The Heaton File

Saturday Morning Promises – Great Stories

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

The Greatest Story

For the past ten months we have spent Saturdays looking at various stories in the Bible learning lessons of courage, faith, endurance, love, laughter, sadness and joy. The Bible is filled with the lives of men and women just like you and me who learned to love God devoting their life to His glory. Our story today is simple. Think about this. Ponder its grand message. Meditate upon the story of love so profound we cannot understand it. Let this day be a time of preparation for what we do tomorrow in worship. You will find no greater story than this.

Jesus came to earth.

Nuff said.

Friday Morning Reflections – Wisdom Literature

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them”: While the sun and the light, the moon and the stars, are not darkened, and the clouds do not return after the rain; in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men bow down; when the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look through the windows grow dim; when the doors are shut in the streets, and the sound of grinding is low; when one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of music are brought low. Also they are afraid of height, and of terrors in the way; when the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper is a burden, and desire fails. For man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets. Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, Or the golden bowl is broken, Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, Or the wheel broken at the well. Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it. (Ecclesiastes 12:1-7)

The Shape I Am In

Author Diamond C. Aloes has a humorous tale of growing old in his poem “The Shape I Am In.” He writes,

There’s nothing the matter with me,

I’m just as healthy as can be,

I have arthritis in both knees,

And when I talk, I talk with a wheeze.

My pulse is weak, my blood is thin,

But I’m awfully well for the shape I’m in.

All my teeth have had to come out,

And my diet I hate to think about.

I’m overweight and I can’t get thin,

But I’m awfully well for the shape I’m in.

And arch supports I need for my feet…

Or I wouldn’t be able to go out in the street.

Sleep is denied me night after night,

But every morning I find I’m all right.

My memory’s failing, my head’s in a spin…

But I’m awfully well for the shape I’m in.

Old age is golden I’ve heard it said,

But sometimes I wonder, as I go to bed.

With my ears in a drawer, my teeth in a cup,

And my glasses on a shelf, until I get up.

And when sleep dims my eyes, I say to myself,

Is there anything else I should lay on the shelf?

The reason I know my Youth has been spent,

Is my get-up-and-go has got-up-and-went!

But really I don’t mind, when I think with a grin,

Of all the places my get-up has been.

I get up each morning and dust off my wits,

Pick up the paper and read the obits.

If my name is missing, I’m therefore not dead,

So I eat a good breakfast and jump back into bed.

The moral of this as the tale unfolds,

Is that for you and me, who are growing old….

It is better to say “I’m fine” with a grin,

Than to let people know the shape we are in.

Solomon explained it long ago when he described the aging process. His final advice for youth was to live full lives with the knowledge that there will be a day of reckoning. He writes of the affliction and sadness that accompanies growing older and how the arms and hands will grow weaker. The legs will bow down as they become frail. Teeth will be fewer and eyesight will grow dimmer as hearing is lost. Sleep will be less, the voice will be more haltered and the hair will turn white. Appetite will fail. Old age is not what it is cracked up to be.

The focus of Solomon’s admonition is to know that man goes to his “long home” (KJV) and death will come to all. There is a constant awareness of remembering the Creator because a day will come when death will be as a silver cord loosed, a golden bowl broken, and the pitcher shattered at the fountain or the wheel broken at the well. Death comes to all men. Then the judgment.

Youth waste their energy on the pursuits of life that will come to an abrupt change in old age. It is the natural process. No matter how much man tries to retain youth age changes everything. But one thing will not change – the eternal body. It will live on without end. Life can be filled with hardships but it will come to an end. What happens after death will never change. And that is the lesson for the living. Solomon will conclude his book with the simple truth that life is not about the here and now with all of its burdens. Life is about an eternal body that is found in God that will never suffer. This fleshly tent will be discarded one day including the pains of old age. Our new body will be something else. It will be amazing. There will be no more pain or sorrow. I cannot wait. Lord come quickly.

Live as though every day was your last – and someday you will be right. (Anonymous, c. 1960)

Thursday Morning Thankfulness – Epistles of Paul

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1)

A Study In Contrast

Christians are different. They have made a commitment of separation. Their lives will become a study in contrast seeking to reflect the glory of God and deflect the influence of the world. It is not an easy task. Many will try to serve God and mammon. It cannot be done. The appeal of the world will overtake the heart and the principles of righteousness will be left by the side of the broad way. Perdition awaits. The solution is offered by the Holy Spirit through the writings of Paul. He explains the need of contrast and how to remove the influence of the world.

The Christian should not allow the lives of unbelievers to choose the direction in life. A yoke burdened with someone who does not believe in Christ will lead in the wrong paths. To partner with those who do not live according to the law of God will influence the child of God to break the law. There can be no blending of light and darkness. The power of darkness only takes over when light is extinguished. Belial is foreign to our knowledge. Belial is a transcript of the Hebrew, meaning worthlessness or wickedness; a synonym for Satan. Jesus Christ and Satan do not sit at the same table. The temple of the Lord God Almighty does not have idols of men. There is only one God and one God alone.

Paul’s use of contrast is striking. The Christian should immediately realize that life is to be a separation from the influence of the world. It should never be considered wise to see how close a person can get to the fire before being burned. The key to separation is to remain separate. If God is to be a part of my life then my life must be fully His. No half-Christian, half-devotion, half-willing heart to serve. It is all or nothing.

Living for Christ means to be separate. Cleansing our lives of the influence of the world will direct our hearts and minds toward the glory of God. First place means only one person can sit on the throne of our hearts. Who sits on that throne?

True godliness does not turn men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it and excites their endeavors to mend it; not to hide their candle under a bushel, but to set it upon a table in a candlestick. (William Penn, Some Fruits of Solitude, 1693)

Wednesday Morning Meditation – Psalms

Nevertheless He regarded their affliction, when He heard their cry; and for their sake He remembered His covenant, and relented according to the multitude of His mercies. He also made them to be pitied by all those who carried them away captive. Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the Gentiles, to give thanks to Your holy name, to triumph in Your praise. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord! (Psalm 106:44-48)

The Multitude Of Our Sins Does Not Diminish The Mercy Of God

Israel was a rebellious nation almost from the beginning. They rebelled by the Red Sea, lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, envied Moses, made a calf in Horeb, forgot God their Savior, despised the pleasant land, murmured in their tents, joined themselves to Baal of Peor, rebelled against the Holy Spirit, angered the Lord at Meribah over water, mingled with the Gentiles, sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons, played the harlot by their own deeds and became abhorred by the Almighty God. On a few occasions had it not been for Moses we would not be reading about Israel. The steadfast love of God endures forever and because the Lord is good Israel was saved from utter annihilation.

Psalm 106 is a powerful testimony to the mercy of God and the tragic power of sin. The psalmist outlines in ‘cliffs notes’ the history of Israel from their deliverance at the Red Sea to the punishment of bondage. It is not a pretty picture. The only reason we cannot recoil in horror at how sinful Israel was is because we are viewing a mirror of our own lives. Sin has a domineering power on man. All men shoulder the burden of sin with its destructive influence. The psalmist is not highlighting sin but exalting the mercy of God. Like Israel we rebel. We fail the Lord in a rebellious spirit of self. Jesus did not come to die for sinless man but a creation that mastered the art of evil. Yet the grace of God is given to a people as undeserving as Israel.

My life should not be characterized by “many sins” but regardless of one or more sins I have failed my Father. When we stand before the Lord in judgment it will not be to sit and talk about the affairs of the world but to utter in the words of the publican, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” I need mercy. You need mercy. Thank God He gives His mercy. Let us say in a loud voice, “Amen.”

Mercy imitates God, and disappoints Satan. (John Chrysostom, Homilies, c. 388)

Tuesday Morning Early Start – Important Doctrines

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. (1 Corinthians 11:23-29)

Has The Supper Become Mundane?

The church in Corinth had a lot of problems. They were still a church of God but there were a few things Paul needed to sort out for them that needed attention. Among the many issues plaguing the church was the conduct of the Lord’s Supper. Their attitudes, actions and assessment of the remembrance of Christ’s death had reached an all-time low. What began as a doctrine of sacred memory had turned into a mundane, casual feasting with a select few neglecting others in their abuse of the supper. Some of Paul’s strongest language will come from this text.

Jesus instituted the supper during another important remembrance: the Passover. The first Passover was deadly. For those who did not follow the instructions of the Lord during that dreadful night death would come. The wail of sorrow filled the land as the Egyptians awoke to the death of the firstborn. Only a working faith in obedience to the specific instructions of the Lord would allow the judgment of God to pass over. Instituting the supper of Christ during the Passover feast was not a coincidence. It was meant to serve as a parabolic representation of what Jesus would do for man on the cross. His blood saves us from death. It was His sacrifice that gives us hope. But it also serves as a warning to those who would view the Lord’s Supper as a time to break off a crumb of bread and drink a slip of juice with no regard to the significance of our spiritual Passover.

The church in the past few years has realized that our worship services have more often than not become hastened activities of a check-list itemed ritual with little or no memory of what the Supper means. We hasten through the passing of the bread and the juice. Few words are said. Prayers are shortened to a rote memorization of common phrases. The spirit seems to be more on getting out on time than taking the time to get out as much of the memory of Christ’ death.

It should not go without warning the severity of Paul’s message to the Corinthians. A serious problem that is common among brethren is the forgetful nature of “discerning the body and the blood.” When the emblems are passed there is laughter, talking, playing with babies, writing of checks, reading the bulletin and a host of other things that clearly show the mind is not upon the suffering of Jesus. There is penalty attached to the Lord’s Supper if we allow it to become a mundane exercise of worship. Is it possible that in all the things we have to discuss with the Lord on the day of judgement that our eternal life is jeopardized because we ate the bread and drank the cup in an unworthy manner? How sad when we knew better. Judgment is allotted every Sunday upon those who treat the Lord’s Supper as common.

Jesus died and suffered so that we could be saved. There is nothing we can do to repay that sacrifice. What we can do is to reflect upon that message with a spirit of holiness, reverence and thankfulness that Jesus died for ME! Anything less is sin.

The [Lord’s Supper] is central: because it gathers up, expresses, and makes effective the whole meaning of the spiritual life. (Olive Wyon, The Altar Fire, 1954)

Monday Morning Coffee Break – Life With Jesus

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, “Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?” He said to them, “An enemy has done this.” The servants said to him, “Do you want us then to go and gather them up?” But he said, “No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.’” (Matthew 13:24-30)

Lessons From The Tares

The use of parables in the teaching of Jesus illustrates His mastery of illustration with application. Taking simple things of life the Lord impressed upon the heart a sermon that could be easily understood and useful if there was a desire to learn. The text does not always reveal the meaning of a parable. On occasion the disciples would ask Jesus the meaning and He would give a full explanation. Like the parable of the sower the parable of the tares is explained in Matthew 13:37-43.

It would seem plausible the story of the tares had a real life story attached to it. Whether it was something known by Jesus or just an application of the nature of man His listeners would readily identify with the actions of an enemy who would stoop so low in seeking to destroy his neighbor’s crop. There could be nothing as dastardly as trying to destroy a fellow man’s source of livelihood. The enemy was a vicious character with evil intent without regard to good things. His plan was to cause great harm. He worked in stealth awaiting the fruition of his work to reveal itself in time. It could well be his intent to ruin the good crop as the tares were removed. However the wisdom of the sower was to wait for the harvest so as not to lose the good portions.

The meaning of the parable is important for man today. As the people of God we are the good seeds of the kingdom of God living in the midst of a crooked and perverse world. Satan has his enemies going throughout the world to bring destruction on God’s people. Sadly many have succumbed to the wiles of the devil and left their first love. The travesty of the day of judgment will be the witness of those who once tasted the word of God lost because of allowing the tares of the devil to infect their lives. One of the great messages of the parable of the tares is the clear separation of righteousness with unrighteousness. It may not be clear now but it will be in the harvest.

Paul will later remind us that God is not to be mocked because whatever we sow is exactly what we shall reap. Life cannot be a frivolous exercise of wanting disregard for judgment. The judgment of God clearly separates good from evil. On the day of the final harvest the tares will be burned but the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. HE WHO HAS EARS TO HEAR, LET HIM HEAR!

While it is true that it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God in judgment, it is a much more terrible thing to fall out of His hand. (Albert T. Mollegen, Christianity and Modern Man, 1961)

Sunday Morning Starters – Worship

I will praise You with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing praises to You. I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your word above all Your name. In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul. All the kings of the earth shall praise You, O Lord, when they hear the words of Your mouth. Yes, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord. Though the Lord is on high, yet He regards the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me; You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands. (Psalm 138; A Psalm of David)

Worship Is Praise

Worship is with a whole heart.

Worship is a temple of praise.

Worship is the lovingkindness and truth of God.

Worship is the word of God.

Worship is answered prayer.

Worship is boldness to come before His throne.

Worship is singing praises to the Lord.

Worship is the glory of the Lord.

Worship is remembering the humble.

Worship is protection from evil.

Worship is embracing the right hand of God.

Worship is forever.

And in that day you will say: “Praise the Lord, call upon His name; declare His deeds among the peoples, make mention that His name is exalted. (Isaiah 12:4)

Saturday Morning Promises – Great Stories

Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with Him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities–Mary called Magdalene, out of whom had come seven demons, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who provided for Him from their substance. (Luke 8:1-3)

Those Who Took Care Of Jesus

The ministry of Jesus was not without the demands of everyday living. For nearly three years the Lord journeyed throughout the countryside and cities preaching, healing and teaching His disciples. Lost in the busy activities of the day are the common needs of all men for nourishment and care. The Son of God was a man who needed to eat, revive Himself with drink and sleep. Jesus could have miraculously produced all His food as He did with the feeding of the multitudes. His life as a man among men was like others requiring supplies to be bought and needs met. He needed a place to lay His head. His body needed to eat and keep fluids flowing allowing the demanding schedule He keep daily. Behind the scenes of what we read in scripture a group of women (and others) daily filled His needs.

It must have been quite a chore to keep up with the frantic pace of Jesus. Mary His mother was often with Him. As the disciples grew around Him people took their place in providing whatever needs Jesus and His disciples required. It seems that many of these helpers were those who out of a heart of gratitude owed Jesus their lives. Being healed of evil spirits would be life changing. Having the infirmities of the flesh removed was filled with such joy. Taking care of Jesus was their way of saying ‘Thank you’ for a gift they could never repay.

As the scene at Golgotha unfolds with Jesus being crucified on a cross, the camera turns to the crowd where standing with startled eyes Mary His mother, her sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, Mary Magdalene and many other women who followed Jesus from Galilee. They had ministered to Him taking care of all of His needs but now could do nothing but watch Him die. How sad. Jesus spoke to John asking him to care for Mary His mother. How the tears must have flowed that day as these kindly women watched their friend and Teacher suffer. The heart of Mary was nearly bursting. But she knew it was God’s plan.

The group of ladies who served Jesus reminds me of the many in the Lord’s church today that quietly work behind the scenes doing so much for the kingdom of God. They go unnoticed and unrewarded by men but God sees them. Jesus sees them and must remember those beautiful people who cared for His needs when He walked among men. Thank you ladies for what you do. God bless you men who silently go about the Lord’s work. Young people who shine as examples of godliness in their simple ways bring blessings to the work of the Lord. These people – these wonderful people – now that is a great story.

Take that gift that God has entrusted to you no matter how humble it may seem to be, and use it in the service of Christ and your fellow men. He will make it glow and shine like the very stars of heaven. (John Sutherland Bonnell, What Are You Living For? 1950)

Friday Morning Reflections – Wisdom Literature

Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. (Proverbs 24:3-4)

The Spiritual Edifice

As the home goes so goes a nation; as the home goes so goes the church. There is no more basic relationship than what is found in the home. Established within its walls is the structure of character forming the soul of a child to become a person of change in the years to come. Every home has character. Every person impacts change. The question has always been what kind of character and what change is brought upon society. Children who live in homes filled with love, respect and honor learn how to bring about change through those virtues. When the home is filled with hatred, prejudice and vice the world suffers as a consequence.

Wisdom and understanding is how God intended the home to be established. In all creation a pattern of order was given by the hand of the Creator for the happiness of man. Adam and Eve could not be satisfied with the wisdom of God’s will and rebelled destroying their garden home. The flood annihilated the people of Noah’s day because they built their homes upon the perverse wisdom of carnal desires. Israel as a nation was destroyed when they rejected the basic principles of righteous wisdom. When the home is no longer filled with the wisdom of the Lord ruin follows.

A secure home is built by the wisdom of the word of God. The walls of the family are established upon the principles of righteousness. Families who fill their lives with the grace of God will find greater happiness and contentment. The subtle persuasions of Satan have taken away the family time so important to the spiritual growth of husbands and wives, fathers and mothers and children. We are so busy with being busy we have little time for the spiritual edifice building of the home. Lost in the shuffle of our lives is the reading of God’s word.

Take time today to ask yourself: what have I done this week to build the home with God at the center? Has the Bible remained closed in the hectic pursuit of life neglecting the words of wisdom necessary to give happiness? The home is built upon the wisdom of God and everything we do as a family must be established upon a spiritual desire to serve Him. When the Lord is not the center of the home the home is off center.

Anyone can build an altar; it requires a God to provide the flame. Anybody can build a house; we need the Lord for the creation of a home. (John Henry Jowett, Thirsting for the Springs, 1903)

Thursday Morning Thankfulness – Epistles of Paul

This charge I commit to you, son Timothy, according to the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, having faith and a good conscience, which some having rejected, concerning the faith have suffered shipwreck, of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Timothy 1:18-20)

A Naval Warfare

The apostle Paul was not unaware of the dangers of sailing the Mediterranean or Great Sea. A few years before penning his first epistle to Timothy Paul had spent fourteen days on the sea in a furious storm called Euroclydon (Acts 27:14). He traveled often on the waters as he made his journeys from city to city. Warning the young preacher of those men who had challenged the faith of Jesus Christ Paul shows the dangers of a shipwrecked life. To the Ephesians he patterned the Christian life as a Roman soldier clad with the armor, sword and shield. In his letter to Timothy the image of Hymenaeus and Alexander is likened to a shipwreck. Faith can be destroyed as easily as a ship caught in a storm. Hymenaeus is mentioned in Paul’s second letter to Timothy as a cancer because he denied the resurrection and overthrew the faith of some. There is a naval battle going on for the Christian.

Satan attacks from all points. Whether fighting as a Roman soldier or the high seas the devil is using every tactic to destroy the faith of God’s people. Waging the good warfare is being prepared for the flotilla of wickedness that seeks out the pure conscience of the child of God. Life is portrayed as the vast ocean men sail on their journey to eternity. Great care must be given to fight against the wiles of the devil never allowing him to board our lifeline to Heaven.

Storms will come in life and being prepared for these storms will determine whether we are able to endure. Satan uses these storms to weaken our resolve. In the case of Hymenaeus and Alexander philosophy overtook their faith allowing the devil to destroy them. How sad for God’s people to fall prey to the trappings of false doctrine. A shipwreck is a horrible thing to witness. What once was a beautiful ship is left in remnants of broken pieces on the shores of time with no survivors. Lives broken by the power of Satan are a sad reminder of his power. Consider those you know of that had such promise of life in Jesus Christ who now find themselves broken by sin, despair and rebellion.

There is a battle on the high seas of life. The armada of God will sail towards the shores of eternal life but not without danger. Along the way the devil will send his wolf-packs of destruction to shipwreck as many lives as he can. Sadly he has his way often. Keep a sharp lookout and do not allow the piracy of wickedness to destroy your life on the shores of time littered with shipwrecked lives. Remain faithful that you may sail boldly into port where the Father awaits to welcome us home. Honor, courage, commitment. Faithfulness.

Faith means being grasped by a power that is greater than we are, a power that shakes us and turns us, and transforms and heals us. Surrender to this power is faith. (Paul Tillich, The New Being, 1955)