The Heaton File

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3)

What Do You Know?

Two things must be believed to receive eternal life. The first is believing in an eternal God who formed and created the world. Accepting the existence of the only true God leads the heart to seek the will of the Creator. God has always revealed His word to mankind, whether orally or written. He has never left man without the means of knowing what to do to be saved. Belief in God can be found in the world as a testimony of His power, but to know who God is personally, the word must be revealed. God has shown Himself to the world so that men could come to know Him.

Through the grace of God, the Father has revealed His Son to the world through His bodily presence as a man and through the written word. Jesus left His divine status and took on the form of a man to be made in the likeness of human flesh. By signs and wonders, Jesus established His divinity as God’s Son. When Jesus was killed, the Father gave proof Jesus was His Son by raising Him from the dead. The writings of the New Testament testify to the character of Jesus and prove He is the Son of the only true God.

Eternal life is given to those who know the only true God and believe Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living God. Jesus taught that if a man did not believe He was God’s Son, they would die in their sins. There are no other options for eternal life. Knowing God requires a relationship with the Heavenly Father. A relationship is not a casual acquaintance of checking in occasionally when the mood hits. Knowing God for eternal life is to have a deep and abiding connection with the character, word, personality, and heart of God.

Having a personal relationship with Jesus is not a quaint saying to repeat without understanding the implications. To know Jesus is to have a relationship with the character of the Son of God. Faith comes by hearing the word of God, and knowing Jesus can only come from time well spent in the word learning about the personality of the Son of God. Jesus challenged His disciples when He asked them, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say?” Obedience to the words of Jesus is how love for Jesus is shown. Commandment keeping is evidence of love.

Jesus offered a two-point answer to what a man must do to be saved. He must believe that God is and that God is a rewarder for those who seek Him with all their hearts. Eternal life is given to those who believe Jesus is Lord and Savior and are willing to follow His words without question. The Father will not welcome anyone into His eternal home that He does not know.

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:15-18)

The Signs That Followed

Jesus was ascending to His Father, and eleven men were tasked to establish a kingdom that would endure until the return of Jesus. After the resurrection, Jesus spent almost forty days with His disciples, telling them about the coming kingdom. Peter and the rest of the apostles could not imagine how different their lives would be after the next Pentecost.

The eleven were given a command. Their task was to take the gospel of Jesus to all men, Jews and Gentiles. The Father sent His Son to die for the world so that every creature could come to know the grace and mercy of God. Jesus tells His disciples to preach the gospel of belief and baptism. What Jesus said should not be lost on the Bible student and how important those words will become. The apostles were told to show the word of God to a lost and dying world. Salvation begins with the heart believing the word. In the early days of the church, the apostles were given the power of the Holy Spirit to confirm the word preached. Jesus had promised the apostles the Helper, the Holy Spirit, would come and endue them with power from on high.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the apostles could show the power of the gospel. There were no Bibles with the completed revealed word of God. The Old Testament was complete and found in Hebrew and Greek versions. It would be a few decades before books were distributed among the churches telling the story of Jesus, showing examples of church growth, and establishing New Testament authority. Until the perfection of the Word was complete, the Holy Spirit would work among the early saints, proving the validity of the preaching.

The apostles were told they could cast out demons, speak with new tongues, take up deadly serpents, and if they drank anything deadly, it would not hurt them. Jesus also said these men would have the power to lay hands on the sick, and they would recover. Luke’s chronicle to Theophilus was preserved to show the acts of the apostles and how they fulfilled the words of Jesus. Throughout the early church, miracles were being performed to establish the word. Many souls came to Jesus when they heard the word and saw the power of the Holy Spirit.

Many signs followed the disciples as they taught the gospel. The lame received their strength, Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead for lying, Peter and the eleven apostles were miraculously freed from a Roman prison, the dead were raised to life, and miracles and signs were done in all the cities. While the miracles were necessary, no one was saved because they were healed of disease. Jesus told the disciples to preach the gospel, and the signs would follow to confirm the word because the gospel message is what saves.

The signs that followed were only temporary. There is no need for miracles today. If a man will not believe the word of God (in written form), why would he believe a miracle? The Jewish leaders could never deny Jesus’s miracles and could never refute His teaching. In the early church, the signs confirmed the word but never saved anyone. The apostles did exactly what Jesus told them to do.

Two thousand years have not diminished the power of the words of Jesus. The days of miracles have ceased because there is no need for them. What is needed is for the hearts of men to turn to the gospel of Jesus Christ and obey the words of Jesus. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” There were many other words Jesus told them, but this is the basis of how one comes into contact with the blood of Jesus. Grace and mercy are found in the blood of Jesus. The love of God is found in the blood of Jesus. Paul will later show the only place to have the blood of Jesus wash away sins is where Jesus told the eleven – baptism.

Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? And the period that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. Then Solomon rested with his fathers, and was buried in the City of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place. (1 Kings 11:41-43)

A Rest Without Riches

The title of richest person on earth changes quarterly, with net worths soaring into the hundreds of billions of dollars. It is inconceivable for a person to possess such great wealth as the mega-rich to live at a level few can imagine or experience in a lifetime. With all of the news of the super wealthy, jet-setting entrepreneurs filling the news feeds, none can compare to the son of David, who is arguably and will always be the richest man who ever lived.

Solomon inherited a kingdom that was a possession of the Lord. Israel was the apple of God’s eye, protected by the divine hand of a benevolent Father. When Solomon became king, the Lord asked the young king what he desired most. Solomon sought to have an understanding heart to judge the people of God, to discern between good and evil, and to guide the affairs of the nation of the Lord in the paths of righteousness. The saying pleased the Lord because Solomon had not asked for what most men would seek. He did not ask for a long life, great riches, or the lives of his enemies.

The wisdom God gave Solomon was like no other man possessed or would attain. God blessed Solomon with riches and honor like no other king of his day. The daily food requirements for Solomon’s palace were 150 bushels of choice flour and 300 bushels of meal; also ten oxen from the fattening pens, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep or goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and choice poultry. Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses. He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, animals, birds, small creatures, and fish.

Solomon’s wealth was so great his drinking cups were solid gold, as were all the utensils in the palace. Silver was considered worthless in Solomon’s day! The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stone. Solomon had a fleet of trading ships of Tarshish that sailed with Hiram’s fleet. Once every three years, the ships returned, loaded with gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

No one has matched the wealth and wisdom of Solomon, who reigned over Israel for forty years. He is regarded as the wisest of all men, unmatched on every level. Solomon is the gold standard of wealth. Then Solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David, his father. He died. Solomon was like the pauper who lived in poverty. Both men were born, and both men died. David and Bathsheba conceived a child, and they named him Solomon. He came into the world with nothing, and he left the world with nothing. The family of the pauper conceived a child and gave him a name. He came into the world with nothing, lived with nothing, and died with nothing.

The greatest lesson about Solomon is not that he was the wisest of all men and attained a level of wealth no one will ever achieve. All men should take to heart that Solomon walked the path that all men walk and then died. Everything he attained was given to his son, Rehoboam, and the kingdom of Israel. Soon after his death, Israel fell into civil war, and the nation was divided. Three hundred forty-five years after the death of Solomon, Jerusalem was burned to the ground, and the Temple was destroyed. And what of the wealth of Solomon? It was all lost to history.

Solomon should remind all men of the frailty of human breath – it is fleeting. All men die regardless of the power, wealth, prestige, honor, or crowns they wear on their heads. Solomon rested with his father, David, because he was only a man. Death is the equalizer of all men. When Solomon died, his only thought was his relationship with God. That is all that will matter when you close your eyes in death. Jesus died to open the way to God. Riches cannot buy your salvation. Obedience and faithful duty are what is required of a man. You will die with what is most important to you, but you will only take what is eternal; and on that decision, eternity depends.

But why do you call Me “Lord, Lord,” and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great. (Luke 6:46-49)

The Problem Of Belief

In a Gallup poll updated in 2022, eighty-one percent of Americans believed in God. The answers were relative to the question’s style but the survey’s noteworthy takeaway was the continued decline in the belief of the Divine nature. In 1944, 96% believed in God, reaching a high of 98% in the 1950s and 1960s. Other surveys in 2016 and 2017 asked more detailed questions about God’s existence, showing the trend continuing to decline in accepting a belief that God exists.

A conclusion can be drawn that if a belief in God is diminished, so is the belief that Jesus is the Son of God. One poll suggests that 76% of adults believe in the historical existence of Jesus, and another survey shows that only 56% believe He is God. Surveys are fraught with challenges that may skew the numbers to assume something that does not reflect the true nature of the hearts of men, but the findings are clear that fewer and fewer believe in the Godhead.

Believing the world is flat does not change the truth, and accepting the flat-earth doctrine can be done with complete sincerity but will not alter the reality of how the world is formed. Polls and surveys show a diminished belief in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, but this does not diminish their existence. Turning a light out does not suggest light does not exist. It only increases the darkness. God is real, and His Son Jesus Christ is King. The Holy Spirit is a divine being. Whether men believe and or accept the truth will never change the truth. God established truth separate from the will of man.

Jesus challenged the disciples, who said they believed in Him but refused to follow His word. There is a body of people who say they do not believe in Jesus because of the way they live. If they were asked to believe in Jesus, they would answer in the affirmative. However, looking at the lives, the evidence of that belief would be hard to find. A more important question to ask is not whether one believes in God. The most important question to ask is if a man believes Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God; and if he is living in accordance with His word? Believing Jesus is Christ will not save alone. Jesus said a man must do the things He says.

Illustrating the point, Jesus describes the building of a house. The foundation of the structure is critical to its survival. Building a house on sand will invite disaster. Establishing the house on a firm foundation will protect it from storms. To say that one believes in Jesus and then lives without doing the will of the Father is a man whose house is on the shifting sands, awaiting destruction. If you believe in Jesus, you must live according to His word – not yours.

Calling on the name of the Lord will never save a man if he is unwilling to change his life to the will of God. How many times did Jesus upbraid His disciples to remember that saying, “Lord, Lord,” will never save them? If a man will not accept the will of God in his life, he does not believe in God. When a man calls on Jesus as “Lord” without doing what he says, his life is on the path of destruction. The better question for Gallup to ask (and for you to ponder) is: do you believe in God, and are you seeking to live every day according to His will? Calling but not doing will never save a man.

Pilate therefore, said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (John 18:37)

King Jesus

Democracy is a wonderful institution that allows citizens to have a voice in the laws of the nation, election of officials, and participation in the free system of individual rights. The United States was born from the rejection of the monarchial rule of England, imposing perceived unfair laws upon the citizens, leading to the Revolutionary War. Historically, there has been national pride in having a nation that makes all men equal and offers a broad range of freedoms based on individual choice. Democracy works well for the nations of men but not in the Kingdom of God.

A monarchy is a single person’s undivided rule or absolute sovereignty over a people. It is a nation or state having a monarchical government guided by the laws of the monarchy. The government has a hereditary chief of state with life tenure and powers from nominal to absolute. A king is a monarch with absolute power, unquestioned by his subjects, and expected to obey all laws without question. In the minds of freedom-loving people accustomed to the joys of a democracy, a monarchy is oppressive and restricted.

Jesus Christ is a king. He is not an elected President, a Prime Minister, or a dictator. He serves as the sole monarch with undivided rule and absolute authority. The government of King Jesus is guided by the laws of the rule of His Father, who gave Him all power and authority. Jesus is the hereditary chief of state with an eternal tenure and powers from nominal to absolute. He rules as long as the kingdom of God remains. When the kingdom of God is dissolved on the final day, He will become subject to the Father, where all rule resides.

The citizens of the kingdom are obligated to serve King Jesus in obedience to His word – unquestioned. Too often, people think of God’s kingdom as a democracy, allowing individual rights to live however they choose. They believe they can change the will of the King to fit the needs of their lives. Even in the historical setting of human history, subjects who refused to obey the king were punished severely. The kingdom of God is no exception, but with greater consequences.

Jesus came into the world to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He did not fail to set up His kingdom. Those who are looking for Jesus to return to earth to set up an earthly kingdom in Israel have lost sight of why Jesus came and for what purpose. Jesus has been King of the kingdom of God from the moment He rose from the dead. He sits at the Father’s right hand as King, ruling over the kingdom. When King Jesus returns, there will be no more kingdom – only judgment. Pilate’s inscription above Jesus was a divine testimony affirming the purpose of Jesus coming to earth. Jesus is more than the king of the Jews. He is king of all men.

Pilate was wrong about many things, but he was right when he asked if Jesus was a king. Jesus was born to be King. He came into the world to be King. As king, He bears witness to the truth given to Him by His Father. King Jesus bears witness to the only truth, the only way, and the only life. Most of the world rejects Jesus as king, and that will be to their eternal judgment. Those who believe Jesus is the Son of God accept His rule in their lives. They allow King Jesus to guide their hearts in the will of the Father. Everyone who is of the truth hears the voice of King Jesus.

Then the detachment of troops and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound Him. (John 18:12)

They Bound The Hands Of Jesus

It seems impossible to imagine the hands that created the world, and the expanse of the universe could be bound in chains as a common criminal. Jesus touched lepers and healed them. Putting His hands on the blind, sight was restored. The Lord took children and laid His tender hands upon them, blessing them. Often, the hands of Jesus were folded in prayer to His Father, sometimes all night. When Peter faltered in his faith on the sea, Jesus reached out His hand to save the sinking disciple. Jesus laid His hands on many people, and they were healed.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas brought a few hundred people to betray his Lord to the mob. John describes the fear of the crowd of Jesus when He announced who he was and how the mob fell backward to the ground. Identifying Himself, the soldiers arrested Jesus and bound Him. There was no warrant, and no charges were filed against Him. Jesus was betrayed and led away to endure a mockery trial of Roman malpractice and finally killed through the hatred of the Jews and the efficiency of the Romans. In death, the Romans nailed the hands of Jesus to a cross.

What was lost on those who arrested Jesus was the divine grace allowing them to place irons on the hands of the Son of God. These hands could raise the dead, heal the sick, and – if so desired – call the host of angelic powers to rescue Him by the wave of His hand. Jesus did not resist. He did not try to run away. As the mob left the city gates in the dead of night, the Lord could see the lanterns and torches coming to arrest Him. He could have sent His disciples away to safety and fled to some mountain. The hands of Jesus waited for the clapping of irons to encircle Him.

The hands of Jesus were bound because His heart was abounding with eternal love. Jesus knew what was coming. He understood the suffering He was about to endure at the hands of those He came to save. His heart was bursting with the love of His Father. There was sadness in His eyes as he saw how the heart of humanity had been crushed by sin. His hands were powerful, but His love was greater. It was on the cross that He opened His hands to accept the iron spikes that would severe His flesh with intense pain. For hours, He felt the agony of His hands holding the weight of His body as His flesh ground itself upon the rough wood.

Jesus knew He must be bound to set men free. His bondage was but for a moment. The hatred of men would last for a little while, but the redemption found at Golgotha would last for an eternity. Two thousand years removed the gift of God’s Son, allowing those in Gethsemane to bind Him resounds with the voices of the angels proclaiming the glory of a risen Savior. Thank God the Father allowed that misguided mob to place the hands of Jesus in irons. Fifty days afterward, three thousand souls were released from the chains of sin. Are you bound? Come to Jesus. He was bound to set you free.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. (Genesis 1:1-5)

Everything Begins With Light

The morning awakens with the beams of early light gliding over the horizon to bathe the new day in sunshine. As the sun rises in the sky, light leaves the sun, arriving eight minutes and twenty seconds later, having traveled a distance of 92.96 million miles. The sun is a massive, hot ball of plasma with temperatures ranging from around 27 million degrees Fahrenheit at the core to only about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit at the surface. If the sun gave off only half of its present radiation, the world would freeze; if it gave off half as much more, the earth would burn. The sun is not the source of light.

When God created the world, He established a perfect organism of life. The universe and all that is in it was created in six days. Each day was a progressive increase in the necessities of life built upon one another. The sun, moon, and stars were not created until the fourth day. These planetary orbs would be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night. Seasons were established by the position of the sun and moon for days and years. The sun would give light to the earth, and at night, the moon would reflect the light of the sun.

On the second day of creation, the Lord divided the waters from the waters with a firmament. The firmament was called Heaven. The third day, the waters under the heavens were gathered together into one place, and dry land appeared. God called the dry land Earth and the waters He called Seas. After dividing the seas from the earth, God created the grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit. At the end of the third day, the world was divided into seas (without any animals) and dry land filled with vegetation and trees (without any animals).

What a strange world it was at the end of the third day. The earth was a globe filled with beautiful blue waters absent of any animal. On the dry land, there were green, lush, beautiful gardens of grass, bushes, and trees filling the landscape – without an animal in sight: no birds and no land animals. Most importantly, no sun, moon, or stars were in the heavens above. Yet, in the absence of the sun, the world was filled with light.

Creating light first was necessary to sustain life on the third day. The vegetation of the earth lives through a process of Photosynthesis. Britannica says, “Photosynthesis is the process in which green plants use sunlight to make their own food. Photosynthesis is necessary for life on Earth. Without it, there would be no green plants, and without green plants, there would be no animals.” God created light first to sustain the vegetation before He created the sun and animals. The light had to be created first to sustain life.

The new creation of man begins the same way God created the world. Before God created light, the world was without form, void, and full of darkness. Creating light changed the world. The state of man changes when he is accountable to his Creator. Because of sin, man’s heart is in darkness, without form, and void. The first thing a man needs in his life is light. Jesus said He had come into the world as a light, that whoever believes in Him would not abide in darkness. He is the light of the world. To follow Him will remove the darkness.

Everything must begin with Jesus as the light. God created the world in perfection and divine order. Coming to God requires coming to Jesus, believing He is God’s Son, and obeying Christ’s word. If a man tries to save himself in any other form, he will die. There is a spiritual photosynthesis that must take place. It begins with water dividing the sins of man from the redemption in Christ. When a man obeys the gospel, he becomes a body of light to shine to all in the world. His life will bless all those to whom he shows the glory of God. Salvation – like creation – begins with light. That Light is Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.

Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5:8)

An Unleavened Life

In the midst of Paul’s rebuke of the Corinthian brethren for allowing sexual immorality to continue in the church, he reminds them of the true character of the child of God. Allowing immorality to continue without taking any action was sinful in itself, polluting the church family with the influence of the ungodly. He demands they take severe action against the couple to purge their ungodly influence from among them. Paul uses the example of leaven to show that allowing sin of any nature to continue unabated and unchallenged impacted everyone.

It is easy to sit back and think what other people are doing does not impact the group. Paul tells the church they have allowed the leaven of ungodliness to continue, influencing the whole church. A little leaven will leaven the entire group if not taken care of. He commands them to purge out the leaven of wickedness to remain a body of unleavened souls seeking the purity of the gospel. Christ is the Passover as the sacrificial lamb slain to redeem men by His blood.

Paul’s plea goes to the heart of each individual. The broader subject is the couple in adultery, but the important picture is how it has affected the individuals. They had allowed the immorality of the man and his father’s wife to corrupt their lives. Every Christian must be the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth to the word of God. What was allowed to happen in the collective group at Corinth was impacting everyone on an individual level. Christians must stand for truth. This is not done simply by doing the right things in the right way in worship. It impacts how they live each day as unleavened, uninfluenced souls from a world filled with darkness.

The leaven of sin can so easily ensnare the heart. Refusing to put away sin is allowing the leaven of the devil to change the hearts of the godly to accept evil. The Corinthians had allowed the couple to remain in their immoral relationship without challenge. That was a greater sin. To be the church of the Lord, the lives of the saints must be unleavened in their attitudes toward sin. So many of God’s people act like the world, dress immodestly in the fashion of the world, accept the immoral lives of brethren, never blush at evil, and accept the norms of society as acceptable before God. The Lord demands unleavened lives.

Unleavened bread has no leaven in it. Any part of leaven can and will affect the dough. Great care is taken to remove leaven so the bread remains pure. Unleavened lives refuse to allow the leaven of the world to be a part of any form or fashion. Allowing any part of the worldly leaven to influence the heart can change the lives of the Christian. Every effort must be taken to remove the leaven of the world from the hearts of those who seek the upward call of Christ Jesus. Sincerity and truth are the elements of an unleavened life. The Christian must be true and faithful to Jesus Christ. No Christians unwilling to put away all sin can have or give evidence of sincerity.

And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out, saying, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. (Jonah 3:4-5)

The Power Of The Gospel

Jonah was a great preacher of the gospel. He is called the running prophet, the reluctant prophet, and the angry prophet, but when he preached to Nineveh, they changed their hearts and believed in God. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian Empire. It is one of the oldest cities in the world, having its origin with Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah.

The Lord tasked Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh and cry out against it, for their wickedness was great. At first, Jonah disobeyed God’s command, fleeing to Tarshish. On the way to Tarshish, the Lord sent a great storm, nearly breaking up the ship he was on before the mariners threw Jonah into the sea. God prepared a big fish, and Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of the beast. After the Lord spoke to the fish, Jonah was vomited onto dry land.

God again tells Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach the message God tells him. Jonah enters the city, telling the residents that in forty days, the wrath of the One True God will come down upon them and destroy them. Nineveh was not a Jewish city. It was a city filled with Gentiles. Jonah did not preach the Law of Moses or the covenant of circumcision or keep the Sabbath day found in the law. The Ninevites needed to repent before the wrath of God came upon them. They responded to the message of Noah by believing in God, proclaiming a fast, and putting on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them.

Much is said about Jonah’s story, which centers on Jonah and the fish. The real story of the book of Jonah is the power of the gospel changing the hearts of those whom no one would have considered deserving of salvation. Nineveh was a foreign city filled with Gentiles. Why save them? One hundred and twenty thousand souls turned to God at the preaching of the good news of salvation found in believing God. Tragically, Jonah became angry these foreign dogs changed their hearts, and God would save them. The gospel moved them to repent and change their lives because the power is in the message.

Many Ninevites are walking around today, shunned and ignored because of who they are. The gospel can change the lives of anyone who turns their hearts to the Lord. Jesus died for Jews and Ninevites. A Jewish preacher went to a Gentile city and turned the heart of a city to God. That is the power of the gospel. That same power can be found today when the shackles of prejudice and hatred are removed to give the lost what they so desperately need – Jesus Christ and Him crucified. What the world needs more are patient hearts willing to share the gospel with a lost and dying world. Have you seen a Ninevite lately?

Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me. And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity. (Ecclesiastes 2:18-19)

The Wasted Life

Edward of Woodstock was the eldest son of King Edward III of England. Born in 1330, he died at the age of forty-six without ascending the throne, dying before his father. His son, Richard II, succeeded his father to the throne. History remembers Edward as the Black Prince, one of the most successful English military men of his day. During the Hundred Years War, he distinguished himself at a very early age. English contemporaries view Edward as a model of chivalry and one of the greatest knights of the period.

Edward’s tomb was placed in the Canterbury Cathedral in accordance with his will. A bronze effigy adorns his tomb with his epitaph inscribed around his effigy, which reads:

Such as thou art, sometime was I.

Such as I am, such shalt thou be.

I thought little on th’our of Death

So long as I enjoyed breath.

On earth I had great riches

Land, houses, great treasure, horses, money and gold.

But now a wretched captive am I,

Deep in the ground, lo here I lie.

My beauty great, is all quite gone,

My flesh is wasted to the bone.

Edward’s epitaph reminds all men that death comes to everyone. He thought little of his hour of death, but the chimes of life ended in 1376. Life was good for the prince, who had great honors and riches. He suffered from dysentery, which would take his life. He had land, houses, great treasures, horses, money, and gold; but of what value in death? Edward recognizes that death is complete where there is no beauty and the body decays.

The story of Edward of Woodstock is the same sad refrain of those who live every day with little thought of their mortality. Having great tracts of land and houses did not keep the prince from dying. Death took away his power as a commander of an army. The horses, money, and gold went to those who remained, and they left it all to others when they died. Death is the reality no one wants to accept. Life is not about what is found here but what is discovered when the eyes close in death.

Edward’s epitaph should warn all who trifle with the empty promises of riches, power, and pleasure. Billionaires die as quickly as paupers, and the question remains the same for each: are you prepared to meet God when you die? The Lord is not impressed with how much money you have or the number of houses you own. It matters little to the Creator of your gold and silver because it belongs to Him anyway. Your breath comes from God. Serving the will of the Father is the purpose of life. Jesus died to open the way of salvation. Are you ready?