The Heaton File

Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. (Luke 15:11-13)

Our Father Waits

The parable of the prodigal son is a stirring story of the power of sin and the incredible grace of God. In contrast, the story reveals the wants of a young man desiring to be free from the bondage of his father but finds only greater slavery at the hands of fleshly passion. When the young man finds himself at the lowest parts of life he realizes how many blessings he had in the home of his benevolent father. Coming to himself, he resolves to return home and become a hired servant. He no longer desires to be a son because he knows the shame he has brought upon his loving father. Returning home he discovers a truth not yet revealed in the character of his father: forgiveness and mercy. When the young man declares his sorrow for his actions, the father embraces him and exalts him with greater love to know the son he thought dead now lives and prepares a feast. Joy has returned to the Father’s home.

One of the moving lessons from this story centers upon the father. He was a man of incredible blessings. There was never a want or desire on the part of his sons. The younger son decided that he could have more freedom if he left the protective care of his father. It is only a parable but it can be inferred for lesson sake the father tried to talk his son out of his disastrous plans but to no avail. Love is found in the father’s heart when he had to let his son go. He knew forcing his son to stay would serve no purpose. His heart sank as he watched his son cross over the horizon and pass into the far reaches of another land. There were hard lessons his son would learn but he had to let him go.

While his son was away, stories trickled in of the exploits of the younger son. They were not filled with happiness and joy but great sadness at a young heart wasting his life on the temporary provisions of a carnal world. The stories faded away and no world was heard of the son. He had found the deepest parts of disparity and no one cared for him anymore. The father never gave up hope. He continued to look down the road for the distinctive frame of his younger son. Then one day he glanced far away and saw a ragged, emaciated frame of a man coming down the road. It was his son. His heart did not fill with anger but overwhelming love. He knew his son was coming home. The tender words of forgiveness were heard and the father wiped away all the sorrows of his prodigal son. Repentance brought his wayward son back to his embrace.

The father in the story is our heavenly Father. Sadly, we often represent the prodigal son. We look for freedom away from what we see as restrictive bonds of God’s word and think there is greater joy in the wiles of the world. Sometimes the children of God turn their backs on Him and return to the world of darkness. The Father waits. He is full of compassion and forgiveness. He waits for the child to come home. Sometimes they never return and die in the foreign land of wickedness. But sometimes the prodigal sons and daughters of a loving Father find their way back home. They know that God is a forgiving Father and when repentance is measured in the broken spirits of remorse, the Father embraces the child once again and joy fills the house of God.

There can be no joy until the child comes home. The father did not go after the child because he had to make his own way. When the child came home and acknowledged his rebellion, grace took away the stain. What the young man realized as he sat in the swill of the hog pen was the grace and mercy of a loving father. And he knew a very important lesson about his father: he knew he had a father who waited for him to come home. Our God is a loving God. He waits for us to come home.

Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:19)

What Children Need To Hear

Last night I enjoyed listening to a fine lesson by my son-in-law as he spoke on a text from Nehemiah 10. Prior to the lesson we engaged in a number of songs praising God and the singing was filled with great spirit and enthusiasm. Sitting next to my daughter I could not help but notice my four month old granddaughter and her eyes as we sang those wonderful hymns. It seemed the music filled her soul even though she did not comprehend what was going on and what the words meant. Looking at her precious face it made me think what she has experienced in the past four months of her life. Her parents have taken her to numerous services of the Lord where songs were sung, prayers offered and the sharing of God’s word expounded and while she was not aware of its full meaning she learned early the joyful sound of worship. There will be many things Leila will experience in life but none so grand as the early memories of worship. It made an impression on how important it is for our children to hear the right kind of things and imprint on their early minds the joy of praising God.

Children learn early the important things in life. Leila will never question where she will be going on Sundays and Wednesdays. She will never experience the surprise of the family going to church services to sing, pray, remember and meditate on God’s word. This will become embedded in her life because her parents will instill in her a love for hearing the melodies of heaven whether in song or word. She will grow up like our oldest granddaughter Braylyn who loves to sing loudly the joys of spiritual song. And then there is little Josie who at the tender age of a year and a half loves to sing, “Our God Is An Awesome God.” Not to be outdone our six-year-old granddaughter Joslyn sings with an excited pitch the songs she has grown to love. That leaves four grandsons who also know every Sunday and Wednesday they will going to a place to worship the Lord and to sing praises to the God they have grown to know. The point is not a personal observation of my grandchildren. It is realizing the importance of children being in places of worship learning the joys of the Heavenly Father.

Many children of Christian’s do not know whether they are going to worship services or not. It is not unusual for them to stay home rather to “go to church.” They are not familiar with the words of the songs, how to find stories in the Bible or what the sacrifice of Jesus Christ means. Sadly, parents will waste the formative years of a child’s learning for their personal gains and carnal interest and then bemoan the reality their children have no interest in God when they get older. No child should ever have to ask their parents if they are going to church or not. The church needs to exhort and encourage the families to instill in their children a love for God. This begins before the first baby is born. Little Leila did not understand what was being said or done last night but through her eyes and ears should new something special was going on. I suspect that when she gains her voice she will sing those precious songs like “Jesus Loves Me” and her cousins will teach her to love the songs of God. It begins in the home. It begins in the heart of the parents who know the value of teaching their sons and daughters to love the Lord God with all their hearts and with all their little souls.

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)

Against Such There Is No Law

The fruit of the Spirit is a complete list of virtues that will enable the bearer of such character to be perfect before the Father. All of the challenges faced in battling Satan can be defeated when the fruits of the Holy Spirit are adorned in the life of those who seek to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. He lived a perfect life because the Lord embodied every fruit of the Spirit. Seeking the perfection of the Father can only be accomplished through the qualities of these nine blessings of grace that will ensure the victory over sin.

One of the most important parts of a Christian’s life is self-examination. The weakness found in the life of a disciple can be measured by the lacking of one or more of the nine fruits of the Spirit. Doctors are trained to look for symptoms that lead to disease and to diagnose the maladies of the body that can bring sickness and death. In a spiritual view, one seeking to perfect their life before God as holy and righteous can only do so through the view of the fruits of the Spirit. Personal examination of the fruit of love will make changes in a character flawed by anger, bitterness and wrath. Adultery, fornication, uncleanness and lewdness will bring death to the child of God but taking the fruit of self-control and goodness will keep the passions away. Joy and peace will infuse the spirit of the Christian with the power to resist hatred, contentions, and jealousies. Outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions and heresies are controlled through the fruit of kindness, goodness and faithfulness. The fruit of the Spirit is the antidote to sin in every form.

Paul declares the lusts of the flesh wars against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh. Being led by the Spirit will empower the child of God to destroy the harmful influences of the works of the flesh that will destroy the soul. It must be made very clear: engaging in the works of the flesh will bring eternal punishment. Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God! The works of the flesh may bring joy in this life but they will bring eternal terror in the next. Defeating the works of the flesh can only come from taking the fruit of the Spirit and filling every part of life with its blessing. The nine fruits of the Spirit are a complete basket of God’s grace given to all men to know the joy of eternal salvation. If there is any part of life that is challenged with the wiles of the devil, find the fruit that will inoculate the sin and keeping eating the fruit to conquer the sin. It is a proven and perfect plan.

You shall not steal. (Exodus 20:15)

The Law of Moses addressed the basic problems of the carnality of man. Since the beginning of time, the covetous nature of man has driven him to bring harm to his neighbor in stealing what is not his. Emboldened by a spirit of superiority, one man will steal from another and often bring about great harm to affect the sin. Nations have waged war to take lands from the neighbors inflicting death on millions of innocent people. Families have been torn apart through the savagery of greed. The Law of Moses included a simple statement of truth yet profound in its impact upon the people. Burrows suggested that when a man steals he wrongs himself and the community. A community of distrust is established for fear of those who would take what is not theirs; often by force. Stealing does injury to the community. It does not seek the good of the neighbor and does not promote the welfare of the interrelationship needed for a community to enjoy peace and security. In high crime areas where stealing is common, people live in fear not knowing if they would become the victim of an attack.

Stealing changes the mindset of the world. Man was created as a family unit that would help and preserve a community of sharing and benevolence. Stealing is a harsh reality of the depravity of man’s thoughts to hate his neighbor taking from him whatever he desires. The failure of stealing is that all that is taken is temporal and of no value. What is left is animosity leading to revenge, retribution and sometimes death. And for what? All that is taken is a trinket of no value that becomes the property of a man who now must guard his own things less someone steals from him. Thieves never live in peace for fear of being caught or from others stealing from them.

The nature of stealing is the iron rule: what is thine is mine we will take it. Sadly, there is no reward in stealing. Giving the law against stealing the Lord shows to man the harmony of living together and sharing for the needs of all men. The apostle Paul would later write that men should not steal from one another but rather labor with their hands so they may help others. Stealing is wrong because it destroys trust and the harmony of the community. Sharing increases the accord of the benevolence of one to another so that all men can work together for the common good of all. When a community lives in a world where stealing is not accepted the world becomes a place of peace and security.

Remember when doors were never locked or windows closed because the community trusted in one another? Stealing is a state of mind. It involves the selfish desires of one person over another gaining some kind of power over the other. When the community becomes selfish, self-centered and everything is about the “me” person, stealing increases. In some countries, thief’s hands are cut off as penalty for stealing. While this may be an effective deterrent to stealing the real problem are not the hands that steal but the heart that moves the hands. Pride, hatred and arrogance fuel the heart to covet the possessions of the neighbor. The Law of Moses was not just dealing with a judicial law of practicality but the spiritual failure of men who hate their neighbors. Stealing was a sin before the Law of Moses and remains a sin after the Law has been abolished.

The final tragedy of stealing is what is gained in dishonor is lost in death. If a man steals all the money in the world, he leaves everything he takes when he dies. No man takes anything with him as he came naked in the world so he returns to the dust from whence he came. Stealing has no lasting value. There is sadness in those who spend their life taking from others because at the end of the road there is no happiness. Thieves are caught and incarcerated for their crimes. Those who get away with their crime will never take anything with them in death and leave for others to steal. The reality of stealing is made crystal clear when naked they stand before God in judgment and give account of taking worthless things from their neighbors. There is a futility in stealing and complete madness. When you steal, you harm yourself. Repentance is the only cure for stealing returning what is taken to its lawful owner. Then the heart can be at peace and find happiness. More importantly, the soul is preserved for eternity.

Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows; for so He gives His beloved sleep. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate. (A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. Psalm 127)

Unless The Lord Builds The House

Elizabeth Stone said it best. “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” A child does not have a choice to be born but a man and woman have a choice to bring a child into the world. Anyone can be a father or mother but the challenge is learning how to be a parent. The greater challenge is learning how to be a parent in the pattern set forth by God. There is a difference of those who seek to parent their children with the guiding hand of the Creator and those who raise children much like raising chickens – feeding and watering and letting them scratch out a living. Parenting in the present is no different than parenting has been since the beginning of time. In Genesis 3 Satan destroyed the happiness of Adam and Eve as husband and wife. In Genesis 4 Satan destroyed the happiness of Adam and Eve as parents. He continues to destroy families.

The only way we can know the proper way to interact with our children and be the kind of parents God designed the home to be is to let His words guide our minds and actions. If the Lord is not the center of the universe in the home the parents will fail. Parents who try to train their children without a firm basis of godly principles will not succeed. In our modern world the television, computer and smart phone have become the high tech idols that husbands, wives, fathers, mothers and children cannot get their faces away from neglecting the basic needs of human contact, interest and communication. Facebook has taken away face time with family. We do not look at one another anymore because we are glued to tiny screens. Children are a heritage of the Lord and that legacy is being lost to the wiles of the high tech influence of carnal knowledge.

The real challenge of parenting is to realize it only happens one time. There are no do-overs and second chances. This building project cannot be torn down and built again. It can be repaired but the structure built through life will always be a part of the final design. The word of God must be a daily part of the home in establishing the voice of the Lord as the guiding influence. His word must be the open book that children learn to read and listen to in forming their lives. Prayer shows the children the need to talk to the Heavenly Father. Worshiping together in accordance with the will of God teaches children the devotion of obeying God. The most important gift we can give our children is the gift of God. Teaching our children about the Lord is to guide their hearts to fall in love with who He is, what He is and why He created us. Children must be taught to be in love with God. It is easy to teach them words but words without love is empty.

The wise man reminds us to train up our children in the way they should go and when they get older they will not depart from it. This can only be done when we are going that way ourselves. Children are very smart to know the hypocrisy we fill our lives with and they will grow up to be like us in spite of what we tell them. Giving them an example of righteousness and truth will help mold their character to be like that of God because they see God in us. Unless the Lord builds the home we are wasting our time – and eternity will be measured by our actions. Now is the day of salvation for our children. Today is the day to put the Lord God in the center of our home.

But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the lord been revealed?” Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.” These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. 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 12:37-43)

They Did Not Believe In Him

It was early in the final week of Jesus life. The shadow of the cross lay heavy on the Lord and He knew it was a few days and His work would be completed. All that the Father had ordained for His Son to accomplish was nearing an end. The agony of crucifixion was constant on His mind knowing His sacrifice would save all men through His blood. A life of righteousness had culminated into a sinless example that would be left for men to follow and establish a memorial of the immensity of God’s love. On this day Jesus had hidden Himself from the multitudes. He had spent his life showing the power of God by His example and the last three years evidencing the supremacy of the Holy Spirit through signs and wonders. In all the miracles of healing, raising the dead, walking on water and casting out demons, the people did not believe in Him. Had He failed in His mission that the people would not believe? The answer was troubling.

Seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, the statesman Isaiah had prophesied to the people the coming of their Messiah. No book in the Old Testament declares the coming Christ more clearly than Isaiah. Not only does the man of God show the coming of the Promised One but he also shows how the people would react to His signs and power. It would not be different than the days of Isaiah. The nation of Israel was in dire trouble as they had committed spiritual adultery in going after the gods of the nations around them. God had sent His prophets among the people to turn their hearts showing signs and wonders and bringing calamities upon the nation to bring them back. They refused. Amos declared the discipline of the Lord upon the people did not change their minds. Israel was a stubborn and rebellious nation that refused to see the clear message of the Lord. It does not speak well of the character of man when God sends His word against the people and they rebel.

When Jesus walked among men there was no doubt He was the Son of God for no man could do what He did. The people recognized the teaching of Jesus was superior to anything they had heard from the Jewish rulers. Nothing in the life of the man from Nazareth condemned Him and everyone agreed He was a good man. Sadly, all the evidence pointing to Jesus being the only begotten Son of God was ignored by the people as they prepared to murder Him. The early prophets had warned of the judgment of God upon Israel but they did not listen. Israel was repeating the same lesson now with Jesus as He would be killed on Friday. The eyes of the people were blinded and their hearts hardened.

History repeats itself as a lesson of the future. Like the days of Israel and the crucifixion of Jesus, men today are blinded in their eyes and hardened in their hearts to the word of God. The Bible is the complete revelation of the will of God and most men have either no interest in what it says or unwilling to follow its clear precepts. If they would accept the Bible as the only truth they would see with their eyes, understand with their hearts and be healed. Men cannot believe the word of God because they have no desire to abide by His authority. Like the days of the prophets and the days of Jesus, men live for themselves seeking glory in their own wisdom. Blinded by the pride of life the glory of God cannot be seen. The praise of men is more powerful to the hearts of those who refuse to confess belief in the invisible God and will lead to the destruction of their souls. It is no surprise the Bible is vilified today. They killed Jesus two thousand years ago for the same reason.

Now let me sing to my Well-beloved a song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower in its midst, and also made a winepress in it; so He expected it to bring forth good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. (Isaiah 5:1-2)

The Vineyard Of The Lord

Isaiah was a superlative prophet whose preaching was plain, direct and controversial. The period of time was the disintegration of the nation of Israel as it imploded on itself filling its belly with the waste of idolatry. During his life, two major crises bring war with Syria and the impending assault by the Assyrian nation. Isaiah lived in troubled times and the people of God would suffer greatly. The reason for the terrible things that would befall the nation was because of their continued rejection of the Lord. Following the death of Solomon, Israel divided into the nation of Israel to the north and Judah to the south. Ten tribes made up the northern kingdom and rapidly fell into wickedness. The southern kingdom of Judah and Benjamin would experience good kings and evil kings but eventually be taken to captivity by the Babylonians for seventy years. Prophets like Isaiah warned the people repeatedly of the coming justice of the Lord but to no avail.

The appeal of Isaiah was to show the people why God chose them in the beginning. Israel was a nation built upon the promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God delivered the people from the bondage of Egypt and made them a great nation. Isaiah uses a parable of a vineyard to express all the Lord had done for the people. His plan was to raise up a nation that would glorify Him and God did all He could do to help the nation become a glorious example of His love and grace. Like a farmer who plants a vineyard so that he may enjoy the blessings of its fruit, so the Lord established Israel for His glory. The tower in its midst was to protect the vineyard and the winepress to enjoy the blessings of the fruit. All God intended for Israel was to no avail because instead of the vineyard producing good grapes He only harvested wild grapes. The Lord planted Israel for His glory but the people turned on Him and went after idols as their gods.

Israel’s rise and fall is clearly defined in scripture. Scriptures show all the Lord did to rescue the nation but they refused. Their final destruction and bondage was just reward for a people that refused to worship the Lord God in truth. Isaiah’s parable of the vineyard is still true today when men refuse to worship God in spirit and truth. The church was created to be a vineyard of good grapes. He built it and established it through the blood of His Son so the world can see His glory. What men have done with the church is likened to the wild grapes of disobedience and carnality. Man-made churches give glory to men and their passions rather than the simple truth of God’s word. Rejecting the plan of the church set forth in the New Testament, the church has become the totem of man’s wisdom and desire to seek salvation in themselves. Modern religion is filled with the wants of man and his pleasure. Like Israel of old, they serve the gods of self.

Within the body of Christ the destruction of God’s vineyard is found when men refuse to follow the plan of God. Churches languish for decades without leadership, immorality is common and the spread of the gospel is a rare sight. The local congregation of God’s people has turned into wild grapes. His glory is seldom seen in the lives of His people, His word rarely sought. The parable of the vineyard should be a warning of the complacency that so easily besets the people of God. We are here for His glory and His glory alone. The church should be a beacon of truth, righteousness and holiness showing forth the purpose and glory of the bride of Christ. We are created for the work of God as the One who expects our lives to bring forth good grapes.

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)

The Fruit Of The Spirit Is Self-Control

Of all the graces of the fruit of the Spirit, none are more essential than the last character of self-control. It is by this virtue that all others build upon and without the fortitude of ruling self, none of the fruits of the Spirit can be accomplished. Self-control is the engine that drives the heart to focus upon the will of God seeking to do His will above all else. Through the presence of the Holy Spirit, the dominion of keeping in check the precarious spirit of self is achieved. The spirit of man is a scheming heart that is easily attracted to the wiles of the devil. Satan uses the weakness of the spirit to gain control of the will of man tempting him with all the subtleties of evil. Sin comes about when self is left unguarded. The devil waits for the right moment to strike and when the guards of self are down he sweeps in. If there is no rule over the spirit sin comes easily.

Temptation is a process. Sin comes after desire has conceived and without the will-power to resist, sin takes hold. Resisting sin comes from the Holy Spirit filling the heart with the courage to resist temptation and through self-rule, reject sin. Self-control is learning to govern the unchecked spirit of man to be molded to the character of godliness but only when the power of God rules the heart. One of the hardest characters for man to tame is self. Like the tongue, it is an unruly evil. Only through the fruit of the Spirit can man learn to tame the disobedient heart.

Self-control is where the other fruits originate and where self-control is manifested. Love is a natural desire but it is also learned. Joy, peace and longsuffering are born from the control of the inner man. Being kind is exercising the passion of self to express kindness toward others. Filling the heart with goodness rises from the rule of self and finds its truest expression in action. Learning to be faithful is controlling the passions of the flesh and mind. Having a gentle spirit is tempered by conquering of the pride of life. Self-control finds its roots in all of the fruits of the Spirit. Each of the fruits is the unveiling of a rule guided by the will of the Holy Spirit. None of the fruits of the Spirit stand alone.

No man can stand as tall as he who guards self with the passion of God’s will ruling his heart, soul, mind and body. The lust of the flesh will be tempered and the pride of life will find no home. Self-control blinds the lust of the eye to see only the glory of God. Jesus is the perfect example of self-control as He lived His life without sin endued with the fruits of the Spirit. His example may never be mastered by human hearts but the goal of mortal man should be to exercise the fruit of the Spirit in controlling the unruly beast of self. With God’s help, it can be done.

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. (Ephesians 3:14-15)

We Are Family

When God created man and put him in the garden, He knew that he could not be alone. Woman was created to be a help-meet and bring companionship to the world establishing the family. Every generation has replicated the need of family as the basis of society and survival of man. The church was planned before time and in carrying out the work of the church the family became the core element of its existence. On Pentecost the eternal plan of God came to fruition but more importantly the first Christians became a body of believers sharing their possessions and bonding with one another as the first family of the church. Two thousand years removed the church remains an eternal family that is held together by the glory of one Father. Paul’s prayer to the saints at Ephesus declares the familial relationship of every Christian on earth regardless of nationality, color of skin, language or economic status. The body of Christ is a melting pot of all nations blending into the harmony of the blood of Jesus.

We are family at the local level. Congregations of God’s people fill the earth and each local church is made up of different personalities, backgrounds and social economic positions. In all of this we are family. What this means is we have the same Father and our elder brother is Jesus Christ. It is easy to think of ourselves as separated from others because of the difference in our lives. The character of the church created by God is that all men would come together under the same spiritual roof showing love to one another and preference for one another. Rich and poor would lift their voices together in harmony as one. The color of skin would be erased in the eyes of those who share the same heavenly Father. There would be no distinctions of education in the family of God as we share in the same knowledge of God’s truth. Young and old would blend their lives together helping one another and exhorting one another. Family. That is what the church is all about.

As a family we have the same care for one another. If one member hurts, we hurt and when there is joy in the hearts of my brethren we celebrate. Prayer is the bond that holds us together and our prayers are spent in asking our common Father to bless the family. When we see one of our brethren in need we seek to help. In every congregation there will be those who are weak in faith that faces challenges that seem to overwhelm them. As a family we reach out to them and encourage them to be faithful. One indicator of spiritual weakness is when a brother or sister fails to assemble with the church on a regular basis. Family is the meaning of our relationship with all the members and our duty to the wayward soul is to reach out to restore our brother or sister. Imagine in the real family if one of our brothers or sisters did not come home for six weeks. It is unimaginable to think we would not notice or have concern. Why in the family of God can our fellow brother or sister leave the family of God unnoticed? Being part of a family requires our love for all those in the family.

Pain comes to the family of God. The family of God is a group of people that weep when others weep and rejoice when others rejoice. This also means that when a brother or sister stumbles that I help them up. A brother or sister can be overtaken in sin and we are to help them regain their faith by encouraging them in the faithfulness of God’s word. All of God’s children sin and need the grace and mercy of forgiveness. No one is without sin and the family of God is a society of forgiven sinners needing His grace. The joy of family is that we forgive and we help and we pray for one another as we struggle against the wiles of the devil. We be brethren and that means we are family. Thank you God for allowing us to be in Your family and for You to give Your Son to die for us so that we can love one another. Family.

When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you.(Deuteronomy 18:9-14)

We Have Not Been Appointed To Such

The greatest challenge for the Hebrew nation entering Canaan was not the conquering of the nations around them but the battle for their minds from the influence of the people that lived there. Numerous times the Lord told Israel the Promised Land had been given to them. At Kadesh-Barnea the people were assured of the victory over the inhabitants of the land. Forty years later as they prepared to cross the Jordan River the Lord promised unconditionally the land would be theirs. His warning was clear the greatest danger confronting them was following the detestable practices of nations as they worshipped idols causing their children to be sacrificed as burnt offerings, witchcraft, sorcery and all of the carnal desires of the flesh. The reason the Lord was allowing Israel to destroy these nations was punishment for their wickedness. He was driving the ungodly out of the land as judgment for their idolatry. As the nation of Israel swept through the land executing the will of the Lord they were to remain blameless or perfect before the Lord. They were the vengeance of God upon the unholy. As they settled in the land the people were to keep themselves apart from the influence of the world about them because the Lord had appointed them to be sanctified and holy to Him.

Joshua lead the people into Canaan and the land was conquered through the power of God. Sadly, the history of Israel is written in the sands of spiritual defeat as the people failed to follow the will of God is dispossessing the nations about them. Their history became a tragic tale of immersing themselves in the abominations of those nations. A time would come when they made their sons and daughters pass through the fire and practiced witchcraft, soothsaying and all the abominations of the Lord God. They did not remain blameless. What they had been appointed to by the grace of God was rejected to become like the nations around them. The glory of the Almighty was tarnished in the lives of the children of God as they allowed the world about them to change their hearts to serve the gods of the world.

The church of Jesus Christ faces the same challenge as the Israelites of old. Satan continues his brutal onslaught on the hearts of the people of God to dissuade them in serving the one true Lord. Every day the abominations of the world whittle away at the character of righteousness and truth as the saints of God slip deeper into the practices of the carnal world. We do not pass our children through the fires of pagan altars but we sacrifice them to the luxuries of the world in giving them everything but God. They are taught that acceptance by the world is more important than service to the one true Lord. Sons and daughters are sacrifices on altars of popularity, entertainment, materialism and sexuality in immodesty to the glory of the world. God is not exalted. He is debased in the eyes of the family, the community and the church.

God separated Israel calling them to be blameless before Him. They had been appointed by the Lord God to be a people distinct in their speech, dress, attitude and example. Their lives were to be in contrast to the world about them. So must the church be in all things to be a distinct people who do not serve the gods of the world. Carnality has largely influenced the church to where it is difficult to distinguish the Christian from the non-Christian. The church of the Lord has been appointed by the Lord God to be a people of notable character. Everyone who desires to live consecrated lives will face persecution from a world diseased by the abomination of sin. Children of God stand against these influences seeking to keep themselves pure because He has appointed them to be a people of character. The history of Israel is laid bare on the altars of rebellion and will become the prophetic story of the church if change is not made.