Making Something Evil Out Of Something Good

Posted on October 28, 2024 by heatonkent

Then Gideon made it into an ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. And all Israel played the harlot with it there. It became a snare to Gideon and to his house. (Judges 8:27)

Making Something Evil Out Of Something Good

Gideon led the people of Israel to a great victory over the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the people of the East in a battle that heavily favored the enemy. The armies against Gideon were as numerous as locusts, and their camels were without number. Gideon faced an army that was like the sand by the seashore in multitude. Through the power and grace of God, Gideon led an assault group of three hundred men armed with trumpets in every man’s hand, with empty pitchers and torches inside the pitchers.

At the beginning of the middle watch, the forces under Gideon blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. This terrified the enemy, who began to run around in confusion and fear, killing everyone in their way. What the enemy did not realize was that they were killing their own men. The Lord set every man’s sword against his companion throughout the whole camp. In the confusion, the army fled away, closely followed by the people of God. More than one hundred and twenty thousand men died that day, routing the enemy with a great victory.

When the battle was over, Gideon asked a favor of the people. He wanted the earrings from the plunder to be given to him. The earrings were made of gold from the people who were Ishmaelites. They spread out a garment, and each man threw the earrings from his plunder into it. The gold earrings weighed forty-three pounds, not including the royal ornaments and pendants, the purple clothing worn by the kings of Midian, or the chains around the necks of their camels. Gideon made an ephod and set it up in his city, Ophrah. An ephod is “a close-fitting outer garment associated with worship. It was a kind of long vest, generally reaching to the thighs.” (Vines)

Whatever the design of the ephod would become, it symbolized the success of the people of God over an enemy that could not have been defeated without the help of God. In hindsight, it may have been better not to create the ephod as it became a snare to Gideon and the people who worshipped it as an idol. Remarkably, the people played the harlot with it, meaning they used the ephod as an outward emblem to give reverence and glory. This would take the hearts of the people away from true worship and lead them to fall back into idol worship of Baal immediately after the death of Gideon. The people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies that surrounded them. Furthermore, after the death of Gideon, the people discounted and reviled Gideon’s family.

The human heart tends to take something good and make it evil. The ephod of Gideon could have been a symbol of God’s power, but it turned into a stumbling block. It seems the heart wants to connect to some outward emblem instead of finding the true worship that begins in spirit and truth. The cross is a powerful image of God’s love and grace. For many, it becomes a piece of jewelry contradicting the image of the individual’s lifestyle. It seems that wearing a cross will make one holy. A building can become an ephod. People can be worshiped in such a way the glory of God is dimmed. Rituals will become more relevant than truth.

There are many ephods in the world that satisfy the soul, but God is not pleased. The staff Moses made to stop the plague became a symbol of idolatry and was named Nehushtan. Hezekiah destroyed it during his reign. People still look for the Ark of Noah and the Ark of the Covenant. The Roman Catholic Church is filled with ephods claiming to be the cross of Jesus to His supposed shroud and thousands of other relics. Putting gold on an idol does not change it from being idolatry. Jesus Christ is to be worshiped, and He needs no ephods to clarify who He is. God has given man the Bible to know the truth about worship. Put away the ephods and worship the one true God as He commands.

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Abraham – Faith Leaves Everything Behind

Posted on October 27, 2024 by heatonkent

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. (Hebrews 11:8-10)

Abraham – Faith Leaves Everything Behind

Abraham was a man of faith who believed in the promises of God. His faith was like that of Abel, Enoch, and Noah, who understood the importance of true worship. Abraham was a man who trusted what God said to be the right answer regardless of what human wisdom would suggest. Moses writes that Abraham was seventy-five years old when God called him. Abraham’s calling was not just to move his family from one place to another. God tested Abraham’s faith by telling him to go out to a place to receive an inheritance without knowing where that place was and the purpose of the promise. Abraham could not imagine it would take twenty-five years for the reality of God’s promise to be fully shown in the birth of Isaac.

Faith is not an act that a man does without some evidence. There is an invisible attribute of the character of God that is embraced without doubt and becomes evidentiary. Abraham’s faith did not develop when he was seventy-five. Abraham’s life was dedicated to worshiping God in spirit and truth and trusting that what God promised was real. Abraham had a history with the Lord. He relied on that history to formulate his faith that when the Lord came to him and told him to go out to a place he would receive as an inheritance, he immediately took up the journey without knowing where he was going. Why would Abraham take his family and make such a journey? His faith had been established that God’s word was always right. He did not understand the motives behind the request of the Lord, but he did not argue. There was no reason to argue because he acted as a man who knew God was right about everything.

Abraham would live to be one hundred and seventy-five years old. God called him at seventy-five, but the promise of Isaac was not fulfilled until Abraham turned one hundred. He would live another seventy-five years after the promise of a son was fulfilled. Isaac was seventy-five when his father died. The final one hundred years of his life were spent living in tents in a land he never possessed as his own or realized the formation of a nation from his seed. Of the three promises God gave Abraham, he only realized one but gained the others in faith. He did not complain to God about coming up short on the promises. The Lord had told him the land of Canaan would be given to him and that his seed would make a great nation. On a starlit night, God told Abraham his seed would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. Abraham did not live long enough to realize those promises but gained them in faith.

The faith of Abraham believed in something he did not see but knew by the word of God that all that was promised by the Lord was true. Hope springs from the fountain of faith, pouring the waters of belief in the heart to wait for something unseen. It is real because God promised it. Abraham looked for the city of hope, whose builder and maker is God, and upon the foundation of belief, made the promises true. That is our faith. There are many promises God has made, and He will keep all those promises if we have faith like Abraham. My faith must be that I am willing to leave everything to gain Christ. The land of promise is yet to come. We see that promise realized by faith and live each day with great faith like Abraham. Pack your bags. We have somewhere to go.

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The Consequence of Lying

Posted on October 25, 2024 by heatonkent

So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?” Then the young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, there was Saul, leaning on his spear; and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ He said to me again, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.’ So I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my Lord.” (2 Samuel 1:5-10)

The Consequence Of Lying

Saul was the anointed of God as King of Israel. As the leader of the nation of the Lord, Saul held a position of prominence before the Lord God as leader of His people. His reign would last for forty years and was marked with a spirit of disobedience and arrogance. Saul hated David. Much of Saul’s reign was spent chasing David like a flea in the wilderness. On more than one occasion, David had the opportunity to kill his foe but refused to lay a hand on the anointed of God. David respected the will of the Lord, choosing not to defile the divine ordinance that placed Saul on the throne.

The Philistines fought against Israel with fierce combat, killing many of the Israelite soldiers. Three of Saul’s sons were killed: Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. Following hard after Saul, archers hit him and severely wounded him. When David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, a messenger came to him on the third day. The man’s clothes were torn, and his head was covered in dust. He tells David he has come from the camp of Israel and the battle had not gone well for the people. The man tells David that Saul and Jonathan are dead. To ensure the news was accurate, David asked the man how he knew Saul was dead. The man relates the events of Saul’s death.

Mount Gilboa was the place where Saul died. The stranger was on the mountain by chance and noticed the king leaning on his spear with the chariots and horsemen following hard after him. Saul called out to the man, asking who he was. The man told Saul he was an Amalekite. Saul asked the man to stand over him and kill him. So, the man obeyed the king and killed him. He took his crown and bracelet to prove the king was dead and came to David with the news. Later that evening, David calls for the man and asks him why he killed the anointed of the Lord. Then, David called to one of his soldiers to execute the man, which he did.

David executed the man because he had defiled the covenant of God and killed the anointed of the Lord. Unknown to David, the story the man told was a lie. He did not kill Saul. As the battle grew fierce with the Philistines pressing hard on him, Saul, mortally wounded, commanded his armorbearer to kill him with his sword. The armorbearer refused because he was greatly afraid. It could have been the armorbearer understood the nature of God’s anointed and refused to obey the word of the king. Finding no other alternative, Saul took a sword and fell on it. The Philistines killed the armorbearer that same day.

The Amalekite sought glory for killing Saul and was executed. His lie was for his own self-glory, seeking favor with David. The man did not realize that David’s character was just and truthful. It is possible David did not believe the man’s story. Bragging about killing Saul was a death sentence for harming the anointed of God. Lying served its own purpose. In the account of the early church, Ananias and Sapphira lied to God and were struck down immediately.

Thankfully, God does not strike down liars because fewer people would walk the face of the earth. Lying is a natural part of life that can easily be done without guilt. In some circles, lying is expected and demanded. The problem is the same as the Amalekite. God hates lying. He will not strike someone down if they lie, but those lies will not be forgotten. Liars are always included in the list of those cast into the lake of fire. The sins of the Amalekite were found out at the throne of God when David had him killed. Lie in this life and you will not stand before God guiltless. And be reminded the difference between a white lie and any other convenient lie is still a lie, and God hates lies.

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David’s Foreign Policy

Posted on October 23, 2024 by heatonkent

Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. (Psalm 9:20)

David’s Foreign Policy

The king of Israel knew very little about the world outside his domain. Israel had been a nation for just over four hundred years, with only three kings ruling over a united country. It would be another thousand years before the Roman Empire would rule the world, and the Son of God would come. Knowledge of the nations was limited, but David understood that one important characteristic of all people is that no matter how great the nation or powerful the army, every nation is made of men.

David battled the Philistines throughout his rule. He had read of the ancient Egyptians through the writings of Moses. The threat of the Assyrians and Babylonians was hundreds of years away. God would use Gentile nations to punish His people for disobedience. During the time of the Roman Empire, the eternal plan for the salvation of humanity was established, and the kingdom of God began in Jerusalem. The church has been in existence for two thousand years. It will continue without interruption until the coming of Jesus. Nothing will destroy the kingdom of God. That is not the case with the kingdoms of men.

Nations are the representative power of a collective people forming a united purpose and mind under a common belief. Great nations have ruled the world. The world has been engulfed in flames from nations that desired global power. At the end of the day, every nation is nothing but dust in the bucket from the eyes of God and formed by man with all the weaknesses and frailties of the human spirit. God allowed nations to be formed following the failed attempt to build a tower to the heavens. The Tower of Babel is so named because it was where the tongues of the nations were created, and each tongue began its own distinctive society. All the nations of the world derived from the land of Shinar.  

David ruled over the greatest nation in the world because God was the king. When the people of Israel obeyed the will of God, no nation could stand before them. Solomon took the nation to the greatest it had ever been, and even the Queen of Sheba was awe-struck. After the death of Solomon, the nation divided, and the Assyrians destroyed the northern ten tribes. The Babylonians conquered the remaining Jews, and Israel was never independent again until the final destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Israel forgot God, and God broke His covenant with them.

Every nation is made up of men who serve at the will of God. The Lord raises nations to His will, and He destroys nations. There are no “superpowers” because at the greatest height of a nation’s glory, God reminds them, they are “superpower dust.” Every nation should fear God because they are but men. Despots have tried to rule the world and failed because God is greater. There will never be a time when one nation will rule the world. God will not permit it because nations are made up of men.

Sometimes, men fear what the future will hold in the politics of the world. David gave the answer three thousand years ago. Any nation that forgets God will perish. All nations are made up of men who will fail without God. Only when a people fear the Lord for His righteousness and truth will a nation be exalted. History is the great storyteller of all the nations that thought themselves greater than God and found themselves to be men. There is comfort in knowing how great God is and how small man is. God’s love is to care for His people. He wants to exalt them. Nations are nothing but dust, but the dust God used to create man is His objective. He sent His Son to die for the man of dust. Thank God for His love.

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Walking In Ephesians

Posted on October 22, 2024 by heatonkent

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10)

Walking In Ephesians

John Wayne had one of the most iconic walks in movie history. No matter what role he played, his cowboy swagger was identifiable immediately. Everyone is known by the way they walk in the world. This can be explained as their influence, example, pattern, or character to be known for a trait that identifies them. Some people are known as being cranky because they are always fussy and ill-tempered. A woman can be perceived as a flirt or a man a conceited bore who worships himself. Others are known as honorable people because of their truthfulness. Happy people are easily identified with dispositions of laughter. The world is filled with millions of personalities defined by how they walk in life. A person’s gait can define them not only in a physical way but also in how they walk before the Lord.

Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church was a message of walking before the Lord. He reminds the saints that they are the workmanship of Jesus Christ, who created them for good works. Living in Ephesus as a Christian was a difficult life because of the idolatry and paganism that filled society. Paul wanted the Christians to remember that their example before others was paramount to showing the world the light of Jesus. Walking in the footsteps of Jesus would make them different than the world around them.

In the face of a hostile world, Christians must walk worthy of the calling with which they were called. Jesus redeemed the Christian from God’s wrath, and the saved must show their love for God by walking as the redeemed. Paul was in prison when he wrote his letter to Ephesus. This should admonish the saints to consider his example of walking in a manner worthy of Christ as a prisoner. He did not revile or curse his captors. Paul’s example was one of faith, whether in prison or not. Some were put in prison and sought revenge with ungodliness. The heart of the Gentile was to act like the world and try to get even with those who troubled them. Paul reminds Christians that their walk in the Lord differs from those who walk in the futility of the mind.

To walk in Christ is to walk in love. The life of the Christian is motivated by the love of Christ. When Christians leave an example in their community, they are known as people of love because they walk in love. Their walk has no harshness, cursing, murmuring, complaining, or ungodly speech. When people see the Christian’s walk of life, they realize a life changed by the One who gave Himself up for them as an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. The Christian walk has an aroma to it. It reflects the scent of godliness.

The world walks in darkness, but the Christians walk in the light. Those who walk in darkness cannot see where they are going. They live without hope, full of despair in a world that is not kind to them. For Christians, the light is the only place to walk because they can see clearly everything God reveals to them. Walking as children of light means carrying the light of Christ in their lives and illuminating their community with the grace of God. Those in darkness will always see a light because they stand in contrast to the darkness. Walking in the light means abiding by the doctrines of Christ as the measure of their life path.

Finally, Paul wants the saints to walk with a careful (circumspect) mind about them. Walking requires an awareness of the surroundings. If a man chooses to walk without concern for how he is and where he is walking, he will always find trouble. Walking circumspectly is to walk with a careful spirit. In the Christian life, walking with an awareness of God and His Son in the Holy Spirit will help to keep one from the evil one. Satan is a force to be reckoned with and never taken lightly. Without careful steps, the devil will cause one to follow the wrong path. Being mindful of each step will guard the heart and help it follow the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

The real question is, what does God see in my walk of life? Secondarily, what does the world see? Everyone has a walk of life, and impressions are left to our character and heart with each walk. God wants to see His children walking in the light as people redeemed by the blood of His Son. It is impossible to walk in the light and walk in darkness. If you are walking and it is dark where you are, you are in the wrong place. Walk in the light. That is the way God wants His children to walk. Walk in the workmanship of God, worthy of the calling to which you were called, and stop walking like those in the world. The Christian walks in love, walks as children of light, and walks with wisdom. How are you walking?

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Noah, An Obedient Faith

Posted on October 21, 2024 by heatonkent

By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. (Hebrews 11:7)

Noah, An Obedient Faith

Imagine living in a world that is so repugnant to God that the only solution is to destroy everything with the breath of life that walks upon the face of the earth. There have been times of great evil that have darkened the world, but nothing to the level of the days of Noah. Longevity of life is a remarkable accomplishment, but not when you live for five hundred years in the depths of wickedness experienced by Noah and his family. How difficult would it be to find a righteous woman to take as a wife? Would it be wise to bring children into a world such as that? What kind of chance is there to find wives for your three sons? The hurdles Noah and his wife overcame are incredible.

Noah was a righteous man before the Lord came to him. He lived separate from the wickedness of his world. Noah found a woman who was also righteous and married her. The marriage of Noah and his wife faced five hundred years of trial and persecution from a perverted world. God blessed the marriage with three sons, Ham, Shem, and Japheth. The Lord came to Noah and told him the end of all flesh has come, for the earth was filled with violence and corruption. God told the man of faith His plan to kill all of humanity on the face of the planet. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and was told what to do to be saved. Thus, Noah did, according to all that God commanded him.

The destruction of every human being on the face of the earth must have seemed an impossibility for Noah to grasp. He had been divinely warned by grace of what was to come. Noah did not react with fear but with godly fear. With all his heart, he believed God had the power to do what He said He would do. Noah accepted the fate of the world and the deaths of all the people, including many of his friends and family, as the just cause of a righteous God. The Lord told him to build an ark of gopherwood, and Noah moved with godly fear to provide a place of safety for his family.

Faith without obedience is dead. Noah could have believed in the word of God and refused to build the ark. He would have died in the flood. He could have pleaded with God to find another way. He would have died in the flood. Noah believed that God meant what He planned and that the only way to be saved was in the ark of safety. He did exactly what God told him to do without question. One hundred years after the birth of his sons, Noah, and his family stepped into the ark as God closed the door. As the darkness plunged the family of eight inside the ark, their hearts rejoiced in the grace of God and wept because of what the wrath of God was about to do.

Noah’s obedient faith saved him, and through his leadership, he saved his wife, three sons, and three daughters-in-law. Noah knew many people outside the door. They were lost. The family of his daughters-in-law was outside the door, and they were lost. Neighbors of Noah drowned in the flood. Everyone died. The righteous faith of Noah’s family condemned the world for their unrighteousness. Noah preached the message of salvation to a world that refused to listen. They would not heed the warnings and the voice of grace given by the Lord. Only eight people would be saved out of all those in the world. How terrible, sad, and tragic.

Noah put his trust and faith in the word of God. He knew the promises of God were true. The reality of global destruction was possible because the Lord created the world and could bring a global flood. Noah also believed in the grace of God, and that building the ark would be the obedience required to save himself and his family. Obedient faith leads to an obedient life. Faith alone cannot and never will save. Faith without works is dead. Noah heard the word of God and moved with godly fear to show his faith in obedience to the promises of God. By faith, Noah.

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Healed By His Stripes

Posted on October 18, 2024 by heatonkent

Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

Healed By His Stripes

The crucifixion of Jesus was a most violent and cruel punishment. There is no means of execution as graphically horrible as nailing a human being to a cross. The intent was to make the victim suffer for endless hours and sometimes days before dying. There was a purpose to humiliate, degrade, and reduce a man to a pitiful, crying, whimpering shell of a human being to the gratification of a crowd that yelled and screamed at the victim. The crucifixion was not different for Jesus. In the eyes of the world, the three men crucified that day deserved everything they received. All three of the victims were guilty and deserving of the most painful execution possible. It was especially unfortunate for the two robbers who had to have their legs broken to hasten death. The suffering of the nailing and crucifixion was intense beyond imagination, but then, to experience the legs being broken is beyond words. Jesus had already died and did not suffer the final dignity of human violence.

There is much to say about the violence of the cross suffered by the Son of God. While the focus is on the cross, many preliminary sufferings occurred before the nailing of the hands and feet to a tree. In the case of Jesus, the violence was especially harsh. Jesus endured great indignities without responding in kind. Men spat in His face and slapped Him repeatedly. Jesus was arrested on Thursday evening and, all through the night until the morning, suffered at the hands of the Jewish council and the Roman guards. Jesus was blindfolded and beaten over the head. Jewish officers struck the Son of God repeatedly with the palms of their hands.

Pilate ordered Jesus to be scourged. The Son of God was tied to a post and beaten severely with a lashing that would have rendered His back in bloody strips of flesh, exposing His bones. Afterward, the Son of God was taken into the hall called Praetorium and surrounded by the whole garrison, which easily could have numbered 400 – 600 elite Roman soldiers. These men were highly trained in the vicious art of torture. They stripped Jesus of His clothes, humiliating Him and laughing at Him. Placing a scarlet robe about Him and slamming a crown of thorns on His head, the soldiers hit Jesus over the head, screaming and laughing at Him. They continued to spit in the face of Jesus. With the degradation of human violence, the soldiers mocked Jesus with great contempt. They slapped Jesus time and again in the face.

After all of the things the Jewish council and Roman soldiers did to Jesus, they tired of their sport and placed a crossbeam weighing around eighty pounds on His bloody back and made Him walk down the street to the jeering of the crowds. Jesus could not make the journey. God’s Son fell under the weight of the cross and could not take another step. The Romans compelled a man to carry the piece of wood for Jesus as He stumbled His way on the long path to Golgotha. Arriving at the execution site, the soldiers tore the clothes off Jesus and threw Him to the ground so they could nail His hands to the large piece of wood. Lifting Jesus up, they secured the crosspiece and nailed the feet of Jesus to the cross. The spectacle of Jesus on the cross was a filthy, bloody, emaciated remnant of a man hanging between Heaven and Earth.

Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, bore our sins in His own body on the cross, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes we are healed. Think about that. The stripes and wounds of Jesus heal our sins. Everything Jesus went through leading up to the cross and the horror of crucifixion is the healing ointment of God’s grace. We were not redeemed by gold or silver or the blood of animals. The redemption offered to the world is the bloodied, mangled, wounded body of Jesus Christ. There is a divine paradox in finding healing in the wounds of another. Jesus suffered the worst that humanity had to offer so that we could enjoy the best that God could offer. The stripes of Jesus heal us. He paid an awful cost. The wounds and stripes of Jesus were real. How can we turn away from such love?

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Seeking Sardines In Life

Posted on October 17, 2024 by heatonkent

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:24-26)

Seeking Sardines In Life

Robert J. McKain said, “The reason most major goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first.” Some years ago, a headline told of three hundred whales that suddenly died. The whales were pursuing sardines and found themselves marooned in a bay. Frederick Broan Harris commented, “The small fish lured the sea giants to their death. They came to their violent demise by chasing small ends, by prostituting vast powers for insignificant goals.” (John C. Maxwell)

Life can be filled with great activity, but the end goals that are achieved determine whether the effort is worth the energy. A person can be busy and accomplish nothing. Nothing happens if a car gets stuck in the sand and tries to get out with all the power the car has but without traction. Being busy is not a success. It is what the purpose of life is about and the goals that are gained that will make a difference. The business model shows the importance of seeking major goals without being overwhelmed by chasing the small ends. This is true because no matter what goals are achieved, life becomes a waste when no preparation is made for the larger goal of eternity.

Jesus brought abundant life to a world bent on seeking the small ends. Throughout the teachings of God’s Son, He reminded the disciples that life is not about the here and now but the life to come. If a man spends all the energy of his life to achieve great riches, fame, and pleasure, what value is any of this when a man dies? The sad reality of life is how many people exhaust themselves in the pursuit of things they cannot take with them in death. If a man gains 10 billion dollars and dies, what good does his money do him in death? He gets a lovely funeral, but he does not enjoy it. When a man wastes his life on the ‘sardines’ of this world, he will find himself empty and alone.

True happiness comes when the purpose of life is directed in the way of God. God created man to glorify Him. The Lord blessed humanity with the things of life that can be used to help others, make the world a better place, and find inner peace. When the heart seeks after the small ends of life to neglect the most important things of life, there can be no joy and peace. The most important question a man will answer is what he must do to be saved. When he answers this question, he realizes there is something more to life. Eternity is real, which is life’s main focus – preparing for eternity. Life is short, but in this short life, eternity is measured.

Are you chasing sardines? There is more to life than the small ends that exhaust our efforts. Are you seeking a deeper meaning to life? Consider how important your eternal soul is. God has given to man everything he needs to know to find happiness, peace, and answers to what life is about. Jesus said a life that is not focused on the Father is a wasted life. Death is the final equalizer that robs everyone of everything they have except one thing – their eternal spirit. Life is about where the soul spends eternity. Choosing the right path now will help make the right path in death. What are you willing to give in exchange for your eternal spirit?

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Temptations Lose Their Power

Posted on October 16, 2024 by heatonkent

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:7-8)

Temptations Lose Their Power

Annie Sherwood Hawks (1872) wrote the powerful hymn, “I Need Thee Every Hour.” In the second verse, she pleads with the Lord to stay nearby because temptations lose their power when God is near. Nothing is more fundamental in life than to realize the closer one comes to the radiance of God’s righteousness, the dimmer the prospects of temptation having power over the heart. Light and darkness do not dwell in harmony and cannot possess the same place. God is the ultimate light with a brilliance to drive away the darkness of Satan’s power. The devil does not want anyone to know how powerless he is. His lies and deceit convince men that he cannot be defeated. There is no doubt how powerful the great serpent is compared to the human spirit. The greatest tool the Christian has to defeat Satan is to stay near the Father, and there is nothing the devil can do. He cannot get close when a child of God is near the Father.

Sin overcomes the soul when the heart draws away from God. Temptations lose their power only when one is near the grace of God. Every time the heart succumbs to the wiles of the devil, it is because a decision was made to ease away from the glory of God. The answer to overcoming sin is to find ways to stay near the Father, allowing His presence to drive away the darts of the evil one. Jesus taught His disciples to pray for the Father to keep them from temptation. God will not allow His child to be tempted in a way he cannot overcome. Sin happens when one is drawn away from that protection.

Defeating temptation requires submitting to the will of the Father. There is nothing a man can do to fight Satan apart from God. The first and most deadly mistake is to assume the devil can be dealt with apart from the power of God. Man is incapable of fighting Satan. He will lose every time. If a man refuses to submit to God, he is bowing to Satan. It is in submission to God the devil can be resisted. What is remarkable about the heart submitting to God is that the devil flees when the knee bows in reverence to the Lord. He runs away because he cannot dwell in the light of God. There is a simplicity about overcoming sin that is sometimes lost in the mind of human wisdom. God does not require a man to battle against the adversary alone because only through His power of divine love can sin be defeated. It begins with submission and staying near the Father. There is no fear when the child remains near the protective arms of the Creator and Savior of the world.

Drawing near to God is how God draws near. When the heart is cleansed of the dross of pride and failure of human wisdom, the power of God will encase the soul with the brilliance of glory that drives away the evil intentions of Satan. Jesus defeated everything Satan stands for, and the devil has no power when God is nigh. Cleansing the heart of the trappings of the world, purifying the soul to be singular in devotion to the will of the Father, will drive Satan away every time. There will be times of weakness when the appeal of the devil returns. The grace of God brings forgiveness from a penitent heart, which drives Satan away again. Temptations lose their power when God is near. Draw near to God, and Satan will have less influence in your life. Keep the devil running away. He knows where his final destiny is determined. It’s not near God.

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God’s Work

Posted on October 15, 2024 by heatonkent

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.” (John 4:34)

God’s Work

The salvation of humanity hung in the balance through the life of Jesus Christ. God’s Son came to earth to preach the gospel to a lost and dying world. His sacrifice to give up the divine nature to come in the flesh was the supreme example of love. At the age of thirty, the mission and work of Jesus began and would end almost three years later at a place called Golgotha. Jesus would teach thousands of people the message of grace. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the carpenter’s son from Nazareth performed miracles of healing, casting out demons, and raising the dead. His purpose was not to remove disease or death. The world suffers under the weight of sin’s consequences. Jesus came to finish the work of His Father.

Everything in the Bible is about Jesus Christ, and all that is contained in the story of Jesus is the work of the Father. When Jesus came to earth, it was the will of His Father. The plan for Jesus to suffer at the hands of sinful man was orchestrated by God. Dying on the cross fulfilled the prophecies established by the word of God. Jesus knew His life was forfeit to the will and design of the Father. Everything He did was to bring glory to the Father. His teaching was not His own but His Father’s. Jesus sought to bring men to God.

When Jesus met the woman at the well of Jacob near Sychar, the disciples had gone into town to bring food for themselves and Jesus. The disciples were surprised to find Jesus talking to the woman when they returned. She left her waterpot and went into the city to tell the men all Jesus had told her. At the urging of the disciples, Jesus was offered food to eat, but He replied that He had feasted on something they did not know. The disciples were puzzled that maybe someone had brought Jesus something to eat in their absence. Jesus was tired and hungry when He came to Jacob’s well, but after talking to the woman and seeing her heart open to His teaching, Jesus was filled with the manna of the gospel.

The disciples did not see the opportunity of feeding on the word of God. They saw Jesus talking to the woman, which was not done in society. It was apparent that the woman was not held in high esteem in the community, yet Jesus was talking to this Samaritan woman. The food Jesus had taken was the work of His Father. Reaping the joy of souls finding the Father was the fuel that moved Jesus in His ministry. Physical food would only be enjoyed for a time, but spiritual food would change lives forever. That is the purpose of Jesus coming to earth. His role was not to remove poverty, hunger, disease or impact the political world. The work of Jesus was the work of the Father. Jesus understood His role in carrying out that message.

As Jesus was dying, the plan and work of God were drawing to a close. One of the last things Jesus said was, “It is finished.” The meaning of Jesus’ words was a Roman battle cry for victory. All that God the Father had planned was completed by the suffering Servant on the cross. The work of God had been completed by the Son, who learned obedience by the things He suffered. All of humanity would benefit from the blood of Jesus that was poured out as the sacrificial Lamb. God’s work was finished. It was completed. Victory came through the wisdom of God to sacrifice His only begotten Son for the sins of men. Jesus knew His purpose in life was to do the will of Him who sent Him and finish His Father’s work. He did. Thank God.

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