The Heaton File

The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance. (Psalm 33:10-12)

A Blessed Nation

In a secondary school textbook printed in 1868, the following statement was included in an Abridged History of the United States: “The government of the United States is acknowledged by the wise and good of other nations, to be the most free, impartial, and righteous government of the world; but all agree, that for such a government to be sustained many years, the principles of truth and righteousness, taught in the Holy Scriptures must be practiced. The rulers must govern in the fear of God, and the people conscientiously obey the laws.” (pp. 16-17). Those words will not be found in modern textbooks.

There was a time in the United States when the Bible was respected, revered, and read frequently enough that most people had a familiar knowledge of its contents. John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, made it a practice for several years to read the Bible through in the course of one year. He would begin his day early by spending an hour contemplating scripture. Abraham Lincoln often quoted the Bible, calling it the greatest book and best fit God has given to man. Lincoln concluded that the Bible was the only way to know right from wrong. Woodrow Wilson, the 28^th president of the United States, said the Bible is the only book where a man can find himself in relation to the rest of the universe.

Every nation on earth has existed by the will of God. The Lord raises nations up, and He destroys them. History is filled with the ruins of great nations that yielded great power before being destroyed. When a nation turns its back to the word of God, it will die. For a government or nation to be sustained, the principles of the Bible must be taught and followed. The people must hunger for God’s word.

There was a time in America when most people knew scripture. Now, most people have little knowledge of what the Bible says. Truth and righteousness, right and wrong, can never be delegated by the whims of the people. Refusing to follow righteousness from the Bible is a death nil to a nation that forgets the Lord God. History bears witness to this reality. Most people cannot find simple teachings in the Bible. They have no idea what the Old and New Testaments are. Why? As the prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). Rejecting the knowledge of God is certain destruction for a nation. It’s not a matter of “if” but “when.”

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who enter in at these gates to worship the Lord!'” Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are these.'” (Jeremiah 7:1-4)

Trusting In Lying Words

The Temple of Solomon was a beautiful edifice representing the dwelling place of God on earth. It was called the “House of the Lord,” the “House of My Glory,” “the Palace of the Lord God,” and the “Holy Mount.” It took seven and a half years to build, and after standing for more than three centuries, it was burned to the ground by the Babylonians led by Nebuchadnezzar. Before destroying the “House of the Lord,” the Babylonians stripped it of everything of value that could be taken back to Babylon. A second temple was built eighty years later and stood until the time of Jesus, who prophesied its destruction. In 70 A.D., the Roman army razed the city of Jerusalem and destroyed the temple. I will never be built again.

Solomon built the temple according to the word of the Lord. Like Moses, who was commanded to construct the Tabernacle, Solomon followed a divine pattern and plan. After the temple was built in Jerusalem, the Tabernacle was dismantled and passed to the dustbin of history. Nothing remains of the Tabernacle, including the Ark of the Covenant. After the Temple of God was built in Jerusalem, the Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Holy of Holies until it was destroyed (probably) by the Babylonians. Nothing of the Tabernacle remains today.

During the final days of the nation of Israel, men like Jeremiah and Isaiah warned the people in the trust of a false hope that as long as the Temple stood, God would take care of them. What the people did not understand was that the Temple of the Lord was not the source of their power, but rather the word of the Lord. The remnant that remained from a once powerful nation trusted in lying words that said if the Temple stood, nothing could happen to them. Many years before, the southern tribes witnessed the annihilation of their northern brethren at the hands of the Assyrians. Prophets warned the remaining tribes to take heed to themselves, or the same fate would fall upon them. They did not listen. The people trusted in a false hope in a building that would be destroyed.

Jeremiah tried to bring the hearts of the people back to the Lord. God’s people had turned their hearts away from the Lord’s word. The lingering influence of Manasseh dominated the land with wickedness and idolatry. Josiah sought to bring reforms to the nation, but after his death, Jehoiakim ruled the land with the same evil his fathers had done. There would be no respite for the people. They trusted in seeing the Temple as their salvation, but their hearts followed after all the evil of their forefathers. The problem was that they believed God would save them because the Temple stood. Their lives were out of context with true worship.

Early in Israel’s history, the people of God went to war with the Philistines. Israel was soundly defeated by the Philistines, with four thousand troops being killed. The elders of Israel were frustrated by the loss and called for the ark of the covenant to be brought from Shiloh to save them from the hand of their enemy. They brought the ark into the camp with shouts so loud the earth shook. The Philistines were afraid when they heard that the ark had come into the Israelite camp. To the dismay and surprise of the Philistines, Israel was again defeated with a great slaughter of thirty thousand foot soldiers – and the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant. The people believed in lying words that if they had the ark with them, God would protect them. What they failed to remember is that victory comes from God when the hearts of the people are faithful.

The tabernacle was captured and Solomon’s temple destroyed because the people believed the only thing they had to do was to bring the ark into the camp or see the Temple standing in Jerusalem, and God would bless them. They trusted in lying words. Some people believe that as long as they sit in a church building a few times a year, God will bless them and save them. They have their name on the church roll. Their parents and grandparents were members of the church, and through spiritual DNA passed down from one generation to another, salvation is secured because they are card-carrying members of the church of Christ. As long as they go through the five acts of worship after they follow the five steps of salvation, Heaven is assured.

Trusting in lying words is believing in things that will not save. The tabernacle was a crucial component of the Law of Moses, and the temple served as a place of worship, as instructed by the Lord. God does not dwell in temples made with hands or church buildings with names on a sign. If the heart is not serving the Lord, it doesn’t matter what building they sit in. God commanded burnt offerings and sacrifice, but what He demanded was obedience. That has not changed. God commands many things, but He still demands obedience. Do not trust in the lying words that will not save. Trust and obey.

Then He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.” (Mark 12:38-40)

Receiving A Greater Condemnation

The scribe had developed in the time of Jesus to be a man who was a teacher of the law, a man of letters, someone who read and interpreted the extensive and complicated Law of Moses. In modern times, they would be considered the lawyers of the day. When Moses wrote the Law, the priests served to teach the people the law, but after the captivity, scribes began to take a more influential role in teaching and interpreting the law. Ezra was a priest and a scribe who was an expert in the words of the commandments of the Lord and His statutes to Israel.

Jesus was often challenged by the Jewish scribes of His day. The people recognized that the teaching of Jesus was with authority, unlike the teaching of the scribes. More often than not, the scribes joined themselves with the sect of the Pharisees to attack Jesus. It was the Jewish elders, chief priests, and scribes who would convince Pilate to crucify Jesus. The teaching of Jesus addressed the iniquity of the scribes, who, under the semblance of piety, would demand that the people treat them with great pomp and circumstance, the best seats in the synagogues and feasts; who took from the poor and disenfranchised for their own gain and indulgence. A scribe would offer a glowing and lengthy prayer to show the people his pious heart. Jesus knew the hypocrisy of their hearts.

As leaders of the people, the scribes would be judged more harshly than the people they oppressed. There were many reasons why Jesus said the scribes would receive a greater condemnation. Under the mask of religion, the scribes had created a religious order that elevated themselves above the people in a proud, arrogant, and haughty manner. They oppressed the people by taking advantage of their ignorance and would take property through deceit from widows. The Law of Moses protected the poor and widows, and what the scribes were doing was an outrage against the will of God. They would receive a greater condemnation because they were supposed to be leaders of the people to protect them, not abuse them.

God holds spiritual leaders to a higher standard because of their position of influence. James pointed out that those who teach the word of God will be judged more strictly. It is a grave responsibility to teach the gospel of Christ. Preachers should never take lightly their responsibility in preaching God’s whole counsel. Shepherds of the church will give an account for their leadership. They serve the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Abusing the position of power and influence will be met with the greater condemnation of the Lord God.

Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:29-30)

Can I Surrender?

The idea of surrender is not very palatable to the human spirit. There is an innate part of the will of man that resists having to yield to another or allow something to control one’s life. The call of freedom has instilled the need to be free to choose and to live as one pleases, to seek life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. While that may be the “American way,” it is not found in the relationship with the Divine. God has never been a democracy. Jesus is a King who demands complete obedience. If the will of man is not totally given to serving the Son of God, there can be no discipleship. The autocratic rule of Christ comes from the same authority as God the Father.

Adam and Eve did not obey the command of God and lost their place in the garden. The world in the days of Noah rebelled against the word of the Lord, and the Creator destroyed every human being on the face of the earth save eight souls in the ark. God demanded complete loyalty in the Law of Moses, but Israel sought after other gods and was destroyed. The message of Jesus was not a new theology. Obedience to the Father requires loving Him with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength. Anything less is unacceptable.

Jesus shows the reason His Father demands complete devotion. The Lord God is one. There are no other gods that man can worship in truth. God cannot be divided. He is a jealous God, and His name is Jealous! His righteousness demands complete devotion because of sin. There is nothing man could do to redeem himself back to God, and it took the blood of God’s Son to take away the wrath of God. The price paid for sin demands the price paid for complete surrender. It can never be a partial submission or half-hearted devotion. Loving God demands all the heart, soul, mind, and strength of a person to surrender completely everything in life to the will of God.

As King of kings, Jesus Christ is a monarch with absolute power. His word is law. As citizens of the kingdom of Christ, there is no appeal court to change the laws. Jesus rules according to the authority given to Him by God. When a person obeys the gospel of Christ, he must confess the Lord Jesus and believe that God raised Him from the dead. The resurrection is what proclaimed Jesus to be Lord and Christ. Confession is surrender. Not partial. It requires everything about a man to serve the Lord. The heart must be completely given over to the word of God. Every soul must choose whom they will serve. The mind is governed and directed by the will of the Father. Every part of the strength of the child of God is devoted to the relationship of man and God. There can be nothing less than complete devotion.

The great challenge in the Lord’s church is the lack of devoted hearts of disciples. Too many hearts serve the Lord in a lackadaisical and casual manner. Showing up for worship services when convenient becomes the norm. There is no desire to grow in Christ or fellowship with the saints. Church is a bore, prayer life is “Now I lay me down to sleep,” and having a deep personal relationship with Jesus is foreign. Only when the Christian realizes the beauty and joy of surrendering everything to God is the gospel fully realized. God demands complete surrender, and what a beautiful surrender that becomes. Jesus died to show what full surrender means, and through His example, grace is learned by those who come to know Him. Through the Holy Spirit, the heart learns to let go of the world and embrace the love of God. Surrender. Give your heart, soul, mind, and body to God. You will not believe what wonderful blessings await you.

And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

The Leadership Of The Home Takes Time

Dr. Charlie Shedd held a contest called “One Neat Dad.” He asked contestants to send letters recommending their dad for this great honor. Here’s a list of the 10 most appreciated qualities of “One Neat Dad.” He takes time for me. He listens to me. He plays with me. He invites me to go places with him. He lets me help him. He treats my mother well. He lets me say what I think. He is nice to my friends. He only punishes me when I deserve it. He is not afraid to admit when he is wrong. Qualities one to five are versions of the single word TIME. It takes time to listen. Playing takes time with a child. Going to places requires time. Helping a child takes time. It all comes out of the same four letters: T-I-M-E. Time was the most appreciated trait of “One Neat Dad.”

Parenting is fraught with danger, and no one does it perfectly. God has given the Bible as the parent’s guide to being a good father. The first trait of being a good dad is showing the value of family in the marriage relationship. The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother. Learning how to show love in marriage comes from God, who created the marriage bond. A good leader is always respectful of the ideas of others. As a father, a man must learn to cultivate in their children a mind that allows for discovery. Faith in God must be taught at the earliest age to establish trust in the child’s heart for the word of God. A father cannot teach what he does not know. Taking time to teach children demands a father to take time to prepare himself.

A good father involves others who will build upon the character of God in their children. Good company encourages good growth. Friends are important in the lives of children, and having associations that guide the heart of the child to be a spiritual person of integrity will serve them well in the challenges they face in life. A good father is not afraid of correcting their children’s behavior and, if necessary, punishing character that detracts from the will of God. Punitive discipline is taught by God as a means of molding good character. Leaving a child to himself will only show him how to destroy himself.

A successful dad’s most important trait is leading his family to eternal life. There will be time for work and recreation, but if a father is not leading his children to the throne of God, he has failed as a father. All earthly rewards will fade, but the eternal is everlasting. Parents only have one lifetime to guide their children to heaven. There is no greater reward than to know your children are going to heaven. The Bible is the father’s handbook. It requires the time and patience to instill in the heart of a child to love God. What a child knows about eternity will largely come from the experiences they receive at home. The world will not be as giving to teach the Biblical principles of truth and righteousness. Successful dads will learn the word of God for themselves and then share that teaching with their children. This requires time, and that time is precious. Training and admonition take time.

If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 58:13-14)

Principles Of The Sabbath On The First Day Of The Week

The Sabbath was a very important part of the Law of Moses ordained by God for Israel to cease from various activities of normal day life. The seventh day of the week was to be a holy day. The first six days of the week were to be used for all labor and work, but on the seventh day, it was to be the Sabbath of the Lord. God told Israel that no work was to be done on that day. This included all family members, servants, cattle, and the strangers that came into the land. Part of the reason for the Sabbath was to commemorate the creation of the world and that God ceased from creation on the seventh day. God blessed the seventh day and set it apart as holy.

Moses instructed the Israelites that the Sabbath was to be kept as a sign between God and the people to know that the Lord sets His people apart from the world. The Sabbath was to be a holy day set apart for personal worship to the glory of God. Anyone who profaned the Sabbath day was to be put to death. Capital punishment was reserved for crimes the Lord considered very serious. Murder was to be punished with death. Profaning the Sabbath would also bring the death penalty. During the wilderness wanderings of Israel, a man was found gathering sticks on the Sabbath. He was stoned to death according to the word of the Lord. It was clear that whoever did any work on the Sabbath day was put to death.

The prophet Isaiah described the joy of keeping the Sabbath as a time of delight. God did not give the Sabbath law to Israel for oppressive reasons but to help guide the hearts and minds of the people to know Him and to focus their lives upon the benevolent blessings of a caring and nurturing God. It took great faith to leave off working for a whole day when life existed by what a man did every day. Trusting in the Lord was one of the main lessons learned on the Sabbath. Honoring the word of God came from honoring the Sabbath as a day of rest to worship the Lord. The Jews learned valuable lessons on the Sabbath to turn their hearts toward God. Isaiah encouraged the people not to live for their own pleasures or seek their own will. The Sabbath was a day to center everything in life upon God.

When Jesus Christ came to establish the kingdom of God, He took away the Law of Moses, including the Sabbath. The Law of Moses was only given to the Jews (the Gentiles were not bound by the Sabbath law). As the early church began to learn the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit instructed the followers of Christ to worship the Lord on the first day of the week. This day would become a day to remember when Jesus rose from the dead and delivered sinful man from the wrath of God. One of the key elements of the early church was gathering on the first day of the week to remember the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross through the Lord’s Supper.

Sunday is the first day of the week and the day the church gathers to take of the supper of the Lord in a manner keeping with the will of God. In many churches, Sunday is no longer a day to give to the Lord as a time of delight to worship Him. Sunday is not a holy day of the Lord to honor Him. The attitude of many in the church is that Sunday is a day to do what they want to do, find their own pleasures, speak their own words of excuses, and not gather with the saints to reflect upon the sacrifice of Jesus. One of the greatest reasons people of God excuse themselves for refusing the word of God is because their jobs are more important than obedience. A slight headache can keep one from serving God. When company drops in, plans to worship drop out. Taking vacations includes vacating the worship of God. A person can miss months and years of communion with little concern or care.

The Law of Moses prescribed certain laws about how the Jews were to give or tithe. Under the law of Christ, tithing is no longer bound, but the principles remain for the Christian to give as he purposes from his heart. The Law of Moses bound the Sabbath with the severe penalty of death for those who dishonored the seventh day. Under the law of Christ, the Sabbath is no longer binding, but the principles remain for the Christians to honor God on the first day of the week – every first day of the week. There will be no excuses for those who refuse to honor God on the first day of the week, and for some, it can mean eternal death. Paul warned the Corinthians against taking the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner and that, in so doing, they were guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. How much worse punishment do you suppose, will they be thought worthy who deny the supper of the Lord? It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him because He not only broke the Sabbath but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. (John 5:16-18)

Seeking To Kill Jesus

The Jewish leadership hated the man from Nazareth and actively sought the means to have him killed. Their hatred was not just an emotional outpouring of a strong dislike of the man; they hated him with such a passion there was nothing to be done but to murder him. Ironically, they did not consider the desire to kill Jesus a case of murder but religious justification based on the interpretation of the Law of Moses, which they had changed with their customs and laws. The Law of Moses was very strict concerning the Sabbath. During the wilderness wanderings, a man was found picking up sticks on the Sabbath day and was stoned to death by the congregation. The Law prescribed that anyone who profaned the Sabbath would be put to death. A person who did work on that day would be cut off from the congregation.

The Jews charged Jesus with breaking the Sabbath. They wanted to put Him to death for healing a man diseased in his body for thirty-eight years. Jesus was in Jerusalem when He came to the pool of Bethesda and found the man lying next to the pool. Jesus asked him if he wanted to be made well. At a certain time, an angel of God stirred the pool’s water, and whoever stepped into the pool first was healed. The lame man could never make it to the water in time. Jesus told the man to rise, take up his bed, and walk. Immediately, the man was made whole, took up his bed, and walked. The apostle John notes it was done on the Sabbath.

After the lame man was healed, the Jews rebuked him for carrying his bed on the Sabbath. The man told them his healer told him to rise, take up his bed, and walk. Jesus had withdrawn into the multitude, and the man did not know who had healed him. Afterward, Jesus found the man and warned him to live a righteous life or something worse would happen. The man told the Jews it was Jesus who had healed him. It was for this reason the Jews sought to kill Jesus because He healed on the Sabbath. There is an unbelievable ring of hypocrisy in men who are trying to kill someone who can heal any disease and raise the dead.

The Law of Moses never forbade a man from being healed on the Sabbath. On another occasion, when Jesus healed a woman bent over with an infirmity for eighteen years, the ruler of the synagogue declared that healing should only take place on the six days of the week, not on the Sabbath day. Jesus replied that it was necessary on the Sabbath to loose an ox or donkey from the stall and lead it away to water it. Healing on the Sabbath was not an offense demanding the death penalty. The Jews hated Jesus because He was endangering their place among the people and the Romans.

It seems incredible to consider how much hatred drives men to act in the name of God. The Jews had become so immersed in their own laws that they desired to kill an innocent man for doing things that no man could do. It would not take long for the Jewish leaders to have their way with Jesus and murder him on a Roman cross. They succeeded in having Jesus killed, not knowing the act of killing Jesus was the act given to save them. On the day of Pentecost, three thousand people felt the sting of guilt for what they had done. They were guilty of murder in the first degree. There was no excuse. They had no recourse. God offered them mercy and grace and forgave them. The world still has people who want to kill Jesus and will succeed in killing Him in their hearts. They refuse to see the power of His glory revealed in the pages of holy writ. Do you see a Sabbath law broken or a man healed?

Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame … I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment … No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” (Luke 16:24-30)

Eighty Words

A certain rich man enjoyed the finest things of life as few men could imagine. Clothing dyed purple was expensive as well as impressive. Few people in the First Century could afford such luxury as this garment was only worn by princes, nobles, and those who were very wealthy. Egyptian fine linens adorned the rich man’s household as a sign of immense wealth. He feasted on the finest food and drink. There was never a time when the man lacked the best of the world dining with society’s elite. The conversation was a daily pursuit of wealth, power, prestige, honor, and pleasure. Everything about the man’s life was consumed with the best that life could offer. And then he died, and everything changed.

Jesus peels back the curtain of death to allow the world to see and hear what happened to this certain rich man. Like all men, death is not a respecter of persons. The rich man died, as did the pitiable beggar laid at his gate. Two men died on the same day. There was great pomp and circumstance for the dead rich man as his five brothers lamented their brother’s passing before finding ways to inherit his immense wealth. The tomb of the rich man was an ornate and incredibly stunning piece of art commemorating the life of a man of such means. When someone noticed the beggar who had been laid at the gate had died, a cart was brought and the body of Lazarus was unceremoniously dumped in a hole.

When the rich man awakened in eternity, he found himself in a place of torment in the realm of Hades. It was a place of darkness, fire, weeping, and the gnashing of teeth. Those bound in this eternal pit of horror screamed for relief. The rich man begged for mercy from Abraham for just a drop of water to cool his tongue. There would be no relief from the torment. Abraham reminded him of how well he lived and how miserable Lazarus’s life had been. According to the Law of Moses, the rich man should have cared for Lazarus, but he treated him with contempt. Now, Lazarus was comforted, and the rich man suffered. The suffering of Lazarus ended in death, and the suffering of the rich man began in death and would never end.

Realizing there would be no relief for himself, the rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus back to his family and tell his five brothers of the horrors that awaited them. The rich man knew how they were living. He knew they would find themselves in torment and needed to be warned. Abraham told the rich man there was nothing that could be done. If the brothers did not listen to Moses and the Prophets, a man rising from the dead would not have convinced them. The story ends, and the rich man fades away into the darkness of torment to be bound under an eternal curse for rebellion against the Lord God.

The conversation of the rich man was only eighty words. He never asked about his money and his investments. There were no questions about his houses, lands, possessions, servants, crops, and 401K. The rich man did not ask to enjoy the pleasures of life. He did not worry about his job. There was nothing on his mind about the political conditions of the Roman Empire. He did not care who the king, president, or ruler was. It did not matter who was winning what sport and what team was the best. He did not complain about the weeds in his garden, how people drove, the noisy neighbor, when to take another vacation, or what new technology was available.

Everything about the eighty words the rich man spoke was about everything he never cared for when he was alive. The sad reality of the human story is that the world is consumed with things that will not be taken with them when they die. The rich man suddenly possessed a spiritual mind, concerned about the spiritual condition of his family and whether they would find eternal life or be pressed into the damnation of Hell. It was too late. His mission-minded efforts could not be done. He was damned to torment, and his five brothers would find the same fate if they did not repent.

The lesson Jesus is teaching is understanding what eighty words will mean when we enter the realm of the eternal. Where is your heart? The place where you find your heart is the place where you will find your eternal soul. What will it profit if you gain the whole world and lose your soul? You will have eighty words to say to the Lord, but it will mean nothing. The eighty words of the rich man were answered with silence. There is nothing more to say.

“Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him” (Isaiah 43:7).

Created For My Glory

Ted Engstrom (The Pursuit of Excellence) offers the following story: An American Indian tells about a brave who found an eagle’s egg and put it into the nest of a prairie chicken. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life, the changeling eagle, thinking he was a prairie chicken, did what the prairie chickens did. He scratched in the dirt for seeds and insects to eat. He clucked and cackled. And he flew in a brief thrashing of wings and flurry of feathers no more than a few feet off the ground. After all, that’s how prairie chickens are supposed to fly.

Years passed. And the changeling eagle grew very old. One day, he saw a magnificent bird far above him in the cloudless sky. Hanging with graceful majesty on the powerful wind currents, it soared with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings. “What a beautiful bird!” said the changeling eagle to his neighbor. “What is it?” “That’s an eagle – the chief of birds,” the neighbor clucked. “But don’t give it a second thought. You could never be like him.” So the changeling eagle never gave it another thought. And it died thinking it was a prairie chicken. (James S. Hewett, Ed. Illustrations Unlimited, Tyndale p. 344)

Everyone has been created for the glory of God. The Lord formed man to show His grace and love and to demonstrate His glory as Creator. It does not matter the color of skin, nation of origin, or gender; all men are created in the equality of God’s glory. Man has a purpose. He was created to be the glory of God. On the sixth day of creation, God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). Only man was made in his image. Animals do not bear the image of the divine. Only man was created to be the “eagle.” What Satan has done is convince men they are nothing but a “prairie chicken,” and most die believing the lie.

Jesus died to save you from your sins. You are special to God because you are His divine creation, formed to show His glory. As eternal creatures, we share the image of the divine to be like Him, live for Him, and live with Him after death. Don’t let the world convince you that you have no worth or value. There is so much to know about the God who formed you for greatness. He loved you so much that He gave you, His Son.

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (James 1:2-4)

Finding Joy In Trials

Vance Havner points out that sometimes the medicine bottle has on it, “Shake well before using.” He points out that God sometimes must do this with His people to awaken them from their apathy. The Lord has to shake His people well before they are usable. Moses thought he was the Lord’s deliverer of His oppressed people when he killed the Egyptian. For forty years, Moses had lived as a prince of Egypt. After killing the Egyptian, he fled to Midian, where he remained for another forty years.

While Moses was a prince of Egypt, he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was mighty in words and deeds. His pride made him unsuitable to be the leader of the Hebrews. It would take forty years to change Moses’ heart. When God appeared to Moses at the burning bush, Moses was nothing like he was as a prince of Egypt. He was self-deprecating in his abilities to lead the people of Israel. History shows Moses as one of the greatest men of God’s divine plan, but it took the Lord shaking up the world of Moses to find His man.

The apostle Peter was an impetuous man who often did not think before he spoke. There were times of brilliance in Peter’s reaction to Jesus and His teaching, but he was not yet formed in the spirit of man needed to take the gospel into the world. Jesus was patient with Peter. When the Lord instituted the Lord’s Supper, He told Peter that Satan was desirous of the heart of Simon. Jesus knew Peter would betray Him three times before the rooster crowed, and He told His apostle when he returned to Him to strengthen his brethren. Peter had to go through the crucifix of fire to become the great proclaimer of the gospel Luke writes about in the Acts of the Apostles.

God continues to work in the lives of His children. Sometimes, He has to shake up their lives to move them from their indifference. The trials of life can be viewed in a positive understanding of how they mold the character to be filled with faith. There is a need for endurance to develop the strength of character to face disappointment with the firm conviction God is in control. Through the process of trials, hope leads to joy, and joy to life everlasting. It is realizing that when life is shaken, it can be used to make life better. A father may allow his child to struggle to help form character in him, and God will allow His children to suffer to help them learn the lessons of patience, diligence, endurance, and hope.