of one accord, and looking out for the interest of others. Like it says on many packages: assembly required.