The Heaton File

Saturday Morning Promises – Great Stories

Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego. But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. (Daniel 1:3-8)

The Character Of Right Decisions

Life is filled with many battles. Often they are only skirmishes but more often than not the larger battles defeat us. We are overcome with the enormity of the challenge that we face and find it difficult to find a way to overcome. The key to winning the battles of life is to learn the lesson of early conditioning. Making right decisions today will help us make right decisions later in life. Sometimes the early decisions we make are not huge but without the character of making the right decisions in the small battles we will not be able to overcome the larger battles looming on the horizon.

Daniel and his friends were captives. Ripped from their homeland and made slaves of the conquering nation, they were in a less than ideal circumstance. Blessed with wisdom, good looks and a gift to serve in the palace of a king, they were put into a three year training program preparing them for the service of Nebuchadnezzar. The course of their training was learning the Babylonian language and the literature of Babylon. Their names were changed from giving honor to Jehovah God to names giving honor to the Babylonian gods. This was a quite a dramatic change for the four Jewish young men. It was also in their training to enjoy the provisions of the king’s delicacies and the wine which he drank. Most slaves would not enjoy the finer things of life. Daniel and his friends were in a fortunate position.

When the four young men were told their names would be changed there was a resignation to accept it with little objection. Interesting in the book of Daniel he retains his Jewish name but the other three are better known by their Babylonian names rather than their Jewish names. Learning the language and culture of the captive land would also be an advantage for them. They accepted this with the opportunity to serve the king. But the requirement to eat from the king’s table was an exception. Daniel had purposed in his heart not to defile himself with this food. Without the favor of God this would have been a very dangerous decision to make. Daniel trusted in the Lord.

The key to book of Daniel is this bold decision to refuse the king’s delicacies. If Daniel and his friends did not take a stand for righteousness in the beginning there would be no courage to stand before a fiery furnace or a den of lions. The character of making the right decisions knows how important the small choices we make impact the larger decisions later on. Daniel trusted in God in every part of his life. The boldness of Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to refuse to fall down to worship the image of Nebuchadnezzar had already been cemented in the faith earlier. Daniel’s courage to continue to pray as he always did; suffering the penalty of being thrown into a lion’s den – came from the courage in chapter one. They were faithful to God in everything they did.

Daniel and his friends show us a pattern of character we must follow every day. Preparing for battle tomorrow takes conditioning today. Win those small battles of faith today with courage and you will find the strength to face the larger battles tomorrow. The book of Daniel is a great story.

Courage is never to let your actions be influenced by your fears. (Arthur Koestler, Arrow in the Blue, 1951)

Friday Morning Reflections – Wisdom Literature

I say, “Keep the king’s commandment for the sake of your oath to God. Do not be hasty to go from his presence. Do not take your stand for an evil thing, for he does whatever pleases him.” Where the word of a king is, there is power; and who may say to him, “What are you doing?” He who keeps his command will experience nothing harmful; and a wise man’s heart discerns both time and judgment, because for every matter there is a time and judgment, though the misery of man increases greatly. For he does not know what will happen; so who can tell him when it will occur? No one has power over the spirit to retain the spirit, and no one has power in the day of death. There is no release from that war, and wickedness will not deliver those who are given to it. All this I have seen, and applied my heart to every work that is done under the sun: there is a time in which one man rules over another to his own hurt. (Ecclesiastes 8:2-9)

Honor The King

Government is established by God. From the first organization of man into a system of laws the Lord has expected His people to give honor to this basic institution. Paul writes about submitting to the government of the Roman Empire in his letter to the saints in Rome. Peter admonishes those (including himself) living under the tyrannical hand of Nero to ‘honor the king’ because government is established by God. From ancient time this has been the will of God. Solomon reminds us in the book of life our obedience to civil law is imperative because of our oath to God. The rule of government is power. As citizens of the kingdom of God we must submit to the authority of the kingdom of men. Those who obey the law will lessen the chances of being in trouble with the law. Rebellion to civil law is sin.

The pattern of the early disciples explains the relationship of the Christian to government in plain terms. Being warned to stop teaching Christ Peter and the apostles respectfully inform the government officials that obedience to God must come before obedience to man. Disobedience to civil law can only be done when the law of man disobeys the law of God. This does not suggest we can make the law of God apply to our personal gains or needs. Civil disobedience is sinful when the matters do not conflict with the law of God. Solomon was not suggesting that all governments of men are following the law of God. Few if any governments use the word of God for their guides. However children of God are obedient to civil government.

Civil government is established by God and all of the inequities committed will be judged by the Lord God. If there is any vengeance to be given it comes from the throne of God. The people of God are model citizens who obey the laws of the land – whether good or bad. Unless the law forbids the worship of the one true God obedience is required. These are tough lessons. We should always keep before us the words of Solomon: “Keep the king’s commandment for the sake of your oath to God.”

The powers that be are ordained of God; whosoever therefore the power resisteth the ordinance of God. For rules are not a terror to good works, but to evil. (William Penn, Frame of Government for Pennsylvania, 1682)

Wednesday Morning Meditation – Psalms

Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not utterly take from him, nor allow My faithfulness to fail. My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David: His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before Me; it shall be established forever like the moon, even like the faithful witness in the sky. (Psalm 89:33-37)

Faithful As The Moon

The air was crisp and the sky clear. Glowing softly upon a blanket of darkness the moon spread its beauty upon the earth. Ruling the night with a majestic glory God’s creation declared His power and might. When I look upon the moon in its full reflective light I think of the days when Abraham cast his eyes upon that same image or David as he guarded his sheep feeling the security of the great Shepherd upon him. Adam and Eve looked up into the night sky and the moon we see today is the same moon they looked upon. Two thousand years ago Jesus awakened in the night to look upon what you and I see.

Ethan the Ezrahite wrote about the faithfulness of the Lord in Psalm 89. He declares the majesty of God in His longsuffering. There is no one that has the glory of the Lord. He is so much higher than man in all His ways. Men are unfaithful but the Lord is always true. Ethan cast his eyes upon the night sky affirming the presence of the moon is likened to the word of God. Every night in its cycle the moon appears upon the earth to give testimony to man that the Creator still rules and His word is still sure. When man becomes weary he has but to look into the night sky and know that God is alive. His faithful witness bears His mark of love.

The moon has been the faithful witness of God since the fourth day of creation. It will remain in the night sky until the coming of the Lord. As the night gathers its curtain around the face of the day spend time gazing upon the moon and feel the love of God. He is Faithful. He is True. If you feel forgotten look at the moon. God has not forgotten you. Don’t let the days of life take away the nights of remembrance. Behold how much God loves you and He will never forsake you. The moon proves that.

Creation is simply an overwhelming outpouring, the overflow of infinite goodness. (Thomas J. Higgins, Perfection is for You, 1953)

Tuesday Morning Early Start – Important Doctrines

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (1 Corinthians 5:4-5)

The Purpose Of Church Discipline

God has always shown to man the tragedy of sin and the righteous judgment of the Lord upon sin. Destroying the world in the days of Noah was a demonstration of grace, mercy, salvation and condemnation. Noah and his family of seven found grace because they were seeking the Lord. Everyone in the world who refused to submit to God were wiped off the face of the earth. Judgment. Sin is serious. Remember the story of Achan and the cities of Jericho/Ai. Read the story of David and Bathsheba. The nation of Israel was almost destroyed because of sin spending seventy years in a captive land. Ananias and Sapphira were struck down in the early days of the church as proof of God’s disdain for sin. Herod the king died a horrible death for not giving glory to God. Sin? It is deadly serious.

The church at Corinth had a serious problem. Sexual immorality was accepted within the body of Christ. Paul was warning the church to make corrections. He first chided the brethren for not having a love for the people in sin. He then instructs them to exercise discipline against the couple to move them to repentance. The Lord wants the church to be pure and purging out the leaven of sin is a response to the serious nature of sexual immorality that was ignored within the church. Paul warns the brethren to take action against the couple withdrawing the fellowship of unity with them so they may be ashamed and repent. The church cannot tolerate sin and by the direction of the Holy Spirit must put away wicked people.

This is very hard to do and in many places very hard to accept. Discipline is never pleasant but the end result is why discipline is done. The Hebrew writer explains chastening is not joyful but grievous. God desires the peaceable fruit of righteousness to come from such action. To the church at Thessalonica Paul reminds the church that erring brethren are not enemies but still brethren. In all of this discipline must be exercise to impress upon the soul the serious nature of sin. The church of today is not unlike the church at Corinth. There can be situations within a local church that requires discipline to be exercised. Unrepentant brethren must be withdrawn from to follow the pattern of New Testament authority and love for the lost. Quibbling over matters of semantics does not address the problem of sin. Personalities are often at odds with the action of church discipline ignoring the reality that people are lost in their present condition. The purpose of church discipline is the salvation of the soul – THAT THE SPIRIT MAY BE SAVED IN THE DAY OF THE LORD JESUS. We must never lose sight of this goal. To do any less would be rejecting the command of God.

Sin is moral leprosy. To put up with leprosy is to die of leprosy. Sin is spiritual cancer. A man who tries only to live with cancer, dies with it. If we do not deal with spiritual malignancy, then indeed it deals with us. (Vance Havner, 1901-1986)

Monday Morning Coffee Break – Life With Jesus

Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.” (Mark 9:33-37)

Road Rage

Politics brings out the worst in people. The disciples had eagerly listened to Jesus tell of the coming kingdom and those among them that would see the emergence of that kingdom come with power. Excited at the prospects of positional power they began to argue among themselves who would get the best seats. As the crowd of disciples walked along the road this became their argument. Matthew was a tax collector and could have thought of himself more qualified than the fishermen in the group. As a zealot Simon would plead national pride and his devotion to Israel. Judas might have suggested being in charge of the national treasury for hidden reasons revealed later. Peter, James and John could have revealed their special place in the ministry of Jesus as they were the ones with Jesus when He was transfigured on the mountain. Twelve men had twelve good reasons to be the greatest in the kingdom. Jesus had only one position to offer them.

Mark’s account lends a sense of mystery to the story. Jesus inquires what the disciples were arguing about and they remained silent – probably out of fear and embarrassment. The Lord was such a powerful teacher. He tells the twelve to gather to him and He calls a child to Him. Taking the young boy in His arms (what a great picture of Jesus taking a young boy in His arms) He forces twelve grown prideful men to look upon the face of an innocent child and learn a hard lesson. “If you want to be great, fellows: here is what you need to be like.” The argument on the road became a life lesson. This lesson would stay with them throughout their lives. Sadly Judas would fail this lesson quickly as he betrayed the Lord. The eleven would go on to serve Jesus as little children giving their lives for the establishment of the kingdom of God, the church of Jesus Christ.

Leaders learn the first lesson of leadership is about those they lead. Positional leadership is about power. Effective leadership is leading others with a spirit of humility and servitude. The real lesson in Jesus’ rebuke of His disciples is the relationship we share with one another. If we follow the example of Jesus and walk in His steps we learn how to serve others. We do not argue about greatness but about service. The heart of a child is not lifted up against others. Humility is the trademark of disciples of Christ to give lives of service to others for the glory of God. Ultimately it shows our love for the Father through our love for Jesus Christ.

The dispute on the road turned into a lesson on the journey of their faith. Keep children around to remind you of the lesson Jesus taught. Whenever disputes come ask for a child to be brought in. Serving others is why we serve. Jesus died for all men.

Humility is nothing else but a right judgment  of ourselves. (William Law, Christian Perfection, 1726)

Sunday Morning Starters – Worship

On that day David first delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren, to thank the Lord: “Oh, give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face evermore! Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth” (1 Chronicles 16:7-12).

Thanksgiving

There was great rejoicing in the land. David the king had brought the ark to Jerusalem and set it in the midst of the tabernacle. He gave to every man and woman a loaf of bread, a piece of meat and a cake of raisins. Levites were appointed to commemorate, to thank, and to praise the Lord God of Israel. On that day David delivered a psalm into the hand of Asaph and his brethren to thank the Lord. David’s psalm recorded in 1 Chronicles 16 is mirrored in Psalm 105. It is a wonderful message of thanksgiving for all that God has done.

Thanksgiving is a time to worship the Lord. While we remember as a country the early days of the American creation, thanksgiving has always been a part of worship to the Creator. When David brought the ark to Jerusalem there was a remembrance off all that God had done. Not just in the physical blessings or wars won but the overshadowing presence of the Almighty. Thanksgiving was a time to worship God. Giving the people a loaf of bread, meat and raisins was showing how dependent the people were on God to deliver their daily bread. Placing the ark in the midst of the Tabernacle exalted the power of the Lord upon the hearts of the people to serve Him in obedience and faith.

David’s psalm expresses praise to the wondrous works of God. Glory should be given to the name of the Lord. Hearts should turn to the will of the Father. There is only one God – the true God who made all things and in whom all things exist. During our time of thanksgiving we should enjoy family, friends and the beneficent hand of our blessings. The center of our thanksgiving should be God. Prayers should be offered. Reading the Bible in praise to His name should be given. There is nothing that we have done of ourselves. By God’s grace we are thankful. By His mercy we endure. Thank you God for all You have done. Everything.

Gratitude is the memory of the heart. (Anonymous)

Saturday Morning Promises – Great Stories

Then he said, “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.” Abraham said to him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” And he said, “No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.” But he said to him, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (Luke 16:27-31).

The Other Lazarus Did Rise

Lazarus was a destitute man who lived a miserable life as a beggar. He suffered from sores that covered his body. Hunger was his constant companion. Dogs were his only friends. Death finally took his misery away as angels carried him to the bosom of Abraham. Around the same time of Lazarus’ pitiful death another man died. He remains unnamed with only the significance of a rich man. In life he lived at the pinnacle of society with all the finery and good health man could know. Friends were always close by and the rich man’s five brothers enjoyed the material life of splendor. Like Lazarus he died too. Now the story takes a profound change.

Before death the rich man was happy and Lazarus miserable. After death Lazarus was comforted and the rich man? The rich man would have begged to have the misery of Lazarus. What he experienced was beyond the imagination of suffering. In his pleas to Abraham he realized how his five brothers were living begging Abraham to send Lazarus to tell them of the awful place he found himself. God does not permit it. The rich man believed too late that if someone came from the grave his brothers would believe. Abraham explains that belief comes from hearing the word of God; not dead men.

Ironically Lazarus did rise from the dead. Not the Lazarus from our story but the Lazarus who was the brother of Martha and Mary, friends of Jesus. When Jesus came to Lazarus he had been dead four days and the tomb sealed. Calling him forth Lazarus came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes. The Lord tells the people to loose him and let him go. Martha and Mary were elated to have their brother back. Friends and family marveled greatly at such a great miracle. They knew that Lazarus was dead and yet he lived. What a testimony he could give about coming back from the dead. It would seem logical that everyone would believe in Jesus now. But there were many Jews who went away plotting to kill Jesus. Abraham was right. A Lazarus did rise from the dead but many did not believe.

After the resurrection of Jesus many dead arose from their graves going into Jerusalem appearing to many. Dorcas was raised from the dead by Peter in Joppa. The Hebrew writer speaks of those who received their dead raised to life again. Countless examples of exactly what the rich man pled with Abraham to do and yet more did not believe than believed. Dead people raised do not save – the word of God saves. Sadly if it were the will of God to allow the dead to be raised today the majority of people would not believe. Why? Because the resurrected Word – Jesus Christ – is proclaimed through the pages of the Bible and men do not believe. If men will not believe what the Bible teaches they would not believe if Abraham Lincoln rose from the dead. The other Abraham was right. Truth is in the Word. Now that is a great story.

Friday Morning Reflections – Wisdom Literature

Behold, God is exalted by His power; who teaches like Him? Who has assigned Him His way, or who has said, ‘You have done wrong’? Remember to magnify His work, of which men have sung. Everyone has seen it; man looks on it from afar. Behold, God is great, and we do not know Him; nor can the number of His years be discovered. For He draws up drops of water, which distill as rain from the mist, which the clouds drop down and pour abundantly on man. Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds, the thunder from His canopy? Look, He scatters His light upon it, and covers the depths of the sea. For by these He judges the peoples; He gives food in abundance. He covers His hands with lightning, and commands it to strike. His thunder declares it, the cattle also, concerning the rising storm. (Job 36:22-33)

How Old Is God?

Science has been able to explain the process of evaporation and formation of rain clouds. It may come as a surprise to many this knowledge was understood by early man. The book of Job was a story that took place during the patriarchal days (like Abraham). Near the end of the story when the young man Elihu is chiding his elders for their lack of understanding of the holy God he illustrates the majesty of God’s power in creation. He knew where rain came from. This was evidence of the beauty of the creation. This knowledge exalts God in the perfectness of His design. Man can understand it and explain it but only the Creator has put this into place. Wisdom comes from God not man.

Elihu puts an interesting twist to his story. Men have sung of the greatness of God since the beginning but no one really understands how great the Lord is. Like some today who ask questions to challenge faith in God Elihu explains there are no answers. “Where did God come from?” There is no answer. The ‘number of years’ cannot be discovered because the Creator is so great man cannot know. This bothers man. He can plunge to the depths of the sea, put a man on the moon and send machines to faraway places in the universe but he cannot touch the toe of God (in fact never come close). Every time man takes a picture of the edge of deep space the Lord smiles and opens up another room in His great expanse. Paul declared to the philosophers of Athens that man lives within the boundaries of a habitation. Man is limited.

Nature extols the virtues of God’s hand when we look at forces such as rain and lightning. We can explain it but we cannot explain it. The only thing we can do is describe what happens but we were not there when the world was void and without form. There was a time no light shone upon this rock. Evaporation was created in the process of God’s design. This we can know because God has shown Himself to man. But that knowledge is limited and we cannot know the years of God. It is not so much trying to count the age of God but to realize how great He is. O Lord how great your ocean and how small my boat. He is big. He is really, really big. And I am glad.

We cannot know God in His greatness, for the Father cannot be measured. (Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, c. 175)

Thursday Morning Thankfulness – Epistles of Paul

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?–unless indeed you are disqualified. (2 Corinthians 13:5)

Putting Yourself To The Test

It is easy to find the faults and failings in others. They are so apparent. The challenge comes when we have to examine our own lives and find fault. Let’s face it: looking for things lacking in another person is more easily revealed than facing an honest truth about our own hearts. We are entitled the do what we do and act like we do because that is who we are. Other people need to conform. The litmus test of Christ changes all of that. Paul’s frank statement to the Corinthian Christians was to stop and examine themselves. Look closely whether they could really say they were in the faith. Tough questions. Tougher answers.

Becoming complacent in our relationship with God is a relationship of complacency. It is a form of self-righteousness that masks a spirit of hypocrisy. Jesus tells of the man who went up to prayer and could do nothing but brag about what a great disciple he was of the Father. It was only from the self-examined heart of the publican the spirit of humility was found in begging for mercy. Looking deep within our own hearts takes more courage. It is a deeper well we enter when we open up our hearts to the truth.

The importance of self-examination is to make certain we are following the will of the Father and not the will of men. Why do we believe what we believe? What is the pattern of authority for what we do as disciples? Paul’s plea was to invite the brethren to make assurances they are abiding by the will of God. Make proof of your faith as the Bereans did examining the scriptures daily to determine what truth is. Everything in our lives must be in harmony with Jesus Christ who is the only way, the only truth and the only life.

We are victims of tradition. We fix a Thanksgiving meal the way our grandparents and parents did because that is what we were taught. Cutting the end of a ham was only because grandmother did not have a pot big enough to cook the ham. We still cut the end of the ham off through tradition and nothing more. It is just as easy to have a faith based on a tradition rather than a truth. Every generation must examine itself and ascertain where faith resides. We must believe and practice the truth today because of what God says in His word; not because our parents believed and practiced certain things. Truth is based upon only one truth. Self-examination and proving of self will always bring the same answer when it is placed under the microscope of God’s word. Examine. Prove.

Where religion goes wrong it is because, in one form or another, men have made the mistake of trying to turn to God without turning away from self. (Aelred Graham, Christian Thought and Action, 1951)

Wednesday Morning Meditation – Psalms

Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty. Neither do I concern myself with great matters, nor with things too profound for me. Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with his mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever. (Psalm 131) A Song of Ascents. Of David.

Leaven is a small but powerful element. Sometimes the most influential statements come in small packages and Psalm 131 is full of leaven. David’s psalm is only sixty one words but it packs a lot of simple truths. Trust and contentment is the hallmark of this wonderful message. There seems to be an abiding calm in the life of David as he trusts in the Lord with no concerns for the uncertain problems of life. Humility brings about a calm assurance that God is in control.

We live in a world of turmoil. The news is filled with hatred, despair and uncertainty. Technology has allowed events unfolding around the globe to fill our smart phones, televisions and computers. Hearts become anxious with the terrible acts of cruelty spreading throughout the world. David did not have access to what was happening in other parts of the world but his own life was filled with worry and concerns. Even facing the troubles of his own life he still found the comfort of the Shepherd Lord to give him peace and contentment. He trusted in God. Why should we do any less?

There is a great blessing in being a child of God. Our hearts are calm and quieted. Since man rebelled against the Creator and filled the world with hatred there has always been a struggle with wickedness. The storms of strife, unrest, uncertainty move across the face of the earth with unyielding intensity. Walking in the midst of the fiery furnace of despair are the children of God. The fire rages but they are not hurt because they walk with the Lord. Like weaned children we live in the abundant hope of Jesus Christ.

It may be time for the children of God to spend more time in the Book than watching the news. Keeping up with the affairs of men is a good thing but without the affairs of God filling the hearts there will be fear. David reminds us to let the leaven of godliness fill our hearts trusting in the Lord who gives us the milk of contentment. God is so great. What can man do to us?

Here is the wisdom of the contented man: to let God choose for him; for when we have given up our wills to Him … our spirits must needs rest while our conditions have for their security the power, the wisdom and the charity of God. (Jeremy Taylor, Holy Living, 1650)