The Heaton File

Sunday Morning Starters – Worship

Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.’ “Thus says the Lord: ‘Again there shall be heard in this place–of which you say, “It is desolate, without man and without beast”–in the cities of Judah, in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who will say: “Praise the Lord of hosts, for the Lord is good, for His mercy endures forever”– and of those who will bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord. For I will cause the captives of the land to return as at the first,’ says the Lord. “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘In this place which is desolate, without man and without beast, and in all its cities, there shall again be a dwelling place of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the South, in the land of Benjamin, in the places around Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, the flocks shall again pass under the hands of him who counts them,’ says the Lord. ‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: ‘In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.  (Jeremiah 33:9-16)

Worship The Lord Our Righteousness

The weeping prophet of Old Testament scrip remains shut up in prison for his preaching the message of the Lord. Jeremiah’s life is one of turmoil and sadness. He seeks to bring the people back to serving Jehovah but instead they rush headlong into their doom. A dark cloud covers the nation as the northern tribes have been decimated and the Chaldeans threaten the remaining children of Abraham. Jeremiah strongly warns the people of God’s judgment and wrath upon their wickedness. His tones are clear and filled with the fury of the Lord’s displeasure at their rejection of His word. Intermixed with the severity of God’s message is found the love of God for His people.

It is remarkable to read the prophets and see not only the message of judgment upon the people for their sin but to see how much God loves His people. To understand the character of our loving Father we have but to spend time with the prophets. He promises to cleanse the people of their iniquities pardoning them for all they have done. In the cleansing power of God’s love the world will see how great the Lord is to restore joy, praise and honor to His name. The Lord is not vengeful forever. There will come a time that voices will be lifted up in joy and gladness. The voice of the bridegroom and the bride will praise the Lord of Hosts proclaiming His mercy and goodness. Forgiveness. What a joyful sound.

Paul reminds us what was written before was placed upon the hearts of men to see God’s love. How often have we rebelled against the Lord? Can we count the times that sin has gained the victory in our lives? There is nothing we can do to save ourselves and we stand judged before the great I AM with nothing to bring. We do not deserve His mercy. We do not deserve His grace. We do not deserve His love. Yet He gives it to us time and time again. When we bring the sacrifice of praise to the house of the Lord HE FORGIVES US. Why? Because He loves us.

Today is a day of worship. We gather with those of like precious faith to worship. In our songs today think of God’s love. In our prayers today acknowledge the grace of the Lord. Listen to the joy of God’s word as the message of hope fills our hearts. We do not deserve to receive what the Lord will give us today; but He loves us so much He is willing to restore joy to our lives. When we worship the Lord today remember that His name is: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Love is the gentle, tranquil, satisfied acquiescence and adherence of the soul in the contemplation of God … delight in Him because He is God, and because His commandments are good. (John Henry Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons, IV, 1843)

Saturday Morning Promises – Great Stories

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided. So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the Lord looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians. And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen.” And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained. But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. So the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Thus Israel saw the great work which the Lord had done in Egypt; so the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord and His servant Moses. (Exodus 14:21-31)

A Parting Faith

The children of Israel had seen some wondrous things. The plagues wrought by God upon the Egyptian people were devastating. In the final pestilence the smell of fear filled the land as families (including Pharaoh) buried their dead. Their joy was short lived as they approached the Red Sea. Behind them came the whole of the Egyptian army to kill every man, woman and child. Crying out to the Lord the heart of the people was filled with fear. Assured by Moses they would never see the Egyptians again a great and incredible miracle began.  As the prophet stretched out his hand over the sea the Lord caused the waters to go back by a strong east wind that blew all night. The noise must have been deafening. As the sun began to crest over the eastern horizon the eyes of the Israelites were astonished to see the vast waters of the Red Sea parted on the right and left and a path of dry land established in the midst. Nearly two million people were awe struck at a sight not beheld since the days of Noah.

There were a number of miracles that day. The parting of the waters magnified the power of God exponentially. Another great example of faith happened that day. Someone had to be the first one to walk across. They were going to walk on dry land between two mountains of water held in place by an invisible power. The people began to move forward with eyes filled with wonder. It took a lot of faith to step into the Red Sea with the belief that everything was going to be well. Faith moved them through the vastness of the sea knowing no harm would come to them. Looking by faith to deliverance on the other side guided them between the realities of what surrounded them. Their faith delivered them to the shores of deliverance on the other side. Redemption.

It must not be forgotten that after the Israelites past through the waters the Egyptians also came across on dry land. The reasons for their crossing on dry land were different. They did not believe in God yet they walked on dry land. Their reasons for coming into the midst of the sea were not to find deliverance but to kill. In the midst of pursuing their enemies they failed to notice the difficulties they encountered. Their chariots had problems and the army became disorganized. Then it happened. All the water held in place by the hand of God was let loose. No one survived. In one act of God’s final show of righteousness the Lord wiped out Pharaoh’s army. The children of Israel were astonished.

Life is much like standing at the Red Sea. Most people have no desire to see the power of God. Their desires are for themselves and care nothing for the evidence of God. Like the Egyptians who witnessed the plagues by the hand of God their sorrow was short lived. The Hebrews saw the parting of the sea and walked in its midst to find deliverance. Faithful followers of the Lord will step into the sea of life walking on dry land because of the faith in HIM who holds the waters on both sides. It can look terrifying but not to the children of God who look to the distant shore for deliverance. By faith we are carried in the midst of troubled waters to our home on eternity’s shore. The blessing of our salvation will be the destruction of those who do not believe. Like the waters which destroyed the faithless our salvation will come in the final day by the righteous judgment of God.

Have faith in the ONE who made the worlds and gave us HIS Son to die for us. Walk on dry land to the home which HE has prepared for us. Trust in HIS power to deliver. Walk through the midst of the Red Sea. Now that is a great story.

Thursday Morning Thankfulness – Epistles of Paul

For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans 14:11-12)

Take A Good Look At Your Knees

The stories we like to tell about what we plan to do when we meet God are remarkable. People say they want to ask the Lord why He allowed suffering and pain. Some are conflicted with the abuse of children planning on discussing such with God. It seems everyone has a plan on how they are going to interrogate Jehovah God Almighty when they get to Heaven. There are so many worldly and earthly concepts of what it will be like in that day that find no foundation in scripture. It is almost like God owes us and when we finish with what we want to do and understand that the Lord God will then be so gracious to allow us to enter Heaven. Included with these worldly notions are streets of literal gold and living in mansions where we get to meet our neighbors and have picnics on eternity’s shores. Nothing is further from the truth.

Take a good look at your knees. That is about all you are going to see when we ‘stand’ before the Creator of this world and Awesome God. There will be no arguments with God about why this and why that. No one will stroll up to the pearly gates and have long talks with the men and women of old. We will not be there for a family reunion where we dine on fried chicken with our parents, siblings, wives, children, aunts and uncles. There will not be one religious group in this corner and another in that corner and each believing they are the only ones there. In fact most people will never see Heaven.

Paul declares plainly that coming in the presence of God will be a humbling experience for every person – every soul. All men will be bowing down before the I AM. Rich men, poor men, great men, small men, presidents, dictators, righteous, unrighteous and all those who lived on the face of the earth. Everyone you know and everyone I know will be there. Every person you see today will be there. And we will all have one thing in common – our knees will be bowing and our tongues will be confessing. When the sentence of judgment is passed most will be cast into outer darkness. Only the few will continue to see the radiance of a loving Father as eternal life begins.

The truth of it is we have no idea how incredibly awesome it will be to be in the presence of God. Moses could barely contain the passing glory of the I AM and we expect to do ….. what? Every knee is the story. Every tongue is the story. Knees will be bowed and tongues confessing. Glory to God. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created. Amen.

The imagery of the heavens as being two thousand millions light-years in diameter is awesome when compare to the tiny earth, but trivial when compared to the imagery of the “hand that measured the heavens.” (Fulton J. Sheen, Old Errors and New Labels, 1931)

Wednesday Morning Meditation – Psalms

Give us help from trouble, for the help of man is useless. Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies. (Psalm 108:12-13)

Through God We Can

There is a power within us that often remains untapped. It is strength beyond anything man can imagine yet we all possess it. Inner strength resides within each of us waiting to be brought forth by the clarion call of trust in God. Striving against the wiles of the devil is a struggle daily settling upon our hearts. The reason so many fall to the seduction of Satan is a failure to seek the only source of rebellion against the darts of the evil one. The power of God will help us rebel against the onslaught of wickedness seeking to destroy us. Trusting in men is useless and vain. There is no wisdom or knowledge in man that will help us overcome the devil. Satan can only be defeated by the power of God.

David knew the power of God in a very real way. Goliath was unstoppable. The army of Israel shrunk in fear for over a month at the railings of the warrior from Gath. When David stepped into the valley of Elah to face Goliath he knew that God was his helper. The valiant courage of David was fortified with the knowledge that the Lord would fight for him defeating all his enemies. The young shepherd boy also knew he could not win over Goliath without his own trust in the power of God. Victory came in simple trusting faith. There are many Goliath’s in our lives that we can never overcome without the power of God. Trusting in man is futile. Trusting in God is victorious.

Paul proclaimed his trust in the Lord when we writes, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” He knew the power of God in life to overcome everything. He calmly writes of his impending death in his letter to Timothy. His heart was filled with a valiant spirit of trust that whether to live or die it was gain for Christ. This spirit should not be lost on any of God’s people today. We can do mighty things through God if we will be trust Him. Whatever we do, whatever we gain, God must have all the glory because He is the one who will deliver us.

Jesus exhorts His disciples not to worry. Why? When we trust in the Lord there is nothing to worry about. Sickness? Financial uncertainty? World events? Personal conflicts? We can do valiant things with God. We can overcome. We can have the victory. We can slay the giants that stand against us. He will take away our fears. He will give us hope. He will assure our hearts that all is well. He will fight our battles. He will give us victory. Oh the mighty things we can do when we let the Lord be our guide.

Faith is to pray without doubting, without weariness, without faintness; entertaining no jealousies or suspicions of God, but being confident of God’s hearing us, and of His return to us. (Jeremy Taylor, Holy Living, 1650)

Tuesday Morning Early Start – Important Doctrines

Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)

Trash Lessons

During my early morning walks I cannot help but notice the amount of trash that is on the side of the road. My three-mile walk takes me through neighborhoods and along a major road mostly with sidewalks. Dotting the landscape are cups, wrappers, cigarette cartons, cans, bottles, paper in many forms and some items from an alien planet. It does not seem as obvious driving by in an automobile. Walking reveals the trash tucked within the grass or lying in the gutters along the roads. How does this trash wind up alongside the road? There could be a 1% chance some of this is by accident but the sad reality is the trash is left on the side of the road by people. I have witnessed drivers throw their trash out the windows of automobiles in a flippant uncaring act. The Oscar Madison mentality that pervades our society is a lack of respect for life and disrespect for themselves. But there is a deeper problem.

Life is not defined by trash on the side of the road but it becomes a tell. A man will go into the store and buy an Icee. When he finishes he throws the plastic cup out the window. Finishing a quick family lunch from McDonalds the driver gathers all the trash and drops it on the road as they wait for the light to change. Cigarettes are flipped out the window by the thousands along with wrappers of every description. Companies spend millions every year cleaning up the trash we leave behind. The deeper problem is the selfish nature of man. He cares for no one but himself. Life is about his needs and his needs alone. No one can tell him what to do and how to do it. He is his own master, his own god serving to his end alone. Man worships man.

Jesus told the multitudes in His sermon on the mountain that most people will take the broad and easy way of life. This popular way is about man serving himself and finding no barriers to what he can do and no consequences to what he has done. Life is care-free and easy. Without the restrictions of a higher law, life becomes a fun filled frolic experience of seeing who can go the fastest and have the most pleasure. Casting life out the window there is no responsibility. What they fail to realize is the trash must be picked up one day. There is a day of reckoning. Sadly most people do not believe there is a day coming when an accounting is required.

Most people will spend eternity in Hell because they spent their lives ‘throwing trash out the window’ … in other words (not in a literal sense) they lived for the moment. Life is not about the moment but about the eternity. Only few will find joy in death. The narrow way is difficult now but it will bring the blessings of life in death for those who pursue it. Don’t throw your life away seeking the things of this world.

Pleasures are but shadows, which hold no longer than the sunshine of my fortunes. (Arthur Warwick, Spare Minutes, 1637)

Monday Morning Coffee Break – Life With Jesus

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And so said all the disciples. (Matthew 26:30-35)

False Courage

Peter is a great study of character. He is impetuous, self-assured, impulsive and on occasion right. The man we are introduced to in the gospel accounts is not the same man we find in his epistles. Growth comes to Peter during that transition. His self-confidence is his downfall as evident in the final hours of Jesus’ life. During the Passover feast Jesus washes the disciple’s feet explaining how they should be servants to one another. The revealing of a traitor among them confuses them still unaware of the sudden death of Jesus that looms ahead. Using Zechariah as a backdrop for the garden message Jesus tells the eleven how they would desert him as sheep scattered in time of crisis. Peter immediately separates himself from his fellow apostles declaring while they would abandon Christ he would never do such a thing. Warned by Jesus of his own personal failure Peter again affirms he was willing to die for Jesus if necessary. Hollow words. False courage.

The rest of the story is well known. Shocked by the sudden arrest of Jesus by a huge mob the disciples flee. Fearing for their lives they go into hiding. Peter stays on the fringe of the events of the night trying to understand what is happening. Asked three times if he was a disciple of Jesus he denies his Lord with a final denial of cursing. Jesus looks into the eyes of Peter and the emboldened disciple who proclaimed his courage hours before now flees weeping in sorrow at his debacle. Hollow words. False courage.

Peter would recover and go on to preach the message of a risen Savior to a world darkened by sin. His words are recorded first in Luke’s account of the beginning of the church. The ministry of Peter would be the focus of the first part of the Acts and two of his epistles would be preserved for prosperity. He was a changed man.

Jesus is a master teacher. He is filled with compassion, love and forgiveness. It was clear that Peter and the ten had no idea what was about to happen when He warned them of the events coming that night. His heart must have ached as Peter proudly boasted of his courage. Jesus knew better. Peter was a fickle man of great courage who needed greater courage to learn how to overcome his capricious nature. “I will never stumble” he bragged. Jesus did not rebuke him. He gently loved him and allowed the events of the next few days to mold his character.

So often we are not unlike Peter. It is easy to become smug in our courage as a Christian having the same boldness. Courage is a valuable part of our arsenal to defeat the wiles of the devil but taking stock of ourselves is where true valor begins. We need Christ to be strong. Peter tried to have courage apart from Christ. Little did he know how much he would need the Lord to be strong. Fighting the battle of sin cannot be done with hallow words of self-righteous faith. Sin can only be defeated through the power of God and Him alone! Prayer is the weapon of choice. The Word must be embedded in our lives deeply from hours of meditation. Fellowship with saints emboldens us with the necessary courage to fight together against Satan. Without the help of the Lord we will fail as Peter did.

Faith comes from the deliberation of the word of God. Without the grace of the Lord in our hearts we ring hallow in our courage. The power is the Word.

If you see a Bible that is falling apart, it probably belongs to someone who isn’t. (Vance Havner)

Sunday Morning Starters – Worship

Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. (Genesis 8:20-21)

Altar Worship

The last year was an incredible journey for Noah. No man has ever witnessed what he and his family lived through. First the terrible news of what was to become of the earth. Then the task of building an ark to house all the animals that were to be saved from the flood. The day of judgment arrived and gathering all the animals Noah joined his family in the ark of safety as the rains began to fall. Waters from the deep began to surge forward and in time the massive barge of gopher wood rose. All the people outside died. After forty days and nights the rains ceased but it would be more than eleven months before Noah and his family would stand on dry ground again.

Noah had seen firsthand the goodness and severity of God. He and his family had been blessed by the goodness of God because they believed in the promises. Every living being outside the ark learned the word of the Lord was true and perished in the flood. Only eight people stood on the earth. What a marvel that must have been to them. The first thing Noah did was not gather food, build a house or plant a garden. He built an altar. It was time to worship God.

Catastrophic events remind us of the power and grace of the Lord. Noah was a man of worship before the flood and it was only natural to worship his God first when he left the ark. People of God have a natural tendency to worship Him no matter the circumstances. Worship takes first place in their lives. There were a lot of things Noah needed to do in providing for his family. He realized that first things were first. Worship came before anything. People of God are like that.

Today is a day of worship. What we do today is to put God first in our lives. There is nothing we can do today that is more important than worshipping the ONE who saved us by His grace and demonstrates His wrath upon those who do not believe. We have so many opportunities to worship God as a collective group. It is sad that so many of God’s children try to do as little as they can. When Noah offered sacrifices to God the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Let our worship today be a sweet smelling incense to the Lord God Almighty and let us join with the saints in everything we have opportunity to be a part of today. Worship.

Faith is the light of time; it alone grasps the truth without seeing it; it touches what it does not feel; it sees this world as though it existed not, beholding quite other things than those which are visible. (J. P. De Caussade, Abandonment, 1880)

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)