The Heaton File

Thursday Morning Thankfulness – Epistles of Paul

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. (2 Timothy 1:1-2)

What Would Be My Final Letter?

Facing death is one of the strongest emotions a person can experience. The untold story of dying is lost with those who pass the vale of darkness into eternity. Few have truly experienced the sensation of death returning only by the hand of God (as found in scripture). Our Savior is the only one who died and lives today. Looking death face to face is the real story of a man’s character. Paul leaves an extraordinary testimony of faith and courage when death looms before him from a Roman sword.

Two letters are addressed to Timothy, traveling companion of the aged apostle. The book of 2 Timothy is the final chapter in the preserved writings of Paul. As he faced death the tone of his letter was not despair or feelings of regret. There are many ways men approach death especially if they are writing their final thoughts to a close friend or loved one. Paul’s letter to a young preacher was filled with a positive message of hope. An unknown writer prefaced the book of 2 Timothy, “Paul wrote this letter as he awaited execution. Despite all that Paul was facing – death, the end of his ministry, abandonment by most of his friends for fear of persecution – he faithfully directed his spiritual son Timothy to the hope that is in Christ. As he exhorted Timothy to boldness, endurance, and faithfulness in the face of false teaching, Paul showed his customary concern for sound doctrine.” What an amazing individual. The apostle knew his life was short but he spent his final days not regretting but reminding and teaching with exhortation the spirit of those faithful few who would carry on the work of God.

Take time today to read the book of 2 Timothy. It takes longer to drink a cup of Starbucks coffee than reading this wonderful letter. Embrace the message of hope. Feel the warmth of Paul’s spirit as he languished in a Roman jail cell. See through his eyes the true spirit of living for Christ even as death is near. He knows Timothy needs encouragement because the day will soon come when his faithful son will hear the news of his death. How agonizing this will be for Timothy but there is much work to do. Paul’s final words ring with clarity. “The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.” The words of a man who loved his God and looked forward to eternal redemption. I pray that I will have this spirit when death comes to me.

The act of dying is also one of the acts of life. (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, c. 170)

Wednesday Morning Meditation – Psalms

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. A Song For Alamoth.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn. The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Come, behold the works of the Lord, who has made desolations in the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah (Psalm 46)

Be Still

It is hard for many of us to sit still for very long. The hustle and bustle of life is filled with this and that and going and coming and doing. There is so much on the plate and often little is accomplished and off we go the next day filled with a list of things to do. We are busy people. How can we take time to be still? The psalmist is not suggesting that we need to slow down and not fill our lives with activity. God is not looking for lazy people to work. He calls people that are busy. The psalm is reminding us that we should remember who is our strength in life and upon whom we must depend.

Be still and know that trusting in earthly possessions is futile. Our only hope is in God and Him alone. Life can be fueled by the American dream leaving us little time to serve the Lord. We can trust in our own strength for security leaving the Lord as a secondary choice. When the storms of life consume us the only one we can trust is the Lord. Be still and know this.

Be still and know that God is the only hope we have in a world of turmoil. It can be a frightful thing to witness what goes on in the news. There are concerns for the nation, the economy, safety, peace, and happiness – uncertainty for what will happen tomorrow. Fear can grip the mind. People of God understand that He still is in control and His will is accomplished every day. The nations can rage and the world can seem to be falling apart but the Lord is still greater than anything man can do. Be still and know this.

Be still and see the hand of God. History is the most important lesson we can learn. The Bible is a book describing the work of the Creator from the beginning of time. Reading the stories of God’s deliverance time and again will refresh our souls with the knowledge that God will deliver us. When has the Lord ever been defeated? Has man been able to accomplish what the Lord does not control? Look at the works of God and know that His power and might are greater than anything man can do today. My God is greater than the puny efforts of man. Be still and know how big God is.

Today is the middle of the week. Life is going at a fast pace. Be still and know that God still rules in the affairs of men. More importantly He still rules in my life. Take time to be holy. Learn from His word that He rules. Be still.

The imagery of the heavens as being two thousand million light-years in diameter is awesome when compared 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).

Tuesday Morning Early Start – Important Doctrines

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

The Hall Of Faith

The Bible is a wonderful book of stories telling the lives of the people of God from Adam to John’s revelation. These are real people. They lived in a real time experiencing the challenges of life just like you and I face every day. It is easy to think of these heroes of scripture as only stories without considering the battles we fight are no different than what they fought. Their faith was tested. Sometimes they would win and sometimes they would fail miserably. The key in the lives of the saints of old is singular: they never gave up.

Faith is an amazing thing. Think about it for a minute. There are many ways the Creator could reveal Himself to man dismissing any doubts that He is real. While there are myriads of ways God has revealed Himself to man it still comes down to a need for faith on the part of man. Why? Could it be that there is a need for our Father to see our hearts in how much we love Him? We are not robots programmed in a certain way to do the bidding of an unloving Creator. The spirit of man begins from a heart that devotes itself to the glory of God.

Faith is the seed of hope and the vision of the invisible. That is almost contradictory. But found in the kernel of faith’s character is the making of a man of God. No one was present when the world was created but we believe it by faith. Adam and Eve could look on the new world after it was created and believe it came into being by the mouth of God. Abel understood early the importance of obedient faith. Enoch lived so fully in faith he was taken by God before death. Noah acted on the word of grace showing his faith by hearing, believing and preparing an ark for something he did not understand. Faith moved him saving not only him but also his household. Abraham embraced a faith that did not have answers but because He trusted in the word of God he obeyed. First he was tested when told to leave his people and then to offer his son. Faith won. Moses turned his back on the greatest riches of his day to serve a complaining people wandering in a wilderness of doubt. A non-Hebrew woman who was a prostitute showed her faith in the true God when she gave shelter to the spies of Israel.

Faith could be told in the lives of so many more people like Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets. If you have not taken the time to read about these people please do so. It will increase your faith. Often faith delivered the people of God from harm but just as many times it did not. Faith gives hope. Faith opens the eyes to trust in the Lord no matter what. Faith does not suggest that all promises are found here. The deepest character of faith is believing that life is not about the here and now but the life that is to come. Faith is about looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. Faith is about seeing beyond this life and looking forward anxiously to a life with God. Turn your eyes away from this world and by faith look to that which is unseen. Heaven is waiting for faith filled followers desiring a better country.

You can keep a faith only as you can keep a plant, by rooting it into your life and making it grow there. (Phillips Brooks, Perennials, 1898)

Sunday Morning Starters – Worship

Then the heads of the fathers’ houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, with all whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem. (Ezra 1:5)

The First Thing To Build

Babylon had long disappeared and Persia ruled the world. Cyrus king of Persia made a decree freeing the Jews from the bondage begun seventy years earlier by the Babylonians through the hand of God. As a nation Israel had been decimated because of their rebellion to the will of the Lord suffering punishment by divine will. The time had come for the nation to return as promised by God.

What is amazing about the book of Ezra in contrast to the book of Nehemiah is what was built first. The city of Jerusalem lay in ruin. Its walls were torn down and gates burned. The Temple had been ransacked left to crumble with each passing year. As a whole the spirit of the nation of God was in mourning. But now a renewed feeling had blessed the new generation of captives as they were permitted to return to the land of promise. From a military stand point the first thing to build in Jerusalem would be the walls and gates. This afforded protection from enemies and would give a sense of security to the people to see the city return to its early glory. But this would not be the case.

The first major undertaking was the building of the Temple. It would not be an easy task and would take many years but the lesson is found in what is important to build first. The walls would be the logical answer but while the walls lay in ruin the Temple was the first thing built. Why? Protection from God was paramount. The walls were secondary. Under the leadership of Nehemiah and others the walls would be rebuilt in 52 days but the people understood the protection of God was more important than the protection offered by walls of stone. Seventy years earlier the walls were breached and the nation taken captive because the protection of the Lord had been withdrawn. How could the Babylonian army march into the Temple entering the Holy of Holies without God’s will being done? The Lord had withdrawn His protection.

Today is a day of worship. What is important today is the spirit of the heart more than the trappings of wood and stone. The walls of Jerusalem were necessary and would be built one day but first it was the heart of the people that needed to turn back to God in the days of restoration. We live in the days of restoration where the call of the heart is still directed toward the Lord. Our worship today must be in building the Temple of God in our lives to worship and adore Him first. Before we have Bible study, before we lift our voices in song, before we make pleadings to the Lord, before we commune in the supper of the Lord and before we open the manna of life in His word – we must build the Temple of God to prepare our hearts to worship in spirit and truth. First things call for first things first.

God is of no importance unless He is of supreme importance. (A. J. Heschel, Man Is Not Alone, 1951)

Saturday Morning Promises – Great Stories

There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. (Luke 16:19-22)

Carried By Angels

The contrast between the unnamed rich man and the beggar Lazarus is stark. While one lived in plush surroundings of wealth and prosperity the other existed in squalor of daily misery. Food was abundant for the rich man eating whatever his heart desired. Lazarus starved for a morsel of food that fell from the table. There were grand feasts in the home of the nobleman with friends surrounding him and his five brothers. For the man laid at the gate begging companionship and sympathy only dogs were his friends. These animals would soothe the physical torment of Lazarus by licking his wounds. They could sense the misery this human creature endured.

One day as someone passed by where Lazarus lay they noticed he was dead. He was a nobody. Nobody cared for him. Nobody tried to help him. He just died. Eventually he had to be moved and buried in a common grave with no fanfare. His body was treated like refuse being put in the ground. No one took notice of his death. But at the same time the news had spread throughout the land. The nobleman of great wealth had suddenly died. The five brothers gathered with family, leading citizens, bankers, lawyers, scribes, priests and a host of important figures of the day to give great lamentation for this man’s death. It was shocking. The world was in an uproar. Great lamentation was given. The mourning for this man of wealth lasted for many days.

As Lazarus lay on the ground his body shook for the pain he suffered. His life had been of misery. Little joy was his to share. The disease that covered his body was a mantle of shame no one would dare have sympathy for. An outcast he had to be carried from place to place and beg for food. How humiliating to suffer the indignity of the human spirit. He could hear the fanfare from the rich man’s house. His stomach just wanted a morsel of food. The day came when he felt so much different. The pain increased and he felt his life slipping away. Sometime in the day his head drooped and his breath returned to God who gave it. Relief. For the first time he felt a wave of peace as pain left his body. He knew a blessing he had only read about. Angels gently gathered his spirit and carried him to the bosom of Abraham. He would never know pain or sorrow again.

The rich man did not enjoy the blessing of death. He lived sumptuously every day but this day that ended. Death suddenly took him. His pain was unbelievable. No angels carried him to comfort. He was thrown to a pit of torment. He lashed out but to no avail. His short life of unrighteous living was cut short for an eternity of horrific sorrow. Lazarus was comforted.

What is lost to the world in the lives of the rich man and Lazarus was who they really were. The rich man was a wicked man; Lazarus was a righteous man. The outward appearance belied the condition of the heart. Many would have believed the rich man to be a good man who would without a doubt find the promise of Abraham. Looking at the poor miserable frame of Lazarus by the rich man’s gate they would have turned in disgust at a man of reprobate character. The Lord sees the heart. It was the beggar who was righteous. He was carried by angels.

Lazarus is my hero. He lived a pitiful life of incredible misery but like Job held his character of faithfulness to God. I feel sorry for Lazarus and would pray that when I see someone like Lazarus today I would see his heart. It is easy to make judgments about the rich man but it was the heart that made the difference. I want to live so that I can spend eternity with Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham. I want angels to carry me to my God. Thank you Lazarus. That was a great story.

Hope is the poor man’s bread. (George Herbert, Jacula Prudentum, 1651)

Friday Morning Reflections – Wisdom Literature

Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger long at the wine, those who go in search of mixed wine. Do not look on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; at the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like a viper. Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart will utter perverse things. Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: “They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?” (Proverbs 23:29-35)

The Folly Of Alcohol

The problem with alcohol is as old as the world. In the early days of man the temptation of drunkenness was as prevalent as today. Noah was the first man mentioned in the Bible that was drunk from wine but he was not the first case of drunkenness. Paul describes the character of the world in Galatians 5 which included “drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

The literature of Proverbs is filled with wisdom from above. There is practical knowledge found in these simple passages and Proverbs 23 is no less simple to understand. To sum up our text for today it seems those who desire to drink are fools. Let us be frank and to the point. God has a view of man’s actions and the pleadings of unspiritual men who devise ways to get around the truth of the will of God are left looking like fools. Arguments are made that social drinking is an acceptable lifestyle for a Christian. This makes as much sense as social fornication as long as you do not go too far. If you want to have trouble in your life take up the conjurer of evil and let it in your home.

People of God are not like the world. They do not imbibe in the worldly pleasures of the flesh. Drinking alcohol does not glorify God on any level. Christians should be ashamed to argue in defense of something completely hostile to the purity of God’s children. We cannot have one foot in the world and one foot in the body of Christ because the leg holding our foot in the world is dancing to the tune of the devil. We are kidding ourselves. If your foot is in the world so is your whole body. Can you have a beer in one hand and a Bible in the other? Well you can but the twain shall never be one.

Let me just say this about what Proverbs 23 says: Stupid. Defined this means, “regarded as unintelligent, showing a lack of intelligence, perception, or common sense.” Engaging in alcohol makes a person a member of the Unintelligent Club. Christians who find their membership there should be ashamed. Christ is ashamed of His brethren who cannot find the faith, courage and moral tenacity to come out from the world and be separate.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:17-18). You want to drink? Take the Holy Spirit. You will never regret it.

“The blacksmith did ignorantly conduct this burglar into his family’s heart. It was the Bottle Conjuror. Upon the opening of that fatal cork, forth flew the fiend, and shriveled up his home.” (Herman Melville, Moby Dick, 1851)

Wednesday Morning Meditation – Psalms

A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning — yes, more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. (Psalm 130)

Waiting On The Lord

There are fifteen psalms (120-134) that are declared “psalms of ascent.” It has been suggested these are special psalms written for the people of God to use as they ascend the mountain to worship the Lord. The character of the words fit the need of preparing one for worship showing a dependence on God.

We are impatient people. There are fast food places to eat, expectations of service being given quickly and if our computer takes more than three fifths of a millisecond to respond we are upset. Now. Not later. Now. Cars must be fast, cooking must be instant, drive through this and drive through that and the fast paced life is the norm. He who sits above the circle of the earth is not in a hurry. He wants His people to wait on Him.

The psalmist reminds us our dependence is on the Lord. “The expression, ‘my soul doth wait,’ is stronger than ‘I wait;’ it implies heart-felt trust and confidence” (Pulpit Commentary; Psalm 130:5). It is hard to wait but wait we must. The Lord does not fly on our timetable. He works in His own way and His own will. The calming message of the word of God teaches us to trust in His will rejecting the instant pudding of man’s wisdom.

The blessing of trusting in the Lord’s word is found in hope. There is steadfast love in the manner His mercy fills our lives with His redemption. When we learn to wait on the Lord we will find a deeper joy. Where He leads I will follow. It is hard to follow because we think we know a better way. Waiting on the Lord is learning to walk in His footsteps so that my life is one set of footprints: His.

Today is the middle of the week. Slow down. Take a moment. Calmly remember the blessings of the Lord. Wait for it. Wait. Be patient. Let His love flow over you today as you prepare for this day and the rest of the week. Above all: wait on the Lord.

They also serve who stand and wait. (John Milton, Sonnet on His Blindness, c.1650)

Tuesday Morning Early Start – Important Doctrines

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

A Simple Instruction

When God created the world He spoke and it happened. That is powerful. Light was created when the Creator said, “Let there be light.” The word is the agent of creation. This God we serve is huge and He is powerful. The Bible reveals the power of God through the written word telling the story of man from Adam to the day Christ comes again. Whenever man has failed it is always when he denies the word of God. In the Garden of Eden sin entered the world because Satan deceived Eve into believing the word of God was confusing. The early world was destroyed because men rejected the will of God. Israel was given the written word and failed. You and I have the written word and few in the world believe it.

The sad reality of man’s plight is the word of God is neither complex nor hard to understand. It is the devil who whispers in our ear, “Has God indeed said?” He continues to fill the ears of men with his wiles of deceit. They look for wisdom in their own hearts turning away from the simple instructions of salvation. Jesus tells His disciples to go into all the world and make disciples. He outlines a pattern of redemption found in His blood and manifested through the waters of baptism. A disciple is a person who has been immersed in the pattern of God’s authority bestowed upon His Son. Water baptism is necessary for salvation because Jesus said it was. It was a simple instruction yet most religious people reject any notion baptism saves.

When men begin to analyze the simplicity of the word of God, what they create is something more confusing. Ask your friends or neighbors how a person can be saved and you will get more answers than you can shake a stick at. Matthew 28:18-20 is not complex, confusing, difficult to understand nor unclear. Why can’t people just accept what God says and leave it at that? It is tragic that most people will say they love Jesus but will not do what He says. Sad. Eternal sadness. So many people will be lost because they believe Matthew 28:21 instead of the word of God.

The word of God is all those commandments and revelations, those promises and threatening’s, the stories and sermons recorded in the Bible; nothing else is the word of God. (Jeremy Taylor, Holy Living, 1650)

Monday Morning Coffee Break – Life With Jesus

Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.” (John 2:13-17)

When The Church Becomes A Market Place

The Temple was the center of Jewish life. First built by Solomon it was the place of God’s dwelling with men on earth. The Temple of Jesus’ day was a long rebuilding project by Herod the king. Through the years the Temple was called by many names describing the relationship of the edifice with the Lord. It was called “the temple, the house of the Lord, holy temple, the house of the God of Jacob, the house of My glory, house of prayer, house of sacrifice, house of their sanctuary, mountain of the Lord’s house, a holy and beautiful house, holy mount, palace for the Lord God, tabernacle of witness, Zion.” Christ called it “my Father’s house.”

It is remarkable to see Jesus going through the Temple with a whip of cords driving out the merchants, money changers and animals. The scene at the house of sanctuary must have been overwhelming for the Son to see what men had done to His Father’s house. Solomon’s temple of splendor was lost in the building of Herod but still the place of Moriah represented the holy ground of God with His people. Driving the merchants out of the Temple was an expression of Jesus’ disdain for how men take the beautiful house of the Lord and make it into something it was not intended to be.

The church of Christ is the church He built and bought with His blood. It can be called the house of the Lord because it is the place where God dwells with the saved. The church of God is a body of sanctified people who are a holy nation to Him, His own special people. The church is the body of Christ, His bride and the sheep of His flock. Found within the pillars of the church is the manifold wisdom of God. And like the days of Jesus often has been turned into a house of merchandise.

The New Testament church is harder to find today amidst the clatter of merchants and money changers. In so many places the body of Christ turns to the clanging of social appeal to entice the lost to Christ. Food, fun and frolic is more the norm in the spiritual temple of God today than the pattern of New Testament doctrine. Many churches of Christ spend more money on maintaining the fellowship hall, family life center and kitchens than teaching the lost. How sad the church of the Lord has been turned into a house of merchandise.

Our zeal today must be focused on the truth of God’s word. We must learn the lesson of Psalm 69:9 lest the Lord come with a whip of cords and drive out the modern day merchants from the place of God. The blood of Jesus bought the church for a single purpose. Let us not disavow the blood by turning the house of the Lord into a place it was not intended to be.

The church of the New Testament never thought of itself as being in a rest camp; it was obviously on a battle line. (Halford E. Luccock, Jesus and the American Mind, 1930)

Sunday Morning Starters – Worship

I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one. (John 17:20-22)

Today We Are One

From the beginning of time our Creator has desired man to worship Him. There is literally every reason in the world to give praise to the Lord because He made the world and He made us. He holds our breath in His hand. His provisions make it possible for us to live. Without the hand of God we will not exist. From Abel’s sacrifice of faith to what we do today we worship our Lord with praise, thanksgiving and honor.

Worship has a dual nature to its character. The vertical parts of our worship speak of our relationship to the Father. It is the horizontal part of our worship that binds the hearts of brethren together showing a deeper reason for our worship. The Lord’s day is a time of worship when we gather with one another and share in the bounty of God’s blessings as brethren. One of the lessons we learn today is that we are one. In Jesus’ prayer before the cross He earnestly desired that we be one. We bring our lives to the throne of God as one people. Diverse in our backgrounds we lift our hearts in praise. Singing gives honor to the Lord but we are teaching one another. Prayers are offered that speak of our salvation but we also talk of forgiveness, healing, guidance and love for one another.

The Lord’s Supper is an individual relationship as we meditate on the sacrifice of Christ. But let us not forget that we share as one in unity for what Christ has done for us. He saved me but He also saved you. He saved us both. His death was to bring you and I together as one people to worship Him. Who can think the preaching is only about the other person. The word of God is about me and you when I hear the preaching. It all applies to my life and your life and what we do together. It binds us together as one to follow the grace of Jesus Christ in our lives.

Today is about being one. Worship should be without malice toward others. When we come to the throne of God let us leave our petty squabbles and hurts at His feet so we can worship together as one. He died so we can enjoy a fellowship of unity. Greet everyone today – not just those you always speak with. Leave the cliques alone so we can be one. Embrace the lives of God’s children in worship today – it will change the way you see worship. Today is about being one!

A clergyman was once asked whether the members of his church were united. He replied they were perfectly united – frozen together. (Old Farmers Almanac, 1865)