The Heaton File

Friday Morning Reflections – Wisdom Literature

Listen to this, O Job; stand still and consider the wondrous works of God. Do you know when God dispatches them, and causes the light of His cloud to shine? Do you know how the clouds are balanced, those wondrous works of Him who is perfect in knowledge? Why are your garments hot, when He quiets the earth by the south wind? With Him, have you spread out the skies, strong as a cast metal mirror? Teach us what we should say to Him, for we can prepare nothing because of the darkness. Should He be told that I wish to speak? If a man were to speak, surely he would be swallowed up. Even now men cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies, when the wind has passed and cleared them. He comes from the north as golden splendor; with God is awesome majesty. As for the Almighty, we cannot find Him; He is excellent in power, in judgment and abundant justice; He does not oppress. Therefore men fear Him; He shows no partiality to any who are wise of heart. (Job 37:14-24)

The Almighty

Elihu sat through the painful discourse of Job and his three friends with respectful honor for the aged. When the four men had finished their debate because Job was righteous in his own eyes, Elihu spoke. He reminded the four men of his age and how he had sat quietly in respect but their conclusion was misguided. Age does not always bring wisdom and how the four men sought to justify the things that came upon Job defied the righteousness of God. Job 32-37 is a powerful testimony of a young man’s answer to an age of wisdom missing the mark concerning the true character of the Almighty.

When Elihu finishes speaking the Lord answers Job out of the whirlwind and picks up the mantle of rebuke begun by the young man. Sometimes it is important to listen to the young who have not been soured with the trials of life concluding misery is the lot of all men and the Lord has forgotten them. Job is reminded the power of God is summed up in the name ‘Almighty.’ When the Lord told Abraham (at the age of 99) he was to be a father within the year He declared Himself to be the Almighty God. Through the ages the Lord is known by this name. No book in scripture uses this name of God more than the book of Job (31 times). Somehow Job and his friends missed the import of what that name meant.

God’s rebuke to Job is the definition of ‘Almighty.” How can one compare the awesome majesty of the Lord with the wisdom of man? He is not just the mighty He is the Almighty with power so far beyond man there is no comparison. Elihu is reminding Job the ways of God are inscrutable.

It is important for the people of God today to remember how Awesome God is. Like Job we need to be reminded of the character of the Lord is understood by calling Him “Almighty.” Language has power and it may help in our lives to use the name Almighty when we speak of the Lord to remind us of how large is His ocean and how small our boat. Pride lifts man up to think of himself more highly than he should. Standing in the presence of one called Almighty helps put a perspective on our dependence upon Him. He holds our breath in His hand. The sun rises and sets at His command. Life is held on the spider web thread of the day when the Lord will speak and His Son will return with His angels. The Almighty rules.

There is nothing which God cannot accomplish. (Cicero, De divination, c. 78 B. C.)

Saturday Morning Promises – Great Stories

Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men. Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.

Between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on the other side. And the name of one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. The front of one faced northward opposite Michmash, and the other southward opposite Gibeah. Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.” So his armorbearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.” Then Jonathan said, “Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them. If they say thus to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them. But if they say thus, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up. For the Lord has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.”

So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden.” Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you something.” Jonathan said to his armorbearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel.” And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armorbearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them. That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men within about half an acre of land. And there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great trembling.

Now the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and there was the multitude, melting away; and they went here and there. Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Now call the roll and see who has gone from us.” And when they had called the roll, surprisingly, Jonathan and his armorbearer were not there. And Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here” (for at that time the ark of God was with the children of Israel). Now it happened, while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” Then Saul and all the people who were with him assembled, and they went to the battle; and indeed every man’s sword was against his neighbor, and there was very great confusion. Moreover the Hebrews who were with the Philistines before that time, who went up with them into the camp from the surrounding country, they also joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. Likewise all the men of Israel who had hidden in the mountains of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, they also followed hard after them in the battle. So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle shifted to Beth Aven. (1 Samuel 14:1-23)

Seal Team One

The army that faced Israel that day was an immense force of 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen and an infantry that could not be counted (likened to the sand on the seashore). Fear filled the hearts of the Hebrews as they hid in caves, thickets, rocks, holes and pits. Compounding the problem weapons for the army of Israel was scarce. It was so bad on the day of battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan. The situation was dire. Hope was lost in the hearts of the people as they looked across the landscape at an army that seemed to fill the earth. Fear controlled every man but one.

Jonathan was the son of King Saul. His friendship with David is well known as he often saved David from the wrath of his father. The story of the shepherd king killing the Philistine giant Goliath is legendary. Less known is the heroics of Jonathan before David fills the headlines of courage. There seemed to be no hope of defeating such a large army and less chance of one man making a difference. Jonathan had an extraordinary faith in the Lord (more than his father). What he saw in the Philistine army was not the impossibility of victory but the power of God showing His glory in the defeat of such a large army. 1 Samuel 14:6 is the classic scripture of faith seeing beyond the impossible to the reality of what one man with the Lord can accomplish. Because of the actions of Jonathan and his armor bearer the victory by a rag tag army of Hebrews was secured over a super power of their day. The Lord saved Israel that day because of the courageous faith of one man.

Life is often filled with the impossibilities. We look across the horizon of our lives with fear and trepidation at what stands before us. It is easy to become discouraged with the immensity of physical problems, spiritual battles, economic fears and a host of things that paralyze the spirit. Jonathan calls from the generations past reminding us of the power of God in our lives. There were times the Lord used mighty powers with the strength of thousands to defeat His enemies. And there were many times the Lord only needed one man to stand in the gap. Noah and his family secured the salvation of the whole world by their faith. David defeated Goliath as one man with God. Twelve men began a religious movement in the city of Jerusalem two thousand years that is the most powerful thing on the planet. Saul of Tarsus turned the world upside down in his day and his writings continue to marvel the world.

The power of my faith and God is the majority. We can accomplish anything with the power of God if we would only believe in His power. My faith can make Satan fall. My courage will help others see the glory of the Lord in my life. As a child of God I have already overcome death and there is no fear. Victory. The victory of Jonathan is my victory if I will have the faith to say, “Come, let us go.” Are you ready? This is a great story.

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

Thursday Morning Thankfulness – Epistles of Paul

For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth. Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens. (Romans 9:17-18)

The Will Of God

Six crippling plagues had fallen upon Egypt. Through Moses God was showing His power to the Egyptian nation and its leader Pharaoh. The magicians of the king acknowledged the plagues raining down upon them was the finger of God. Pharaoh resisted. Prior to the seventh plague of hail Moses warned the king there was no god like Jehovah God. He told the people of the coming destruction and if the people did not heed the warning of the Lord both man and beast in the field will be struck down. There were some among the Egyptians that believed Moses and took their servants and livestock into houses. Many did not believe and died in the conflagration of hail. (See Exodus 9 for the full story).

The apostle Paul uses this story of power to emphasize a lesson of God’s mercy and grace. The Jewish nation had rejected Jesus as the Christ killing Him on the cross. As in the days of old when the nation was punished with captivity the Lord was expressing His great mercy to the people that were the apple of His eye. In the early days of the church a vast chasm divided the Jews and Gentiles in seeing the love of God was for all men. The Law of Moses was nailed to the cross and of no effect. This was hard for the Jews to embrace. The will of God was not based upon the will of man. Jehovah declared His glory through His will as He acted through men. It was His choice and His choice alone.

Jesus taught in the sermon on the mountain that most men will be lost. Paul’s illustration explains why. Everything accomplished by the Father shows His power, His mercy and His grace. He is not willing that any should perish. The destruction of those who reject His word shows His glory because like in the days of the seventh plague the message of salvation has been declared leaving man to make a choice. As in the days of Pharaoh there are those who believe the word of God and those who laugh it to scorn. Pharaoh did not believe the word but that did not change the word of God. The gospel message of salvation is given today and there are few who heed its word. When the final destruction comes upon man God will be glorified.

Hell is prepared for the devil and his angels. It is a most terrible thing. Ironically in the horror of the everlasting pit the mercy of God is found. How? Grace was given to all men through Jesus Christ. He was the sacrificial Lamb offered for the sins of all men and most men reject Jesus. There can be no other answer than destruction for those who fail to heed the grace of God. The power of God and the Name of God is declared in the blood of Jesus Christ. Rejecting this offering has eternal consequence. Jehovah will be glorified no matter what.

There is a God. The plants of the valley and the cedars of the mountains bless his name; the insect hums his praise; the elephant salutes him with the rising day; the bird glorifies him among the foliage; the lightning bespeaks his power, and the ocean declares his immensity. Man alone has said, “There is no God.” (Vicomte de Chateaubriand, The Genius of Christianity, 1802).

Tuesday Morning Early Start – Important Doctrines

Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land: There is no truth or mercy or knowledge of God in the land. By swearing and lying, killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break all restraint, with bloodshed upon bloodshed. Therefore the land will mourn; and everyone who dwells there will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea will be taken away. Now let no man contend, or rebuke another; for your people are like those who contend with the priest. Therefore you shall stumble in the day; the prophet also shall stumble with you in the night; and I will destroy your mother. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. The more they increased, the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of My people; they set their heart on their iniquity. And it shall be: like people, like priest. So I will punish them for their ways, and reward them for their deeds. For they shall eat, but not have enough; they shall commit harlotry, but not increase; because they have ceased obeying the Lord. (Hosea 4:1-10)

When Knowledge Goes Away

The books of the prophets are seldom read and infrequently studied to learn lessons for today. Sadly one of the richest fields of knowledge in scripture that remains untapped is found between Isaiah and Malachi. This fertile soil abounds with the testimony of man’s failure to find wisdom in his own will challenging the word of God with disdain. It should always be remembered these books contain the writings of the chosen people of the Lord. They were bound by a law written down hundreds of years earlier by Moses. There could be no excuse for their rebellion.

Hosea lived in a time of great evil. The children of God were following the pollutions of the land rejecting all the admonitions of the Law. In this small section of scripture the prophet shows the underlying cause of the misery that was to come upon them. Without the word of God there was no truth or mercy. The knowledge of right and wrong comes from either man or from Heaven. Rejecting scripture Israel had gone after its own lusts. The result was a land filled with immorality, murder, stealing and hatred. From the King of Israel to the lowly peasant sin filled every corner of society.

The knowledge of God was thrown aside for the carnal desires of the flesh. Society laughed with scorn the Creator and His revealed word. Abraham’s descendants had turned aside to the knowledge of hedonism.  The law of the Lord was forgotten and they stopped listening to the word of God. What they could not see in their headlong pursuit of wickedness was how it was destroying the nation. The headlines of the day were filled with murder, immorality, debauchery, crime and a lust for living for the moment. And then it all came to an end. Judgment came in the form of the Assyrian and Babylonian armies massacring the multitudes and taking the remnant captive.

Reading the prophets is like reading the news today. One cannot help but be impressed with how closely the events of Hosea match with the events in America today. Where is truth and mercy? What has happened to the knowledge of God in this land? Why is the church of Christ today filled with saints who have little or no knowledge of His word? How many can remember the word of the Lord? Where is the obedience in the lives of the chosen people of God? The most important lesson of Hosea 4 is the knowledge of judgment. As God punished Israel so will the judgment of America be meted out. The prophet calls for repentance. Hosea is still preaching today. Listen.

Because we [Americans] are out of the will of God we have lost the will to do right. (Billy Graham, Sermon, New York, May, 1957)

Monday Morning Coffee Break – Life With Jesus

Then they came to a place which was named Gethsemane; and He said to His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” And He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be troubled and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch.” He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.” Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Again He went away and prayed, and spoke the same words. And when He returned, He found them asleep again, for their eyes were heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him. Then He came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough! The hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going. See, My betrayer is at hand.” (Mark 14:32-42)

He Was Tired Also

The event planned before the world was created had come. There would be no more sermons to preach, multitudes to heal or parables to exhort the disciples. Everything was now to be focused on the final journey Jesus would take to a certain death on a piece of wood. He knew this day would come. Many times He told His disciples of the horrible manner He would be treated by the Jewish leaders and how they would crucify Him. The Lord understood it was for this purpose He had come. The Passover was finished. Twelve disciples had seen the servitude of their Master in the washing of their feet. Judas was now off planning how to arrest Jesus as He lingered in the garden. Eleven men were weary from the past few days. One man looked forward to something so horrible He shuttered at the thought.

Jesus needed to pray. Taking Peter, James and John the Lord went some distance from the eight remaining disciples to spend time talking to His Father. Telling the three He was greatly troubled He asked them to remain vigilant as he went a little further to pray. While Jesus was off begging the Father to find another way the disciples could not hold their eyes open and fell asleep. Admonished by their Teacher the disciples tried to remain alert but to no avail. As He left for a second time their eyes fell under the heavy sway of sleep. Returning a third time and finding them asleep He told to awaken and prepare for a coming mob. How this must have disheartened the Lord.

If Jesus would have gotten any sleep it would have been some time Wednesday night. Part of the story of the cross is the diminished physical condition of the Lord when they nailed Him to the cross. He would last about six hours writhing in incredible pain but exhaustion was a deadly factor also. Along with dehydration the torment of Jesus was immense. As He prayed in the garden Jesus was tired too. In fact, He was probably more tired than the disciples but they did not know what was coming. The reason they succumb to the power of sleep is they did not know who was coming or what was about to happen. Jesus knew and He was praying to His Father for strength to endure the horrible rigors of the next few days. How tired He must have been.

The picture of Jesus in the garden is one of remarkable love. Here is a man who knows how He will die in a matter of hours praying through a veil of exhaustion and yet fully in control of everything around Him. How His body must have longed for just a little rest but there was no time. Following the prayers in the garden He is arrested and taken before the Jewish and Roman councils, condemned, scourged, mocked and forced to carry His cross which He was unable to bear. Fatigue overwhelmed every fiber of His body as they took Him to Golgotha and nailed Him to a cross. The worst was yet to come. Crucifixion required the strength to pull oneself up by nailed hands just to have a breath of air. Where did Jesus find that needed energy? How did He do that? He loved me. As tired as He was He loved me to die for me.

No man can know his true self, caught between this potential for depravity and this potential for divinity, except in the light of what happened on Calvary. (Stuart LeRoy Anderson, Way, June, 1963)

Sunday Morning Starters – Worship

“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.” (Revelation 4:11)

Worship Is

Worship is seeing the WONDERFUL love of God through Jesus Christ.

Worship is feeling the ONENESS with fellow saints as we assemble today.

Worship is filling our hearts with the REVELATION of God’s mind to man.

Worship is joyously SINGING to a God that loves an undeserving creature.

Worship is living a life of HOLINESS to the glory of a loving Father.

Worship is understanding the INCREDIBLE gift of Jesus Christ to die for me.

Worship is expressing PRAISE to the God of my salvation.

Worship is a way of living, a way of seeing the world in the light of God. To worship is to rise to a higher level of existence, to see the world from the point of view of God. (Abraham J. Heschel, Man’s Quest for God, 1954)

Saturday Morning Promises – Great Stories

Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. (Acts 9:32-35)

A Great Story Of Conversion

We live in a hard world that denies Jesus as the Christ. The Bible is the full testimony of His love for man but man does not love the Christ. Two thousand years after He came men still fail to embrace the evidence of Jesus being the Son of God. This was the case when Jesus walked among men. But there were times when everything clicked and people with honest hearts saw the real power of God believing in the Christ.

The area of Lydda and Sharon was about a day’s journey from Jerusalem. Earlier Philip the evangelist had gone through this area teaching in all the cities (Acts 8:40). The city of Lydda was about five miles east of Joppa. Sharon was a plain about thirty miles long between Joppa and Caesarea. When Peter arrived in Lydda he found a man that had been infirmed eight years. Aeneas was a well-known invalid who lived with the tragedy of being bed ridden because he was paralyzed. There were no surgeries to mend him. He remained in bed for eight years. Peter only spoke to the man. Like Jesus before him Peter called for the man to rise and gather his bed. Aeneas did immediately (not like the so-called faith healers of today where a gradual faint of ‘healing’ happens). He got up and walked. And a lot of people saw it.

What happened to Aeneas was a miracle. What happened to the people in the city of Lydda and those living in the plain of Sharon was remarkable. When all the people saw the bed-ridden man walking they turned to the Lord. They had honest hearts. Their eyes saw the wonder of God’s healing power and they asked no questions. There would be no discussion about how long had the man been paralyzed or whether it was a true healing or not. They knew without a doubt the impossibility of Aeneas being healed yet there he stood. The decision to obey was immediate.

The gospel of Christ is more powerful than the healing of the man from Lydda. Sadly few people can see its glory today and turn to the Lord. This does not suggest (as many brethren believe) that no one will listen today. The reason this is a great story is to remind us that honest hearts still walk among us that will see the power of God working in their lives. Many people rejected Jesus but many people believed on Him. We should never accept the wile of the devil that people today are too hard hearted to see the power of God. Ironically the reason we are not bringing as many people to Christ today is not because the world will not listen; it is because we have failed to believe in the power of the gospel.

Philip preached and Peter showed the power of God. We need to preach and show the power of God. One day we will be talking to people from Lydda and Sharon and to our surprise they will believe and obey the gospel. You see – the gospel of Jesus Christ still works in modern America. Now that is a great story.

Western Christianity has failed in its vocation. It is be to be blamed for not evangelizing or for evangelizing only halfway. God needed men and men exploited God. (Francois Mauriac, What I Believe, 1962)

Friday Morning Reflections – Wisdom Literature

I returned and saw under the sun that — the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

Nine Eleven

Today is a day of national remembrance. It is not the first nor will it be the last. Generations living today remember the day Pearl Harbor was attacked and what they were doing when President Kennedy was assassinated. Tragedy on a national level. Grief fills the heart for the innocence of those taken by brutal measures. Questions remain unanswered. Disbelief stains the guilt of the terrible day when our nation was awakened to the realization of man’s greatest inhumanity to man: hatred. Born from the seed of evil, hatred fills the headlines every day as men slaughter one another over prejudice, greed, wickedness and pride. Jealousy brings tragedy. Anger motivates killings. Death. How to understand it all.

The book of Ecclesiastes is about living and dying. Solomon offers a frank examination of life in all its beauty and all of its ugliness. These issues have not changed since the beginning of time. What happened to our nation on 9-11 is not a new condition but the malady of the same symptom planted in the hearts of men by Satan. Evil abounds in the world in many forms and often finds itself in a holocaust of events that staggers the mind. How to understand it all.

God does not remove the plans of evil men when they carry out their acts. Many would blame the Lord for the evil that happens. If this were true then we will have to blame Him for the evil we do. The hatred that draws men to kill thousands does not come from a heart that serves the Creator but a heart that is filled with the hatred of fellow man. Solomon addresses the question of the why in Ecclesiastes and shows that often the folly that comes upon man is the series of life events uncontrolled by the hand of God but measured by the natural course of life. Why do young people die? What explanation can be given for happy and wonderful people to be taken in the bloom of life? Why did 9-11 happen and so many innocent people die? How to understand it all.

There is a measure of life that is uncertain. Events befall us for reasons unknown. Solomon reminds us that for all that life offers the uncertainties of the events that come upon us are without warning. This does not remove the sorrow and heartache we feel when faced with the catastrophic loss of over three thousand people. We mourn. Hearts are heavy. Lives are remembered. Life goes on. Evil abounds. How to understand it all.

The apostle John writes, “For God so loved the world.” This is the only answer we have. It was the gift of God that offers us the only hope. Jesus came to take away our tears and sorrow. He offered himself on a cross that we can live. Death is horrible and we dislike its remembrance. In Christ we know that death will not have the victory. The tragedies of life will continue. Events like Pearl Harbor and 9-11 will happen again but beyond these days a great day is coming. A day when death and evil will be destroyed for good. Victory will be gained in the promise of He who loved the world so much He gave His only begotten Son to give a message of hope. That is how we can understand it all.

This is a direct act of hope to look through the cloud and look for a beam of the light from God. (Jeremy Taylor, Holy Living, 1650)

Thursday Morning Thankfulness – Epistles of Paul

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

Comforting Words

The end of the world is going to be in a hairs breath of the blink of an eye. In other words it will be so fast no one will know it happened until it is over. As a thief in the night without warning Jesus’ return will be incredible and powerful with the holy angels of God shouting forth the arrival of judgment upon a world filled with sin. No one knows the day including Jesus Christ. What a day that will be.

Waiting for the coming of Lord is filled with the continued march of death. The first century disciples were amazing people. They lived with the knowledge of Jesus’ return as if it would happen at any moment. While they looked for the coming of the Christ they had concerns for people who died. What will happen to them? Will they be forgotten in the coming of the Lord? They were so filled with the excitement of the return of Jesus, death was a real struggle to understand. Today we live in the continued presence of death and rarely think about His return. We should regain the spirit of the early disciples.

Paul wanted to assure the brethren that God had not forgotten their loved ones. FIRST death is nothing more than a sleep. Death normally brings fear and uncertainty. Christian’s know death is only a transition from mortality to immortality. When we think of death as sleep we realize that it is peaceful slumber with a ‘waking up’ on the other side. That is joy.

SECOND, there is hope in death. When life leaves the body it is not the end but the beginning. For those who live without God life is meaningless and death is greatly to be feared for it brings nothing. The child of God realizes that death is the beginning of something wonderful. Hope inspires life to live for death so that life can be realized in dying. The sleep of death is the awakening of our spirits in the presence of God. Now that is something to live for.

THIRD, because we believe Jesus Christ is the son of God and He arose from the dead – all of God’s saints will be raised in the final day in victory. Death does not change the place of the child of God in the resurrection. If anything there is a sense of priorities. Paul goes on to explain that when the Lord comes again those who died in Christ will rise first. Then we who are still living will be raised to meet Him in the air. The dead rise first; the alive will raise second. Why? Because that is the will of the Father.

FOURTH – here is the really exciting part: we will ALL be together with the Lord. Death does not keep us from our brethren. We are united with all the saints who have passed through the veil of death and we will all share together in the glory of God. Death is nothing. It is defeated. It is not to be feared. The lake of fire will contain death and hades and we will never again live in fear. So today we can remove the fear of death because nothing will separate us from the love of our Father.

The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the knowledge that we have hope beyond measure that takes away the fear of death. Hope reigns supreme in the knowledge that whether by death or the coming of the Lord we can comfort one another in the knowledge that we will be with the Lord forever. Praise God for His grace and His mercy. Lord come quickly.

Feared of dying? Were you feared of being born? (Old Farmer’s Almanac, 1943)

Wednesday Morning Meditation – Psalms

Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me. Many are they who say of me, “There is no help for him in God.” But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head. I cried to the Lord with my voice, and He heard me from His holy hill. I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Arise, O Lord; Save me, O my God! For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone; You have broken the teeth of the ungodly. Salvation belongs to the Lord. Your blessing is upon Your people. (Psalm 3; A Psalm of David when he fled from Absalom his son.)

The Imprecatory Psalms

The setting of this psalm is declared by the writers of old as a sad time in the life of David when he must flee his own palace hiding himself from the wrath of his son Absalom. 2 Samuel 15 seems to fit the occasion which David finds himself. One of the unique characteristics of this psalm is the language employed by the psalmist in verse seven. This is striking and for many uncomfortable to have such rough language contained within a book of praise. These psalms are in a group called the “Imprecatory Psalms.” These writings bear the resemblance of coarse, hard language vividly seeking a terrible fate to fall upon the wicked.

There are a number of imprecatory psalms. Psalm 10 talks about breaking the arms of the wicked (v15). Psalm 11 seeks the Lord to rain coals, fire and brimstone and a burning wind upon the wicked (v6). Psalm 18 rejoices in David standing on the necks of his enemies in triumph showing their disgrace for being conquered. Psalm 21 speaks of the Lord burning up the enemies and destroying the offspring from the face of the earth with arrows pointed right at their faces (vv8-12). Right after this David says, “Be exalted, O Lord, in Your own strength. We will sing and praise Your power” (v13).

Psalm 55 continues the chorus of vengeance upon the enemies of God when David contemplates death seizing them going down alive into hell. “Break their teeth in their mouth, O God” is how David shows the righteousness of the Lord against evil doers (Psalm 58:6). He also begs for them to be like a snail that melts away as it goes or like a stillborn child of woman who will never see the light of day (v8). Psalm 109 is filled with imprecatory implications against false accusers. Psalm 137 is very vivid: “O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed, happy the one who repays you as you have served us! Happy the one who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock” (vv8-9; See also Isaiah 13:11-18).

Paul reminds us of the nature of God that He is a God of goodness and a God of vengeance (Romans 11:22). Often we tend to forget the character of scripture when the Lord is bringing forth terrible punishment on those who disobey Him. Every imprecation is rooted in the covenant curses previously announced by God. The psalms are filled with the goodness of God and the vengeance of God.

It should not be surprising there is a lot of imprecation in the New Testament. John 3:16 is a good example as well as Mark 16:16. Matthew describes the judgment scene with the clear language of imprecation in Matthew 25:41. Be impressed with the imprecation of God. It is real.

The God of wrath is the God of love vindicating Himself in the death of those who will not live in love. (Gregory Vlastos, Christian Faith and Democracy, 1939).